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Trickster Archetype

In mythology, tricksters are portrayed as clowns, rule breakers, magicians, jokers, pranksters, alchemists, wise fools and at times truth tellers. They are mysterious archetypes who play a significant role in shattering the old patterns and continuously challenge the culturally accepted beliefs and codes of conduct. In ancient Greece, tricksters were known to defy duality. They can be heroes and villains, full of wisdom or foolishness, malicious and in some instances benign. Such characters are at times lovable and also hateful in some cases, at times they are friendly but they may turn wild as well. Sometimes they appear to be awkward, clumsy and crazy, though most often they have incredible survival traits (Hyde, 12). Even as much as most of the tricksters were perceived as gods, tricksters in the Greek culture would be gods of chaos, bewildering short-lived heroes or master manipulators who applied cruel schemes and made sadistic choices. They could also be anti-heroes who make up for strength deficiency or heroism through deliberate manipulation, treacherous planning or just through a plain cheating. Greek tricksters have often mastered the art of disguise with some possessing supernatural or magical powers.

Tricksters in the Greek Myths

In the Greek culture, one of the renowned trickster stories is Sisyphus. In the story, Sisyphus was the trickster who tricked Hades and chained him (Camus, 120). In the story, Hades was sent in place of Thanatos. This made people not to make sacrifices. Also, sick suffered a lot since they could not die. All gods had warned Sisyphus that they would turn his life into a living hell for failing to free Hades, and he agreed reluctantly (Camus, 121). As a king of Corinth, Sisyphus contributed a lot in making its city become a commercial hub but he was deceitful and sly. He mostly violates the concept of generosity and hospitality, the Xenia showed to guests and travelers, by murdering them, as prove of being a ruthless king. In another instance, he tricked his wife in an attempt to test her love for him by telling her to throw his lifeless body in the Centre of city square when he approached his death (Camus, 121). His body reached the banks of Styx River, where he found underworld queen, Persephone and tried also to trick her to release him back to the living in order to punish his wife. Another trickster in Greek Mythology is Hermes whom many perceived him as a harmless Greek god. He was small, youthful and with no noticeable likelihood that he would rule over. However, with him, a recurrent theme of flight is noticed. He is said to have wings on both sides of his head. Hermes was so selective in what he said which made him a divine diplomat and a messenger of the Greek gods. Once again Hermes was also seen as the bridge between men and the gods. He got to become the only god in the Greek mythology who was born to a mortal. For the Greeks, Hermes became recognized as an advocate of facilitating roles rather than commanding roles (Hynes & Doty, 48). Iconic portrayals of Hermes were put in displays at the front houses and at the points of road intersections. He is seen as the agent sent with a higher authority to guide people in transition. Stories a told about him also provide a comic relief, therefore, making him one of the favorites among the Greek gods.

Still, as a trickster, there was no end to mischief which the young boyish god gets involved in. At times when the young god could not find something to involve himself in, he amuses himself with mischievous and tricky inventions. Some of his tricky inventions include the fire, the dice, the art of lying and the bewitching lyre. The Greeks see Hermes as an agent of change to their society. His appearance often becomes a threat to the status quo. His fingers were termed as notoriously itchy due to his habit of stealing, for instance, Hermes stole cattle belonging to Apollo, Poseidon’s trident, arrows belonging to Artemis and the girdle of Aphrodite at different instances (Brown & Oliver, 73).

Included in the Greek mythology is also another trickster known as Prometheus who is linked with the provision of fire to the humans, particularly Greeks. Prometheus plotted a trick on god Zeus together with other Greek gods into allowing people take the best part of the sacrificial animal. Angered by the trick which Prometheus had played on them, Zeus took away fire from the humans, but to their rescue, Prometheus stole a glowing ember from his rival gods in order for the humans to use it. Therefore, Prometheus played a trickster role of going between humans and the gods who would otherwise have oppressed the humans. From this framework, it is seen that god Prometheus never recognized the rules of the divine worlds. With his treacherous behavior, he got to be the hero in the Greek culture by giving them the fire which is a tool of civilization.

Tricksters in the modern culture

Even though it is a perception that trickster gods and animals are a thing of the old history and philosophical books, trickster characters do exist even in the modern culture. These days, trickster archetypes continue to manifest in human lives and in most cases are represented by the comedians, class clowns, the rebels, and the harlequins who are always breaking the rules and go against all the decorum and degrees of the world (McLeod 31). For instance, in the “hero’s journey” a theory by Joseph Campbell, tricksters are considered as staple characters. This theory is the point that all the literary works follow a similar plot which includes same characters when a deep examination is done. Examples of today’s tricksters include Tom Sawyer, a boy who would always play his mischief, managing to find his way out of work and into adventure without getting noticed; the Cheshire cat, the philosophical feline who’s clever advise often seemed to land people in situations they can’t rescue themselves; and George and Fred, the two twin brothers who managed to keep a whole castle full of wizards on their toes.

Work cited

Brown, Norman Oliver. Hermes the thief: The evolution of a myth. SteinerBooks, 1990:73

Campbell, Joseph. The hero’s journey: Joseph Campbell on his life and work. Vol. 7. New World Library, 1990.

Hyde, Lewis. Trickster makes this world: Mischief, myth, and art. Macmillan, 1997:12

Hynes, William J., and William G. Doty. Mythical trickster figures. The University of Alabama Press, 1997.

McLeod, Kembrew. Pranksters: Making mischief in the modern world. NYU Press, 2014:31

Camus, Albert. “The myth of Sisyphus.” 
The Myth of Sisyphus and other essays (1955): 119- 23.