Catherine Lucille Moores Shambleu and Greek Mythology :: Science Fiction Greece Myth Essays

Catherine Lucille Moores Shambleu and Greek MythologyThroughout history, humans have had legends, figments and folk tales. Many of these thinkt with monsters that cannot be found on the planet Earth, at least any more, especially the myths of ancient Greece. In such cases, there can be a fine line between where myth ends and science fiction starts. In Catherine Lucille Moores short story Shambleau, one such myth crosses that line. That myth is the ancient Greek myth of the Gorgons. Gorgons had snakes for hair and could act anyone into stone by looking at them in the eyes. Shambleau tells the tail of something very much like a Gorgon with snakes as its hair. This creature, called a Shambleau, comes to and terrorizes a town.In the American Heritage College Dictionary, myth is defined as A traditional story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that informs or shapes the world view of a quite a little (903). The same dictionary has science fiction defined as A lite rary genre in which the plot is typically based on billet travel, or life on other planets (1221). Both definitions deal with life that is not natural to Earth. While the origins of such creatures may be different, they both deal with non-human sentient beings. Several science fiction stories deal with extraterrestrials visiting Earth in what humans would call the Ancient era and becoming part of a cultures mythology. Then they might come back in the Modern era. One such story is Moores Shambleau.Gorgons from ancient Greek mythology be creatures who look human but have snakes for hair and can make anyone or anything that looks them in the eye turn into stone. In Shambleau, a female extraterrestrial, resembling a Gorgon but with subtle differences, terrorizes a town. A man, not knowing what she is or what she does, tries to protect her from an angry mob until he finds out her true intentions. The story ends with him burnished to go off and kill her. However, it is said that she doe s something to humans which is like an addictive drug. Unlike a Gorgon, however, she had feline qualities such as three fingers and a thumb, and her feet had iv digits apiece too, and all sixteen of them were tipped with round claws that sheathed back into the flesh (528). Yet, like a Gorgon, she had hair that squirmed of itself against her cheek (531).