Mary Grace Floresca
Florida State College of Jacksonville
AMH2020
02/18/22
Mecano’s Still life, King Minos, and Myth of the Minotaur
Summary
Mecano’s Still Life explains the transformation of early Neanderthals to modern day societies where ambition has replaced common sense with the modern societies and forgetfulness of underlying challenges which occurs over the hours. However, the replacement of common sense is derived by confusion which has been so prevalent that it has become redundant within the current society. According to the legend of King Minos, he was a great ruler in the ancient Minoan Civilization found in Crete Island. In addition, it is said that he was also a great warrior and a son of Greek god Zeus and Europa, the mortal woman. Some of the most notable conquests involved against King Nisus of Megara. However, when the King failed to offer a white bull as per Poseidon’s request, the gods punished him by making his wife Pasiphae fall in love with the bull. From the relationship arose a monstrous creature with a full head of a bull and body of a man that was alter named Minotaur.
Discussion
The main theme of the story by Mecano involves the dangers of being overwhelmed with desire which makes people forget about the most significant things easily. An example is the power of ambition which make people turn a blind eye or common sense issues, like moral, and ethical standards. However, the actions are normally accompanied by consequences of confusion. This theme also applies in King Minos’s story where despite his successes, he flawed in several instances, for example, in acknowledging the help offered by Scylla in the war against his father and failure to fulfil the god’s request in offering the bull. As a result, there was confusion portrayed by the creation of a mixed creature that had both human and animal features.
Illustration
The images below indicate the various themes connected to the story lines identified including the adverse impacts of desire. The art by Dominique Bertrand indicates the opposite directions that individuals choose that is based on their own desires. The picture by Pompeii indicates the desire by King Minos when he is presented with the white bull at the palace.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1 Musique, Dominique Bertrand 2008 (Bertrand)
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Figure 2 Vitruvian Man, Leonardo da Vinci, 1490 (Marlowe)
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In conclusion, the two myth stories present different dimensions to the issue of desire, ambition, and human needs. The various concepts are interrelated and have adverse impacts on each other. However, they normally lead to confusion as depicted in Da Vinci’s Vitruvian man that depicts confusion or varied thinking within a person
Works Cited
Bertrand, D. “Musique, painting by Dominique Bertrand | Artmajeur.” Artmajeur Online Art Gallery, 2008, www.artmajeur.com/en/dominiquebertrand/artworks/2700489/musique.
Jasiński, J. “Theseus killing Minotaur.” IMPERIUM ROMANUM, 2021, imperiumromanum.pl/en/curiosities/theseus-killing-minotaur-2/.
Marlowe, L. “Decoding Da Vinci: Inside the largest Leonardo exhibition ever assembled.” The Irish Times, 2019, www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/visual-art/decoding-da-vinci-inside-the-largest-leonardo-exhibition-ever-assembled-1.4059138.
Roman fresco. “Daedalus, Pasiphae and wooden cow.” EdBlogs, edblogs.columbia.edu/worldepics/project/apollodorus-library/.
