Traces of Postmodernism and Posthumanism in the Construction of Body and Identity in Greek Mythology

Year 2024, Volume: 18 Issue: 2, 344 - 358, 31.12.2024

Banu Akçeşme , Melis Kutlu Girgin

Abstract

This paper intends to explore how the notions of the body and identity are conceptualized, represented, and experienced in Greek mythology by pointing out the parallelism between Greek mythology and postmodernism since postmodern concepts and theories of the body and identity politics can be traced back to myths. Myths offer enchanting narratives about the creation of the universe, the nature of existence, and natural events, alongside fantastical tales of deities, extraordinary beings such as monsters, superhuman heroes, magical transformations, and polymorphous metamorphoses. Classical mythology is also fascinated with etiology, the study of first causes, and the origins of the conditions in our lives. In this sense, how mythical bodies emerge and identities take on certain shapes and develop in various ways gain importance. Myths are full of boundary-breaking forms of existence, transgressive and subversive identities, fluid beings, indeterminate origins, and hybrid bodies, through which we are transported into alternative visions. They defy all kinds of rigid categories, unalterable formations, and the hierarchical order of existence. Similarly, postmodern bodies blur the boundaries among different forms of beings and they are characterized by fluidity, hybridity, multiplicity, fragmentation, discontinuity, and uncertainty. In this sense, this paper sets out to argue that myths align with postmodern and posthumanist understanding of body and identity and mythic thinking is integral to human intellectual dimension and has influenced the emergence of bodies and identities in postmodern texts.

Keywords

Greek Mythology, postmodernism, posthumanism, body, identity, self

Yunan Mitolojisinde Beden ve Kimliğin İnşasında Postmodernizm ve Posthumanizmin İzleri

Abstract

Bu makale; Yunan mitolojisinde beden ve kimlik kavramlarının nasıl temsil edildiği, kavramsallaştırıldığı ve deneyimlendiğini Yunan mitolojisi ile postmodernizm arasındaki paralelliği vurgulayarak tartışmayı amaçlamaktadır. Nitekim, postmodern kimlik ve bedenlerle ilgili kavram ve kuramların öncü izlerini mitlerde gözlemlemek mümkündür. Mitler, evrenin yaratılışı, varlığın doğası ve doğal olaylar hakkında büyüleyici hikayeler sunarken; tanrılar, canavarlar gibi olağanüstü varlıklar, süper kahramanlar, sihirli dönüşümler ve çeşitli metamorfozlar gibi fantastik anlatıları da içerir. Klasik mitoloji aynı zamanda yaşamımızda deneyimlediğimiz koşulların ilk nedenlerini ve kökenlerini inceleyen bir alan olan etiyoloji ile de ilgilidir. Bu bağlamda, mitik bedenlerin nasıl ortaya çıktığı ve kimliklerin nasıl belirli şekiller alıp geliştiği ve değiştiği önem kazanmaktadır. Mitler bizlere farklı bakış açıları ve görüşler sunan ve sınırları zorlayan varoluş biçimleri, ihlal edici ve başkaldırıcı kimlikleri, akışkan benlikleri, belirsiz kökenleri ve hibrid bedenleri gözler önüne serer. Benzer şekilde, postmodern bedenler farklı varlık biçimleri arasındaki sınırları bulanıklaştırır ve akışkanlık, melezlik, çokluluk, parçalanma, süreksizlik ve belirsizlik gibi kavramlarla tanımlanır. Bu bağlamda, mitlerin postmodern ve posthümanist beden ve kimlik anlayışlarıyla örtüştüğü, mitik düşüncenin insanın entelektüel boyutunun ayrılmaz bir parçası olduğu ve bir şekilde postmodern metinlerde yer alan beden ve kimliklerin ortaya çıkmasında etkili olduğu tezi tartışılacaktır.

Keywords

Yunan Mitolojisi, postmodernizm, posthumanizm, beden, kimlik, benlik

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