Healthy Blog

Therapist and Jungian analyst Jean Shinoda Bolen proposes that all of us unconsciously model the Greek gods and goddesses in our personalities. Clearly, Hillary Clinton is a Demeter. In her book Goddesses in Everywoman: A New Psychology of Women, Bolen describes the Classical depiction of the goddess of grain: a matronly woman with beautiful blonde hair, often dressed in blue. Demeter was responsible for the harvest, and as the goddess responsible for making sure the world was fed, was a mother-figure to the whole human race. The senator from New York clearly sees herself in the mother-to-the-world role. Her law career was focused on the rights of women and children. She advocated universal health care and chaired the U.S. delegation to the United Nations’ women’s conference as First Lady.

The woman who follows the Demeter type is more than just a universal mother, however. She also has an overwhelming need to have a child of her own. In Classical mythology, Demeter had just one child, Persephone. Demeter strategically chose the most powerful of the gods, Zeus, to father her child, with the deliberate intent of giving birth to a powerful goddess. Okay, maybe that wasn’t exactly the former First Lady’s plan when she gave birth to Chelsea. Still, consider her description of her first impression of Bill Clinton, in her book Living History. “He was tall and handsome,” Clinton writes. ” . . . He also had a vitality that seemed to shoot out of his pores.” She certainly sounds thunderstruck by a larger-than-life figure, if not actually the King of the Gods himself.

A Demeter woman doesn’t necessarily expect a husband to be faithful. Jean Shinoda Bolen tells us, “For a Demeter woman, marriage in itself is not an overriding priority.” As long as she still gets to play the role of universal mother, a Demeter woman can put up with a cheating spouse.

The Demeter archetype is also the model of persistence and focus. When her daughter was abducted, Demeter searched the entire world to find her. The harvest suffered as a result; the entire world nearly starved until she found what she was looking for. She would not relent until she obtained her goal, no matter the costs. Some would say that the Demeter model perfectly represents Hillary Clinton’s intense drive.

Bolen has also written Gods in Everyman: A New Psychology of Men’s Lives and Loves. In it, she describes eight male archetypes, subdivided into father-gods (including Zeus) and second-generation gods. Interestingly, Obama, McCain and Huckabee all fit the archetypes of “son” gods.

Barack Obama is an Apollo, the archetype named for the Classical sun god. Bolen describes the Apollo archetype as “the favorite son,” which may be an apt description of Obama, whose charm causes lifelong Republicans to rethink their voting strategies. An Apollo is also “an upholder of law and order.” Clearly, as a lawyer and as a senator, that fits Obama. As a lawgiver, an Apollo archetype may be a bit of an idealist. He may see law and order as a way to bring peace, a theme that runs again and again through Obama’s speeches.

Given Obama’s plan for a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and opposition to the war, it will come as no surprise that an Apollo is not a warrior. An Apollo prefers not to be directly in the thick of the action, preferring instead to watch from the sidelines, making rational decisions based on observations and unswayed by his emotions. Obama took exactly this tactic in the Senate during the lead-up to the war in Iraq.

In direct contrast to the Apollo archetype is the Classical war-god, Ares. John McCain is clearly an Ares. That McCain served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years before he was first elected to the House of Representatives tells you about his warrior nature.

The ancient Greeks considered Ares not only the god of war, but also the most powerful of the second-generation gods. Though sometimes seen as a hot-headed destroyer, Ares had another side: he was also a protector of the community. McCain clearly sees himself in the role of protector. He has called national security “the most sacred responsibility vested in a president.” His platform also includes strict constructionist philosophy on the Constitution (protecting us from its being abused for political reasons), lobbying and ethics reform (protecting us from questionable political deals), and “common-sense stewardship” of the environment, including taking the threat of global warming seriously, protecting us from our own environmental abuse.

Just as he has two roles, the Ares archetype also gets two reactions. According to Bolen, Ares was either reviled for his recklessness and the destruction he caused, or applauded for his courage. McCain also gets two reactions. His supporters love him for his courage to reach across party lines on a number of issues. His detractors consider the same trait as disloyalty to the Republican party’s conservative base.

Mike Huckabee is the hardest to fit neatly into any of the ancient Greek god archetypes. He seems to be a Dionysus, “the divine child.” At first, the ancient Greek god of wine may seem an odd choice for the former Arkansas governor. Dionysus is known for wild parties and reckless excess, unlike Huckabee, a Baptist pastor. Still, there are similar personality traits.

Consider Huckabee’s 110-pound weight loss, which he described in his book Quit Digging Your Grave With A Knife and Fork. Huckabee’s radical change in diet and lifestyle hardly would have been necessary unless his habits were a bit excessive- and one might say, reckless- before. And comparing modern Christianity to ancient Paganism may be a tough sell to some, there was a deeply religious bent to Dionysus. He was considered the mediator between the gods and mortals. As a presidential candidate deeply ruled and guided by his religious faith, is it too much of a stretch to imagine that Mike Huckabee sees himself as a mediator between heaven and earth?

Dionysus, Bolen tells us, was also an “eternal adolescent.” What could be more “eternally adolescent” than a rock band? Huckabee is, after all, the bass player for Capitol Offense, with whom he’s opened for Willie Nelson and played the House of Blues.