The Titanic-Olympic War

 

By Larry Fyffe

By now it should be obvious to the readers of ‘Untold Dylan’ that our intrepid researchers have uncovered evidence that reveals the singer/songwriter/musician Bob Dylan is a Gnostic shape-shifting time-traveller; indeed, it is he who actually writes the ancient mythologies attributed to the Greeks and Romans.   Therein lies a “Great Code” that when deciphered reveals  major happenings in the musician’s harrowing journey from a little town in Minnesota to the top of Mount Olympus.

For the last ten years, our researchers have been stuffing our biggest computer, affectionately called “Fat Nancy”, with Dylan’s song lyrics, scholarly works thereon, biographical material … so on and so forth. Following is a summary of the read-out gathered from the “Fat Nancy” in reference to the mythology of the Titanic-Olympic War in which the gigantic gods known as the Titans (who have little compassion for mere mortals) are overthrown by the rebellious gods known as the Olympians.

Saturn be the god of the Universe and Time; the Titan decides to consume his children. Zeus banishes him; mythologist and poet Robert Graves even claims Zeus castrates him. “Fat Nancy” concludes that Saturn’s modern equivalent is none other than Elvis Presley; he loses touch with the younger generation:

Maybe it's to late, but I sometimes even hate myself for loving you
Trying to be strong, then night comes along, and I start wanting you, wanting you ...
Hating me for wanting to be with you, knowing you don't love me like you used to
But it's midnight, and, ohhh, I miss you
(Elvis Presley: It's Midnight ~ Wheeler/Chesnut)

Atlas, god of the Sky, stands steadfast with his fellow Titans, and gets severely punished by the Olympian Zeus – forced he is to carry the heavens on his shoulders. Perseus, the son of Zeus and the mortal Dinae, turns the Titan into a rock. Concludes the computer, Atlas is the modern equilvalent of Buddy Holly who dies in an airplane crash:

One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock, rock
Five, six,  seven o'clock, eight o'clock rock,rock
Nine, ten, eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock, rock
We're gonna rock around the clock tonight
(Buddy Holly: Rock Around The Clock ~ Freedman/Myers)

Prometheus be the god of Fire, a Titan who has a soft spot for the human mortals, and sides with Zeus and the Olympians against the tyranny of the Titans; however, he suspects the younger gods are no different; his modern equivalent, Johnny Cash:

The taste of love is sweet
When hearts like ours meet
I feel for you like a child
Oh, the fire was wild
(Johnny Cash: Ring Of Fire)

https://youtu.be/It7107ELQvY

Oceanus be the god of the Rivers and Seas; Zeus does not banish him; instead the Titan is allowed to have control of the Oceans because he protects Hera, the wife of Olympian Zeus, during the Titanic-Olympic War. His modern equivalent is Frank Sinatra who stars as Danny Ocean in the movie ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ in which he plays a casino robber:

Take me back, I love you
Pity me, I need you
I know it's wrong, it must be wrong
But right or wrong, I can't get along without you
(Frank Sinatra: I'm A Fool To Want You)

Here’s what “Fat Nancy” deciphers in reference to the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus, the god of Thunder, who overthrows the Titan Saturn, is the ‘Beat’ writer Jack Kerouac in recent times:

And I will die,  and you will die, and we all will die
and even the stars will fade out one after another in time
(Jack Kerouac: "Desolation Angels")

Neptune, god of the Sea, the “Earth-Shaker,” is Neil “Shakey” Young;

I'm the ocean, I'm the giant undertow
I'm the ocean,  I'm the giant undertow
(Neil Young: I'm The Ocean)

Hades be the god of Underworld who abducts Persephone; he’s Mick Jagger:

Take me down little Susie, take me down
I know you think you're the queen of the underground
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the mail
Send me dead flowers to my wedding
And I won'the forget to put roses on your grave
(Mick Jagger/Rolling Stones: Dead Flowers~Jagger/Richards)

Venus, the goddess of Love, be born of the seafoam; modern equivalent, Joan Baez:

The Madonna was yours for free
Yes, the girl on the half-shell
Would keep you unharmed
(Joan Baez: Diamonds And Rust)

Dionysus be the god of the Vine, and he can turn himself into a lion, (some mythologists say he’s the son of Zeus – transformed into a golden rain, he rapes Persephone). He’s Dylan’s code word for Robbie Robertson of The Band:

We carried you in our arms on Independence Day
And now you throw us all aside, and put us all away
Oh, what dear daughter 'neath the sun
Could treat a father so
To wait upon him hand and foot, and always tell him 'no'?
(Richard Manuel/The Band: Tears Of Rage ~ Bob Dylan/Robbie Robertson)

Diana be the goddess of the Moon; she has a dark and light side – she’s Joni Mitchell:

I’ve looked at life from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It’s life’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know life at all
(Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now)

Apollo, son of Zeus, be the god of the Sun –  Bob Dylan himself, that is (Kerouac, Robertson, Manuel, Mitchell, and Young are Canadians).

What else is on the site

You’ll find some notes about our latest posts arranged by themes and subjects on the home page.  You can also see details of our main sections on this site at the top of this page under the picture.

The index to all the 594 Dylan compositions and co-compositions that we have found on the A to Z page.

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