The image of death for centuries remains attractive for culture and art. Many of the characters came from antiquity, and among them - the ancient Greek god Thanatos, who was depicted as a winged youth in a hood, with an extinguished torch in his hand. He personified the extinction of life.
What is Thanatos?
In a general sense, thanatos is the desire for death on an instinctive level and its personification. The term came from the name of an ancient deity, also known as Fanatos, Tanat and Fan, whose cult existed for many centuries in Sparta. From the ancient Greek language, his name is translated as "death" (thanatos). The image was reflected not only in mythology, but also in art, psychology and psychoanalysis. The concept has several meanings.
Thanatos in philosophy
From the point of view of philosophy, thanatas is an attraction to self-destruction, decomposition and disintegration. Together with Life, Eros, the concept is an integral part of being. No matter how a person interprets his demise and does not represent the afterlife , he always thinks only about how to prolong life and improve it. Philosophical reflections on the theme of death last for more than one century. It is a permanent object of human thought. Strong attention to the issue was noticed in several time periods:
- in the era of Freemasonry;
- in the days of Fedorov and Dostoevsky, when there were spiritual discussions;
- in the Silver Age (emigre publicism).
In Russian philosophy, the interdisciplinary thanatology movement analyzes this problem. Since the 1990s, the Association of Thanatologists in St. Petersburg has published the almanac "Figures of Thanatos". The problems of the publication are as follows:
- symbols of death;
- images in art;
- suicide;
- materials of international conferences, etc.
Thanatos in Psychology
In the twentieth century, the philosophical ideas of Schopenhauer and the biological theory of Weismann allowed to form the image of death and some of its forces. An answer to the question of what is the thanatos in psychology was sought by prominent psychoanalysts: E. Weiss, P. Federn, M. Klein, Z. Freud, and others. The Austrian psychiatrist Wilheim Steeckel introduced the concept and definition of the term. The struggle of the living and mortal, aggression and destruction is fundamental. It is the basis of the existence of man and his mental activity. These two opposing phenomena are dual and bear the names of the Greek gods in psychology.
Eros and Thanatos according to Freud
The well-known psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud counterposed two instincts, the instinct - of life and death. The will to the first expresses Eros - the instinct of self-preservation and sexuality. Thanatos according to Freud is just as strong and functions on the basis of libido energy. It can be of two types:
- It is aimed at people and various objects, and then it has the form of destructive actions, for example, vandalism, sadism, etc.
- Focused on yourself. Such an instinct is expressed in masochism and suicide attempts.
In his work "I and It" (1923), Freud stressed that in the psyche there is a constant struggle between two drives. Thanatos and Eros counteract each other, and between these two instincts is the "I" of man. Eros is a violator of tranquility and obeys the principle of pleasure. And "mortal" instincts tend to rest and attract the individual.
Thanatos - Mythology
In Greek myths, people tried to answer the exciting questions, to comprehend being. So the "opponent" of Eros was the product of darkness. The goddess of the night, the mother of Thanatos, bore the name Nyukta ("night") personified the darkness that comes with sunset. From the god of eternal darkness, Erebus, Nyukta gave birth to sons and daughters. Among them was the God of Death. He figured in the tales of Hercules (under the name of Tanat) and Sisyphus. He is mentioned in Theogony's Theogony, in Homer's Iliad and other ancient legends. God had his own church in Sparta, and his face was taken to be depicted on grave urns.
Who is Thanatos?
In ancient Greek art, the god Thanatos appeared in different images, but all of them are attractive, considering that the character personifies. As a rule, it is represented as:
- a young man with wings behind his back;
- in a black robe;
- holds in his hands an extinct torch and a sword.
The place of his dwelling - Tartarus and the young man is next to the throne of Aida. To people the messenger of the end is at the very moment when the term of life, measured by the goddesses of fate ends. The messenger of Hades cuts a piece of hair from the head of the "doomed" and places his soul in the realm of the dead. The ancient Greeks believed that sometimes Tanat gives a second chance at life.
Thanatos and Hypnos
According to legend, Thanatos, the god of death, had a twin brother of Hypnos, and their images are inseparable. On some objects of arts and crafts they can be seen as white and black boys. According to legend, Hypnos always accompanied Death and carried a dream on his wings. Calm, supportive of everyone, Thanatos's brother was strikingly different from him. If Death hated both people and gods, Hypnos was treated with cordiality. Especially he was loved by the Muses. The sons of Nyukta and Erebus carried different values for man, but the importance of each can not be belittled.
Sigmund Freud once said: "The goal of all life is death." According to the judgments of the great psychoanalyst, the attraction to destruction and destruction is a normal phenomenon. Otherwise, how are regular military conflicts explained? Thanks to Eros - the instinct of life, the culture and the general standard of living develops. People interact with each other, form groups: the family, the community, the state. But the propensity to aggression, cruelty and destruction sooner or later makes itself felt. Then another instinct is included, Thanatos. With death you can not joke, but you should not forget about it.