Did the fairy tale Snow White originate as a Greek myth? [Ot
Feb 7, 2020 15:04:01 GMT
CrepedCrusader likes this
Post by hi224 on Feb 7, 2020 15:04:01 GMT
"Would that I had a child, as white as snow, as red as blood and as black as the wood of the window frame."
The story of Snow White is one of the best known stories from the Grimm's collection of fairy tales first published in 1812. In their notes for the tale, the brothers describe five additional variations, describing it as one of the best known tales in Hesse.
Where did this story originate? Was it inspired by actual events? How did it evolve into the version we know today?
Summary of one version of the tale: A queen wishes desperately for a beautiful child only to die when the child is born. The king remarries a vain and wicked women who owns a magic mirror. Every day she questions the mirror: "who is fairest in the land?" and is infuriated to one day receive the answer that her stepdaughter, Snow White, has surpassed her in beauty.
She orders a huntsman to take the young girl to the forest and murder her, but he is struck by the girl's beauty, and tells her to run away instead. She finds a home in the forest with seven dwarves, where she lives happily until the wicked queen discovers she is alive. The queen disguises herself as an old woman and tricks Snow White into eating a poisoned apple, which makes the young girl fall into a deep sleep.
Luckily for Snow White, she is far too beautiful for the dwarves to bury so they place her in a glass coffin instead. One day a prince passes by and wakes the sleeping woman with a kiss. She and the prince are married and live happily ever after.
Possibly the earliest story that inspired Snow White is the Greek myth of Chione or Khione, retold in Ovid's Metamorphoses in 8 CE. Chione was the daughter of a warrior named Daedalion. She was so beautiful that the gods Apollo and Mercury fell in love with her. Mercury placed Chione into a magical sleep and raped her. Apollo disguised himself as an old women and raped her as well.
Chione gave birth to twins sons named Autolycus, fathered by Mercury, and Philammon, fathered by Apollo. Having captured the attention of two gods, Chione began to brag that she was more beautiful than Diana. The goddess didn't take kindly to this and shot Chione through the tongue with one of her arrows, killing her.
Did the myth of Chione evolve into the story of Snow White? There are several elements of the Snow White story there. The amazing beauty (and subsequent jealousy of another woman), the old woman disguise, the magical sleep (and guys doing rapey things while she's asleep). Another thing to note is that there was another Chione in Greek mythology; she was the daughter of Boreas, the god of the north wind, and was herself the goddess of snow. The Greek word for snow is χιόνι (chióni).
Snow White
Chione Myth
Ovid's Metamorphoses
The story of Snow White is one of the best known stories from the Grimm's collection of fairy tales first published in 1812. In their notes for the tale, the brothers describe five additional variations, describing it as one of the best known tales in Hesse.
Where did this story originate? Was it inspired by actual events? How did it evolve into the version we know today?
Summary of one version of the tale: A queen wishes desperately for a beautiful child only to die when the child is born. The king remarries a vain and wicked women who owns a magic mirror. Every day she questions the mirror: "who is fairest in the land?" and is infuriated to one day receive the answer that her stepdaughter, Snow White, has surpassed her in beauty.
She orders a huntsman to take the young girl to the forest and murder her, but he is struck by the girl's beauty, and tells her to run away instead. She finds a home in the forest with seven dwarves, where she lives happily until the wicked queen discovers she is alive. The queen disguises herself as an old woman and tricks Snow White into eating a poisoned apple, which makes the young girl fall into a deep sleep.
Luckily for Snow White, she is far too beautiful for the dwarves to bury so they place her in a glass coffin instead. One day a prince passes by and wakes the sleeping woman with a kiss. She and the prince are married and live happily ever after.
Possibly the earliest story that inspired Snow White is the Greek myth of Chione or Khione, retold in Ovid's Metamorphoses in 8 CE. Chione was the daughter of a warrior named Daedalion. She was so beautiful that the gods Apollo and Mercury fell in love with her. Mercury placed Chione into a magical sleep and raped her. Apollo disguised himself as an old women and raped her as well.
Chione gave birth to twins sons named Autolycus, fathered by Mercury, and Philammon, fathered by Apollo. Having captured the attention of two gods, Chione began to brag that she was more beautiful than Diana. The goddess didn't take kindly to this and shot Chione through the tongue with one of her arrows, killing her.
Did the myth of Chione evolve into the story of Snow White? There are several elements of the Snow White story there. The amazing beauty (and subsequent jealousy of another woman), the old woman disguise, the magical sleep (and guys doing rapey things while she's asleep). Another thing to note is that there was another Chione in Greek mythology; she was the daughter of Boreas, the god of the north wind, and was herself the goddess of snow. The Greek word for snow is χιόνι (chióni).
Snow White
Chione Myth
Ovid's Metamorphoses
