Three myths from Greek ancient mythology can serve as a pictorial, allegorical explanation of the efforts and positions of the independent Republic of Macedonia (now North) on the way to possible membership in the European Union. These are the myths of Sisyphus, Tantalus and the monsters Scylla and Charybdis. Macedonia performs Sisyphus’ work by pushing the stone to the top of the hill, and never succeeds in keeping it there, suffers Tantalus’ torments and passes through Scylla and Charybdis with uncertainty as to whether she will reach the desired goal.
Through these legends, with the help of the reader’s imagination, in some places Macedonia can be recognized, in other places the Union is recognized with its constant conditions. For these twenty years, after the application for membership has been submitted, conditions have been set before the authorities of Macedonia that are not known or applied during the admission of any member. The text can be interpreted in one way by those who are advocates of accepting pro-European (Bulgarian) conditions at any cost, in another way by those who are against such an approach.
Many legends are associated with Sisyphus (Sisyphus, after the new reading), but the most famous and universally spread is the one about him and the stone. The very name Sisyphus means “very wise”. He was truly wise, cunning, one of the most cunning in ancient times. He knew how to handle every occasion, he thought of everything in advance, he made the most of everything he did. Although his close and well-known contemporaries considered him the greatest renegade, they still acknowledged that he founded the city of Corinth, which he ruled, improved Corinthian trade and shipping, and did other useful things for the city and its citizens.
But for some reasons, which we will not mention here, the gods decided to punish him and sent him to hell. The infernal judges sentenced him to roll a large stone from the foot of a hill to the top. Just when he thought he had pushed it to the top, the stone slipped from his hands and rolled back down to where it started. He had to push it up from the beginning and he could not reach the goal. On that effort, on that endless ascent and descent, he was condemned for eternity. Therefore, after the example of that effort of Sisyphus, even today any too difficult or pointless, hopeless and too stupid work (task) is called Sisyphus’ stone or Sisyphus’ labor. Sisyphus is remembered in mythology and history as an example of futile work.
Tantalus, a successful, rich and proud king, when he was at a feast with the gods, wished to become equal with them. With that intention, he in turn invited them to feast at his place. In order to show good will and loyalty and treat them with something most precious, he secretly butchered his son and added the pieces of meat from his body to the yani he had prepared. The gods noticed what was in the wooden bowls and tore them away in horror. For this and other misdeeds, Tantalus was punished by having his kingdom destroyed, and after his death he was sentenced to eternal torment in hell, together with Sisyphus, who was already there.
And the name Tantalus itself, according to interpretations, had several meanings: some claim that the name means “suffering”, others “enduring”, others that it means “the most miserable”. The sentence was to suffer eternal torment. To hang on a tree leaning over a marshy lake and be constantly tormented by thirst and hunger. The waves from the lake reached his waist and sometimes up to his chin, but whenever he bent down to drink from the water, the waves receded and only black mud remained on his feet. And even if he managed to get his hands on some of the water, it slipped through his fingers before he could wet his chapped lips.
The tree was weighed down with delicious pears, ripe apples, sweet figs, black olives, and juicy pomegranates that reached up to his shoulders, but whenever he reached for the tempting fruit, the wind would blow and blow the fruits out of his reach. If anything touched it, it turned to ashes. And not only that, a huge stone hung over the tree and was forever threatening to crush his head.
According to symbolists, the symbol for Tantalus can be interpreted from several aspects: first, it points to his mistake in assessing his own power, strength and protection from the gods, then as a loss of the sense of reality, attributing good things to himself, and looking for the blame for bad things in others, as well as the mistake that man wanted to play god, making himself equal to him. The punishment he receives corresponds to the sin. The object of his desire is before his eyes: water, fruit, freedom are before his eyes, but he cannot reach them at all.
But on the other hand, Tantalum is also a symbol for the realization of desires and goals that at first seem distant and unattainable. It is in the nature of man to never be satisfied, never to give up, always to strive in various ways, not only to save himself when he is in trouble, but to reach the highest heights. There is no giving up even when every attempt seems hopeless.
Scylla and Charybdis were two hideous monsters, one more terrifying than the other. They, living on a sea strait, sank the ships and ate the sailors. Scylla on a sea ridge, she had twelve legs, six terrible heads with long necks and three rows of sharp teeth, and she barked like a dog, from whose bark sailors shuddered. She had a habit of catching and eating sailors after wrecking their ships. Opposite Scylla lived Charybdis. Three times a day, she took huge amounts of water with her mouth, swallowing ships, sailors and everything that was near her in the water. There was no escape before her power.
When one is said to be between Scylla and Charybdis, it is understood as a metaphor showing the impasse, that danger threatens from both sides. That one has to choose between two evils, and one does not know which is lesser and which is greater. But successfully passing between these two monsters also means that you have overcome enormous difficulties on the most dangerous path.
Neither here at home, nor in the EU, no one can reliably predict, say or claim how much longer Macedonia will push the stone towards the EU hill, how many times it will go back. How far is he from the EU, from the tree weighed down by delicious pears, ripe apples, sweet figs, black olives and juicy pomegranates and how many Scilly and Charybdis he still has to pass through. Nor can anyone determine exactly which evil is the lesser and how exactly to choose it.
