The Archetype Of The Trickster In Greek Myth

What could be more mysterious than the mythological archetype of the trickster. In fact, mythological tricksters are the very epitome of mystery. Throughout the world their roles have been generally tied with deception, unpredictability, and trickery. They may vary wildly between different cultures and different stories, but it seems like most of the world 's cultures all had some kind of tricksters. Some would do kind deeds and some would do evil. Many of them fell in between, seemingly paying no heed to a sense of right or wrong or other societal standards. I believe it 's fitting for a society to have a mythological characters that challenge social norms. It can be healthy for a society to challenge traditional or otherwise rigid

This story comes from the native American tribes of the pacific northwest. The story involves Raven, who is a prime trickster in the region 's cultural heritage. In this story, the Earth is still young and has no sun. A selfish chieftain has stolen it and stashed it away. So Raven decides to steal it back and give it to the people. He contemplates how he could infiltrate the chiefs house and with the cleverness of a trickster, he devises an intricate plan. As is common with mythological tricksters, he has the ability to shape-shift. So he morphs into a seed to be swallowed by the chiefs daughter and birthed as her son. This complex plan lets him get unfettered access not only to the chief 's lodge (who is now his loving grandfather) but also all of the chief 's most prized possessions. And in the spirit of the trickster he slowly convinces the chief, day by day, to open up all of his boxes and bags. In the process he sets free the moon and the stars by letting them go and up they float through the smoke hole and into the sky. He finally reaches the last box and opens it to allow disguised Raven to play with the sun. But this time, the chief is careful enough to close the smoke hole. But this wont stop the clever trickster, for he knows that if he plays with the sun day after day, the chief will eventually not be so careful. He has to repeat this many more days until he finally escapes one day when the chief forgets to close the smoke hole. And at that moment, Raven changes back into his real form and flies out with the sun. This sly plan and the intricate methodology are truly the hallmarks of a