RETURN TO THE GENDER INSTINCTS ➳Masculinity is a set of Masculine Gender Instincts, which make men feel more alive, passionate, sexually attracted, and sexually attractive to those who are feminine.
Consumer spending studies clearly show that there are major differences between the genders, not only in what types of items are purchased (for example, beard-trimmers versus tampons) among the genders, but within major product categories (automobiles, homes, books, films) there are also specific, quantifiable differences between the genders in terms of brands and models most purchased. Equally important for our purposes is the types and styles of marketing used to appeal across gender lines, to make the most profit.
Money doesn't lie. Marketing strategies today usually capitalize on something the genders have in equal amounts - impulsivity, fears, frustrations and hunger - and yet they respond to the impulse-generating stimuli in different ways that also cut across gender lines. We've all rolled our eyes at the concept of "Today is the Last Day of the Sale," and yet we neglect to see how clearly, the genders have different sets of instincts, whose impulsivity cause them to buy very different brands and models of things.
We have learned that the "location" in the mind of these analogous parts of psychology - the impulses, instincts, habits, imprinting, passions, and the desire that arises in masculine and feminine automatic behavior such as purchasing - all collaborate for a common purpose: to "feel alive."
As per Darwin and Freud, that feeling may cause us to be ecstatic, or it may cause us to seek to reproduce. In either case, it is "the spark of life" that we are talking about. That which gives us extreme joy of the type that makes us feel "fully alive."
For those with Masculinity, this feeling state that one can sense "deep in their bones" is not merely a set of ideas, or even emotions, but rather, a physicality that one can describe as the identity of 'being alive" itself.
The stories of the ancient Greek gods tend to carry a single, major lesson at a time about these instincts, and the basic nature of the gods and goddesses themselves, like that of the "Patron Saints" of Catholicism, tend to be singular in nature.
And so if you believe that what makes great stories stand the test of time is the same thing that makes science last through history - the universal appeal and application of them both - then you might see how stories that last thousands of years have something universal and durable for us to learn, no matter what culture, period of history, or sociological movement we happen to be experiencing.
That is true of masculinity and femininity - not mere "roles" that are abandoned when money is on the line, but core identities full of programmed instincts deep in our DNA's expression, and inherited.
To learn about what causes men to automatically fall in love and desire to start a romance is also to learn about what makes them fully alive, and gives them passion, charisma, vitality, and a robust pursuit of love, success and happiness. Our best current lexicon of these Masculine Instincts rests in the singular nature of the behavior of each male, Greek Deity.
The Masculine Gender Instincts
Hermes ➳
His nature has been called, “mercurial,” when a man is fickle, flighty, changing to and fro often, and hard to pin down or “label.” Much like the liquid metal that is his namesake, the Roman god, Mercury – known as Hermes to the Greeks – was the god of speed, the messenger to the gods of Mt Olympus, and quite the trickster. This is the core essence of what the “pickup artists” were trying (and failed) to define or draw power from.
Eros ➳
When Eros was dispatched by Aphrodite to spoil Psyche for eternity by marrying her to Death himself, he slipped and pricked himself with his own arrows of love, falling hopelessly in love with Psyche herself. Whisking her away to his hidden and mysterious abode under cover of darkness, he established his one “rule of marriage” (not unlike that of Bluebeard many centuries later.) The rule was that she may never see him in daylight, only be with him in the darkness of night. He is the god of the married man retaining his mysteriousness.
Zeus ➳
The Zeus Instinct is the leadership instinct for those who are masculine. It also incorporates the masculine need for rank and hierarchy, "knowing one's place" in the rankings, and having a goal to aim for in making progress within a social system. When a man leads in a “Zeus” way in a relationship, it doesn’t take anything away from the woman’s leadership. It’s just a masculine style versus a feminine style, both powerful. Hera and Zeus were the “godhead” of Mt Olympus, and their marriage itself was the real “ruler” in everyday Greek life. So why the designations as regents of the universe? The fact that Zeus is called ‘King” and Hera is called “Queen” suits the masculine instinct that the figure of Zeus himself symbolizes.
Poseidon ➳
Many know Poseidon as the master of the sea and ocean creatures, but few recall him to also be the god of horses and transportation. As a close brother of Zeus, appealing to Poseidon’s different fatherly leadership twist in males will show us how it is that men think about, give away, invest in, and employ resources both material and psychological in pursuit of women.
Hades ➳
Hades is the brother of Zeus like Poseidon, but of the three, is rather the “odd man out.” He prefers being alone, to go about ruling his kingdom which has nothing to do with the world of the surface, where the actions of Zeus and Poseidon exert their power.
Ares ➳
The Ares Instinct of masculinity is the instinctual/reflex system of the male reptilian brain that just loves a challenge, competition with other men, and the pleasure of winning for winning’s sake. With every ambition to overcome a challenge - at battle in the worlds of career and love, which to men are literally Darwin’s survival, and reproduction - men feel a jolt of life-affirming energy called masculinity. As with the rest of the Masculine Instincts, men are impassioned with vitality when they win at the areas of life, and are filled with the thrill of being alive.
Apollo ➳
Apollo is the patron of an inherent trait that any human, male or female can easily summon: that of curiosity about the world, the mind, and the mind of the opposite sex. Curiosity as the core trait of Apollo fits him, because he was also the god of prophecy, healing, plague, music, poetry, and essentially an intellectual variety that reenergizes that original sexual attractor in men, of “mysteriousness”.
Odysseus ➳
When Demeter returned from her work to where she had left Persephone, and found only the river, she interrogated them all about what had happened. Hades had stolen her daughter down to the underworld. And when not a soul could utter the details of the abduction, in a fit of rage of a level only seen in a mother whose child is imperiled, she cursed all the nymphs into becoming ugly women with feathered bodies and scaly feet, called the Sirens. The very creatures who would later tempt many sailors to their deaths on the rocks with their beautiful sounds and evil intentions, including the attempt to do so to the most fierce male warrior of the Trojan War, Odysseus, whose instinct in men may be the master one of all - that seeking the freedom of self-determination in one’s fate. Odysseus may be the master masculine instinct of them all - that which seeks the freedom of travel, adventure and the wonders of the world, as well as the challenge of its pitfalls.
Prometheus ➳
Prometheus was a Titan, predating the Olympians, and is credited with the creation of man from clay. He defies the gods and gives fire to humanity, which symbolizes human progress and civilization. Prometheus is known for his intelligence and as a champion of mankind.
Theseus ➳
Theseus was one of the founders of Athens, and the demigod who slew the Minotaur in the maze. Loved by the daughter of his enemy, King Minos, it was she who used a slender, golden thread, and saved him from being lost, forever in the maze, even if he did manage to kill the Minotaur. He followed the path of the golden thread back out, to the light of day. He symbolizes the pride and achievement of the married man in the workplace.
Perseus ➳
Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë, the daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos. Acrisius was met with an oracle who warned him that he would one day be killed by his daughter's son. In order to keep Danaë childless, Acrisius imprisoned her in a bronze chamber, open to the sky, in the courtyard of his palace. Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and impregnated her. Soon after, their child was born; Perseus, who would go on to defeat the monster, Medusa. He is the part of male instinct who is a gentleman that does not fear the worst in women, and who, through his high character, can be a hero to women. He is the high character hero in masculinity who must slay narcissism in himself and others, or he cannot be the hero he was meant to be. He is similar to the male main character in today's zombie films.
Actaeon ➳
Actaeon was the hunting companion of Artemis who, seeing her naked in her sacred spring, lost control of himself. She was bathing in the woods when he stumbled across her, thus seeing her naked. Actaeon stopped and stared, amazed at her ravishing beauty. This is the natural instinct in males to adore the physical beauty in women - the "wandering eye" which is an expression of masculinity and empassioning to the male, filling him with life. However, the downside is the selfish experience and expression of this.
Philoctetes ➳
Philoctetes gained the favor of the god, Heracles, for helping light the then, mortal's funeral pyre, and was given Heracles' bow and poisoned arrows. He was the "wounded warrior," symbolizing the "traumatized man," and recovers from his sorrows, to go on to help the Greeks win the Trojan War, with the special knowledge he had learned from his wounds. He is like the Phoenix, rising from the ashes, and more - the vitality and exhilaration in the masculine instincts that comes from learning lessons out of losses, the "underdog," who rises up with special knowledge that cannot be possessed without the advantage of having been wounded.
Hercules ➳
Hercules is the story of the "honorable loser," one who is willing to gracefully lose a battle in order to win a war. In effect, his deification results from the valor in fighting battles, and submission to die on a funeral pyre, thus, becoming a god. It is a man's ability to sacrifice for a greater cause, to lose gracefully and not as a "sore loser," only then to see the rewards of a full, healthy pride in having done one's masculine duty. It is similar to the honor in "the captain going down with the ship," which may be difficult for many to understand the instincts within. Only men who have been through a great sacrifice know the honor and value of so doing. It is receiving the Purple Heart, and being a returning veteran.
Narcissus ➳
The parents of Narcissus were told that he would live to an old age if he never saw his own image. He rejected all the women who fell in love with him, including the nymph, Echo, who was so upset in being jilted that she became depressed, and finally so melancholic, isolated and lonely that all that was left of her was a whisper. Her prayers were heard by the goddess Nemesis who caused Narcissus to fall in love with his own reflection, gazing on it until he died.
He is the worst in men and their instincts of self-preservation and survival, as well as likely the instinctual ignorance of the "one, special sweetheart," when in fact, the most raw masculine instincts sexually, are said to pursue many women over the lifetime. For a man to achieve a monogamous, lasting romance, he must shed this instinctual tendency, keeping it at bay.
Hephaestus ➳
All good things in life come with effort, and the man’s satisfaction and boost of masculinity he feels comes in part by way of yet another Greek god-based instinct in him: the Hephaestus Instinct – god of “a job well done,” or “honest work,” or the “blue collar work ethic”, which drives the male need for “meaningful work.” (Hephaestus was the actual husband of Aphrodite, on whom she cheated with Ares.) He is the male instinct for working hard, but also outrage at being cheated upon while working hard.
Adonis ➳
Adonis is traditionally the god of "good looks" in men, but in Romantic Dynamics, it refers also to the charm and enjoyment of "the boy in the man" - meaning a youthful, playful attitude, not just good looks.
Dionysus ➳
Dionysus is the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, and theatre. He is a god of epiphany, "the god that comes", and his "foreignness" as an arriving outsider. He is the only god born from a mortal mother, and his festivals were the driving force behind the development of Greek theatre. His Roman name was, Bacchus, origin of the word, "bacchanalia," or a grandiose celebration, and so he represents the instinct for passion in males, at being recipients of good fortune and unanticipated discovery, the thrill for men, of being the "new kid on the block," and throwing one's self into social randomness, to discover in fortunate accidents, that it really is true: "The world is your oyster." His is the power of the masculine instincts to rise in social standing through being "the life of the party," and "master of ceremonies."
Achilles ➳
The Achilles Instinct in men is then, the power and passion of knowing one's own weakness, even major handicaps, and developing strategies that capitalize on strengths, so as to make one's weaknesses relatively irrelevant. He is also the instinct in men that can turn enemies to friends. Achilles is also the instinct in men, not to be distracted from one's mission, to not give in to the Siren-like machinations of a female opponent, and to always place one's own mission above mere beauty and flirtation.