Old myths that can still explain a sticky situation in Iran | Opinion
For many years I have been working on a non-fiction book, entitled "Fairytale & Firefights," based in part on my legal work for well over 50 years, as a family law attorney and mediator. A major theme of the book is about how some of our deeply rooted fairytales (such as Cinderella and Camelot) have been a partial underlying cause of our dysfunction in personal, especially intimate, relationships - the "firefights."
While I have not to date mentioned them in my book, both the ancient myth of Apollo and Hermes, and the "Tar Baby" myth - which apparently morphed from the Greek myth via African folklore - seem particularly meaningful today in many applications, beyond any personal matters. Frankly, putting aside some real problems with the Disney publication of the Tar Baby being arguably racist, the two myths are some of the funniest ever.
Thinking globally, these two myths seem to offer warnings regarding the current Middle East, and especially the Iranian situation. Before exploring some possible applications of those myths to Iran and elsewhere, let's look at those two myths - both largely unfamiliar to many of us.
The myth of the brothers Apollo and Hermes begins with the birth of the younger brother, Hermes. The infant Hermes sneaks out of his cave to steal cattle from his old brother, and attaches branches to the hooves to cover the tracks, then slaughters and eats two of them. Apollo finds out and drags Hermes to face justice in front of their father, Zeus. Put on the spot, Hermes pulls out a lyre and starts playing beautiful music. Completely captivated, Apollo then trades the stolen cattle to Hermes in exchange for the lyre made from a tortoise shell. It's a story of how intellect, charm and negotiation can triumph over brute force.
In the Tar Baby Myth, Br'er Fox builds a sticky doll out of pine tar and places it on the road as a trap for his rival, Br'er Rabbit. When Br'er Rabbit comes along, he politely greets the Tar Baby. He's offended when the doll doesn't respond, and punches it. But his fist gets stuck in the tar. Outraged further, Br'er Rabbit attacks it with his other hand and feet, becoming hopelessly trapped and entangled.
The rest of the Tar Baby story, as noted by NPR, is that "Br'er Fox emerges from hiding, thrilled to have finally captured the rabbit. Thinking quickly, a trapped Br'er Rabbit employes reverse psychology. He begs Br'er Fox to do anything to him - skin him, roast him. or drown him - but pleads with him repeatedly, ‘Please don't fling me in dat brier-patch.'" Br'er Fox takes the bait, and throws the rabbit into exactly where rabbits are often born and bred. And as we known, Br'er Rabbit effortlessly hops out, having outsmarted the fox. It's about how responding in anger often makes a problem worse.
Which brings me back to Iran. With the Tar Baby myth in mind, what more "sticky" is the Middle East? What more "inescapable problem" is the land granted in the Balfour Declaration to Israel with a reservation regarding Palestine? And of course, who is reacting with anger and making matters worse?
With the ancient Apollo and Hermes in mind, is there some lesson for the players in the Iran War from the apparent triumph of intellect, charm, and negotiation over brute force in how the current situation is unfolding?
The nation of Israel was born in a dream of a return to a homeland, yet forged in a series of bitter wars, displacing many with brute force. The current Iranian nation was also born through brute force, imprisoning Americans in our embassy; and maintaining itself through oil, repression and outside intervention.
"Anger" should be the metaphoric middle name for the Middle East. Blame must be spread around, yet not ignored. Both Br'er Rabbit and Hermes were clever, as it appears have been the current Iranian negotiators, and the regime to focus on blocking the Strait of Hormuz. However, it appears that regime was not so clever in attacking the various Gulf states, turning them to potential partners of ours, and future members of the Abraham Accords.
On the surface, it appears that anger overly motivated Prime Minister Netanyahu. Like Hermes cleverly escaped punishment and achieved his goal, and Br'er Rabbit cleverly escaped getting skinned, perhaps Netanyahu tricked President Trump -- despite Trump's seemingly good intentions -- into punching a Tar Baby.
However, nothing remains certain for long in the "sticky" Middle East.
Contact Larry Litle at larrylittle46@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Old myths that can still explain a sticky situation in Iran | Opinion
Reporting by Larry Little, Columnist / Kitsap Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published June 28, 2026 at 8:30 AM.