What does swallow mean in Greek mythology? In Ancient Greece, swallows were a symbol of the soul and were closely associated with the goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Experts in the Greek lore say that if you look for an explanation of this metaphor in ancient Greek literature, you wonât find much. Itâs just there. Without any explanations.
However, if we look at the swallow closely, we might deduce the answer. Swallows are the fastest birds in the world, flying at record speeds of up to 45 miles per hour. But whatâs even more intriguing is that they are mostly aerial birds â that is, they spend most of their time in the air.
Landing is dangerous and landing on the ground is deadly. If a swallow lands on the ground it canât take off. It is doomed. It must start its flight by falling from a high place. Thatâs why swallows build their homes in riverbanks so they can take off immediately after falling out of the nest.
In other words, a swallow can only fly if thereâs a possibility of falling. If itâs impossible to fall, it is doomed. It must be at some elevation always, and this place should be high enough to make the fall possible.
The human soul is like a swallow. When it stops flying, it dies. It lives in the air. Its wings must be spread most of the time. For the soul to fly, there must be a possibility of a fall. However, the soul cannot land in a low place. Low places are dangerous and fatal unless the soul is lifted by an outside force.
It is dangerous for the soul to be in a place where no flight is possible. The soul lives in the air. When it knows that no flight is possible, it dies. The âlow placeâ is when the soul realizes that it will never fly again. The soul must avoid low places for a good reason â thatâs how itâs made.
The soul is made to fly. When it knows it canât take off, itâs too depressing to continue living. What makes the soul fly is love and beauty. The soul must be in the presence of Aphrodite most of the time. Love and beauty elevate the soul. When it doesnât see love and beauty, it risks landing in a low place.
The soul needs love and beauty like air. Thatâs how itâs made. When it doesnât see Aphrodite, it shrivels up. It canât fly.
We must build our nests in a high place. There must be some possibility of a fall there, otherwise thereâs no possibility of a flight. But we must always have love and beauty before our eyes to remain in the air. We must never land. The soul can only rest on an elevation. When the soul is low, itâs restless.
Restlessness is a sign that the soul is low. Itâs a sign that it needs to be elevated by love and beauty. Love and beauty lift it up and give it enough space to fall and soar. Thatâs when the soul is at its fastest. When the soul is full of love and beauty, it moves at record speeds. It becomes alive.
The soulâs restlessness is a sign of too much hate and ugliness. Hate and ugliness kill the soul. They bring it too low. The soul is not made to live in hate and ugliness. It instinctively looks for a riverbank where it can nest and rest. It wants to see the river, the sky, the clouds, the trees, the flowers. These things inspire it to fly.
It falls out of the nest and is carried by the wind across the vast expanse just like the newborn Aphrodite was carried by Zephyrus to the shores of Cyprus.
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