The neo-cons see themselves as High Tech warriors, and since Vulcan was the god of technology, when the neo-cons call themselves the Sons of Vulcan they are calling themselves the master of Technology. To see how the neo-cons have transformed Vulcan from a mere maker of tools to their new god, lets look at some mythology AND a quick detour to Bismark's Germany (the High Tech location of the late 1800s).
Ancient Mythology varied from city to city let alone Country to Country so you had many stories of the gods (many of these stories in Conflict). This is further complicated for the power of each god changed over time (For example Venus was originally a goddess of the spring, but later absorbed the Powers of the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the two goddess became inter-changeable). This is further complicated by the different names given the gods by the Greeks and the Romans (For simplicity in this paper I will use only the Roman names, Venus instead of Aphrodite, Vulcan instead of Hephaestus, Jupiter instead of Zeus, Mars instead of Ares. Please note some gods and goddesses used the same name in both Greece and Rome, for example Athena and Hera).
As to his wife Venus, Vulcan was Jealous even for a god generally portrayed as even tempered (unlike the rest of the gods and goddesses). His marriage to Venus seems to a study in constrats, her outer beauty (But lack of Faithfulness) and his inner beauty (shown through his work) but outward ugliness. His faithfulness (The only story of him trying to seduce anyone was one attempt to seduce Athena, who rejected him, and that only as Venus had had several affairs with other gods and mortals) compared to Venus’s unfaithfulness (see
http://community-2.webtv.net/Ace-Detective/Venus/ for details).
He did captured Venus and Mars in bed together with a net no one could break but even in that story the gods rebuked Vulcan not Mars or Venus for had Vulcan spent as much effort to keep Venus happy as he did to capture her and her lover, she would not have wandered. A lesson to all couples, that both must make efforts to make the relationship work out, you just can not assume because you are married that everything will work out). (See
http://english.edgewood.edu/eng276hunter/276nvgow.htm For more details)
As to how Venus and Vulcan became husband and wife is a story of Venus’s one great weakness, her beauty and anything that enhanced her beauty. Athena would not marry Vulcan no matter what beautiful objects he presented her, but Venus wanted those items and agreed to marry Vulcan because of her vanity of her beauty and how the items Vulcan made enhanced her beauty (In some stories it is Venus who wants to wed Vulcan, so she can access his skills at making beautiful things for herself. In several Legends, Vulcan agrees to make things for his wife only after she agrees to sleep with him and she knew that to be the price even before she asks.)
The story of Vulcan/Hephaestus
http://www.webwinds.com/myth/hephaestus.htmMythology is a method of stating how you view yourself. The ancients viewed crafts as below the ruling class’s dignity but valued none the less (thus it is a “lesser” god that does the hard work of making tools not one of the greater gods). Mythology ha survived for the same reason, it is a method to show people ideas, thus why do the neo-cons think of themselves as “Vulcans”?
The only way I can view it is all of them identify with Bismark’s “Iron and Blood” comment and not enough Mythology (and even not enough Bismark as seen in Bismark’s famous comment “Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.”). Remember Vulcan was the god of making weapons but preferred peaceful living. What the Neo-cons want is to remake Vulcan (i.e. the neo-cons who control and make the weapons) into a war god whose weapons permit him to control the war, a view of Vulcan through the prism of Bismark’s Speech NOT of the mythology of god Vulcan.
Even with Bismark the neo-cons rewrite history to reflect what THEY want. For example Bismark’s quote should be “The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions . . . but by iron and blood”. While the neo-cons would agree with that quote, the neo-cons ignore the WHOLE context of that speech where Bismark was using Speeches and majority decision to AVOID the use of iron and blood. The speech was made to some right wing supporters in 1888 at the same time he was trying to work out an alliance (or at least an understanding) between Russia, Germany, Britain and the United States to act together and thus minimize the risk of war (It was a piece of bravado through out to his right wing supporters NOT a statement of what he really was doing) The above “alliance” was a policy goal of Bismark, but was abandoned by Kaiser Wilhelm II when he fired Bismark.
A German Fleet and such an Alliance were not compatible (Britian would Object) so Bismark opposed building a German Fleet (Perferred the money for the German Army OR domestic uses). The problem was that Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted a Fleet. Any Fleet would bring Britain and Germany into potential conflict and would thus end any possibility of the above alliance. As Bismark predicted just before his death the Policy of the Kaiser would Germany to disaster within 20 years (Bismark died in 1898, 20 years later Germany laid in ruin from WWI).
After German Unification the last thing Bismark wanted was War. He saw no gain for Germany in any War and did his best to avoid War after 1871 (Through he did use War to unite Germany under Prussia between 1862 and 1871). He made his Blood and Iron Speech as a piece of bravado to the right wing in Germany NOT to advocate the use of force, his actions show a sharp preference for Speeches and majority Decisions over War. Acts often speak louder than words and Bismark’s Action were one for Speeches and Majority Decisions NOT war.
On the other hand, the neo-con believe in Iron and Blood. The Neo-cons WANT war so to control the world, thus they view themselves as modern day Vulcans Making and controlling the Iron and Blood of war. A new Mythlogy for the 21st Century.
Other Famous Quotes from Bismark”
Politics is not an exact science.
People with weak stomachs should not watch laws or sausages being made.
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