This is a weird question, I know, but I was wondering about it: I haven’t read Greeks myths in years, but I’m pretty sure there was a recurring theme/trope involving creatures and/or people being born from “springing” out of necks, or heads, I don’t really remember. I think Paradise Lost had something like this, too. Thanks in advance,
There’s the classic, Athena.
In the myth of Perseus, two creatures are born from the neck of Medusa after she has been decapitated – the flying horse Pegasus and the warrior Chrysaor. The event has even been depicted numerous times on gems and pottery, and it looks very weird
There are more pictures of this in my book.
I honestly don’t know of any other examples of such neck-births. (Athena is said to have been born from Zeus’ “head” or “peak”. Vase painting show her spring from his forehead. I’ve never seen one of her coming from his neck, with or without Zeus’ head being attached).
as for WHY these two are born from her neck, I have a theory. I suspect the idea that Chrysaor and Pegasus were born from the stump of her neck attached to her body is in error – they were really born from the stump of her neck attached to her head.
In the sky, the star Algol represents the head of Medusa (not merely her eye, as the star charts often depict it). Look at this illustration, but assume that Algol is the entire head:
https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrBT9Hv_.ZV8VUAFlVXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTByMjB0aG5zBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?p=Constellations+Perseus+and+Pegasus&fr=yfp-t-412#id=0&iurl=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_z4ZYXyojONM%2FTMdAVR9mx2I%2FAAAAAAAAAzw%2FxpByYm-S120%2Fs1600%2Fconstellation_Pegasus_andromeda_perseus.jpg&action=click
To one side you have the constellation of Pegasus, the flying horse (and one reason the horse is flying is because it’s in te sky as a constellation). To the other side you have Perseus with his characteristic curved Kerpe (sword). But to some, I suggest, this represented Chrysaor with his Golden Sword (which gave him his name). Thus Chrysaor and Pegasus spring from the neck of Medusa, in opposite directions.
The people who made those gems and vases didn’t know that this astronomical relationship is what the myth-tellers had in mind; they only had the verbal or literary description to work from, and they interpreted it very literally.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
Possible real-world connection: goiters and other swollen neck glands as the idea that something could be “born” from there?
Goiters are mostly caused by iodine deficiency. Would that be a common ailment in Greeks, living next to the Mediterranean Sea, and presumably eating a lot of seafood?
Apparently goiters are depicted in ancient Greek art, so they were at least known.