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Plutarch, the noted Roman
historian, had this to say about June
in Numa Pompilius: "... then June follows, so called from Juno; some,
however, derive them from the two ages, old and young, majores, being
their name for older, and juniores for younger men."
In Roman mythology, Juno, the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, was worshipped
by both Greeks and Romans as queen of the gods, goddess of marriage,
protectress of women and childbirth. Juno's incestuous marriage to her
brother, Jupiter, king of the gods, was further troubled by his many
infidelities. Some of the best known Greco-Roman myths deal with the many
interludes (from the Latin interludium, meaning "between the
games") that Jupiter had with mortal women as well as goddesses.
These affairs invariably resulted in Juno's jealous persecution of both
the women loved by her husband as well as the innumerable children he
fathered. I was also intrigued by the conflicts that occur between two
ages of man, childhood and adulthood. For example, a percentage of the
U.S. citizenry (age 18-21) cannot purchase alcohol, tobacco products, or
adult reading material, yet politicians court their vote. It seems that we
expect our children to behave maturely, yet simultaneously deny them
access to some of their adult rights and privileges. The idea of the
awkward struggle for power between Juno and Jupiter, as well as the
struggle between childhood and adulthood, prompted me to write an
interlude in the form of a dialogue (or debate, if you will) shared
between two lines of music. |