Painless Pleasure: Two contradictory versions of the myth of Ganymede
“to be very eager in the pursuit of pleasure is to go hunting for pain…. Homer…says that the greatest gods receive no advantage from their power, but are even much injured by it, if they will allow themselves to be hurried away by the pursuit of pleasure.” ~ Athenaeus of Naucratis, Deipnosophistae, BOOK X11, 819
When Zeus had girls to love, he had his love
With them and that was it. He left them raped
And he was satisfied. Somewhere above
Him, up on Olympus, nothing escaped
The vitriolic green, that green, green eye
Of Hera and she tried as hard as she
Could strain to cause him misery. Defy
He did. So much for Zeus’s misery.
But when he wooed a perfect, perfect boy,
The wifey didn’t really seem care.
She let him have unhindered his hot toy.
She didn’t really seem to mind this pair.
..Please notice, everyone . . . Never mind girls.
….The moral: fall in love with boys’ curls.
When Zeus had girls to love, he had his love
With them and that was it. He left them raped
And he was satisfied. Somewhere above
Him, up on Olympus, nothing escaped
The vitriolic green, that green, green eye
Of Hera and she tried as hard as she
Could strain to cause him misery. Defy
He did. So much for Zeus’s misery.
But when he wooed a perfect, perfect boy,
The wifey in her rage went hotly spare.
She hated Ganymede, her husband’s toy,
Destroyed Idean parts in her despair.
Please notice, everyone. . . Never mind girls.
The moral? Zeus kept the lovely boy with curls.
