What female image of strength for Cindy? I'm thinking Demeter

[Hekate]

In another post someone compared Cindy to Ghandi, which provoked an interesting discussion. I'd like to ask what female images or archetypes of strength occur to you? (and thanks to dweller for suggesting this thread)

I've been thinking this over for some time, and the grieving mother she most reminds me of is the goddess Demeter of ancient Greek mythology.

Briefly, Demeter's child Kore/Persephone was taken from her by Death (Aidoneus/Hades) with the permission of Zeus (P's father/ruler of the gods). Demeter searched everywhere for her child until she was told what happened; she grieved and raged. After many events (like all true myths it is many layered and complex) she entered the stage called the Wrath of Demeter, during which she sat down in her temple and refused to budge until Zeus agreed to hear her out. Now, being a goddess, Demeter had powers of her own, and she caused all the crops to fail -- as she told Zeus's messenger, if this keeps up there will soon be no one left to make sacrifices to the gods.

Cindy Sheehan has tapped into a certain powerful Demetrian energy. Were she truly modeling herself on the closest representative of a goddess-figure in her own religion, the Virgin Mary of Roman Catholicism, she would most likely have struggled to say to God "Thy will be done," no matter how evident the lies of Bush were. She could still oppose Bush, but the inner struggle would be different.

I see Demeter here. Cindy Sheehan has gone down to Crawford to sit at the gates of the ruler's summer palace until he agrees to hear her out. She has turned back the ruler's messengers.

And if this keeps up, there will be no more soldiers to make sacrifices to this ruler, who, if not a god, has said he thinks God talks through him.

Gods, kings, and ordinary men: beware the wrath of a bereaved mother.

Hekate

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. A very apt analogy

Thanks for the refresher course on Demeter. Her energy fits what is happening with Cindy in Crawford. Let us hope that the Demeter energy works-for the next Goddess to appear, I fear, will be Kali Ma.

[Kolesar]

2. DU has a member named "Demeter"

[evilqueen]

3. Boudicca

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/boudicca.shtml

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Niobe, the symbol of eternal grieving in Greek mythology with this

exception: Cindy Sheehan is not being punished by "the Gods" for loving her son or for her "arrogance" as in the myth. Maybe in the eyes of those who support the war, her true sin is holding up her son as a symbol for all those who also died because of this folly.

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/n/niobe.html

[lildreamer316]

5. Nope; I agree with Demeter and here's why:

crops were ruined=our young soldiers being mowed down
OR
crops were ruined=fall harvest is approaching and may be ruined because of 1)drought in many farming areas of the country and 2)higher gas prices means less money to water or haul the crops in/to store/wherever.
VERY good analogy.

[no_hypocrisy]

7. Point well taken. Conceded.

[unrepuke]

6. Rosie The Riveter

I think more people could relate to / recognize Rosie, the sleves-rolled-up pose, and she's an American image. my 2¢

[Fleshdancer]

8. Norse Mythology: Hlin

Hlín is one of the three handmaids of Frigg, together with Fulla and Gna.

Her name means "protector", and Frigg gave her the duty to protect men and to console grieving mortals.

[dancingme]

9. Our strong First Lady

So strong she has been hiding from the cameras since Cindy Sheehan arrived.

[dweller]

10. i was curious to see how this thread might develop

appears to be some thought on this elsewhere too...

Cindy Sheehan: American Antigone
by Jan Hartman
American Mother Cindy Sheehan has parked her grief outside the gates of George Bush’s Crawford ranch as
Antigone set hers at the gates of King Creon’s ancient Thebes.

Though today’s setting is Texas not Thebes, the core of the women’s separate actions links them over 2500 years:
both women are driven by grief to speak Truth to Power.

Antigone wants to bury her dead brother in order to honor him. Cindy Sheehan wants to honor her dead son by
challenging the President to explain the inner meaning of his words to her. Antigone challenges her king by burying
her dead brother in defiance of the King’s decree to leave him to the vultures. Cindy Sheehan’s son will rest no more
easily than Antigone’s brother Polyneices until his leader speaks the truth behind his cruel actions.

Private grief calls public posturing to explain itself. The raw truth and emotion of grief withers any lies, prevarications,
justification, falsehoods, hypocrisies. Grief casts a thundering light on mendacity. It exposes all the tattered threads
of official duplicity.
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0818-21.htm

i'm glad you posted Hekate.
dp

[Hekate]

11. I like that. I had not thought of Antigone

Thanks, dweller, for encouraging this thread. And thank you all for participating. It's nice to know that other people are thinking in mythological terms too; sometimes it helps to pull me out of the entirely personal and political and see part of the bigger picture, where archetypes are at play.

I've worked the Demeter/Persephone myth for a long time, so it was Demeter that came to my mind. It's refreshing to get a different point of view -- I liked reading about Hlin and the rest, and will look up the whole of the Antigone essay.

We seem to be living through a time that calls forth Greek tragedy and myths. So much hubris will ultimately reap retribution; unfortunately, bystanders to the main characters' drama all too often get hurt when Nemesis finally arrives...

Hekate

[Hekate]

12. I sent my reworked essay out as a LTTE...

...to both the local daily and weekly this morning. We'll see if it sees print.

Hekate

[Generic Other]

13. She's a Fury

Hounding the murderer of her son.

[Withywindle]

14. I agree, a beautiful analogy

...especially with her pain of losing her beloved child to the Underworld, and her refusal to budge until the ruler had met with her and heard what she had to say.

I have read that in Druid times there was a similar custom in ancient Britain -- if anyone had a severe grievance, no matter how poor or "unimportant" the person was, he or she could go sit on the local ruler's doorstep (basically, sit-in and maybe hunger-strike) until his or her concerns were addressed somehow.

Unlike now, it was actually considered a great dishonor by ALL for the ruler to refuse or avoid the meeting. It just wasn't done.