Economic Calasso
Calasso postulates on page 91 of "The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony" that, "For money to emerge in its purest form, the heroes must first kill each other off."
I actually, long ago, wrote a poem that had in it a line about the horror of modern society, where money has replaced excellence as the basis for power. I like Calasso's thought, because the heroes of old cared about principle and excelence, not cash. Look at all Agamemnon offers Achilles in The Illiad to give up a woman who is Achilles' by right of plunder. And Achilles refuses. The woman is his by right, and no amount of compensation is enough to give her up. Achilles is the paragon of the old guard hero. As Calasso says, he is "kingship without a kingdom. He carries his grace within himself and does not need a hierarchical order to sustain it." Achilles will do himself right, by his own code of conduct no matter what. He will not be bought. After Troy, and the destruction of the hero, money arrives on the scene and trashes the old order. A man's own excellence, in mind and body, cease to matter. All that matters is whether that man has enough cash to pay someone to do his dirty work for him. To think, act, and suffer the consequences for him. Money stops accountability.
A quick aside, though we didn't deal with it in this class, I think people haven't paid enough attention to "Great Ajax" in the Illiad. Look through the whole poem, and he is the only hero not to be helped by a God. He is man alone, and he even beats many heros who were favorites of various Gods. And yet he is lost largely in the examination of The Iliad. Ajax is a manifestation of the new power of man in Calasso's third stage. Once we are indifferent to the Gods, we empower ourselves.
I actually, long ago, wrote a poem that had in it a line about the horror of modern society, where money has replaced excellence as the basis for power. I like Calasso's thought, because the heroes of old cared about principle and excelence, not cash. Look at all Agamemnon offers Achilles in The Illiad to give up a woman who is Achilles' by right of plunder. And Achilles refuses. The woman is his by right, and no amount of compensation is enough to give her up. Achilles is the paragon of the old guard hero. As Calasso says, he is "kingship without a kingdom. He carries his grace within himself and does not need a hierarchical order to sustain it." Achilles will do himself right, by his own code of conduct no matter what. He will not be bought. After Troy, and the destruction of the hero, money arrives on the scene and trashes the old order. A man's own excellence, in mind and body, cease to matter. All that matters is whether that man has enough cash to pay someone to do his dirty work for him. To think, act, and suffer the consequences for him. Money stops accountability.
A quick aside, though we didn't deal with it in this class, I think people haven't paid enough attention to "Great Ajax" in the Illiad. Look through the whole poem, and he is the only hero not to be helped by a God. He is man alone, and he even beats many heros who were favorites of various Gods. And yet he is lost largely in the examination of The Iliad. Ajax is a manifestation of the new power of man in Calasso's third stage. Once we are indifferent to the Gods, we empower ourselves.
posted by adam at 10:35 AM
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