Incest


Was I the only one who noticed there was a LOT of implied incest in this film? And not just between Eurystheus and Iphicles:

Sthenelus is Alcmene's uncle, which makes Eurystheus her 1st cousin and 1st cousin once removed to Hercules and Iphicles. That means Eurystheus' daughter, Iole, is Hercules' second cousin, and Hyllus' second cousin once removed. And Hyllus and Iole are betrothed?!

But that's not all. Then there is Megara, Iole's mother. Had her three sons by Hercules lived, that would mean their brother Hyllus would one day marry their sister Iole! Ewwww!
--
"This is no fun! Oh bollocks, why should I carry on?" - Johnny Rotten

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[deleted]

Even now, it is not uncommon for cousins to marry. I wouldn't do it, but the negative side effect aren't as bad as you'd think. Marrying your cousin only increases the chance for a genetic defect by 2%. Also, Iole would only have been Hyllus' step-brother.

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[deleted]

In the Greek myth about beginnings and the creation of the world, Gaea produces a son who she then has chuldren with. Kronos is one of them he attempts to kill/injure his father Uranus. Kronos then marries his sister, Rhea. The have children and Kronos swallows each of them as they are born. Rhea tricks him and Kronos does not each their last child who is Zeus. Zeus grows up. Rhea and Zeus trick Kronos and, after eating food loaded with an emetic, he vomits each of the children (fully grown) up in great spasms. Zeus takes Hera, his sis, as Queen.

In that one story there's cannablism, attempted murder, and incest. Not to mention zeus has children with many mortal women etc. including Demeter, his sis, and another sister as well.


There myths are very messed up. But keep in mind we only know these stories because they have been passed on for generations and generations!

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we see various homicides- patricide (killing of one's father), infanticide (killing of one's children as infants)- and various other taboo subjects commonplace not only in the Greek myths but also in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible and in other religious traditions- they may all have borrowed heavily from one another in ancient times or from much older stories and myths of preceding cultures in Egypt, greater Africa, or Mesopotamia (the Middle East).

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I am curious, since you specifically mentioned the Old Testament, where one would find the killing of one's father and the killing of one's children as infants? There was Baal worship where they would kill their firstborn child that was practiced by the pagan cultures of the land, but that is heavily condemned.

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actually the evidence that that was not in Baal worship bu tin the initial Yahweh worship. The idea human sacrifice was practiced by the non Hebrews, and not practiced by Hebrews is simply not supported by the Archeology.
The old testament is full of blood libels against "others". Indeed that is the point of monotheism to condemn those outside. This is why polytheistic cultures had much less religious violence and more tolerance.
It is more likely you are simply repeating a false blood libel with your claims on the Baal worship. we know now the stories of the sacrifice of the first born are false, not shown in any of the many writings by contemporaries on Baal worship but only come from one source: the Israelis who \wished to displace teh Baal worshipers from tehir land.

The fact is the Old testament god exhorts the Israelite to genocide against innocents, condones incest (the old testament is FULL of incest, child marriage, kidnapping and rape, by the very patriarchs celebrates).

The pagans tended to be the least violent and most tolerant of ancient peoples.

Lots of scholars think the Abraham sacrifice supposed stopped by god may not have been stopped.

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actually the evidence that that was not in Baal worship bu tin the initial Yahweh worship.


No, there's not.

The idea human sacrifice was practiced by the non Hebrews, and not practiced by Hebrews is simply not supported by the Archeology.


There is no evidence the Hebrews practiced killing their babies. I have, on the other hand, seen pictures of statues to Baal with outstretch hands that were obviously used with fire. At least according to the Bible, babies were placed upon these hands and seered alive.

The old testament is full of blood libels against "others". Indeed that is the point of monotheism to condemn those outside. This is why polytheistic cultures had much less religious violence and more tolerance.


The polytheism of Greece meant that each city state had its own diety, such as Athena with Athens, and fought among themselves. Indeed in the tale of Troy, it is discussed how the different gods chose sides and waged the war for their pleasure -- hardly non-violent or tolerant. Going on to Rome they passed laws that no new religions were allowed (part of the reason it was a death sentence to be Christian) and of course they weren't known for their peaceful ways.

It is more likely you are simply repeating a false blood libel with your claims on the Baal worship. we know now the stories of the sacrifice of the first born are false, not shown in any of the many writings by contemporaries on Baal worship but only come from one source: the Israelis who \wished to displace teh Baal worshipers from tehir land.


We know nothing of the sort. We do not have any works on specific Canaanite religious rites, so how would we know they are false?

The fact is the Old testament god exhorts the Israelite to genocide against innocents, condones incest (the old testament is FULL of incest, child marriage, kidnapping and rape, by the very patriarchs celebrates).


Nowhere does God say, "kill the innocents." Admonitions against certain people were made for very specific reasons, such as killing their firstborn and making sure that practice would not spread to Jewish culture. Throwing around words like incest, child marriage, etc is for sensationalism. For instance none of the patriarchs are said to have taken child brides nor was any direct marriage between brothers and sisters allowed (unlike polytheistic Egypt) by the time the Israelites came into Canaan.

The pagans tended to be the least violent and most tolerant of ancient peoples.


See the Greeks and Romans above. If you want more let's try the Assyrians, Babylonians, Sumerians, or any ancient empire that conquered by the sword -- and that was the norm if they had the power to do so. The Israelites were out of the ordinary in being given set boundaries and not trying to see how much land they could take.

Lots of scholars think the Abraham sacrifice supposed stopped by god may not have been stopped.


I love the throwing out of the word "scholars." So, since the only evidence of the story of Abraham and Isaac is in the Bible itself and the Bible clearly records it did not occur, how do these "scholars" then conclude "nah ha" it happened anyway.

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You know like zero about history, don't you. Its not like this was unusual back then. It was a different culture, and a different time.

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Even if he was not well-versed in the sexual aspects of ancient Greek history, it would not automatically mean that your statement, "You know like zero about history, don't you" would be accurate.

His question appeared to be a fair one. Your reply was not -- and you're old enough to know better.

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Yes, well, and on top of that it was all mythical - meaning it didn't really happen. Like today's "daytime drama" (if you're my age you remember "Dallas" or "Dynasty") the stories had to be pretty outrageous in order to attract attention. All that incest also served to keep the cast down a bit - it was confusing enough as it was.

For a historical perspective:

As it happens, incest has not at all times and in all cultures been under a taboo. I suggest reading the wikipedia article on the subject if you are interested.

It would also stand to reason that somewhere in the distant past the genetic repercussions of people of close blood relationships having offspring were simply not understood yet.

Interestingly, the incest taboo is also a subject of some of the work of the science fiction writer Robert Heinlein - e.g. his series of novels about Lazarus Long and his family - suggesting that with an increased understanding of genetics and the ability to genetically engineer your offspring new generations of people could even benefit from a closely controilled and possibly incestuous gene pool.

Now I am far from suggesting that we are anywhere near to being able to do things like that or that it would be a good idea. In fact, any of the discussions we are having about cloning and genetic engineering show that this is nowhere near being ethically acceptable at this time.

But from a purely speculative perspective and looking into a far distant future - who knows ...

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[deleted]

cousins marrying isn't incest... maybe in Christianity but not for the rest of the world... your way is not the right way

Look inside yourself and understand the universe

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