The Greek myth of Demeter's revenge - Iseult Gillespie

Dig into the Greek myth of Mestra and her father King Erysichthon, who angered the gods and was cursed with insatiable hunger.

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Mestra, princess of Thessaly, was far from home. She had watched her father, King Erysichthon, plunge into a ruin of his own making. Now, to save himself, he’d sold his own daughter to the highest bidder. But Mestra refused to accept this fate and began to plan her escape. Iseult Gillespie shares the Greek myth of Mestra's bid for freedom.

Lesson by Iseult Gillespie, directed by Vitalii Nebelskyi, and action creative agency.

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[AlbertM]

This is by far the friendliest version of this myth that I've heard.
The most gruesome had Maestra being turned into a donkey instead of being gifted shape-shifting power. She went back to her father, who recognised that the donkey was his child, but was so mad from his endless hunger that he ate her alive.

And I also remember that Demeter had sent the nymph instead of going herself cause the goddess of agriculture and the goddess of hunger and famine were polar opposites to such an extent that they physically could not be in or near each other's presence.

I still love this myth so much.

[dakshanbalaramesh]

I'm a simple man; I see a TED-ED Video on Greek Mythology, I click

[itta]

You'd think seeing a bleeding tree that spoke would be a sign for him to NOT cut the tree but to each their own 🤷🏾‍♀️

[aliasfakename]

What I wanna know is how did he keep finding buyers after Mestra made a habit of slipping away. "Don't buy from that guy. He's selling the Greek version of Houdini."

[lucybee]

I think that this story captures the essence of addiction and the havoc that it can wreak on families.

[LumityFan]

I love it when Ted Ed makes mythology videos

[CalebCalixFernandez]

This version is more light-hearted than the one I had read before. His hunger became so strong that he completely consumed himself.

[mennamomtaz]

I've been in love with Iseult's voice for 5 years now. In addition to my love for the myth's videos in particular. Thanks TED <3

[ThinksFarTooMuch]

Myths are not stories that are simply untrue, rather they tell us something about ourselves and the societies we live in.

[jamiesprinkbob]

"the more he ate the hungrier he became" ah, a teenager

[YouveBeenMegged]

This is actually one of my favorite Greek myths, glad you chose it for this video!

[arjunsalvi]

I'm watching this video on an empty stomach, and realise that Demeter's revenge was torture

[ΧΡΗΣΤΟΣΑΜΑΝΑΤΙΔΗΣ-βμ]

And to think that Demeter is considered a relatively friendly, placid goddess.
Imagine what the likes of Hera would have done to that guy 😬

[Morrneyo]

I've loved the King Erysichthon myth ever since I was a child. It's so cruel and bizarre.
In the book I read, Erysichthon ate up his body, leaving just a bunch of teeth.

[answer]

I feel like the endless hunger is a metaphor for addiction. Addictions are horrible illnesses for everyone involved (except food sellers), but it's slightly comforting to know that, at least, even people from thousands of years ago can relate to that suffering.

[Mario_Mimic]

Something about having a hunger that becomes more ravenous as you eat is deeply unsettling to me.

[KnightsofGaming]

I remember this story but this is the more family friendly version. The version I first knew about had the king run back to the forest where it all began and devour himself until he ate himself out of existence. Suffice to say, I prefer this version a lot better. I think he also tried to eat his daughter in that darker version of the story too...

[TheVoiceOfReason]

In Ovid's retelling of the story, Mestra returned to her father as a donkey after being transformed into one by the gods to escape being sold into slavery, only for her father to eat her in her transformed state just to sate his hunger (don't worry, the gods helped her escape again). Erysichthon crawled back to the grove where he spurned Demeter begging for forgiveness, and when that was not given, he ate himself in his hunger until there was nothing was left of him on Earth by morning.

[JPK]

Why hasn't this guy appeared in the Percy Jackson series. He is a perfect villain.
He could in an all you can eat buffet, forcing people to bring him more food or risk being eaten alive.

[prateekmandadi]

This was more a story of Mestra than that of Demeter's revenge.