im not really interested in engaging in moral discourse surrounding the relationship of zeus and ganymede bc 1. i like to leave things up to the viewer and 2. the inherent horror and tragedy of being the “most beautiful boy to exist” is more interesting to me since we’ve seen it play out horribly in real life. i take inspiration from björn adrésen, quotes from the young river phoenix, the lives of castrati and antinous more than anything lol.
i see ganymede being taken as something that mirrors the inevitable “death” that either occurs literally or metaphorically to beautiful young men. they either “die” by aging out of their perceived beauty or die in some tragic way that preserves their young grace in peoples minds. ganymede cannot die in the traditional sense as he is immortal, but him being taken is a “death” of sorts in that the memory of his beauty is frozen in time. the ganymede inside everyone’s heads will stay the same forever and can be deified both literally and figuratively.
so did zeus “kill” ganymede or save him? is there love in the “kill” and greed in his conservation? is there liberation in “death” when you are the most beautiful boy to exist? can you ever be liberated? is ganymede dead or alive?
