#i wont be able to make any of it make sense with my epigram

[pu-butt]

Besides the fact that the idea of an 'original myth' is absolute nonsense, it is also such a waste to look at mythology that way. I am working on my thesis on literary funerary epigrams on mythological figures (long story lol) and it requires me to do deep dives into the traditions surrounding dozens of mythological figures and i am in a constant state of physical distress in a bad way AND a good way. The bad way of course is related to deadlines and the stress of writing a thesis in general. But the good way is entirely connected to my reading about these dozens of versions of myths and their implications. It's probably not great for me long term, but with each word i read on Ajax's suicide or Niobe's petrification or the death of Medea's children my heart feels like it's choking and my legs can't stop shaking and my throat just itches to scream because all of it is just absolutely bonkers. If i had any energy left in me after this day of building up my case on Medea's children and Oedipus' sons only to have it all torn down by one (1) line of Euripides, i would write an actually coherent rant on why the fact that all these co-existing and contradicting versions of myths exist is the greatest thing about mythology. But alas, brain is dead, try again tomorrow i guess

#i feel like i might jump out of my skin #which is good and bad #medea is just driving me insane #she did it the corinthians did it it was an accident #ive never read euripides' medea so i was never that into her story bcs i just didnt know it very well #but man i get it now #boy do i get it #and with the whole context of hero cult #going absolutely bonkers over here #i wont be able to make any of it make sense with my epigram #and that is the point!!! #and it's like...it feels like a clue #like a lead #like it could have the most enormous implications on the development and popularity of the different strands of medea's story #if only we knew for sure when it was written and in what context #but we do not #it could be the key but we dont have the lock #losing it i tell you