"What we consider infirmity they saw as "divine infatuation" (ate).  They knew that this invisible incursion often brought ruin: so much so that the word ate would gradually come to mean "ruin."  But they also knew, and it was Sophocles who siad it, tat "mortal life can never have anything great about it except through ate." (Calasso p.93)


"The events of the night seemed in some way fictional; as if I must have been slightly drugged." (Fowles p. 135)


When I read the above line from The Magus I had one of those moments of recognition where I knew that there was something there that I had seen the likes of before.  I went back to my notes then back to Calasso and found what I was looking for.  It seems that our main character was having a moment where he was overcome by ate.   I love this explanation for those moments where a person feels that there is something outside influencing their actions.
I found it interesting though that there was a difference in the way Nicholas explained this feeling.  Instead of accepting it as a sign of an outside presence in the way the Greeks did, he attempts to rationalize.  It is as though so long as there is some logical explanation he can accept what happened.  His way of thinking allows for no magic to influence understanding.  The mythology of the situation seems to disturb him so he must put all situations in a context that he can explain away.  Urfe wants to remove the possibility of enchantment from his surroundings but I get the feeling that he will soon have to alter his way of thinking...

Females moving through hero epics

"If the hero is alone and can count on nothing but his own strength, he will never be able to enter his kingdom.  He needs a woman's help" (Calasso. 62)

     The need for a woman's help is seen throughout much of Greek mythology.  At some point during a quest a hero must seek the aid of a female.  Without them the completion of their trials would not be possible.  Theseus had Ariadne; Jason had Medea; Odysseus had Athena, and clever Penelope keeping chaos at bay on the home front.  Even Zeus and Apollo, the all powerful gods sought help from Thetis and Alcestis respectively.   Mythology is infused with a necessity for the aid of a woman.  
      This concept still holds true through today.  I have yet to see one action film or superhero movie where the hero makes it to the end without the aid of a woman.  It is true that the women of today's films come across at first as a little more helpless and in need of saving, but by the end they play a vital role.  Rachel Weiss appeared sweet and innocent in the beginning of the movie, but her knowledge and quick wit proved invaluable by the end.  In any James Bond movie you can be sure to see the importance of having a woman on your side.  In some way or another the heroine of a Bond film gives him a vital piece of information that he would be doomed without.  This is just the case with all of the ancient heroes.  Even though the names have changed the heroes and the women who help them live on.