Mything Caliban: The Lost Greek God
During this semester there has been quite a bit of discussion pertaining to what aspects of Shakespeare’s multitude of works are the most important. Well, I think that I have found it! Greek mythology has always interested me as the gods represent the elements of the Earth, the hopes, and the dreams of human beings. The gods are conversely also an expression of human beings’ failures, fears, and darkest subconscious desires. The Greek gods show us what we strive to be and what we fear we see in ourselves. Throughout this semester, I was always looking for the gods in every Shakespeare play that I read or that was discussed in class. If I looked hard enough, I could always find the gods manifesting themselves in multiple ways in each and every poem, play, and even every act of each play. I especially found the gods evident in The Tempest, overtly and subtly.
Within the pages of The Tempest, it could be said that the character of Prospero is the most interesting, dynamic, and mythological but I disagree. There is one other character who when looked upon with the background of Greek mythology outstrips Prospero in being a dynamic figure in regards to being mythological. This character is lowest of the low, the slave and scum of the Earth. This character is Caliban, Prospero’s slave. Even with my first reading of this play, I was intrigued by him mainly because of how he revolted me with his attempted rape, his vile attitude, and his thirst for violence and revenge. But then a pattern arose in which he was paired with the element, water. As I explored his connection to this element, my admiration for this half-fish man grew dramatically. Caliban is such a wonderfully vibrant and fluid character that creates part of the elemental component of The Tempest. But that is not the main reason that Caliban interests me. His greatest draw is that he is a reincarnation of the great god Poseidon or Neptune. The Romans referred to the God of the Seas as Neptune while the Greeks named him Poseidon. Whichever name is used to designate him, this god is violent, revengeful, eloquent, and amazingly complex. Within the context of this paper, referencing either Poseidon or Neptune automatically symbolizes them as a unified entity.
Once the similarities between Caliban and Poseidon started to appear, they just seemed to never end. Obviously I will not have time to explore all of these similarities with as much depth as they deserve but the relationship between the two should become blazingly apparent. Earth is the first characteristic that these two men share, if one can call either one of them a man. Poseidon is not one of the Gods of the Earth but he does have dominion over the Earth. One of his most common names is “Earth-Shaker” (Chaline 50). Caliban likewise does not have dominion over the Earth but he is often found working more with the Earth and is considered to be more elemental than any other character in The Tempest. An example of this is shown by his knowledge of the Earth; “I’ll show thee the best springs; I’ll pluck thee berries; I’ll fish for thee, and get thee wood enough” (III.I.157-158). Shakespeare makes Caliban’s knowledge of the Earth a form of power that can alter it as Poseidon is able to do, even though it is on a much smaller scale.
The relationship that Poseidon possesses with the Earth is complicated, to say the very least. He is not only brother to the Earth Goddess, Demeter, but also her lover or rapist (Chaline 50). Having been rejected by the goddess, Poseidon was only able to have sexual intercourse with Demeter through subterfuge which led to his rape of her. There are many facets of this legend that complete the circle to Caliban. These factors include rape, taking the form of an animal, and intercourse with a sister. Poseidon is well known for being a god who often raped the women he wished to have intercourse with instead of trying to seduce them as his older brother, Zeus, was known for having prowess at.
Rape is considered to be a social faux pas as well as a crime to the modern reader but if one goes by the standards set by the actions of Poseidon and Caliban, it would be considered socially acceptable moral conduct. There are many different accounts of Poseidon raping his sexual partners. There is just one account of Caliban’s attempt to perform this act but once is enough to confirm the similarities. Caliban tried “seek to violate/The honor of my [Prospero’s] child” (I.II.347-348). Not only did he try to rape a child but he tried to rape the girl who had been raised side-by-side with him so far as to the extent that one could consider them to have a brother and sister relationship. Prospero even went so far as to “lodged thee [Caliban] in mine own cell” and Miranda taught him as one would a younger brother (I.II.346-347). She “took pains to make thee [Caliban] speak, taught thee each hour One thing or other” (I.II.353-355). The protective big-sister feeling that Mrianda, Prospero’s daughter, had felt for Caliban was severed by his actions. From that point on, Caliban would never be more to her than a vile slave.
The final similarity that arises from this particular story of Poseidon’s attempt to woo Demeter is that in order to complete his rape of her, he had to transfigure himself into the shape of a horse. Poseidon is one Greek god in particular who liked to change his shape into various animals which include the shapes of horses and dolphins in particular. Caliban did not have the power to transform himself into an animal but that was not necessary because he already possessed animal-like qualities. Caliban was recorded to “smell like a fish…[be] legged like a man and his fins like arms” and so shares the dilemma of not being completely human or completely animal with his Greek counterpart (II.II.25-33).
Not only does this particular Greek god and Shakespeare’s Caliban share physical characteristics and actions but also thoughts, feeling, and emotions. Both are portrayed to be revengeful, violent, and moody. There are many various examples of this violence in the quest for revenge within the myths that surround Poseidon but the most significant one is of his actions towards Ulysses, a famous Greek mythological hero. Ulysses had stabbed out one of Poseidon’s sons in the eye and blinded him. To seek revenge, Poseidon tried to brutally kill him on multiple occasions. One of these occasions he tried to drowned him, tried to batter him against rocks, and then tried to have various monsters eat him (Martin 312). Luckily for the Greek hero none of these actions worked in ending his life, just as lucky for Prospero, Caliban’s quest for revenge failed. The final step in Caliban’s quest was to end Prospero’s life by trying to “knock a nail into his head” (III.II.61). There are just a couple of the many examples of both creatures’ violent natures. Within the realm of their violent tendencies, they possess capricious spectrum of emotions. Each often jumped from anger to ecstasy and then back again to anger. Moments after wanting to drive a nail into Prospero’s head, Caliban is “full of pleasure” as he drinks with his friends (III.II.115). Poseidon would often change his emotions and allegiances on the flash of a second, depending on what would benefit him the most.
The list of similarities between the Shakespearean character Caliban and the Greek god Poseidon could go on for much longer but it is not necessary to list these as their symbiotic relationship is apparent. Caliban is a proto-type that has been molded in the image of the great Sea God. Shakespeare must have intended to create this relationship as the similarities are too starkly apparent to be an accidental occurrence. It is also to be considered unquestionable that Shakespeare integrated not only Poseidon into his works of literature but various other mythological characters, Greek or otherwise. However, Poseidon has always struck me as the most interesting because in the stories of him one is never sure if he is the going to behave as the “bad” or “good” guy. The same holds true with Caliban, which makes him a far more interesting character to inspect on a deeper level than any of the other characters within The Tempest and maybe within all of Shakespeare’s other works.
Works Cited
Chaline, Eric. The Book of Gods & Goddesses. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2004. Print.
Martin, Richard P. Myths of the Ancient Greeks. London, England: New American Library, April 2003. Print
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2002. Print
