The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: A Mythological Comparison

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a film that I understood to have many Christian symbols. Actually there is more to it than that. Classical mythology is evident and open to interpretation, too.

Originally I saw Aslan as a Jesus figure. Now I also see him as a Hierophant. The Greek base, hier, means sacred, and a hierophant is someone who interprets sacred mysteries and knowledge as defined in Greek mythology. Aslan revealed sacred things to Peter (the oldest son of Adam). He told him there is a deep magic that governs Narnia, and right from wrong. He also roared at the White Witch not to speak to him of the deep magic, that he was present when it was written. He was a follower of the deep magic, a super lion with abilities to oversee the fulfillment of a prophecy. He wasn’t a deity, yet he was divinely blessed. He had access to the deep magic, like a favored blind seer, Tiresias (a Theban priest and prophet). He showed up when the story needed him to. Justice prevailed when he was around. His mere breath could resurrect beings that had been turned to stone. He was very favored by the deep magic magician(s).

Edward’s misfortune was brought about by his vice, in the form of Turkish Delights. This brought to mind Persephone and the pomegranate delight. She was condemned to the underworld for a third of each year. Edmund was condemned to a cold, dark, evil palace for at least a third of the movie.

The White Witch, self-proclaimed Queen of Narnia, otherwise named Jadis, is now a combination of Medusa, Medea, and a Baachae woman to me. She carried a wand that I think of as a thyrus because it turned beings to stone. The Baachae women used them to do any evil that was required. She claims that the law demands she has blood, that she gets the traitors. So she has a stabbing ritual with music, dancing, and a sense of victory, like a Dionysian rite performed in the woods with a Greek altar, pillars and all. The blood thirst revenge is what reminds me of Medea. Her hair looks like serpents are coming out of it, in the film, and she often turns beings to stone. Medusa did have serpents coming out of her hair. She was the most dangerous Gorgon to Perseus, who heroically avoided being turned to stone by her. I think Jadis was the most dangerous to Aslan and the children.

Jadis is now a seductress in my current understanding. She seduced Edmund with Turkish Delights and offers of kingship, and whole rooms of Turkish Delights. Calypso seduced Odysseus to stay with her for seven years. She offered him immortality. A-ha!

I would never have understood where Mr. Tumnus came from if I hadn’t learned about the Roman god named Faunas. He also had the body of a man and the legs of a goat. Mr. Tumnus was friendly, liked music (played a flute like instrument) and dance, and lived in the woods similar to Faunas.

Lastly, the wonderful creatures in the film come straight out of Greek mythology. There are: unicorns, winged horses, satyrs, centaurs, dryads (tree nymphs), and naiads (water nymphs). The creatures in Jadis’s army are malevolent and sinister. They are similar to the ones Zeus had to fight – the Titans, Giants, and Typhoeus.