The motif of infant exposure is a recurring theme in mythology, especially among hero births. The word mythology (from the Greek μυολογία mythología, from μυολογείν mythologein to relate myths, from μύος mythos, meaning a narrative, and λόγος logos, meaning speech or argument) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use the supernatural to interpret natural events and...

Some examples include:

• Sargon, King of Agade - Exposed to the river.
• Moses - Exposed in a vessel made of reeds on the river.
• Karna - Exposed to the river.
• Oedipus - Exposed in a box on the sea.
• Paris - Exposed at the top of Mount Ida.
• Telephus - Exposed in the Parthenian mountains.
• Perseus - Boxed and cast into the sea with his mother, Danae.
• Gilgamesh - Thrown from the acropolis.
• Romulus and Remus - Exposed in a tub to the Tiber River.
• Siegfried - Exposed in a glass vessel to the river.

Following the exposure, the infants are commonly reared by wild animals or adopted by lowly country folk, such as shepherds, before reaching maturity. Sargon may refer to: Sargon of Akkad (Å arrukînu, also known as Sargon the Great, Sargon I), Mesopotamian king, founder of the city of Agade and the Akkadian dynasty, unifier of Sumer and Akkad (2334 BC - 2279 BC). ... Akkad (or Agade) was a city and its region of northern Iraq) between Assyria to the northwest and Sumer to the south. ... Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt This article is about the Biblical figure. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Oedipus with the Sphinx, from an Attic red-figure cylix from the Vatican Museum, ca. ... Statue of Paris in the British Museum This article is about the prince of Troy. ... Two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida in Greek mythology, equally named Mount of the Goddess. ... A Greek mythological figure, Telephus referred to two different people. ... Perseus with the head of Medusa, by Antonio Canova, completed 1801 (Vatican Museums) Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas (Greek: Περσεύς, Περσέως, Περσέας), the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits helped establish the hegemony of Zeus and the Twelve... Danae by Gustav Klimt, 1907. ... Gilgamesh, according to the Sumerian king list, was the fifth king of Uruk (Early Dynastic II, first dynasty of Uruk), the son of Lugalbanda, ruling circa 2650 BC. He is also the central character in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which says that his mother was Ninsun, (whom some call Rimat... Romulus may refer to any of these articles: Romulus is a mythical founder of Rome, brother of Remus. ... Tiber River in Rome The River Tiber (Italian Tevere), the third longest river in Italy (disputed — see talk page) at 406 km (252 miles) after the Po and the Adige, flows through the Campagna and Rome in its course from Mount Fumaiolo to the Tyrrhenian Sea, which it reaches... Siegfried could refer to: The opera by Richard Wagner; see Siegfried (opera). ... For documented cases of real children raised by animals, see Feral children. ...

Interpretation

Otto Rank explores this topic in his book, The Myth of the Birth of the Hero. The exposure, especially in water, "signifies no more and no less than the symbolic expression of birth. The children come out of the water. The basket, box, or receptacle simply means the container, the womb; so that the exposure directly signifies the process of birth". Otto Rank (April 22, 1884 – October 31, 1939) was an Austrian psychologist. ...

Further, according to Rank, these myths epitomize the natural psychological tension between parent and child. In all these stories there exists "a tendency to represent the parents as the first and most powerful opponents of the hero .... The vital peril, thus concealed in the representation of birth through exposure, actually exists in the process of birth itself. The overcoming of all these obstacles also expresses the idea that the future hero has actually overcome the greatest difficulties by virtue of his birth, for he has victoriously thwarted all attempts to prevent it." ^[1]

See Also

• Feral children in mythology and fiction

For documented cases of real children raised by animals, see Feral children. ...

References

1. ^ Rank, Otto. The Myth of the Birth of the Hero. Vintage Books: New York, 1932.