prog and greek mythology

In the Jethro Tull's Minstrel in the Gallery album (remastered version) there is a song "Pan Dance", but it means nothing as it is an instrumental track. The relation to the Greek mythology is in the name only.

a very subtle reference to Greek mythology can be found in "Ripples" by Genesis; the line "The face that launched a thousand ships" is taken from the Iliad (where it refers to Helen of Troy)

the icon of sin wrote: There's a Perfect Circle song called "Orestes" dealing with the Erinyes, or Fates.

the Erinyes must not be confused with the Fates or Moirae; the latter are, as their name already suggests, Goddesses of fate: Clotho, the spinner of the thread of life, Lachesis the disposer, who holds and measures it, and Atropos the inevitable one, who finally cuts it off. they are supposedly much older than the other Gods, and even Zeus feared them. the Erinyes, or Eumenides, "the Kindly Ones", as they were called after they ceased persecuting Orests for killing his mother (thus avenging the murder of his father Agamemnon), were deities of vengeance. Homer doesn't give number or names of them, Virgil gives their number as three: Alecto the unceasing one, Megaera the grudging one and Tisiphone the avenger

Pink Floyd - Sysyphus

Its a bit off topic, but the Egyptian: Book of the Dead has inspired many songs as well:

Van der Graaf Generator - The Boat of Millions of Years (b-side of Refugees, bonus Least we.. remaster). Fantastic song. It could have worked as a real epic.

Steve Hackett - Shadow of the Hierophant. This is a real epic.

I'm know there's more.

(I know there is a progband named K2 that has an album called: Book of the Dead)

Rocktopus wrote: Its a bit off topic, but the Egyptian: Book of the Dead has inspired many songs as well: Van der Graaf Generator - The Boat of Millions of Years (b-side of Refugees, bonus Least we.. remaster). Fantastic song. It could have worked as a real epic. Steve Hackett - Shadow of the Hierophant. This is a real epic. I'm know there's more. (I know there is a progband named K2 that has an album called: Book of the Dead)

since you mention the Egyptian Book of the Dead, I would again like to mention the album "Xitintoday" by Nik Turner's Sphynx, which is all about this book. Nik Turner's Sphynx were, apart from Nik Turner on flute and saxes, half of Gong (Mike Howlett, Tim Blake, Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy) plus a few other musicians, most notably Morris Pert of Brand X, Harry Williamson of what was to become Mother Gong and Hawkwind drummer Alan Powell. in my opinion the best prog release of 1978.
here a link to the album in the database:
http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive_rock_discography_CD.asp?cd_id=8156


Edited by BaldJean - July 06 2006 at 09:08

Well, if we were to delve into mythologies other than Greek and Roman (which, BTW, are the most familiar at least to people who come from Southern Europe), I'm sure we would find a lot of extremely interesting reference in prog. Having been a mythology buff all my life (yes, I know, I'm a nerd!), I tend to notice these things.

Obviously, records by the Norwegian bands so beloved by our dearest Ivansfr0st abound in references to Norse mythology. Other mythological references may instead be much more obscure: for instance, the name of John McLaughlin's Indo-Prog band Shakti refers to the female divine principle of Hindu mythology and religion.