Greek mythology

The youngest son of Cronus and Rhea, Zeus was the supreme ruler of Mount Olympus and of the gods who lived there. Zeus was a supreme leader that upheld law, justice and morals, and with this made him the spiritual leaders of gods and mortals. Zeus was associated with being a weather god, his main power was the thunderbolt; and he also controlled thunder, lighting, and rain. Along with his powers Zeus was involved in many mythological tales. One of Zeus most famous tales was how he overthrew his father from the kingdom of mortals. His father Cronus had received the news that one of his children would depose him.

To prevent this Cronus swallowed his newborn children Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Posedon, but his wife Hesta wrapped a stone in cloths in place of baby Zeus. Meanwhile Rhea had Zeus taken to Crete, and there in a cave the divine goat Amaltheia nursed and raised the infant known as Zeus. When Zeus was a young boy he returned to his fathers realm, and with the help of Mtis, who gave Cronus a emetic potion, which caused his father to vomit up Zeus bothers and sisters. After receiving his bothers and sister, Zeus led a revolt that defeated and banished Cronus.

The Greeks believed that the earth was formed before any of the gods appeared. The gods, as the Greeks knew them, all originated with Father Heaven, and Mother Earth. Father Heaven was known as Uranus, and Mother Earth, as Gaea. Uranus and Gaea raised many children. Amoung them were the Cyclopes, the Titans, and the Hecatoncheires, or the Hundred- Handed Ones. Uranus let the Titans roam free, but he imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hundred- handed Ones beneath the earth. Finally, Gaea could not bear

Uranus’s unkindness to the Cyclopes and the Hundred-Handed Ones any longer. Gaea joined Cronos, one of the Titans; and together, they overcame Uranus, killed him, and threw his body into the sea. Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, later rose from the sea where Uranus’s body had been thrown. Now Cronus became king of the universe. Cronos married his sister, Rhea, and they had six children. At the time of Cronos’s marriage to Rhea, Gaea prophesied that one of his children would overthrow

Cronos, as he had overthrown Uranus. To protect himself, Cronos swallowed each of his first five children — Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon — immediatly after birth. After the birth of her sixth and last child, Rhea tricked Cronos into swallowing a rock and then hid the child — Zeus — on earth. Zeus grew up on earth and was brought back to Mount Olympus as a cupbearer to his unsuspecting father. Rhea and Zeus connived against Cronos by mixing a noxious drink for him.

Thinking it was wine, Cronos drank the ixture and promptly regulated his five other children, fully grown. Then Zeus and his brothers waged a mighty battle against Cronos and the other Titans. Cronos and the Titans were defeated when Zeus ambushed them with the help of the Cyclopes and the Hundred-Headed Ones, and they panicked and retreated. Cronos and the Titans were imprisioned in the Earth where their fighting still causes earthquakes from time to time. Zeus and his brothers and sisters went to live on Mount Olympus, where they ruled over the earth.

It has been known that the Romans and the Greeks have had many interactions with each other, whether it would be due to trading or just plain traveling, the stories of their myths have crossed each other in one way or another. This is may be the reason why there are many similarities between Greek and Roman Mythology. Even though a Greek god or goddess may have a different name in Roman Mythology they still performed similar tasks and were worshiped for similar reasons. I will compare and contrast Greek gods with their Roman equivalences to see how similar they truly are to each other.

Probably the most famous Greek god, Zeus, was the god of all gods. Born to Cronus and Rhea, he was the ruler of the sky, and had the power to create thunderstorms and lightning as well as earthquakes. As the story goes he overthrew his father, Cronus, and became the ruler of Mount Olympus to head the new line of Gods. Jupiter, also known as Jove, was very much like Zeus. He was the predominant power holder among the Roman Gods. According to Tripp, Jupiter is a contraction of two words meaning Heavenly Father. (Pg. 2)

He ruled the sky, controlled all of the weather, and had thunderbolts as a weapon. Tripp also wrote Jupiters cult and his general character were, however, well established in Italy before the Greek religion became influential there. (Pg. 333) This implies that the idea of Zeus, Jupiter and Jove had very little influence on each other since they were created before the Greek myths and Roman myths had started to cross paths. Hera, the wife and sister of Zeus, was the goddess of marriage, childbirth, and the queen of the heavens. She gave birth to Ares, Hebe, and Eileithyia.

She also gave birth to Hephaestus, but it has been believed that she bore him without the aid of Zeus. In Ovids Metamorphoses, she was extremely jealous of the affairs that her husband had and she often tormented or harmed Zeuss mistresses. Juno, the feminine version of Jupiters name, is Heras counterpart. Juno had many names that served for different purposes. As Juno Pronuba, she was goddess of marriage, as Juno Lucina, she was the goddess of childbirth, and as Juno Regina, she was the special counselor and protector of the Roman state.

Roman Mythological Characters, Juno) In Tripp, there was also a Juno Moneta that was governed finances. (Pg. 332) It seems that although Hera and Juno are similar in their duties, Hera is portrayed more as wife that was constantly jealous and did more harm to human kind rather than helping them. From the sources I have read about Juno, she seems more like a goddess that always helped the humans. Humans would offer her sacrifices so that she could help them with marriage, birth, protection, or finances.

Hera seems too engulfed in her husbands affairs rather than helping humans that would praise her. Ares, the child of Zeus and Hera, was the god of war. He was usually seen or portrayed to be fully armed and ready for battle and very eager fight or go to war. Although he was never married, he had many children with several goddesses and mortal women. Almost all of his children by mortal women were of a violent nature. Mars on the other hand, was the Roman god of agriculture and war. He was thought to be the second most important god after Jupiter.

He was in charge of military activities and farming. It was believed that the month March was named after Mars, and was also the first month of the Roman calendar. March was considered to be the month when agriculture was high and when most people engaged in war. Ares seems to be a very angry and active god as opposed to Mars that seems to be calmer. Ares is always prepared for battle and is always looking for a reason, like an instigator where Mars looks over the agriculture and the military to make sure that they are able to defend Rome, like a defender.

Even though Mars was also the god of war, it would seem that he would rather prevent war rather than start it because war would be hazardous to a Romes agriculture. The Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Roman goddess Venus were very similar. They have very few differences. Aphrodite was the goddess of erotic love and Venus was the goddess of love or queen of pleasure. (Encyclopedia of the Greek Mythology, Aphrodite) Aphrodite married the god of fire Hephaestus and had an affair with Ares while Venus married the god of metal work Vulcan and had an affair with Mars.

Both goddesses were very unfaithful to their husbands and had many affairs with many other gods and mortals. A difference that I have found is that Venus had many other names like Juno. According to the Roman Mythological Characters website, Venus Genetrix, was worshiped as the mother of the hero Aeneas, the founder of the Roman people; as Venus Felix, she was the bringer of good fortune; as Venus Victrix, she was the bringer of victory; and as Venus Verticordia, she the protector of feminine chastity. The Romans also associate Venus with nature, and the arrival of spring.

This may be because everything is fertilized and starts to grow in spring. The website also wrote that Venus really had no myths of her own but was so closely identified with the Greek Aphrodite that she took over Aphrodite’s myths. This probably explains why there are very close similarities between the two goddesses. In the many affairs of Zeus, Maia bore him the messenger of the gods, Hermes. His symbol of office was a caduceus or a heralds wand. He used it to guide the dead souls into Hades and in rare occasions to guide them out.

He was also known as the patron of merchants and seamen, of good luck, and of thieves and pickpockets, and was very well known for his mischief. He is often seen with winged helmet and a pair of sandals. Some say that his sandals had wings as well, which helped him fly around the heavens. Mercury, his Roman counterpart, was the son of Jupiter and Maia. He was the messenger of Jupiter and the god of merchants and trading. Much like Hermes, he was often seen with the caduceus, winged hat, winged sandals and a purse. Like Hermes, he protected the merchants.

The root word of his name merx means merchandise. Not too many differences between these two characters. This could possibly mean that this is one of the characters that Greeks and Romans may have shared. It is hard to tell whether or not the Greeks came up with Hermes first or if the Romans came up with Mercury first. Athena was the virgin goddess of crafts and the domestic arts and war. Also known as the patron of Athens, she was born from Zeus’s head. She was known to have aided the heroes Perseus, Jason, Cadmus and Heracles in their quests.

Minerva, her Roman equivalence, was the patroness of the arts and crafts. (Tripp, Pg. 380) Much like Athena, she was also born from Jupiters (Zeus) head. Much like Hermes and Mercury, Athena and Minerva are very identical to each other. It would also be hard to define whether or not Minerva was established before Athena. It can be assumed that these two figures were made by a compilation of both Greek and Roman myths. With these examples in mind, we can see that Greek gods and Roman gods have many similarities.

In the cases of Hermes, Mercury, Athena, and Minerva, they are so similar that they might as well be called the same name. With the comparisons of Hera, Ares, and their Roman counterparts, we can see that everything is the same except for their attitudes. Hera seems to be more of a mean goddess than Juno because humans actually offer praises to Juno and actually expect Juno to help her. Hera was too busy causing harm towards Zeus mistress. Ares was just the meaner and more aggressive version of Mars. Venus may as well have been Aphrodite because it was believed that her myths were borrowed from Aphrodite.

Zeus and Jupiter were similar, but were written in different times, suggesting a heavy coincidence that the Greeks and the Romans were on the same page. Overall, Greek gods and Roman gods are indeed very similar. If they do have differences, they are always fairly petty and do not affect their general purpose within mythology. The interactions between the Greeks and Romans have definitely tied each others myths together so close that a story from Greek mythology can easily be interchangeable with a story from Roman Mythology.

Hercules, in Greek mythology, was a hero known for his strength and courage and for his legendary adventures. Hercules is the Roman name for the Greek hero Heracles. He was the son of the god Zeus and a human mother Alcmene, wife of the Theban general Amphitryon. Hera, Zeus jealous wife, was determined to kill Hercules, and after Hercules was born, she sent two great serpents to kill him. Hercules, while he was still a baby, strangled the snakes. Hercules conquered a tribe that had been demanding money from Thebes.

As a reward, he was given the hand in marriage of the Theben princess Megara and they had three children. Hera, still filled hatred of Hercules, sent him into madness, which made him kill his wife and children. In horror and remorse at what he did, Hercules was about to kill himself. But he was told by the oracle at Delphi that he should purge himself by becoming the servant of his cousin Eurystheus, king of Mycenae. Eurystheus, urged by Hera, planned as a punishment the 12 impossible tasks, the Labors of Hercules. The Twelve Labors

The first task was to kill the lion of Nemea, a lion that could not be hurt by any weapon. Hercules knocked out the lion with his club first, then he strangled it to death. He wore the skin of the lion as a cloak and the head of the lion as a helmet, a trophy of his adventure. The second task was to kill the Hydra that lived in a swamp in Lerna. The Hydra had nine heads. One head was immortal and when one of the others was chopped off, two grew back in its place. Cancer, one of the Hydras guards, bit Hercules on the foot when he came near, and was crushed by Hercules, but she was rescued by Hera.

Hercules scorched each mortal neck with a burning torch to prevent it from growing two heads and he buried the immortal head under a rock. He then dipped his arrows in the Hydras blood to make them poisonous. Hercules next labor is to capture alive a stag with golden horns and bronze hoofs that was sacred to Artemis, goddess of the hunt. The fourth labor was to capture a great boar in Mount Erymanthus. Hercules used the poison arrows with the Hydras blood to shoot at the Erymanthian boar. One of the poison arrows wounded Hercules friend Cheiron, an immortal centaur, half-horse and half-man.

Cheiron feared the poison arrow would hurt him for eternity, but Zeus rewarded him for his service to the gods by changing him to Sagittarius the Archer. The boar got killed by the arrows. In the fifth labor, Hercules had to clean up in one day the 30 years of filth left by thousands of cattle in the stables of king Augeas. He turns the streams of two rivers, making them flow through the stables. For the next labor, Hercules has to drive off huge flocks of man-eating birds with bronze beaks, claws, and wings that lived near Lake Stymphalus.

He shot them with poisonous arrows and killed them. The seventh labor was to capture the man-eating mares of Diomedes, king of Thrace. To bring back the man-eating mares, Hercules killed king Diomedes, then drove the mares to Mycenae. For the ninth labor, Hercules needed the girdle of Queen Hippolyta. Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, was willing to help Hercules with the ninth labor. When she was about to give Hercules her girdle, which Eurystheus wanted for his daughter, Hera made Hippolytas forces believe that Hercules was trying to abduct the queen.

Hercules killed Hippolyta, thinking that she ordered the attack, and escaped the Amazon with the girdle. On his way to the island of Erythia to capture the oxen of the three headed monster Geryon, Hercules set up two great rocks, the mountains Gibraltar and Ceuta, which now flank the Straight of Gibraltar, as a memorial of his journey of capturing the oxen. The 11th labor was to steal the golden apples of Hesperides, the daughter of Atlas and husband of Hesperus. The apples grew in the garden of Hesperides, which is in the western edge of the world, beyond the Island of Hyperborea and on the border of Ocean.

The garden is guarded by Ladon, the dragon with 100 heads. The apples were very important because they were grown by Mother Earth as a wedding present for Hera and Zeus. Hercules reached Ocean and found Atlas holding up the sky. Hercules offered to hold the sky while Atlas killed Ladon and got the apples. But Atlas was tired of holding the sky and told Hercules that he might continue holding it. Hercules pretended to agree but said the weight of the sky was hurting his shoulders and asked Atlas to take over for a while so he could make pads to protect his shoulders.

When Atlas took over, he took the golden apples. Later he gave the apples to Athena, who returned them to Hesperides. The 12th and most difficult labor was to bring back Cerberus, the three-headed dog, from the underworld. Hades, lord of the underworld, allowed Hercules to take Cerberus if he used no weapons. Hercules captured Cerberus, brought him to Mycenae, and then carried him back to Hades, therefore, completing the Twelve Labors. After completing the Twelve Labors, Hercules fought Antaeus, son of the sea god Poseidon, for the hand of Deianira.

As he was taking her home, the centaur Nessus attacked Deianira. Hercules wounded him with an arrow poisoned in the blood of the Hydra. The dying centaur told Deianira to take some of his blood, which he said was a powerful love charm and anyone wearing clothing with his blood rubbed on it will love her forever. The centaurs blood was actually a poison. Years later, Hercules fell in love with Iole, daughter of Eurytus, king of Oechalia. Deianira found out about Iole and sent Hercules a tunic with the blood of Nessus.

When Hercules put on the tunic, the pain caused by the poison was so great that he killed himself and was placed on a funeral pyre on Mt. Oeta. Hercules went to heaven, where he was approved by Hera and married to Hebe, goddess of youth. Hercules was worshipped by the Greeks as both a god and a mortal hero. In Italy, he was worshipped as a god of merchants and traders, although others prayed to him for rescue from danger or good luck. The most famous statue of Hercules is in the National Museum in Naples.

In Greek mythology, Theseus can truely be thought of as the greatest Athenian hero. He was the son of Aegeus, king of Athens, and Aethra, princess of Troezen, and daughter of Pittheus, king of Troezen. Before Theseus was born his father Aegeus left Aethra in Troezen of Argolis and returned to Athens before he was born. But before he left king Aegeus put his sword and his pair of sandals under a large rock and said to Aethra that when Theseus was old enough to lift the heavy rock that Theseus should take the sword and sandals and come to see him in Athens.

At the age of 16 after being brought up in Troezen, Theseus was finally able to lift the heavy rock. Theseus with his long blond hair then took the sword and the sandals and began his journey to Athens to claim Aegeus as his father. The young Theseus made his hazardous journey by the coast road along the Isthmus, clearing the road of six villains, murderers, and monsters which inhabited the road. Theseus killed these villains by the same method by which they had murdered their own victims. Among the villains that Theseus killed, were Sciron, Sinis, Procrustes and Phaea.

Theseus arrived in Athens wearing a sword and a pair of sandals that Aegeus had left for him in Troezen. He was then greeted by his father Aegeus and his stepmother Medea who was a sorceress. But she was jealous of his influence over Aegeus so Medea tried to kill him by sending him to kill a wild bull. But Theseus succeeded and sacrificed the bull to Apollo. He then returned to Athens and was almost poisoned by Medea, but as soon as Aegeus got wind of her plot, he proclaimed Theseus his son and heir to the thrown and banished Medea rom Athens and she escaped to what is now Asia.

According to legend, the people of Athens had to send seven youths and seven Maidens every year as a tribute to Minos, the king of Create, to be eaten by the Minitor, who was a terrible monster, half man and half bull. Theseus decided to go as one of the youths and try to kill the minitor. When he reached Create, Ariadne, the beautiful daughter of Minos fell in love will him and helped him kill the Minitor by giving him a sword which he killed the Minitor with and a ball of thread to elp him find his way out of the labyrinth in which the Minitor lived.

Theseus then left Create with Ariadne but dumped her on the way back to Athens. On his return from Create to Athens, however, in his hurry to get home, he forgot to hoist a white sail signaling his success against the Minotaur. So when Aegeus saw a black sail, he believed that his son was dead and was so sad that he threw himself from a high rocky cliff into the sea, which has ever since been known as the Aegean Sea in his honor. Theseus then became the King of Athens.

And as king of Athens, Theseus was wise nd generous, and united the many small communitties of the Attic plain into a strong and powerful nation and brought prosperity and civilization to the people. But he kept his love of danger and adventure and during a war with the Amazon Women he abducted the Amazon Hippolyta, who bore him a son who was named Hippolytus. He took part in the Calydonian boar hunt and in the quest of the Argonauts for the Golden Fleece. He was a devoted friend of Pirithous, king of the Lapithae, whom he accompanied to the underworld to rescue the goddess Persephone.

Both men were imprisoned by the god Hades for their rash deed, but Theseus was subsequently rescued by Hercules. Returning to Athens, Theseus found his kingdom in disarray, torn by rebellion and corruption. Unable to reestablish authority, he sent his children away and sailed to the island of Skyros, where Lycomedes, king of Skyros, murdered him by throwing him from a cliff into the sea. Later the Delphic oracle commanded the Athenians to gather Theseus’s bones and bring them back to Athens. The Athenians then paid him great honor by building him a tomb dedicated to the poor and helpless whom he had befriended.

Since the days when man lived in caves and struggled to survive, he has wondered about the world that surrounds him. What makes the sun rise and set? Why are there seasons? Where do things go when they die? To the ancient Greeks, there were simple explanations to all these questions it was the gods! Things that seemed unexplainable could suddenly make sense when there were gods and goddesses involved. And these stories of the gods that the Greeks created to help make sense of the universe have survived the years to become a treasured and integral part of the history of the Western world.

Everyone knows who Zeus is. But are they aware that Zeus shared his power with thirteen of his sisters, brothers, and children? First there was his sister, Hera, whom he had chosen from his many wives to be his queen. Then there was Ares, their son, who was the god of war. Next was Hephaestus, the god of fire, and his wife Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Another of Zeuss children, Hermes, was the herald of the gods. And then there was Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, with her beloved daughter Persephone on her lap.

Next there was Poseidon, the lord of the sea and Zeuss brother, and then the four children of Zeus: Athena, goddess f wisdom; the twins Apollo (god of light and music) and Artemis (goddess of the hunt); and Dionysus, the god of wine. Zeuss eldest sister Hestia also lived with these twelve great gods. She was the goddess of the hearth, and tended the sacred fires of the gods. Finally, of course, there was Hades, the lord of the underworld and the ruler of the dead.

He preferred his gloomy palace to the light of the gods world, and chose to stay there. Those were the twelve great gods of Mount Olympus, who ruled in splendor the lives of the mortals below them. But there were also many minor gods and goddesses, nature gods, and of ourse the many heroes that are involved in Greek mythology, Hercules being perhaps the most famous of these. The Greeks believed that every tree had its wood nymph and ever river had its river god.

It was necessary to pray for the approval of these gods before boating across a river or chopping down a tree, lest they meet with disastrous results. Of course, on some occasions, even when one took the precaution of attempting to appease them, the gods might just be in a foul mood and decide to let a human suffer – there are many stories like this in Greek mythology. So what did all these gods do all day ong other than relax in their comfy palaces?

Well, it was the belief of the ancient Greeks that their gods were involved in every aspect of daily human life, that they watched over all that was going on and at times stuck their noses in sometimes to help a beloved devotee, other times to seek revenge on a human who has ignored them, and sometimes just for their own amusement. There was a great deal of fear and distrust involved in the Greeks relationship with the deities, but they did believe with their whole hearts that the gods existed, and that they would protect nd care for the devout.

Some aspects of the Greeks religion seem barbaric and ridiculous to the modern observer, but that is not really for us to judge. The importance of the ancient Greek religion lies not in their almost blind devotion to the gods, but in the major contribution to modern literature of the Greek mythology. These stories of gods and goddesses interacting with mortals are still familiar, and still enjoyed, by humans worldwide, thousands of years after they were written and told merely as simple tales to explain the unexplainable in life.

Sisyphus, one of the biggest tricksters of all time lived like what seems as a seemingly short life, he was pursued by many Gods wanting to punish him for some trick or prank that he had pulled, but they never got him, finally Hermes captured him though and put him under the control of Hades. He lived life well though apparently taking the title as the King of Corinth, which to some he was the founder, and to others it was handed down to him by Medea. Their are many tales though, where he is clever, as he is described in Homers Odyssey.

One tells how he came up with a way to find out who as stealing his sheep, he put a mark on them, in modern times known as a brand but, while he was retrieving his sheep he seduced Anticlia, which then became the mother of Odysseus. Other tales of him attacking and murdering travelers. Although all these stories are out there, there are also stories of a family man, stories about him, his brother Athamas, his wife Merope, his two sons Odysseus and Glaucus, and his parents Aeolus and Enarete.

There are other things he achieved besides trickery. He was said to have founded the Isthmian Games, in honor of Melicertes, whose dying body he found on the hore of Corinth. Sisyphus was also very crafty, as Homer described him to be. Once when Zeus sent out Thanatos to punish him for revealing one of Zeuss love affairs, Sisyphus managed to capture Thanatos and bind him in chains. Zeus then had to send Ares to release Thanatos because he is the God of Death and no one was dying while he was bound.

Knowing that Thanatos would come back for him he told his wife not to bury his body, then when he died he begged Hades to allow him to go back to earth and punish his wife for not burring him, He then refused to return to Hades. Here is where Hermes comes in, he captured Sisyphus and put him under the power of Hades, where he has to roll a heavy rock to the top of a hill, and every time he almost gets to the top of the hill , the rocks weight pushes him back to the bottom and he starts all over again.

That was the mythology, now from a physiological point of view. Although, Sisyphus is forced to roll a heavy rock up a hill for eternity, it is said that he is happy. Now that may sound insane, until researched further. Why, is that you wonder, because moments of intense pain reduce the human mind to two things, God and pain, and from hen on everything else becomes non-existent. So, therefor in the intense pain that was his punishment, Sisyphus finds sense and intention.

Sisyphus then becomes forever focused on his punishment. Now, Sisyphus becomes focused on one thing, pushing the rock up the hill. He becomes so immortally focused on his punishment that he forgets about the Gods curse and thinks that at some point the rock will stay at the top of the hill. This is not all because of the punishment though, was always knowing of his fate, where he would be taken, what would happen, how it would happen, and why it would happen. His thoughts of stopping it, none.

He knew that the only thing he could do was delay it, he would trick Thanatos and bind him in chains, he would tell his wife not to bury his body and then beg Hades to send him back to earth to punish her but, finally they would catch on. Sisyphus is therefor defined as having a lack of concern over anything else in life. He knew his fate was coming and there was no way to get around it, he therefor fully accepted it. He played his deck of cards to their full extent, he didnt worry about what would happen next but, lived life one moment at a time.

Aeschylus is primarily concerned with the nature of justice. In the trilogy The Oresteia, the Akhaians evolve from an older, more primitive autocratic form of justice, to a new concept of civil justice devised by Athena. He confronts the contrast between the old and new orders, the lives of the members of the House of Atreus, and the serious moral questions that Orestes’ crime presents. The case against Orestes is strong. The son admits to striking down his mother, in violation of the sacred tenant of kinship.

But I came back, my years of exile weatheredkilled the one who bore me, I won’t deny it, killed her in evenge. ” (Eumenides lines 476-478) This shows that Orestes was fully aware of the act he was committing, that he willfully committed it, and that he must suffer for it. The bond between mother and child was broken when Orestes murdered Clytaemnestra. Marriage, arguably, is a tenant of Zeus and the Olympians. In the old order of things, family is by blood only. A husband and wife have no blood relation, yet the son is of the same blood as his parents.

The Furies right to vengeance cannot be dismissed. Clytaemnestra is one who upheld the laws of the Furies. Agamemnon’s murder of Iphegenia at Aulis was pure outrage. Yes he had the heart to sacrifice his daughter , to bless the war” (Agamemnon lines 222-223) Agamemnon killed his own blood relation in order to sail for Troy. This too, is a terrible crime, seemingly of the same weight as Orestes’ act. Clytaemnestra believed she was justified in avenging her daughter, because her husband violated a sacred tenant of the old gods. Here is Agamemnon, my husband made a corpse by this right handa masterpiece of justice. Done is done. ” (Agamemnon lines 1429-1431)

This shows a clear morality behind Clytaemnestra’s motives. She appears to have justification for her actions. The curse on the House of Atreus is fulfilled. In the last lines of Agamemnon the chorus foreshadows Orestes’ return. Clytaemnestra responds by saying to her new husband, “We will set the house in order once for all. ” (Agamemnon lines 1708) The chorus’s purpose for suggesting Orestes’s return is to show that the house is not yet cleansed of the curse..

Like his mother, Orestes possesses what he believes to be a just motive for revenge. Unlike his mother, however, Orestes has reservations about killing. He does not wish to strike down his mother, but realises that he must. The defense f Orestes is rooted in the fact that Apollo ordered him to do so. Orestes trusts Apollo’s guidance at his trial. “Apollo will never fail me, no, his tremendous power, his oracle charges me to see this trial through. ” (Libation Bearers lines 273-275) Orestes believes that he is justified in avenging his god-honoured father, who was so brutally murdered by his mother.

This cycle of blood in the House of Atreus appears as if it will continue forever. This cycle of violence leads the gods to search for a different solution. If the society of Greece is to progress to a higher civilisation, some other way ust be found to resolve the conflict of moral questions. The ancient idea of vengeance doesn’t properly apply here because both Clytaemnestra and Orestes acted in support of legitimate definitions of justice. The ancient gods support Clytaemnestra and her actions, while Zeus, by means of Apollo, supports Orestes.

The clash between deities sets the stage for the emergence of a new form of justicecivil justice. The ancient law of retaliation, which states that blood must be paid for with more blood, is enforced by the Furies. This task was given to them by Destiny at the dawn of time. you’ll give me blood for blood, you must! Wither you alive, drag you down and there you pay, agony for mother-killing agony! ” (Eumenides lines 262, 265) Their concept of justice is one where the law of retaliation is applied absolutely. They have no notion of compassion or understanding.

They uphold the belief that regardless of circumstances, Orestes must be made to pay for his crime of matricide. The Furies represent something older and more sacred which Apollo and Zeus do not respect. Athena’s establishment of the court to try manslaughter is significant, because t provides a place for the citizens to decide about what moral elements will be upheld in the Polis. The Eumenides is the battleground for the two competing moralities. The furies invoke their rights as defenders of blood, and it is up to Orestes and Apollo to convince the jury that the son was just in his actions.

The jury is expected to believe that Apollo’s oracle is truethat Zeus himself ordained the act. The Chorus asks the question, “Can a son spill his mother’s blood on the ground, then settle into his father’s halls in Argos? ” (Eumenides lines 661-662) A good answer to this question might have been to hypothetically everse the question on ClytaemnestraHow quickly she settled into life after she cut down her lord. But, Apollo opts for the weaker, more arbitrary defense. His speech about how the father is the only true parent makes little sense.

Even the all-male jury would take some offense to this argument. Athena, however, initiates the ideal that the law be concerned not only with the forms of justice, as the Furies are passionate about, but with justice itself. The jurors must ask themselves whether Orestes was justified in committing matricide. Circumstances, motives and consequences must be taken into account t trial. Do they consider marriage as sacred as the law of kin? Is there a sacred bond between mother and son? Or only between father and son? Does Zeus’s will override the ancient laws of the Furies?

These are complicated moral question that Athena asks the mortal jury to grapple with. Even Athena believes the issue too important for her to judge solely. “by all rights not even I should decide a case of murdermurder whets passions. ” (Eumenides lines 486-487) She realises that if she were to mediate, the curse will never end. Perhaps she is suggesting that mortals must decide when the gods disagree. This s an important development because it shows the journey from the retributive justice in Agamemnon to the deliberative justice of Athena’s tribunal.

The ultimate decision is ambiguous. The vote is tied for a reasonneither side puts forth a well argued analysis of Orestes’ case. There is justice on both sides, and the jury realises this. Orestes is acquitted by Athena on arbitrary terms. She casts her vote for Orestes because she supports her father’s Order, believing that there is a need for the establishment of a higher reasoning. One could also argue that she voted for acquittal because she is the god of war. She supported Agamemnon, the General, throughout the Trojan war and thus wished to favour his memory.

She knows little of women, despite being female herself. Having settled the trial, Athena must also settle the anger of the Furies. She tactfully invites them to join Zues’s Ordersomething that is necessary if peace is to be made between the generations of immortals. She does not completely refute them, nor deny them their place in the world. “I will bear with your anger. You are older. The years have taught you more than I can know. But Zeus, I think, gave me some insight, too, that has its merits. Eumenides lines 855-859)

She asks the Furies to accept her offer of making their home Athens, and to endure as the upholders of the sacred bond of marriage. They accept her offer because it is wise and just. It transforms the Furies from destructive forces to beneficial ones. This resolution ends the curse on the House of Atreus, as well as many of the differences between the old and new gods. Orestes is free to claim his city and the Furies have been given a place in Zeus’ Order. The latter seems to be the emphasis of the trilogy because of the arbitrary decision on Orestes’ case.

The est possible justice has been realised in the decision. The new Apollonian concept of justice represents a higher level of understanding and civilisation. It may be argued that Clytaemnestra’s death was left unavenged; that justice escaped her. Orestes’ right to avenge the dishonorable death of his father was upheld by the court. The tribunal deemed Clytaemnestra’s actions wrong and Orestes’ just. With the establishment of Athena’s judicial system, there is now a method to prosecute people like Clytaemnestra, such that the ancient blood-lust of vengeance doesn’t take rule over issues of right and wrong.

Homer was the god who wrote three famous poems, the Illiad, the Oddessy, and the Beowulf. The Illiad was the story of the Trojan war. Here’s how the trojan war went. Helen, Clytemnestra’s sister, was married to Menelaus. A while later, Menelaus went hunting, and Paris from Troy came and took Helen away.

Agamemnon heard the news and was furious. So, he got together troops and set off to Troy to get Helen back. But, they couldn’t sail out of the bay.. the wind held them back. So they had to sacrafice a maiden. Agamemnon sacraficed Iphigenia, his daughter. Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s wife, was NOT happy, for Iphigenia was her avorite daughter.

Clytemnestra set out to murder Agamemnon, but it was too late. He was already on his way out to Troy. During the war, Hector had killed Achilles’ best friend. Achilles was FURIOUS. So Achilles dragged Hector in a circle 3 times by his hair and gave killed him. Then Agamemnon came back, married to beautiful princess Cassandra. Clytemnestra had even more reason to kill Agamemnon now. So, she killed Cassandra, then took her husband’s live. Orestus and Electra, Clytemnestra and Agamemnon’s other two chilren, then killed their mother for killing their father. After the war, Odysseus set out on a journey, and killed Achilles.

Hercules, in Greek mythology, was a hero known for his strength and courage and for his legendary adventures. Hercules is the Roman name for the Greek hero Heracles. He was the son of the god Zeus and a human mother Alcmene, wife of the Theban general Amphitryon. Hera, Zeus’ jealous wife, was determined to kill Hercules, and after Hercules was born, she sent two great serpents to kill him. Hercules, while he was still a baby, strangled the snakes. Hercules conquered a tribe that had been demanding money from Thebes.

As a reward, he was given the hand in marriage of the Theben princess Megara and they had three hildren. Hera, still filled hatred of Hercules, sent him into madness, which made him kill his wife and children. In horror and remorse at what he did, Hercules was about to kill himself. But he was told by the oracle at Delphi that he should purge himself by becoming the servant of his cousin Eurystheus, king of Mycenae. Eurystheus, urged by Hera, planned as a punishment the 12 impossible tasks, the “Labors of Hercules. The Twelve Labors The first task was to kill the lion of Nemea, a lion that could not be hurt by any weapon.

Hercules knocked out the lion with his club first, then he trangled it to death. He wore the skin of the lion as a cloak and the head of the lion as a helmet, a trophy of his adventure. The second task was to kill the Hydra that lived in a swamp in Lerna. The Hydra had nine heads. One head was immortal and when one of the others was chopped off, two grew back in its place. Cancer, one of the Hydra’s guards, bit Hercules on the foot when he came near, and was crushed by Hercules, but she was rescued by Hera.

Hercules scorched each mortal neck with a burning torch to prevent it from growing two heads and he buried the immortal head under a rock. He then dipped his arrows in the Hydra’s blood to make them poisonous. Hercules’ next labor is to capture alive a stag with golden horns and bronze hoofs that was sacred to Artemis, goddess of the hunt. The fourth labor was to capture a great boar in Mount Erymanthus. Hercules used the poison arrows with the Hydra’s blood to shoot at the Erymanthian boar. One of the poison arrows wounded Hercules’ friend Cheiron, an immortal centaur, half-horse and half-man.

Cheiron feared the poison arrow would hurt him for eternity, but Zeus rewarded him for his service to the gods by changing him to Sagittarius the Archer. The boar got killed by the arrows. In the fifth labor, Hercules had to clean up in one day the 30 years of filth left by thousands of cattle in the stables of king Augeas. He turns the streams of two rivers, making them flow through the stables. For the next labor, Hercules has to drive off huge flocks of man-eating birds with bronze beaks, claws, and wings that lived near Lake Stymphalus.

He shot them with poisonous arrows and killed them. The seventh labor was to capture the man-eating mares of Diomedes, king of Thrace. To bring back the man-eating mares, Hercules killed king Diomedes, hen drove the mares to Mycenae. For the ninth labor, Hercules needed the girdle of Queen Hippolyta. Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, was willing to help Hercules with the ninth labor. When she was about to give Hercules her girdle, which Eurystheus wanted for his daughter, Hera made Hippolyta’s forces believe that Hercules was trying to abduct the queen.

Hercules killed Hippolyta, thinking that she ordered the attack, and escaped the Amazon with the girdle. On his way to the island of Erythia to capture the oxen of the three headed monster Geryon, Hercules set up two great rocks, the mountains Gibraltar nd Ceuta, which now flank the Straight of Gibraltar, as a memorial of his journey of capturing the oxen. The 11th labor was to steal the golden apples of Hesperides, the daughter of Atlas and husband of Hesperus. The apples grew in the garden of Hesperides, which is in the western edge of the world, beyond the Island of Hyperborea and on the border of Ocean.

The garden is guarded by Ladon, the dragon with 100 heads. The apples were very important because they were grown by Mother Earth as a wedding present for Hera and Zeus. Hercules reached Ocean and found Atlas holding up the sky. Hercules offered to hold the sky while Atlas illed Ladon and got the apples. But Atlas was tired of holding the sky and told Hercules that he might continue holding it. Hercules pretended to agree but said the weight of the sky was hurting his shoulders and asked Atlas to take over for a while so he could make pads to protect his shoulders.

When Atlas took over, he took the golden apples. Later he gave the apples to Athena, who returned them to Hesperides. The 12th and most difficult labor was to bring back Cerberus, the three- headed dog, from the underworld. Hades, lord of the underworld, allowed Hercules to take Cerberus if he used no weapons. Hercules captured Cerberus, brought him o Mycenae, and then carried him back to Hades, therefore, completing the Twelve Labors. After completing the Twelve Labors, Hercules fought Antaeus, son of the sea god Poseidon, for the hand of Deianira.

As he was taking her home, the centaur Nessus attacked Deianira. Hercules wounded him with an arrow poisoned in the blood of the Hydra. The dying centaur told Deianira to take some of his blood, which he said was a powerful love charm and anyone wearing clothing with his blood rubbed on it will love her forever. The centaur’s blood was actually a poison. Years later, Hercules fell in love with Iole, daughter of Eurytus, king f Oechalia. Deianira found out about Iole and sent Hercules a tunic with the blood of Nessus.

When Hercules put on the tunic, the pain caused by the poison was so great that he killed himself and was placed on a funeral pyre on Mt. Oeta. Hercules went to heaven, where he was approved by Hera and married to Hebe, goddess of youth. Hercules was worshipped by the Greeks as both a god and a mortal hero. In Italy, he was worshipped as a god of merchants and traders, although others prayed to him for rescue from danger or good luck. The most famous statue of Hercules is in the National Museum in Naples.

The Ancient Greeks believed in a series of myths which explained nature, set up a moral code for the people, and were just folk lore of the people. In this paper, the beginnings of myths, the Greek gods themselves, and several myths concerning morals, nature, and old lore of the Ancients will be discussed. Because the myths and details about the gods were passed along by word of mouth, some myths or gods might be interchanged or different. The Greek myths started as folk lore until it began to explain nature and storytellers integrated a moral code into the myths.

Many myths started out as fairy tales. As new nd more efficient farming methods became available to the Greek people they were faced with more time in which to do other things. A people who have waste develop a culture all their own. Because Greece was divided into different city- states, many of the myths are different. The culture of storytelling began to involve explanations of nature such as the creation of the horse, spider, and such changes as winter and fire along with the creation of man himself.

Slowly, as with any longstanding government, the morals and laws of society leaked into Greek myths in the form of, “The slain shall be avenged y Nemesis (a force which causes people to get revenge),” or just, “Kindness and humbleness are rewarded by the gods. ” Some myths were even created to support other myths. The myths started with storytelling and developed into a complex system of morals and explanations. The Greek myths were almost fruitless without the intervention of the gods. The gods controlled nature and fought their own battles on the earth, which sometimes caused problems.

The first god was the most powerful one until he had children. The first god is called Oranos or in some myths Uranus. He was the first ruler among the gods. Uranus was the heavens and Gaea was the earth and thus they were married. The couple gave birth to many different and odd children but Uranus was cruel to them. Then, Chronos was born as the youngest titan. Chronos dethroned his father and soon after married his sister, Rhea. He didn’t want his children to dethrone him so he ate them. However, Zeus overthrew Chronos and established the first real empire of the gods.

Zeus settled disputes between the other gods and made sure the humans weren’t treated in the wrong way. Zeus and Hera gave birth to Ares and Hermes along with other minor gods. Hera was a cruel type person in most myths and in one she led a rebellio n against Zeus and almost defeated him when he was rescued. Her favorite sign is the peacock feather and that is her unique sign. Zeus and Hera were the first lasting god couple. Zeus had two brothers, Poseidon and Hades. After Chronos had been defeated, the three brothers threw dice for who would rule in which realm.

Poseidon chose the sea because there was the source of the most adventure. Zeus chose the sky where he would rule on Mount Olympus. Hades had no choice and took the underworld because he was notoriously unlucky. Poseidon created many odd sea creatures and the dolphin. He also created the horse and horselike animals. Poseidon had many children by two nymphs and his first son, Achilles, was greater than himself. Hades ruled the underworld and chose what to do with the souls of the people who came across the River Styx. They were judged on what they did in life.

He was unloving and terrible and he rarely left the underworld. His only wife was Persephone. She was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of corn, grain, and weather to an extent. Demeter is a minor god except for the great influence she has on the earth. Because her daughter, Persephone, is abducted every year, the crops wither and winter takes control of the land. There were quite a few lesser gods who ruled over small parts of nature. Aphrodite is the goddess of love and passion. She was formed of the foam off the genitals of Neptune which fell into the sea.

She manipulated men and was known for her enchanted golden apples. Her son was Eros, where we get the word erotic. Eros is the Greek form of Cupid, the Roman god of love. Aphrodite also has a magical girdle that makes anyone she wishes to love her. Aphrodite is married to Hephaestus, the ugly god of the forge. He and Aphrodite are Olympian gods but have limited control. Ares is the god of war. He rules all war and provokes men to war. He plays a vital role in provoking hatred among men. He is the son of both Zeus and Hera. Hermes is the messenger god. The myths say that he was born of Zeus alone.

Hermes is vital in settling disputes between the gods and has done so quite often. He is the swiftest of the gods and is known to carry messages of great mportance for mortals. Helios was the sun g od. Every day he rides his flaming chariot across the sky high in the heavens to the Island of the Blessed. He is the Greek explanation of the sun. There are three more godlike creatures that stand out in mythology. The first creature is a demigod. A demigod is a human/god mix and because Zeus and Poseidon were promiscuous there were many demigods. Hercules is among one of the most popular demigods.

He was the strongest and lived the longest. He was the mythological Superman to the Ancients. The Cyclops were a menace in many myths and Hercules slew any. The Cyclops, as a race, were around during the battle of the Titans. The Titans were huge, odd, creatures created by Gaea and Neptune. Chronos was a Titan. Though the Titans aren’t mentioned much in the most popular myths, there were hundreds of them who were kept pent up inside the mountains. There were many gods and godlike creatures. The Ancient Greek myths had explanation of nature in mind but also the spread of a moral law.

The first Greek myth dealt with the creation of the universe. It starts out with an explanation of how the universe was. “In the beginning there was chaos…. It then talks about how Gaea was born of nothing and she created the heavens, Uranus. She and Uranus then created everything else. However, Uranus was an evil father and she and Chronos plotted against him. Chronos took a sickle made of flint and castrated his father. His father fled away in shame. The genitals fell into the sea and from their blood came the giants, and from the foam against the genitals was born Aphrodite.

However, as Neptune fled, he said that Chronos would be dethroned by his son and that crime begets crime. Chronos married his sister and started to have children. As they were born, Chronos swallowed his children one by one. Rhea, his wife, finally grew tired of having fruitless children. When she gave birth to Zeus, she stole him away and gave him to some shepherds to raise. They raised him and, in return, she would keep their sheep safe. She wrapped up a stone to look like a baby and Zeus swallowed the stone whole. After a few years, Rhea became lonely and brought Zeus back to be the cupbearer of Chronos.

Then, Rhea and Zeus plotted against Chronos and Zeus slipped a regurgitory mixture into Zeus’s cup. Zeus vomited up his revious children and they sided with Zeus. They waged a huge war and Zeus’s army of gods and Titans won the battle. From then on, Zeus was the undisputed ruler of the gods. This myth shows how evil begets evil along with how the universe was created. Prometheus created man and all other animals. He gave all the animals different gifts and the ability to heal themselves. He gave so many gifts to the animals that he had nothing to give to man.

Prometheus decided to allow the man to walk upright like the gods and stole fire from Mount Olympus. However, Zeus was angry with Prometheus for stealing he fire and giving it to man. Zeus had Prometheus chained up atop a mountain to have his intestines be picked by vultures. Zeus stripped Prometheus of his ability to heal himself and gave that gift to men. And since then, men have been able to heal themselves and have had fire to protect them. The horse was not created along with the rest of creation, according to Greek myths. Poseidon was the ruler of the seas.

He chose the sea after his father was dethroned because it contained many unventured adventures. While he was in the sea, he married a Nereid and his son was Achilles. Poseidon made many creatures to scare little Nereids. However, his wife asked him to make her something beautiful and he created the dolphin. Poseidon wanted land to become his kingdom se he began to sink Athens but Athene interfered. There was almost war but Zeus and Hermes were able to settle the fight and Athene got Athens. This anger of Poseidon toward the Athenians causes all their naval battles to fight poorly. Poseidon sought a new wife and chose Demeter.

She would have him only if he could make the most beautiful land animal ever seen. Poseidon ook many days and created many animals close to his goal but not close enough. Finally, he created the horse and gave it to Demeter. She thought he would n ever create something so beautiful and would then not have to marry him. However, she married him and rode on the horse all day long. However, in the process of making the horse, he had made other animals such as the camel and mule. He did not destroy the misfits but set them aside. They found their way back into this world and are the horselike animals we know of today.

This myth explains the creation of the horse and other horselike animals. The gods control the seasons as we know them today in this Greek myth. Hades was on the surface of the earth on business when Eros shot him with an arrow. Hades fell in love with Persephone and stole her away into the Underworld. Demeter, Persephone’s mother, searched for her daughter and when she could not find her, froze the earth. Zeus didn’t want the earth to wither and die so he sent Hermes to fix the situation. Since Persephone ate part of a pomegranate, she would stay with Hades part of the year and live on the world the rest of the year.

All the time she would be gone, Demeter would weep and snow would fall. Fall is caused by her anticipation of her daughter leaving. This myth demonstrates the power of the gods, the power of love, and how fall and winter happen. The Greek gods and myths were a vital part to the ancient Greeks. The myths do explain nature and set up an orderly manner in which people should act. The myths, however, use gods to explain nature in order to substitute for pure logic. All the myths have meanings or explanations in which all the ancient questions are answered. The Greek myths were vital to Grecian society.

The Greeks believed that the earth was formed before any of the gods appeared. The gods, as the Greeks knew them, all originated with Father Heaven, and Mother Earth. Father Heaven was known as Uranus, and Mother Earth, as Gaea. Uranus and Gaea raised many children. Among them were the Cyclopes, the Titans, and the Hecatoncheires, or the Hundred- Handed Ones. Uranus let the Titans roam free, but he imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hundred- handed Ones beneath the earth.

Finally, Gaea could not bear Uranus’s unkindness to the Cyclopes and the Hundred-Handed Ones any longer. Gaea joined Cronos, one of the Titans; and together, they overcame Uranus, killed him, and threw his body into the sea. Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, later rose from the sea where Uranus’s body had been thrown. Now Cronus became king of the universe. Cronos married his sister, Rhea, and they had six children. At the time of Cronos’s marriage to Rhea, Gaea prophesied that one of his children would overthrow Cronos, as he had overthrown Uranus.

To protect himself, Cronos swallowed each of his first five children — Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon — immediately after birth. After the birth of her sixth and last child, Rhea tricked Cronos into swallowing a rock and then hid the child — Zeus — on earth. Zeus grew up on earth and was brought back to Mount Olympus as a cupbearer to his unsuspecting father. Rhea and Zeus connived against Cronos by mixing a noxious drink for him. Thinking it was wine, Cronos drank the mixture and promptly regulated his five other children, fully grown.

Then Zeus and his brothers waged a mighty battle against Cronos and the other Titans. Cronos and the Titans were defeated when Zeus ambushed them with the help of the Cyclopes and the Hundred-Headed Ones, and they panicked and retreated. Cronos and the Titans were imprisoned in the Earth where their fighting still causes earthquakes from time to time. Zeus and his brothers and sisters went to live on Mount Olympus, where they ruled over the earth. With our view of God, it can sometimes be difficult to comprehend the actions and thinking of the Greek deities.

The Christian God does not tend to take such an active role in the affairs of people’s lives, where, on the other hand, the Greeks regarded direct involvement by the gods as a daily, uncontrollable part of life. Needless to say, divine intervention was a major variable in the equation of Homer’s Iliad. The gods picked who they would favour for different reasons. Except Zeus: As the symbol of supreme authority and justice, he makes judgement calls as to the other gods’ involvement in the war, remains impartial, and doesn’t seem to get caught up in picking favourites.

Even when his own son, Sarpedon, was about to die, Zeus chose to let the outcome go unaltered. On the other hand, Zeus’s wife, Hera, displayed the more typical actions of a god. After Paris, a Trojan, judged Aphrodite the fairest over Hera, and, after her daughter Hebe was replaced as cupbearer to the gods by a young Trojan boy, she was quite resentful towards Troy and its people. Obviously she sided with the Greeks and would stop at no length to express her will. Scheming and manipulating she even dared to trick her husband, King of the Gods.

Hera, along with Athena, who was also passed over by Paris, is seen as the chief divine aid to the Greeks. Being the god of the sea, Poseidon was another strong supporter of the ocean-faring Greeks. Whenever Zeus turned his back Poseidon tried to help the Greeks in the fight. Poseidon felt that he was somewhat Zeus’s equal as his brother, but recognizing Zeus’s authority and experience, he looked to Zeus as an elder. There were also Gods who favoured the Trojan side of the conflict. Both Apollo and Artemis, twin brother and sister, gave aid to the city of Troy.

Although Artemis takes a rather minor role, Apollo, perhaps angered by Agamemmnon’s refusal to ransom Khryseis, the daughter of one of his priests and was constantly changing the course of the war in favour of the Trojans. Responsible for sending plague to the Greeks, Apollo was the first god to make an appearance in the Iliad. Also, mainly because Apollo and Artemis were on the Trojan side, their mother, Leto, also helped the Trojans. Aphrodite, obviously supporting Paris’s judgement, sided with the Trojans.

Although she was insignificant on the battlefield, Aphrodite was successful in convincing Ares, her lover and the god of war, to help the Trojans. One view of the gods’ seemingly constant intervention in the war was that they were just setting fate back on the right course. For instance, when Patroklos was killed outside of Troy, Apollo felt no guilt for his doings. It had already been decided that Patroklos would not take Troy, he should never have disobeyed Achilles in the first place. As a god, he was just setting fate on a straight line. Achilles laid blame on Hektor and the Trojans.

He did not even consider accusing Apollo, who never came into question, although he was primarily responsible for the kill. Apollo’s part in the matter was merely accepted as a natural disaster or illness would be today. This general acceptance of a god’s will is a recurring trend throughout the poem. A prime example of this trend is in book XXIV. Achilles, angry over the death of Patroklos brutally disgraced Hektor’s body. Tethering Hektor’s corpse through the ankles, Achilles dragged him around Patroklos’s tomb every day for twelve days. This barbaric treatment was uncalled for and displeased the gods greatly.

Achilles mother, Thetis, was sent by Zeus to tell him to ransom the body back to the Trojans. One may think Achilles would be possessive of the body and attempt to put up a fuss as he did before with Agamemmnon in Book I. But, Achilles showed humility and respect for the gods and immediately agreed to ransom the body to the Trojans, showing that all mortals, even god-like Achilles, were answerable to the gods. This ideology would seem to give the gods a sort of unlimited freedom on earth, although, the gods could not always do as they pleased and eventually had to come before Zeus.

Zeus acted as a balance of sorts throughout the Iliad. He had to keep the gods in order and make sure that what fate decreed would happen. For example, after Achilles re-enters the battle Zeus declared that if Achilles was allowed to go on slaughtering the Trojans with nothing to slow him down, he would take Troy before fate said it would happen. Therefore, to counter Achilles massive retaliation against the Trojans, Zeus allowed the gods to go back to the battle field.

In Zeus’s own interests, he preferred to deal with issues more personal to the individual heros of the Iliad. This can be seen throughout the book as Zeus attempted to increase the honour of certain individuals. Zeus knew that Hektor was going to be killed by Achilles, and, feeling sorry for Hektor Zeus attempted to allow Hektor to die an honourable death. For instance, when Hektor stripped Achilles armour off Patroklos, Zeus helped Hektor “fill out” the armour so he would not seem like less of a man then Achilles.

Zeus also gave his word to Thetis that Achilles would gain much glory showing his involvement on a personal level. Homer used the gods and their actions to establish twists on the plot of the war. It would not have been possible for him to write the story without the divine interventions of the gods. Indeed, they affected every aspect the poem in some way, shape or form. Yet, from the immortal perspective of the Greek god, the Trojan war, and everything related to it, was only a passing adventure in the great expanse of time.

In Greek mythology, Apollo and Dionysus are nearly opposites of one another, and as with many opposites, life would not operate just quite right without both of them. They each played a specific role for the Greeks. They had very different things associated with them. Apollo was often associated with logic and the power of the mind. He was basically in charge of the Work section of the people. Logic is something the Greeks used often, and when they didn’t, things often happened for the worst. He is also associated with intellect.

The followers of Apollo would consist of hose who strongly believed in the things he was thought to control. These people would believe in logic, they would believe in reason, and they would also pay attention to the power of the human mind. Another thing Apollo is associated with is music, so he would also be worshipped by music lovers. Apollo is worshipped in religion to provide his followers with logical thought and a good intellect. As for Greek thought, he was also very in control of this.

The Oracle at Delphi, mentioned in, but not only in, Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. The Oracle was there to bestow knowledge from Apollo onto those who came to it. Another reason people looked to Apollo was to help heal the sick and the dying, because he is associated with medicine, probably because of his vast knowledge. Dionysus, on the other hand, represents the Play side of life. He is the god of emotions, the god of wine, and also the god of fertility. Some things attributed to Dionysus are the dithyrambs, or choral hymns, sung for him but the people.

This was how they praised him. Drama is also directly associated with him. Being the god of wine and the god of fertility led to some very strange things in situations where Dionysus prevailed over Apollo. Many drunken orgies ook place during this time. The Dionysion followers might be thought of as all the people who enjoyed wine, the people who attended and enjoyed the Festival of Dionysus (leading to perhaps all current people who enjoy the drama), and to those who prayed for fertility.

The Greeks also acknowledged the existence of Dionysus as much as they did the existence of Apollo, so everyone who worshipped them dually would also be a follower. This means that Dionysus probably had just as large a following as Apollo, of not more because of the social aspect of life. The status of Dionysus for religion is that the is the god of fertility, o the dithyrambs that were in honor of Dionysus were also a way of praying for a good harvest or for many children.

Like Osiris, he was reborn after dying, and it is believed that these festivals may be linked to ceremonies that took place in Egypt. Most Greeks worshipped both Apollo and Dionysus. This acceptance of both their existences brings about a balance of the two forces. It is interesting that the Temple to Apollo is right next to the ruins of a Dionysion theater in Ancient Greece. Also, Apollo was represented with music, and Dionysus with the theater, and these two things go hand in hand.

Aeschylus use of darkness and light as a consistent image in the Oresteia depicts a progression from evil to goodness, disorder to order. In the Oresteia, there exists a situation among mortals which has gotten out of control; a cycle of death has arisen in the house of Atreus. There also exists a divine disorder within the story which, as the situation of the mortals, must be brought to resolution: the Furies, an older generation of gods, are in conflict with the younger Olympian gods because they have been refused their ancient right to avenge murders between members of the same family.

The Oresteia presents two parallel conflicts, both of which must be resolved if harmony is ever to be desired again. As one can expect, these conflicts eventually do find their resolutions, and the images of darkness and light accompany this progression, thereby emphasizing the movement from evil to good. The use of darkness imagery first emerges in the Agamemnon. In this first play of the trilogy, the cycle of death which began with the murder and consumption of Thyestes children continues with Clytaemestras murder of Agamemnon and Cassandra.

The darkness which is present in the beginning of the story is further magnified by the death of Agamemnon. This is illustrated when Clytaemestra says, Thus he [Agamemnon] went down, and the life struggled out of him; and as he died he spattered me with the dark red and violent driven rain of bitter savored blood (lines 1388-1390). Clytaemestra has evilly and maliciously murdered her own husband; thus the image of the dark blood. The darkness is representative of the evil which has permeated the house of Atreus, and which has persisted with this latest gruesome act of murder.

Because darkness results from the death of Agamemnon, Aeschylus clearly illustrates that this murder was nothing but pure evil. As long as this type of evil continues to be practiced in the house of Atreus, darkness will continue to emerge. The Oresteia has not yet seen the light. The beginning of the progression from darkness to light can initially be seen in the second play of the trilogy, The Libation Bearers. Orestes is the embodiment of this light, a beacon signalling a possible end in the evil that has infected the house of Atreus.

It is true that Orestes, in revenge for Agamemnon, kills his mother Clytaemestra. Yet the darkness that is expected from such a murder, a matricide, is negated by one of the main reasons that Orestes commits the murder: his fear of the wrath of Apollo, who has ordered him to commit the deadly act. Aeschylus provides Orestes with a justification for his action in the form of the oracle from Apollo. For not only does Orestes murder of his mother fail to differ greatly from Clytaemestras murder of Agamemnon, but it can in fact be seen as a worse crime because of the blood ties.

Therefore, in order to convincingly prove his assertion that Orestes is justified in killing his mother, Aeschylus must include the order from Apollo, who by no mere coincidence is the god of light. With the divine support of the light god on his side, Orestes is the beginning of the progressive illumination towards goodness and order in the Oresteia. Another example of Orestes introduction of light into a story of darkness occurs later in The Libation Bearers. The chorus is describing the dream that Clytaemestra has had of giving birth to a snake, which represents Orestes.

The chorus sings of Clytaemestras fear as she awakens from the nightmare: She woke screaming out of her sleep, shaky with fear, as torches kindled all about the house, out of the blind dark that had been on them (lines 535-537). Aeschylus describes the house of Clytaemestra, the rightful house of Atreus and the Atridae, as dark; this darkness has been caused by none other than her own murderous deeds. She has dreamt of the coming of her son Orestes to avenge his father, and the torches that light up the house signal this coming. Clearly, Orestes is the man who will restore light to the house of Atreus.

Orestes is looked upon by those characters sympathetic to his plight (namely Electra and the chorus of The Libation Bearers) as the light which will bring an end to the evil in the house of Atreus. Soon after Orestes reveals his identity to his sister, he proclaims that he will avenge his fathers murder. The chorus, who represent the subjects of the late Agamemnon, express their gratitude for Orestes decision when they say, But when strength came back hope lifted me again, and the sorrow was gone and the light was on me (lines 415-417).

Orestes arrival and his resolution to make his mother pay for her crimes illuminates the darkness which Clytaemestra has brought upon the royal house; the chorus, in proclaiming that the light is on them, recognize that Orestes is the man who will achieve this illumination. Electra also recognizes that Orestes will bring good to an evil situation: O bright beloved presence, you bring back four lives to me (lines 238-239). Orestes presence brightens the dark, gloomy state of mind of Electra just as it brightens the dark, gloomy situation in the house of Atreus.

Following the murder of Clytaemestra and Aegisthus at the hands of Orestes, light is finally restored to the conflict within the mortal house of Atreus. Orestes has fulfilled the oracle imposed upon him by Apollo, and the darkness, the evil of Clytaemestra, has been defeated. In reference to this defeat, the chorus proclaims, Light is here to behold. The big hit that held our house is taken away (lines 961-962). The disorder and darkness that had reigned in the house of Atreus exists no longer; Orestes has given his family illumination. The evil darkness has been overcome by the good light.

Another way in which Aeschylus manifests the imagery of light and darkness is through the conflict between the Olympic and Chthonic gods. The Olympic gods are represented in the Oresteia by Apollo and Athene. Aeschylus ties together the ideas of justice and reason, Athenes domain, with the idea of light, of which Apollo is god. By contrast, the black clad Chthonic gods, the Furies, tie together the idea of darkness with the idea of bloody revenge, which is their area of specialization. In the Eumenides, Pythia says of the Furies, They are black and utterly repulsive, and they snore with breath that drives one back (lines 52-53).

The contrast between the two different races of gods sets up Aeschylus second progression from darkness to light in the Oresteia. The Furies are at first incapable of treating Orestes with the justice that he deserves. They do not take into account the circumstances under which Orestes killed his mother, specifically the pressure which he had received from Apollo. Therefore, the Furies are at first enraged that Athene allows Orestes to escape their dark and bloody vengeance. Eventually, however, the Furies hate begins to subside and they accept the arbitration of Athene, who offers them land and honor in Athens.

This acceptance marks the beginning of their movement from darkness to light. They embrace the just attitude of the Olympic gods Apollo and Athene, progressing from a doctrine of bloody revenge to one of reason and justice. The light images emerge along with this progression, and the Furies proclaim near the end of the Eumenides: So with forecast of good I speak this prayer for them [the citizens of Athens] that the suns bright magnificence shall break out wave on wave of all the happiness life can give , across their land (lines 921-925).

The Chthonic gods have given up their dark ways and have called for light. This light image is also manifested in the garments that the Furies change into at the end of the Eumenides: where they had previously worn black robes, they now wear bright crimson robes. Now calling themselves the Eumenides, or Benevolent Ones, these gods have progressed from symbols of evil darkness into symbols of bright goodness. In his trilogy the Oresteia, Aeschylus use of darkness and light imagery coincides with his progression of themes.

Orestes, who represents light, brings and end to the vicious cycle of dark death continued by Clytaemestra. He illuminates the dark evil in the house of Atreus. Likewise, Athene and Apollo bring the Furies out of their dark, blood-lusting ways and into an order of justice and reason, transforming them into the brightly clad Benevolent Ones. In the end, goodness prevails over evil just as light conquers darkness. Aeschylus effectively makes use of his images to emphasize this movement.

Artemis was born of Leto and Zeus, on the island of Delos, later helping with the delivery of her twin brother, Apollo. Some sources state that her actual birthplace is not Delos, but an island called Ortygia. Although the two islands could be one and the same, it is not clear. In helping with the birth of her brother Artemis fulfilled her role as a goddess of childbirth (which she shares with Eileithyia and Hera). She is the goddess of chastity, the hunt and the moon, too. But I’ll get more into those later. Artemis was closely linked with her brother.

For example, sudden death, particularly of the young, was often attributed to them (Artemis killing the girls and Apollo the boys). In fact, a rather famous legend involves both Artemis and Apollo. The story is told at length by the poet Ovid, in his Metamorphoses. The women of Thebes gave Leto great honor, often offering generous gifts and hymns to her which upset Niobe. After all, She had seven daughters and seven sons, whereas Leto merely had the twins. Besides, she was rich and beautiful, and the queen of Thebes. So Niobe claimed that she deserved the attention and honor more then Leto. Upon hearing this Leto was infuriated.

She couldn’t believe such blatant hubris, and complained to her two children. To avenge their insulted mother, Apollo and Artemis went to the palace of Thebes and with their unerring shafts, they shot down all 14 of Niobe’s children (Artemis the girls and Apollo the boys). Niobe was turned to stone and placed atop a mountain. It is said that tears continue to trickle down her marble face, with the grief of her dead children. As the goddess of chastity, Artemis is modest, pure, and virginal. One famous story depicting her chaste nature is the story of Actaeon, also told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

Actaeon was a passionate hunter. Out on his hunt, one day, he found himself lost, and stumbled upon Artemis bathing with her nymphs in a stream in the forest. Without her arrows at hand, she flung water over the surprised Actaeon. To ensure that he could never tell of seeing the modest goddess nude, she turned him into a stag. He fled but was hunted and killed by his own hunting hounds. Though severe, Artemis protected her virginal nature (even if it may have been an accident to begin with). Another story in which her purity is protected by her ardent actions was that of Callisto, a follower of Artemis.

Callisto, a sworn maid and fervent follower of the goddess, was raped and impregnated by Zeus. Ashamed of what had happened, she withdrew and hid her body. At a time when she had began to show, the goddess requested that Callisto and the nymphs bathe with her in the cool stream. Artemis immediately percieved the girl’s naked and pregnant figure, and expelled her from her group of followers; she could not be defiled by the company of Callisto. Hera, the wife of Zeus, became angry when she learned of Callisto and her son Arcas, and turned her into a bear.

Callisto, later nearly hunted by her own son,– ignorant of his parentage– was saved, and Zeus whisked both into the heavens. They are now the constellations, Callisto, the great bear, and Arcas, the little bear. Constellations also figure into another such story about Artemis. In the story of Orion, he is out hunting when he encounters Artemis. He tries to rape her, and in her fury she makes a scorpion out of the earth to sting him to death. It is said that both can be seen in the night sky now– Scorpio the scorpion and Orion the hunter.

Orion’s hunting dog was also turned into the constellation Canis Major, with Sirius as the dog star. The story of Hippolytus, written by the poet Euripides, shows a softer side of the young goddess’ nature. Hippolytus, an ardent and devoted follower of Artemis, refused to honor the sensual Aphrodite, goddess of lust and physical love. Hippolytus was pure and chaste, and wanted nothing to do with the voluptuous and sex-driven Aphrodite; he honored Artemis foremost. Enraged by the hubris of Hippolytus’ blatant disregardof her, Aphrodite sought revenge.

She made his stepmother, Phaedra, fall desperately in love with him. When Hippolytus found out, he was horrified. Mortified that others might find out, and frustrated by Hippolytus’ callous and intemperate response to her feelings, Phaedra hanged herself and left a deceitful note saying that Hippolytus had forced himself on her. Hippolytus’ father, Theseus, upon reading the note found on his dead wife, cursed his son to death (by the sea god Poseidon). In the end the goddess Artemis reveals all to Theseus. Before dying, Hippolytus forgave his father, whose sorrow would haunt him for life.

Afterwards Artemis honored Hippolytus with ceremonies held in his honor in Troezen each year. Artemis is often confused with both Selene, the moon goddess, and Hecate, goddess of roads, ghosts, witches, and the moon, who is also a fertility goddess. Although Artemis is a virgin, she is depicted as a fertility goddess (Artemis of the Ephesians)– like the goddess of childbirth, already cited). The three manifestations of her character as goddess of the moon are Selene in the heavens, Artemis on earth, and Hecate in the underworld. In art, she is often shown with the crescent moon on her crown.

Other attributes, not related to the moon, include her bow and arrow, an animal or two by her side, and a torch (to portray the light of birth, life, and fertility). The common perception of the goddess is that of the virgin huntress, regardless of the other conceptions of her. As the daughter of Zeus and Leto, Artemis was an Olympian. Her main vocation was to roam mountain forests and uncultivated land with her faithful nymphs, hunting. As the goddess of childbirth, not only for humans, but for animals too, she not only hunted, but also saw that they were protected and safe, and was responsible for overseeing their reproduction.

As for other contradictions to the goddess’ chaste character, she was seen as the protectress of women in labor, the guardian of small children, and the patron of women in childbirth. But she is said to bring on sudden death while a woman gives birth, which is yet another contradiction in character. For Artemis as a divinity of healing (as was her brother Apollo), another interesting inconsistency is that she was also thought to be responsible for bringing and spreading disease (for example, leprosy, rabies, gout, etc. ). Artemis was honored all over the Greek world.

In Ephesus, a great temple was even built in her honor, which was later named one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. She had two sanctuaries in Sparta as well. Among the epithets given to Artemis were Potnia Theron (mistress of wild animals), Kourotrophos (nurse of youths), Locheia (helper in childbirth), Agrotera (huntress), and Cynthia (taken from Mt. Cynthus on Delos, where she was born). As a goddess, Artemis was pure and divine. Though perhaps rash at times, she was an honorable representation of true chastity and goodness.

In Greek Mythology a rivalry always occurs between certain Gods and Goddesses. In the case of Apollo and Dionysus there is no exception. They are half brothers, both sons of Zues and they compete just as most brothers do. Though the two Greek Gods, Apollo and Dionysus, were actually very similar in some ways, they severely contrasted in others. Dionysus, son of Zues and Semele and Apollo, son of Zues and Leto, both were born under strange conditions.

Dionysus was born from the thigh of Zues after being fully grown, and Apollo’s mother, Leto, was in labor for nine days with him because Hera did not want him to be born and would not give Leto a safe place for the child to be delivered. Both these Gods have the need for power and a very creative drive. They spent their youth recruiting new worshipers for their respective cults in which they started, each cult showing their divinity. They are both associated with the phenomenon of ecstasy, meaning to stand outside oneself.

In one such case, Apollo’s priestess Pythia was overcome by his spirit and began speaking in tongues. Also when possessed by Dionysus, his followers similarly changed there normal actions, breaking into wild dances and \”experienced a rapturous sense of union with their God. \” This shows how they made contact with humans, but in very different ways. The Differences between Apollo and Dionysus are not difficult to see. Though both Gods are associated with music and dance, their musical styles are dissimilar.

Apollo plays the golden lyre, which invokes feelings of harmony and serenity. Dionysus, on the other hand, invents the timbrel, it is a drum beaten to furious, erratic rhythms that express his compulsive nature. Apollo retains abstract intellect, he is an educator of young men, and promotes logical and rational thought. Dionysus desires irrational power, he liberates humans to explore there potential for emotional and behavioral extremes, he allows his unconscious to flourish, and he is embodied by spontaneous emotion.

Greek tradition said that each year Apollo left his sanctuary at Delphi to live with the Hyperboreans, a mythical tribe inhabiting the extreme north. When he did that, Dionysus reigned in Delphi for the 3 winter months. During these months a noticeable change would come over people. Spontaneity came over everyone, and the concept of rational thought would be lost until Apollo’s return. Obviously Dionysus was much more liberal when compared to Apollo. One would clearly be able to see these noticeable similarities between Dionysus and Apollo, but I feel that their severe differences are not as obvious.

When taken into consideration, half-brothers that are both Gods would not be deemed such opposites. Their character’s express extreme parallels of personality, one being passive and the other more aggressive. I believe that for all of Apollo and Dionysus’ similarities, that they are more different than anyone would conclude. It doesn’t seem that they would meet eye to eye on any one subject and that their only real connection is the father that they share.

Mythology was an integral part of the lives of all ancient peoples. The myths of Ancient Greece are the most familiar to us, for they are deeply entrenched in the consciousness of Western civilization. The myths were accounts of the lives of the deities whom the Greeks worshipped. The Greeks had many deities, including 12 principal ones, who lived on Mt. Olympus. The myths are all things to all people a rollicking good yarn, expressions of deep psychological insights, words of spine-tingling poetic beauty and food for the imagination.

They serve a timeless universal need, and have inspired great literature, art and music, roviding archetypes through which we can learn much about the deeper motives of human behavior. No-one has the definitive answer as to why or how the myths came into being, nut many are allegorical accounts of historical facts. The Olympian family were a desperate lot despite being related. The next time you have a bowl of corn flakes give thanks to Demeter the goddess of vegetation. The English word “cereal” for products of corn or edible grain derives from the goddess Roman name, Ceres. In Greek the word for such products is demetriaka.

Demeter was worshipped as he goddess of earth and fertility. Zeus was the king and leader of the 12. His symbol was the thunder and in many of his statues he appears holding one. Poseidon, god of the sea and earthquakes, was most at home in the depths of the Aegean where he lived in a sumptuous golden palace. When he became angry (which was often) he would use his trident to create massive waves and floods. Ever intent upon expanding his domain, he challenged Dionysos for Naxos, Hera for Argos and Athena for Athens. Ares, god of war, was a nasty piece of work fiery tempered, bloodthirsty, brutal and violent.

In contrast Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, symbol of security, happiness and hospitality, was as pure as driven snow. She spurned disputes and wars and swore to be a virgin forever. Hera was not a principal deity; her job was a subservient one she was Zeus cupbearer. Athena, the powerful goddess of wisdom and patron of Athens, is said to have been born (complete with helmet, armor and spear) from Zeus head, with Hephaestus acting as midwife. Unlike Ares, she derived no pleasure from fighting, but preferred settling disputes peacefully using her wisdom; however, if need be she went valiantly into battle.

Hephaestus was worshipped for his matchless skills as a craftsman. When Zeus decided to punish men he asked Hephaestus to make a woman. So Hephaestus made Pandora from clay and water, and, as everyone knows, she had a box, from which sprang all the evils afflicting humankind. Apart fro one misdemeanor, Hephaestus character seems to have been exemplary. During the Trojan War Athena asked the god to make her a new suit of armor. Poseidon, on hearing this, teased Hephaestus by saying that when Athena came to his forge she would expect him to make mad passionate love to her.

As Athena wrested herself from the eager Hephaestus, he ejaculated against her thigh. She removed his seed with wool and threw it away, and Gaea, who happened to pass by, was inadvertently fertilized. When Gaeas unwanted offspring was born, Athena brought him up, and he eventually became King Erichthonius of Athens. Apollo, god of the sun, and Artemis, goddess of the moon, were the twins of Leto and Zeus. Many qualities were attributed to Apollo, for the Ancient Greeks believed that the sun not only gave physical light, but that its light was symbolic of mental illumination.

Apollo was also worshipped as the god of music and song, which the ancients believed were only heard where there was light and security. Artemis was worshipped as the goddess of childbirth and protector of children; yet, paradoxically, she asked Zeus if he would grant her eternal virginity. She was also the protector of suckling animals, but loved to hunt stags! Hermes was born of Maia, daughter of Atlas and one of Zeus paramours. He had an upwardly mobile career. His first job was as protector of the animal kingdom. As the chief source of wealth was cattle, he therefore became the god of wealth.

However, as civilization advanced, trade replaced cattle as the main source of wealth, so Hermes became god of trade. However, a prerequisite for good trade was good commerce, so he became the god of commerce. To progress in commerce a merchant needed to be shrewd, so this attribute was assigned to Hermes. Later it was realized that to excel in commerce one needed to use the art of persuasion, so Hermes was promoted to god of oratory. Last but not least of the 12 principal deities was the beautiful Aphrodite, goddess of love, who rose naked out of the sea. Her tour de force was her magic girdle which made veryone fall in love with its wearer.

The girdle meant she was constantly pursued by both gods and goddesses because they wanted to borrow the girdle. Zeus became so fed up with her promiscuity that he married her off to Hephaestus, the ugliest of the gods. Hades never made it to Mt. Olympus, but his job was nevertheless an important one. Hades dominion was the vast and mysterious underworld (Tartarus). He was the benevolent god who gave fertility to vegetation and who yielded precious stones and metals. But he was also the feared guardian of a dark realm, from which no-one, having once journeyed, ever returned.

A number of the countless lesser gods were powerful but never made it to Zeus inner circle. Pan, the son of Hermes, was born with horns, beard, tail and goat legs. His ugliness so amused the other gods that eventually he escaped to Arcadia where he danced, played his shepherds pipe and watched over the pastures, shepherds and herds. Dionysos, son of Hera and Zeus, was even more hideous at birth horned and crowned with serpents. His parents boiled him in a cauldron, but he was rescued by Rhea, and banished to Mt. Nysa in Libya where he invented wine.

He eventually returned to Greece where he organized runken revelries and married Ariadne, daughter of King Minos. In addition to the gods the Ancient Greeks revered many beings who had probably once been mortal, such as King Minos, Theseus and Erichthonious. Intermediaries between gods and humans, such as the satyrs, also appear in the myths. The satyrs lived in woods and had goat horns and tails; they worshipped the god Dionysos, so, appropriately, they spent much of their time drinking and dancing. Nymphs lived in secluded valleys and grottoes and occupied themselves with spinning, weaving, bathing, singing and dancing.

Pan found them irresistible. The Muses, of which there were nine, were nymphs of the mountain springs; they were believed to inspire poets, artists and musicians. Finally, mention should be made of the three crones Tisiphone, Aledo and Megara sometimes called the Furies whose job it was to deal with grievances from mortals, and punish wrongdoers. They had dogs heads, snakes hair, bloodshot eyes, coal black bodies and bats wings and carried brass-studded scourges. It was considered unlucky to call them by name they had to be called Eumenides the kindly ones!

Hermes was a God of mischief and excitement. He was known for inventing measurement, musical instruments, and steeling cattle. Hermes was a God that everyone can relate to. Hermes did small important chores for the Gods, but his main job was delivering messages. Was Hermes a good or a bad God? Hermes the son of Maia, a local Goddess, and Zeus, the ruler of all the Gods, was born in a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. (Rosenberg, Donna) Zeus added Maia to his group of female conquests, which was pretty long. Zeus liked Hermes for his sense of humor and his cleverness so he allowed Hermes to stay on Mount Olympus every once and a while.

To not arise suspicions with his wife, Hera, he made Hermes his messenger. When Hades, the god of the underworld and the dead, threatened to tell Hera about Hermes. Zeus agreed to allow Hermes to be the messenger for the underworld. When he wasnt busy with his fathers business, he guided the dead and dying mortals to the underworld according to Gods, Heros, and Monsters. Hermes was the most Human of the Greek gods, combining a lively intelligence with imagination, goodness, and a sense of humor. (Rosenberg, Donna) Most of the mortal people liked Hermes, for he was one of the most helpful of all the Gods.

He protected Gymnasiums and Stadiums, as well as the athletes that participated in them. Even though he helped people, he also had a crafty and cunning side to him. Hermes got in a lot of trouble as an infant, and as a young child. He was known as the patron of trickster, gamblers, and thieves, as well as other things. Hermes invented many things throughout his life. He was a very accomplished musician, so he invented a lyre (guitar) and a flute out of reeds. Since he was known as the God of commerce he is credited for establishing a system of weights and measures.

He is also credited for creating fire from rubbing two sticks together. This was discovered when he was a cave sacrificing two of Apollos cows to the Gods. Hermes is known for a lot of good things, such as the god of travelers, wind, and commerce. (Encarta CD-ROM) The reason for him to be known as the God of Wind, because Zeus gifted him with wings on his feet and on his helmet, so he could fly easily anywhere in the universe. (Switzer, Ellen) He helped guide travelers to their destination, as Zeus protected them on their journey. He was also known as the God of Commerce, he protection traders of herds.

Internet Hermes) Hermes downside got him in plenty of trouble. His mischievous behavior as a young child he was given the name God of Thieves, Gamblers, and Liars. When he was an infant he stole Apollos cattle, and lied when confronted with it. Only a few minutes after Hermes was born he was hungry for adventure. He left his crib and started down Mount Olympus, in search of adventure. On his way down he saw a tortoise, he thought to himself That tortoise shell would make beautiful music, so he grabbed it and took it back to his cave. He cut off the tortoises legs and used a iron chisel to dig out its organs.

He cut reed stalks of the right size, pierced the tortoises shell, and fastened the stalks to the shell. He stretched oxhide over the shell, and stretched seven sheep-gut strings along the bridge. This instrument that he created was called a lyre (we know it as guitar). After he finished it he sung to Maia and Zeus about his own birth according to Mythology and You. Hermes soon grew tired of the instrument and placed it in his crib. His restless nature urged him once again to start down the mountain in search of adventure. He found Apollos cattle grazing in a meadow nearby.

Since there was nowhere to hide the cattle he led them backward towards the sandy-shores and into a cave. To disguise his own footprints he wove a pair of wicker sandals from leafy myrtle twigs. As he drove the cattle to the cave he saw an old man working of his vineyard. Pretend that you have seen nothing and heard nothing, Hermes called out to the old man, because no one is harming anything which is yours. Then, Hermes drove the cattle through the countryside towards Pylos, a city in Greece. Next, he created a way of making fire by rubbing sticks together.

Upon this fire, he sacrificed two cows, roasting their meat and dividing them into twelve portions. This sacrificed was to the twelve gods, and to rejoice for his own birth. As he finished his work, the sun began to rise, so he put out the fire and quickly went home. As soon as he got home he climbed into his cradle and wrapped himself in his infant sheet. He lay their looking innocently playing with his wrappings. Maia, however was not deceived by her sons act of innocence, because she knew what he was capable of doing. What is going on here, little schemer? e asked. What have you been up to outside in the middle of the night? The next morning Apollo found the old man grazing his flock and spoke to him: Old man, I am searching for my cattle that wandered away from the meadows last evening. Have you seen anyone pass by with them? The Old man replied, I thought I saw a infant driving them backwards so that their head faced him. Apollo then saw some cattle tracks heading towards the meadows and a set of tracks that he did not recognize. He hurried on his way and found a hidden cave on Mount Cyllene.

There he entered angrily and found Maia and Hermes. Apollo inspected the cave carefully and then said to Hermes, Oh, child you had better tell me where you have put my cattle. Hermes told Apollo that he had no idea where his cattle were. Apollo then grabbed Hermes and started to climb Mount Olympus to go talk to Zeus. When they got to the top they found Zeus. Apollo explained what had happened, and when Zeus, knowing what had really happened, he asked Hermes to explained what he had done and where he took Apollo cows.

When they arrived Apollo noticed the two cows that were slaughtered, and asked him why they were slaughtered. When Hermes told him that he sacrificed them for the twelve gods, Apollo said I only know of eleven gods, me included. Hermes then said, I am the twelfth god. For saying he was sorry for what he had done, Hermes gave Apollo the lyre he made. Apollo gave Hermes a whip for his cattle. Apollo made Hermes take an oath saying he would never harm him in anyway. After he did Apollo took the same oath, and they became the best of friends, and were friends ever sense.

Rosenberg, Donna) Was Hermes a good or bad God? In the beginning of his life he wasnt the best, but in the end Hermes turned out to be a good God. Despite being named the God of Thieves, Gamblers, and Liars he was an all around good God. Hermes was a God of mischief and excitement. He was known for inventing measurement, musical instruments, and steeling cattle. Hermes was a God that everyone can relate to. Hermes did small important chores for the Gods, but his main job was delivering messages. Was Hermes a good or a bad God?

Hermes the son of Maia, a local Goddess, and Zeus, the ruler of all the Gods, was born in a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. (Rosenberg, Donna) Zeus added Maia to his group of female conquests, which was pretty long. Zeus liked Hermes for his sense of humor and his cleverness so he allowed Hermes to stay on Mount Olympus every once and a while. To not arise suspicions with his wife, Hera, he made Hermes his messenger. When Hades, the god of the underworld and the dead, threatened to tell Hera about Hermes. Zeus agreed to allow Hermes to be the messenger for the underworld.

When he wasnt busy with his fathers business, he guided the dead and dying mortals to the underworld according to Gods, Heros, and Monsters. Hermes was the most Human of the Greek gods, combining a lively intelligence with imagination, goodness, and a sense of humor. (Rosenberg, Donna) Most of the mortal people liked Hermes, for he was one of the most helpful of all the Gods. He protected Gymnasiums and Stadiums, as well as the athletes that participated in them. Even though he helped people, he also had a crafty and cunning side to him. Hermes got in a lot of trouble as an infant, and as a young child.

He was known as the patron of trickster, gamblers, and thieves, as well as other things. Hermes invented many things throughout his life. He was a very accomplished musician, so he invented a lyre (guitar) and a flute out of reeds. Since he was known as the God of commerce he is credited for establishing a system of weights and measures. He is also credited for creating fire from rubbing two sticks together. This was discovered when he was a cave sacrificing two of Apollos cows to the Gods. Hermes is known for a lot of good things, such as the god of travelers, wind, and commerce.

Encarta CD-ROM) The reason for him to be known as the God of Wind, because Zeus gifted him with wings on his feet and on his helmet, so he could fly easily anywhere in the universe. (Switzer, Ellen) He helped guide travelers to their destination, as Zeus protected them on their journey. He was also known as the God of Commerce, he protection traders of herds. (Internet Hermes) Hermes downside got him in plenty of trouble. His mischievous behavior as a young child he was given the name God of Thieves, Gamblers, and Liars. When he was an infant he stole Apollos cattle, and lied when confronted with it.

Only a few minutes after Hermes was born he was hungry for adventure. He left his crib and started down Mount Olympus, in search of adventure. On his way down he saw a tortoise, he thought to himself That tortoise shell would make beautiful music, so he grabbed it and took it back to his cave. He cut off the tortoises legs and used a iron chisel to dig out its organs. He cut reed stalks of the right size, pierced the tortoises shell, and fastened the stalks to the shell. He stretched oxhide over the shell, and stretched seven sheep-gut strings along the bridge.

This instrument that he created was called a lyre (we know it as guitar). After he finished it he sung to Maia and Zeus about his own birth according to Mythology and You. Hermes soon grew tired of the instrument and placed it in his crib. His restless nature urged him once again to start down the mountain in search of adventure. He found Apollos cattle grazing in a meadow nearby. Since there was nowhere to hide the cattle he led them backward towards the sandy-shores and into a cave. To disguise his own footprints he wove a pair of wicker sandals from leafy myrtle twigs.

As he drove the cattle to the cave he saw an old man working of his vineyard. Pretend that you have seen nothing and heard nothing, Hermes called out to the old man, because no one is harming anything which is yours. Then, Hermes drove the cattle through the countryside towards Pylos, a city in Greece. Next, he created a way of making fire by rubbing sticks together. Upon this fire, he sacrificed two cows, roasting their meat and dividing them into twelve portions. This sacrificed was to the twelve gods, and to rejoice for his own birth.

As he finished his work, the sun began to rise, so he put out the fire and quickly went home. As soon as he got home he climbed into his cradle and wrapped himself in his infant sheet. He lay their looking innocently playing with his wrappings. Maia, however was not deceived by her sons act of innocence, because she knew what he was capable of doing. What is going on here, little schemer? she asked. What have you been up to outside in the middle of the night? The next morning Apollo found the old man grazing his flock and spoke to him: Old man, I am searching for my cattle that wandered away from the meadows last evening.

Have you seen anyone pass by with them? The Old man replied, I thought I saw a infant driving them backwards so that their head faced him. Apollo then saw some cattle tracks heading towards the meadows and a set of tracks that he did not recognize. He hurried on his way and found a hidden cave on Mount Cyllene. There he entered angrily and found Maia and Hermes. Apollo inspected the cave carefully and then said to Hermes, Oh, child you had better tell me where you have put my cattle. Hermes told Apollo that he had no idea where his cattle were.

Apollo then grabbed Hermes and started to climb Mount Olympus to go talk to Zeus. When they got to the top they found Zeus. Apollo explained what had happened, and when Zeus, knowing what had really happened, he asked Hermes to explained what he had done and where he took Apollo cows. When they arrived Apollo noticed the two cows that were slaughtered, and asked him why they were slaughtered. When Hermes told him that he sacrificed them for the twelve gods, Apollo said I only know of eleven gods, me included. Hermes then said, I am the twelfth god.

For saying he was sorry for what he had done, Hermes gave Apollo the lyre he made. Apollo gave Hermes a whip for his cattle. Apollo made Hermes take an oath saying he would never harm him in anyway. After he did Apollo took the same oath, and they became the best of friends, and were friends ever sense. (Rosenberg, Donna) Was Hermes a good or bad God? In the beginning of his life he wasnt the best, but in the end Hermes turned out to be a good God. Despite being named the God of Thieves, Gamblers, and Liars he was an all around good God.

The hero stands as an archetype of who we should be and who we wish to be. However, the hero has inherent flaws which we do not wish to strive towards. In literature, these flaws are not used as examples of what we should be but rather as examples of what not to be. This is especially dominant in the Greek hero. While the Greek hero follows his fate, making serious mistakes and having a fairly simple life, the Anglo-Saxon “super” hero tries, and may succeed, to change his fate, while dealing with a fairly complex life. The Greek hero is strong and mighty while his wit and intelligence are highly valued.

In the Greek tragedy, the hero struggles to avoid many flaws. Among these flaws are ambition, foolishness, stubbornness, and hubris-the excessive component of pride. He must overcome his predestined fate-a task which is impossible. From the beginning of the tale, it is already clear that the hero will ultimately fail with the only way out being death. In Oedipus, the hero is already confronted with a load of information about his family and gouges his eyes out. At this point, when he tries to outwit his fate he has already lost and is sentenced to death.

The Anglo-Saxon hero must also deal with his “fate” but tries, and usually succeeds, to change it. While the Greek hero battles his fate with his excessive pride and intelligence, the Anglo-Saxon hero tries to eliminate his doom by force. The Anglo-Saxon hero is considered a barbarian of sorts due to his sometimes unethical and immoral views and courses of action. At the end, the Anglo-Saxon succeeds in altering his fate though. The Greek hero is so normal, that the reader can relate to him. He is usually a “common” human being with no extraordinary life.

His story seems believable, even possible. We would have no hard time imagining the hero’s conflict as being ours. As in the case with Oedipus, we can understand how he feels it would be possible for his circumstances to be applied to our lives. Although the details may seem a little farfetched it is not impossible that there is some truth to the story. On the other hand, the Anglo-Saxon hero, being super-human, is especially difficult to relate to. The Anglo-Saxon may reach the same pedestal as a God. It is extremely hard to relate to this sort of person.

Who can relate to Beowulf, fighting a dragon named Grendel? It seems impossible. Such seems seem to be pure fiction or folklore. Nobody could apply such a situation to his life. The Greek hero is more of a thinker than a violent individual. He tries to outwit everyone including his fate. He has a high level of hubris. This is exactly the cause of his death making his fight nearly pointless. Oedipus deals with the human struggle for knowledge-first for knowledge of the evil which sets on the state, but ultimately for self-knowledge.

Despite the advice of others, Oedipus remains with his illusion, he must find the truth even if it will destroy him. Oedipus is a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s Conception in The Poetics. He is not the victim of fate expressed in the oracles. His tragedy results from within his character. He sees things only one way-his way, and driven by his uncontrolled emotions, ends up dead. Beowulf is the hands on, brutal type. There is no way he could overcome his fate with his brain. The only way out of the situation is to fight. In the Anglo-Saxon tragedy, there is no room to think and analyze the situation.

The hands on, physical confrontations seem more effective, since Beowulf is able to change the course of his fate. The tragic hero yearns to believe that there is purpose to his actions, yet many of his actions lead to pain and disaster more so in the Greek than Anglo-Saxon literature. He evolves thinking about right and wrong or good and evil, believing that these come to him as divine revelations. Yet he often discovers that his morality produces immoral results, and his good is often evil. The Anglo-Saxon is content with what is happening and decides to use his power to overcome his conflict rather than his mind.

“The arts of the western world have been largely dominated by the artistic standards established by the Greeks of the classical period” (Spreloosel 86). It is from the Greek word theatron, meaning a place for sitting, that we get our word theater. According to James Butler, “The Greeks were the first people to erect special structures to bring audiences and theatrical performers together” (27). “The theaters were normally located near a populated area at the bottom of or cut out of a carefully selected, sloping hillside overlooking a seascape, a plain, or a city” (Butler 30).

They eventually with few exceptions consisted of three distinct parts: theatron (viewing place) for spectators, orchestra (dancing place) where the chorus and actors performed; and a later addition, a skene (scene building), which provided a scenic backing” (Butler 30). The theatron was the place where the audience sat. At first the spectators sat on the ground, later on wooden bleachers and finally on tiers of stone seats which followed the circular shape of the orchestra and the natural contours of the countryside. The theatron surrounded the orchestra on three sides.

Describing the theater of Dionysus, David Taylor writes, ” The spectators seats were in a curving area, a little more than a semi-circle and slope down to the center” (Taylor 19). Even though all classes of people attended the theater there were reserved areas for the more prestigious, such as the king. ” The audience arranged in rows, looked out across a rounded orchestra” (Kennedy 1102). Because most of the early dramas were religious and required a sacrificial ceremony, a thymele (an altar or sacrificial table) was located in the center of the orchestra.

The orchestra was where the chorus and actors performed. Arnott states, ” the nucleus of the drama was the chorus” (Arnott 9). David Taylor comments, ” The theater actually did start without any separate actors; there was only the chorus” (15). Later actors were added, but the chorus still remained the center of attention. The audience sat at a considerable distance from the orchestra and looked down on the performance. Although the amount of detail perceived was limited, they often were drawn into the play and became characters themselves.

The action has spilled over from the orchestra to the auditorium to embrace the whole community, players and public alike” (Anott 21). The third distinct part of the theater was the skene (scene building). “The earliest scene buildings were very simple wooden structures ” (Butler 31). ” Originally, the skene was a dressing room; later it is believed to have borne a painted backdrop” (Kennedy 1102). This area was known as the actors place. It was intended to provide a background against which actors could perform.

In Greek theater as we know it, the skene appears as a appendage, adjunct, breaking the perfect circularity of the design” (Arnott 13). Although the origin of the Greek theater is unclear, many historians believe that it developed out of religious ritual and its performances were connected to religious festivals. The performances were used to educate and entertain. “The theater is certainly not the same as it was in ancient Greece – but it has not changed completely” (Taylor 8). This form of art has always had a Art has changed a great deal since it began many centuries ago.

Centuries, however, are not necessary to notice the small changes that are evident even between cultures of similar times. Such is the case with the Greeks and Romans. Both cultures had exquisite pieces of art, but they were very different from each other. The amazing thing about art is that no matter how many differences exist, it is still beautiful in its own sense. There are also a number of similarities that are evident with these two cultures as well, but the point that will be focused on is the differences that are found between Greek and Roman art.

The pieces that will be focused on from the Greeks are Black-Figured Psykter and Red-Figured Kylix Depicting a Young Athelete, and from the Romans are Mummy Portrait of a Man and Mummy Portrait of a Young Woman. The Roman Portraits are located at The Menil Collection in Houston. The Mummy Portrait of a Man is from the Fayum region in Egypt. It was painted about 150-200 B. C. It is painted in encaustic on wood, and is a Fayum portrait. The Mummy Portrait of a Young Woman is also from the Fayum region and painted in encaustic on wood. This portrait was painted about 150-200 B.

C. The term Fayum portrait is actually derived from a Coptic word meaning ” The land of the lake,” which refers to the artificial Lake Qarun. This lake was a project of the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty, and it was this lake that made a desert area of about 100 kilometers into one of the most fertile areas in Egypt. It was such an amazing feat that the lake still to this day provides this region water keeping it fertile. The purpose of the Mummy Portrait of a Man as well as the Mummy Portrait of a Young Woman was to identify the mummy.

These portraits were paintings of the person that they identified. The edges of the paintings have paint missing, due to the fact that these portraits were placed over the face of the mummies. The fact that both the artists of these portraits are unknown is due to gravediggers and collectors. When a mummy was found, the main objective was to find out more about the mummy itself, and many times the paintings were disregarded and considered to be of no value. The technique used with Fayum paintings is called encaustic.

This style of painting involves combining the paint with hot wax in order to obtain more resilient colors and also to be able to contrast light and dark better. The only problem with this style of painting is that the wax would get cold and dry up in a short period of time. The artists had to work quickly in order to keep the pigment wax mix wet and able to spread across the canvas or wood. In order to work faster, the painters used wide brush strokes not paying a great deal of attention to the fine lines and details.

One major advantage of using the hot wax with the pigment is that the artist was able to capture a dark or thick appearance as well as a light appearance to the wood while keeping the paint smooth and silky looking. Because of the rushed way in which the portraits were painted allows for similarities between the two. The Portrait of a Man is at a slight angle as compared to the Portrait of a Young Woman, but looking beyond this fact and looking at close detail, it is easy to see the similarities between the ears of the man and woman in each painting.

The eyes on both of the paintings are very similar as well. Both the man and the woman have their eyes deep set in their head, and appear to be staring out into space. Yet another similarity between the two is the eyebrows. Both the man and the woman are depicted as having thick eyebrows as well as a small mouth. Both portraits have long and thin noses. The portrait of the man, as said earlier, is set at an angle as compared to the portrait of the woman, but this seems to be the case for all Fayum portraits.

The hair of the beard on the man looks almost identical to the hair on the woman, as well as the use of light that was used to highlight the neck and ears. Even containing all of these similarities, each of the Fayum portraits have their own meaning and are seen to be as different as the people they represented. The Greek Psykter is a wine cooler that was done using the technique known as black-figured. This means that the figures that are on the Psykter are done in black, while the background is red.

The red background comes from the type of clay that was used to make the wine cooler. The objects that are depicted on the psykter are done in profile as to show as much of the body as possible. Black-figure painting is unable to use light and dark sources because all of the figures are black, making it very different from the Portrait of a Man and the Portrait of a Young Woman. The artist also used purple and white to help to bring out detail and to give a sort of vibrancy to the piece. The artist Nikosthenes did the Black-Figured Psykter between 530 and 520 B. C.

The way that the wine cooler was made is sturdy and is able to stand the test of time as well as have a beauty that will last just as long. Compared to the Portrait of a Man and the Portrait of a Woman, the Black-Figured Psykter as well as the Red-Figured Kylix Depicting a Young Athlete does not show individuality. The Greeks used a combination of ideal parts in their art, making it elegant, but at the same time not showing any actual people. This can also be supported by the fact that even the faces that are on the Greek pieces of art are considered to be perfect unlike all humans.

The Red-Figured Kylix Depicting a Young Athlete was made about 480 B. C. by the painter Antiphon. The technique used here is a red-figured style that was used by the Greeks after the use of the black-figured pieces. This was a monumental discovery for the Greek artists because it made the work of painting the figures in black and using needles to do all the fine details not necessary. Now the painters were able to create the figures that they wanted on the clay and then heat or cook it and the figures would still show up as red, while the background would come out black.

This allowed for more attention to detail as well as the ability to use foreshortening and shadowing. The use of shadowing is more than obvious on the Kylix with the figure of a youth sitting on a stone surrounded by large apatropaic eyes. The ability to foreshadow is shown in many other red-figured works that were done during and around that time. The differences that are found between these four pieces of art can be traced back to the differences that existed between the two cultures. Even though there are similarities, the differences outweigh them by far.

The purpose of the Roman Mummy Portrait of a Man and the Mummy Portrait of a Young Woman differ completely from that of the Greek Black-Figured Psykter and the Red-Figured Kylix Depicting a Young Athelete. The styles of the paintings are also very different as well. The amazing thing that is to noticed is that regardless of the differences that exist, both the Greek and the Roman pieces are considered to be masterpieces of art. The differences that are found add to the uniqueness that each one entails.

Athena, back in time when Greece was making its mark in history as one of the great civilization of the Ancient World, there was a great deal of emphasis on the Gods and Goddesses. To the Greeks the world was governed by the Gods and they were the reason many things happened in the world, mostly things that where unexplainable. The goddess Athena was one of the many gods or goddesses that played a large role in Greek mythology. Even though Athena was the patron saint of Athens she supported other Greeks outside of Athens, such as, Achilles, Orestes, and especially Odysseus.

Athena is know to be the goddess of war, guardian of cities, patroness of arts and crafts, and promoter of wisdom (Classical). Athenas name actually came form the Cretan and Mycenean name Athene which predates the Greeks by about 1,500 years. The ending -ene, was set aside for royalty and goddesses, like Helene. She was also called by some Greeks as Pallas Athena. Not many people know where the name Pallas came from. Some legends say she obtained it from the giant Pallas that she killed in the war of the gods and giants (Athena Parthenos). Another legend says that Athena accidentally killed her childhood playmate Pallas.

By taking Pallas in front of her own, Athena shows the grief that she endured for the loss of her friend. Athena had such an impact on the Greeks that the Romans adopted her and called her Minerva (Classical). The origins of Athenas name are not the only discrepancy that historians have had. The origin of where Athena came form is also a discrepancy. Zeus feared that he would be overcome by a son greater than he born from the intelligent Metis. To prevent this Zeus ate Metis. There for, Athena, in the most common legend, was born fully grown out of Zeuss forehead.

Another legend, this one form Crete, says Athena was hidden in a cloud. Zeus hit his head on the cloud and caused Athena to appear. Out of all the cities that Athena helped and protected Athens claimed her as there own (The Myths). The Atheans believed that the first king of Athens, Erichthonius, was a descendant of Athena. Even though Poseidon was greedy of earthy kingdoms, he challenged Athena for the city. The both of them appeared before the court of gods and goddess to make a judgment. Poseidon presented water to be of use to the Atheans. But the water was salty. He also created a horse out of a pillar of salt.

Athena presented the olive tree which gave fruit, oil and wood. The court judged that this was a more beneficial gift and let Athena have the city. To show their homage, the Atheans, built the Parthenon. The word Parthenon means virgins place, for Athena was a virgin goddess. The east side of the building showed the birth of Athena and the west side showed the contest with Poseidon. Atheans, on the other hand, were not the only people Athena favored (Athena Parthenos). According to a great philosopher the Greeks were greatly benefited when Athena came down from the heavens and stopped Achilles of Phthia from killing Agamemnon.

Achilles protested but Athena replied: Down from the skies I come to check your rage if only you would yield… Stop this fighting, now… Dont lay hand to sword… I know it is the truth-one day glittering gifts will lie before you, three times over to pay for all his outrage. Hold pack now. Obey… Homer. Even though Athena was the patroness of war she also had compassion for the Greeks. Athena knew if Achilles had killed Agamemnon that would certainly mean defeat for the Greeks. Athena was ruthless, manipulative, savage, and found delight in Trojan blood.

Athena also is credited with helping a young man that was on trial in Athens for killing his mother. This young man was Orestes and his mother Clytemnestra, both form Argos. Athena having no mother had more compassion for the male figure than female. She considered the crimes of Clytemnestra (killing her husband, Agamemnon) more punishable than Orestes crime. Aeschylus seems to sum it up in Athenas speech to the court in The Oresteia. The Eumenides. … No mother gave me birth. I honor the male , in all things but marriage (The Myths). Yes, with all my heart I am my Fathers child.

I cannot set more store by the womens death-she killed her husband, guardian of their house… With this trial Athena presented a new form of justice, trial by jury. The jury had voted equally but Athena broke the deadlock with a innocent vote setting Orestes free. But of all the people Athena helped, Odysseus was the Greek that she liked the most. If it was not for her help and guidance Odysseus would have never reached his beloved Ithaka. With all the phenomenons that were unexplainable in the ancient world; mythology was able to shed some light on the subject. By todays standards these mythological explanations seem a little far fetched.

But for the time, accomplishments and triumphs that many Greeks made where do to the help of the gods like the wise Athena. She saved Greece from being defeated by holding back the anger of Achilles. A new form of government was established thanks to Athenas idea of trial by jury which allowed Orestes to go free (Athena Parthenos). She also helped the mighty Odysseus find his path home. In respect, Athena was a goddess that was for all of Greece not just a single city. This made her one of the more favorable goddess and for this she was respected and paid much homage.

Aphrodite is the Greek name for the goddess of love and beauty. Roman mythology refers to her as Venus. She charmed gods and men and stole away even the wits from the wise (Hamilton 32).

Different stories describe how Aphrodite was created in two different ways. The first tells that she was created from the foam of the Mediterranean Sea and dressed upon her birth by the Seasons before being presented to Zeus. In the Iliad, Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and Dione.

Zeus married Aphrodite to Hephaestos, who was the least attractive, but most creative of the gods of Mount Olympus. Burning frankincense and myrrh summons Aphrodite to her worshipers. She possesses an embroidered girdle that has the ability to inspire love. Her son, Eros, inspired desire with his arrows. His brother, Anteros was the avenger of slighted love. Anteros is sometimes said to oppose love (Hamilton 36).

Roman and Greek mythology describe the goddess in the same way. Beauty surrounds her. Without her, there is no joy or loveliness anywhere. In later poems, she is portrayed as being treacherous and malicious, exercising her deadly and destructive power over men.

Aphrodite is featured in many myths. One of the best known stories is that in which Eris, goddess of discord, was left out of the banquet celebrating the marriage of King Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis. Resenting this deeply, Eris threw a golden apple into the banquet hall marked For the Fairest. All of the goddesses wanted the apple, but in the end the choice was narrowed down to three: Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. They asked Zeus to choose who was the fairest between the three of them, but he was wise and refused. He instructed them to go to Mount Ida, near Troy, and ask Paris, a prince who was tending his fathers sheep, to judge them. Each of the goddesses offered a bribe to Paris. Hera offered to make Paris the Lord of Europe and Asia. Athena offered to lead the Trojans to victory over the Greeks and lay Greece in ruins. Aphrodite offered Paris the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Troy, to be his bride (Hamilton 179).

Helen was to be wed to Menelaus. Paris traveled to Sparta and stayed as the guest of Menelaus and Helen. When Menelaus left to go to Crete, leaving Paris and Helen alone, he returned to find that his guest had vanished, taking his bride with him. Menelaus was outraged and called upon the Greeks to help him to fight Troy. Since Aphrodite caused Helen to fall in love with Paris, she is blamed for starting the Trojan War.

Book Review The Iliad The name Homer is synonymous with great tales of heroic poetry. Although this genre of poetry hails the distinctness of being Homeric it is not certain that Homer himself actually existed. The book Prolegomena ad Hoerum, published in 1795 CE. written by F. A. Wolf, translated The Homeric Problem, set in motion numerous debates among scholars concerning Homers existence, and the fact that Homer may have been a group of writers, and not just one man.

If we accept that Homer existed, we believe that Homer, was a blind Greek bard, that traveled throughout Ionia reciting his poetry in exchange for room and board. Crawford pg. 2 In this paper I will examine and analyze the use of words that create graphic pictures for the mind, and words that excite the imagination. I will illustrate how the use of such a graphic idiom is still popular today. Although we have entered a new millennium filled with special effects, and computer graphics , many of us continue to appreciate the excitement of the written word from those authors that produce masterpieces.

The Iliad does just that. Homers use of language evokes the passion of his characters and their heartfelt emotions. The Iliad embodies action at its very onset, and although long in content, captures and to an extent , possesses its reader. I am sure that it is the style and meter, that Homer uses to convey his thoughts, that make the Iliad such a classic epic. Crawford pg. 3 In the opening lines of the Iliad, words of war capture the reader.

Rage-Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls, great fighters souls, but made their bodies carrion, feasts for the dogs and birds, (Homer 122 1-5) It is descriptions, such as these that lure the reader in. Immediately one can see that Achilles, (knowing him or not) is some sort of madman, responsible for taking many lives. Homer wasted no time in the development of the character Archilles.

In these lines you are introduced to Achilles, and fear this person consumed with rage. You are also captivated by the fact that dead bodies become feasts for dogs and birds. Something inside our psyche yearns to hear more of the gore that we claim to detest. It appears evident that Homer was conscious of the dark side that all humans possess. Crawford pg. 4 Homer also employs the use of similes that enables us to relate the things that which are familiar, to those such as the gods, that we do not understand.

This analogical language that Homer uses, eases the transition from not knowing , to a better understanding. For example, The arrows clanged at his back as the god quaked with rage, the god himself on the march and down he came like night. (Homer 123 51-53). In these lines Homer demonstrates through the use of simile, an analogy between the god Apollo marching, and the coming of night both of which inevitably occur. Here, the character of Apollo emerges and the reader experiences his immortal presence.

It is my opinion that one of the reasons Homers notoriety developed, is by his clever use of metaphor and simile. Crawford pg. 5 During the climax of the Iliad, Hector is being chased by Achilles. The words of Homer cause the reader to experience Hectors fear. Many other writers used a very similar style to vividly depict their ideas. Nineteenth-century novelist Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrote a gothic style novel, which consist of violence, horror and the supernatural, in her novel Frankenstein, she used in her narrative, descriptive language that terrified the audience of her time.

Like Adam, I was created apparently with no link to any other being in existence, but… he had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy and prosperous, guarded… final special care of his creator, but I was wretched, helpless and alone. Many times I considered Satan as a fitter emblem of my condition. (Shelley 68). Hollywood film makers and director later employed these same elements to reach the masses, and film became the medium. Therefore, we the audience fill the theaters in search of excitement.

The Greek tragedy of Oedipus illustrates dramatic irony through Oedipus’ noble birth which is unknown to him and his fall from the throne due to his fate and excessive pride. In regard to his noble birth, Oedipus does not know he is born the son of King Liaus, the king of Thebes. As fate would have it, Oedipus eventually inherits the throne as King of Thebes even though he is brought up by another noble leader, Polybus, King of Corinth. Oedipus refers often to his upbringing throughout the play. Because of his nobility, the Thebans, as well as the Corinthians, admire him and treat him as their hero.

On page 33 Oedipus proclaims, “he [will] fight for him (Liaus) now, as I would for my own father. ” Oedipus does not realize Liaus is his father because he believes Polybus is his true father, while we, the readers, know Liaus is actually Oedipus’ real father. Another example of dramatic irony in the play is expressed during the discussion between Oedipus, Jocasta, his wife and mother, and a messenger. Oedipus fears he may eventually murder his father until the messenger arrives with the news that Polybus has died.

At this point, Oedipus feels relieved because he believes the burden of his fate is over since his “father” has died. On the contrary, the reader knows his troubles are just beginning when the messenger explains to Oedipus how Polybus is not his real father. Oedipus’ predestined fate and growing pride, which stem from his noble birth, unfortunately lead to his demise as a ruler and his banishment from Thebes. From the time he was born, Oedipus was destined not only to kill his father but also to marry his mother.

However, Oedipus does not know who his actual parents are and thus, runs away and toward his fate at the same time. As Oedipus explains to Jocasta, about his past and the fate given to him by the Oracle, he tells her, “I must marry my mother and kill my father. At this I fled away. ” When Oedipus flees from home he thinks he is avoiding his fate, but the reader knows he is actually approaching closer to his fate. When Oedipus enters the realm of Thebes and becomes king, his pride blossoms almost to the point of arrogance.

Tragically, his pride makes the fall from his throne even more pronounced. The conversation between Teiresias and Oedipus on pages 34-36 illustrates Oedipus’ pride and the continuation of dramatic irony of the play. Throughout the argument between the two men, Oedipus accuses Teiresias of being blind when Teiresias tries to explain to Oedipus that he is the real killer. The reader knows that Oedipus, due to his overwhelming pride, is the more blind of the two because he does not want to face the truth about himself and his fate.

Further exemplifying Oedipus’ pride in creating dramatic irony, Oedipus continuously accuses Creon of trying to steal the throne away from him. Oedipus refers to Thebes as, “his city”, but Creon challenges Oedipus by saying, “Is she not also mine? ” This creates more dramatic irony because the reader knows who Laius’ murderer is, while Oedipus does not. Oedipus’ fate and his excessive pride help to reinforce the dramatic irony produced in the play. Throughout the foregoing series of events, all of which take place in a single day, Sophocles develops dramatic irony through the characteristics of his tragic hero.

Throughout history, writers and philosophers have expressed their views about how the life of man is ultimately defined in their works. The Greeks have played their part in this quest. One of the great plays of the ancient Greek world that led the way for others was Sophocles Oedipus Rex. In this play, Sophocles shows us a chapter from the life of man. Throughout the book, he hints at the idea that life poses a riddle for man to solve thereby being a quest for the answer. He also hints to us that life is seemingly predetermined by the gods desires, giving rise to a fated world.

Finally, Sophocles also believes that life is filled with paradox and irony. Given these difficulties, Sophocles regards the life of man with utmost respect and admiration. In Oedipus Rex, it is Oedipus who represents Sophocles ideal human hero. He displays the defining qualities of a morally correct human. Oedipus, unlike Odysseus in the Odyssey, another Greek work, had no divine influence, yet he still is able to continue for the truth after much hardship. Given all the circumstances, Oedipus still manages to live through to the end without losing composure.

Sophocles would definitely honor such a man. Both Oedipus life and his kingdom were filled with riddles, paradoxes, and mysteries. Oedipus beginning and ending at Thebes both arose from the riddle of the oracle. Without his parents confrontation with the oracle, Oedipus would not have been cast away from Thebes in the first place. Yet without the riddle of the sphinx, Oedipus would not have arrived at his royal position. This could be Sophocles method to involve our minds, letting us know that every action we take has an effect on us later in life. At Thebes he is bothered by the plague of the city.

For this mystery, Oedipus consistently strives for the truth, disregarding all tries to stop his quest. In a way, the riddles represent a much more broader and significant part of mans trials. Oedipus own encounter with the sphinx shows his insight upon life. Oedipus is a example for man from all his experiences in each stage: early childhood, mid-life climax, and downfall after tragedy. He gains knowledge into the definition of life at each step. Although it may seem universal for all men to live through this cycle, Oedipus dealings with riddles also plague him with tragedy, ignorance, and innocence.

This makes him more of an inspiration to man. In Oedipus the Kings world, it was the gods who set the fate for all. Both Oedipus and Laius had consulted oracles, which are derived from the gods without human intervention. Here, Sophocles seems to show us that life comes to us all as a certain, fixed object that has already been set to the gods desires. Whatever will happen, does happen. Man may think and believe that he is in control from his actions, but this can be merely regarded as trickery by the gods. Man does have free will, because no one forces you to do anything.

Instead, it is the persons character that plays part of his future. With Oedipus, it is his own character that fulfills the prophecy. After consulting the oracle at Pytho, Oedipus leaves Cornith because of his own family morality. He does not want “to kill his father or sleep with his mother,” but attempting to avoid it complicates matters. Oedipus is Sophocles inspiration for man, because he lives to be a truth-seeker, no matter how others may impede in his path. Oedipus follows morality and accepts responsibility for his actions, whether they were intentional or not. No one else in the play has enough courage to do so.

Looking at Jocasta, we can see how she attempts to soothe Oedipus and tells him to let it go time after time, “Then lay no more of them to heart, not one”. She also takes the quick way out of matters. The old Theben shepherd proves to be even worse, seeing how he never tells the truth unless threatened. Jocasta and the shepherd act to amplify Oedipus heroism. By contrasting Oedipus, they represent Sophocles method of telling us the uniqueness of a hero. As we see, the hero is unlike others, Oedipus realizes that his actions for knowledge may result in pain and suffering, which to him is better than ignorance and happiness.

After all, it was for the good of the city. He had already saved the city once with his intellect, therefore it is his duty to do so again to the best to his ability. In the end he even punishes himself, once again showing responsibility and justice for his actions. Like any other man, Oedipus also has certain character flaws. At times, he shows too much hubris, and arrogance. He believes that he is able to understand and conquer all, yet this may be one of the reasons for his downfall. In combination with this flaw, we find ignorance in him too.

Oedipus unknowingly curses himself when he speaks of punishment for the murderer. He also blindly accuses Creon of being an enemy, “Youre quick to speak, but I am slow to grasp you, for I have found you dangerous, and my foe. In both these situations, he acts without evidence. Even though he commits these violations when he is hotheaded, he displays irrational thought, something everyone can do at one time or another. Given all these traits, we see that Oedipus was a great man and becomes a hero at the end. He pursued the truth at whatever personal cost and he had the strength to accept and endure it when found.

With our view of God, it can sometimes be difficult to comprehend the actions and thinking of the Greek deities. The Christian God does not tend to take such an active role in the affairs of people’s lives, where, on the other hand, the Greeks regarded direct involvement by the gods as a daily, uncontrollable part of life. Needless to say, divine intervention was a major variable in the equation of Homer’s Iliad. The gods picked who they would favour for different reasons.

Except Zeus: As the symbol of supreme authority and justice, he makes judgement calls as to the other gods’ involvement in the war, remains mpartial, and doesn’t seem to get caught up in picking favourites. Even when his own son, Sarpedon, was about to die, Zeus chose to let the outcome go unaltered. On the other hand, Zeus’s wife, Hera, displayed the more typical actions of a god. After Paris, a Trojan, judged Aphrodite the fairest over Hera, and, after her daughter Hebe was replaced as cupbearer to the gods by a young Trojan boy, she was quite resentful towards Troy and its people.

Obviously she sided with the Greeks and would stop at no length to express her will. Scheming and manipulating she even dared to trick her husband, King of the Gods. Hera, along with Athena, who was also passed over by Paris, is seen as the chief divine aid to the Greeks. Being the god of the sea, Poseidon was another strong supporter of the ocean-faring Greeks. Whenever Zeus turned his back Poseidon tried to help the Greeks in the fight. Poseidon felt that he was somewhat Zeus’s equal as his brother, but recognizing Zeus’s authority and experience, he looked to Zeus as an elder.

There were also Gods who favoured the Trojan side of the conflict. Both Apollo and Artemis, twin brother and sister, gave aid to the city of Troy. Although Artemis takes a rather minor role, Apollo, perhaps angered by Agamemmnon’s refusal to ransom Khryseis, the daughter of one of his priests and was constantly changing the course of the war in favour of the Trojans. Responsible for sending plague to the Greeks, Apollo was the first god to make an appearance in the Iliad. Also, mainly because Apollo and Artemis were on the Trojan side, their mother, Leto, also helped the Trojans.

Aphrodite, obviously supporting Paris’s judgement, sided with the Trojans. Although she was insignificant on the battlefield, Aphrodite was successful in convincing Ares, her lover and the god of war, to elp the Trojans. One view of the gods’ seemingly constant intervention in the war was that they were just setting fate back on the right course. For instance, when Patroklos was killed outside of Troy, Apollo felt no guilt for his doings. It had already been decided that Patroklos would not take Troy, he should never have disobeyed Achilles in the first place.

As a god, he was just setting fate on a straight line. Achilles laid blame on Hektor and the Trojans. He did not even consider accusing Apollo, who never came into question, although he was primarily responsible for the kill. Apollo’s part in the matter was merely accepted as a natural disaster or illness would be today. This general acceptance of a god’s will is a recurring trend throughout the poem. A prime example of this trend is in book XXIV. Achilles, angry over the death of Patroklos brutally disgraced Hektor’s body.

Tethering Hektor’s corpse through the ankles, Achilles dragged him around Patroklos’s tomb every day for twelve days. This barbaric treatment was uncalled for and displeased the gods greatly. Achilles mother, Thetis, was sent by Zeus to tell him to ransom the body back to the Trojans. One may think Achilles would be possessive of the body and attempt to put up a fuss as he did before with Agamemmnon in Book I. But, Achilles showed humility and respect for the gods and immediately agreed to ransom the body to the Trojans, showing that all mortals, even god-like Achilles, were answerable to the gods.

This ideology would seem to give the gods a sort of unlimited freedom on earth, although, the gods could not always do as they pleased and eventually had to come before Zeus. Zeus acted as a balance of sorts throughout the Iliad. He had to keep the gods in rder and make sure that what fate decreed would happen. For example, after Achilles re-enters the battle Zeus declared that if Achilles was allowed to go on slaughtering the Trojans with nothing to slow him down, he would take Troy before fate said it would happen.

Therefore, to counter Achilles massive retaliation against the Trojans, Zeus allowed the gods to go back to the battle field. In Zeus’s own interests, he preferred to deal with issues more personal to the individual heros of the Iliad. This can be seen throughout the book as Zeus attempted to increase the honour of ertain individuals. Zeus knew that Hektor was going to be killed by Achilles, and, feeling sorry for Hektor Zeus attempted to allow Hektor to die an honourable death. For instance, when Hektor stripped Achilles armour off Patroklos, Zeus helped Hektor “fill out” the armour so he would not seem like less of a man then Achilles.

Zeus also gave his word to Thetis that Achilles would gain much glory showing his involvement on a personal level. Homer used the gods and their actions to establish twists on the plot of the war. It would not have been possible for him to write the tory without the divine interventions of the gods. Indeed, they affected every aspect the poem in some way, shape or form. Yet, from the immortal perspective of the Greek god, the Trojan war, and everything related to it, was only a passing adventure in the great expanse of time.

Iliad Role of Greek Gods In the Illiad With our view of God, it can sometimes be difficult to comprehend the actions and thinking of the Greek deities. The Christian God does not tend to take such an active role in the affairs of people’s lives, where, on the other hand, the Greeks regarded direct involvement by he gods as a daily, uncontrollable part of life. Needless to say, divine intervention was a major variable in the equation of Homer’s Iliad. The gods picked who they would favour for different reasons.

Except Zeus: As the symbol of supreme authority and justice, he makes judgement calls as to the other gods’ involvement in the war, remains impartial, and doesn’t seem to get caught up in picking favourites. Even when his own son, Sarpedon, was about to die, Zeus chose to let the outcome go unaltered. On the other hand, Zeus’s wife, Hera, displayed the more typical actions of a god. After Paris, a Trojan, judged Aphrodite the fairest over Hera, and, after her daughter Hebe was replaced as cupbearer to the gods by a young Trojan boy, she was quite resentful towards Troy and its people.

Obviously she sided with the Greeks and would stop at no length to express her will. Scheming and manipulating she even dared to trick her husband, King of the Gods. Hera, along with Athena, who was also passed over by Paris, is seen as the chief divine aid to the Greeks. Being the god of the sea, Poseidon was another strong supporter of the ocean-faring Greeks. Whenever Zeus turned his back Poseidon ried to help the Greeks in the fight. Poseidon felt that he was somewhat Zeus’s equal as his brother, but recognizing Zeus’s authority and experience, he looked to Zeus as an elder.

There were also Gods who favoured the Trojan side of the conflict. Both Apollo and Artemis, twin brother and sister, gave aid to the city of Troy. Although Artemis takes a rather minor role, Apollo, perhaps angered by Agamemmnon’s refusal to ransom Khryseis, the daughter of one of his priests and was constantly changing the course of the war in favour of the Trojans. Responsible for sending lague to the Greeks, Apollo was the first god to make an appearance in the Iliad. Also, mainly because Apollo and Artemis were on the Trojan side, their mother, Leto, also helped the Trojans.

Aphrodite, obviously supporting Paris’s judgement, sided with the Trojans. Although she was insignificant on the battlefield, Aphrodite was successful in convincing Ares, her lover and the god of war, to help the Trojans. One view of the gods’ seemingly constant intervention in the war was that they were just setting fate back on the right course. For instance, when Patroklos was killed outside of Troy, Apollo felt no uilt for his doings. It had already been decided that Patroklos would not take Troy, he should never have disobeyed Achilles in the first place.

As a god, he was just setting fate on a straight line. Achilles laid blame on Hektor and the Trojans. He did not even consider accusing Apollo, who never came into question, although he was primarily responsible for the kill. Apollo’s part in the matter was merely accepted as a natural disaster or illness would be today. This general acceptance of a god’s will is a recurring trend throughout the poem. A prime example of this trend is in book XXIV. Achilles, angry over the death of Patroklos brutally disgraced Hektor’s body.

Tethering Hektor’s corpse through the ankles, Achilles dragged him around Patroklos’s tomb every day for twelve days. This barbaric treatment was uncalled for and displeased the gods greatly. Achilles mother, Thetis, was sent by Zeus to tell him to ransom the body back to the Trojans. One may think Achilles would be possessive of the body and attempt to put up a fuss as he did before with Agamemmnon in Book I. But, Achilles showed humility and respect for the gods and immediately agreed to ransom the body to the Trojans, howing that all mortals, even god-like Achilles, were answerable to the gods.

This ideology would seem to give the gods a sort of unlimited freedom on earth, although, the gods could not always do as they pleased and eventually had to come before Zeus. Zeus acted as a balance of sorts throughout the Iliad. He had to keep the gods in order and make sure that what fate decreed would happen. For example, after Achilles re-enters the battle Zeus declared that if Achilles was allowed to go on slaughtering the Trojans with nothing to slow him down, he would take Troy before fate said it would happen.

Therefore, to counter Achilles massive retaliation against the Trojans, Zeus allowed the gods to go back to the battle field. In Zeus’s own interests, he preferred to deal with issues more personal to the individual heros of the Iliad. This can be seen throughout the book as Zeus attempted to increase the honour of certain individuals. Zeus knew that Hektor was going to be killed by Achilles, and, feeling sorry for Hektor Zeus attempted to allow Hektor to die an honourable death. For instance, when Hektor stripped Achilles armour off Patroklos, Zeus helped Hektor “fill out” the rmour so he would not seem like less of a man then Achilles.

Zeus also gave his word to Thetis that Achilles would gain much glory showing his involvement on a personal level. Homer used the gods and their actions to establish twists on the plot of the war. It would not have been possible for him to write the story without the divine interventions of the gods. Indeed, they affected every aspect the poem in some way, shape or form. Yet, from the immortal perspective of the Greek god, the Trojan war, and everything related to it, was only a passing adventure in the great expanse of time.

Every boy would like to be characterized as a man. Most look to age or the way they see their own maturity to determine manhood for themselves. Neither age nor self-image can determine whether or not you have become a man. In that time, arete would be used to determine ones manhood. Early in the Odyssey, we see Telemakhos daydreaming as an untrained boy. The book says, “… -for he, too, was sitting there, unhappy among the suitors, a boy, daydreaming”(277). He is no comparison to Odysseus as a leader or fighter. As the book goes on, we see Telemakhos become more and more like his father.

By the end of the fight with the suitors we see him now matured from the youth we saw into the man he should be. Telemakhos tries to be like his father to the best of his ability, even though his father has been away since he was merely an infant. The only father he knew was from stories told by people, including his mother. He also dreamed constantly of the man his father must have been, thinking, “What if his great father came from the unknown world and drove these men like dead leaves through the place, recovering honor and lordship in his own domains”(277).

It is as if Odysseus did raise his son in some ways, through the dreams and stories, perhaps being a better figure to look up to rather than in person. In the dreams and stories, you can be built up to be more than you really are. In person, you can see how flawed the person really is, which may lower your opinions and ideals. But still, one would not want to sacrifice that for the intimate father and son love and memories that would have been attained during childhood. The better father would be the one that was always there.

By traveling far from home and risking his life to learn about his father, Telemakhos is forced to mature at a tremendous rate. He learns more from his trip than he could have by staying at home with the suitors. From Nestor and Menelaos he learns courage, bravery, and how to be both a man and a host. He learns that he must fight against what the suitors represent, to stop them from claiming what is his. Nestor and Menelaos guide Telemakhos, with Athena’s help, toward manhood, a destination long overdue. When Odysseus finally reaches home the first person he reveals himself to, besides Athena, is Telemakhos.

Their reunion is full of joy and emotion leading to tears. Odysseus immediately treats him like an inferior telling Telemakhos his plans while expecting him to carry them out. This is a role that Telemakhos still deserves, though not for long. After the plans are laid, Telemakhos gathers the suitors spears and shields, along with his fathers display of weapons, while his father finds out how strong the suitors are. Telemakhos does very well in gathering the arms and keeping the suitors busy while holding his temper at the mistreatment of his disguised father. He does not want to jeopardize a triumph with ignorance.

He acts very mature, having learned from the best sources in the land. He has definitely changed from the boy he was. Telemakhos does equal his father by the end of the book. He strings the bow that only Odysseus could string and stops only because of his fathers plan, and he said, “Blast and damn it, must I be a milksop all my life”(549)? Saying this, he proves he has wisdom over pride because he could have proved equal to his father with everyone watching. Instead he gained much arete by using his wisdom over selfish ambition. He obviously has the strength and wit of Odysseus and it is clear that Athena favors him as she does his father.

When time comes for Odysseus to reveal himself, the suitors mock the decision of the queen to let the beggar try to string the bow. Telemakhos says, “Mother, as to the bow and who may handle it or not handle it, no man here has more authority than I do-… “(555). Then he tells her to go to her room so that she will be safe. Telemakhos changes greatly during the Odyssey. He matures, grows smarter and wiser, and becomes much more like his father. He learns a lot from Nestor, Menelaos and Athena, but when Odysseus returns home he is finally able to take his rightful place as equal and son of Odysseus.

The Greek tragedy Oedipus at Colonus was written by the great and renowned Greek playwright Sophocles at around 404 B. C. or so. In the play, considered to be one of the best Greek dramas ever written, Sophocles uses the now broken down and old Oedipus as a statement of hope for man. As Oedipus was royalty and honor before his exile from his kingdom of Thebes he is brought down to a poor, blind old man who wonders, “Who will receive the wandering Oedipus today? ” (Sophocles 283) most of the time of his life that is now as low as a peasant’s.

Although former ruler of Thebes has been blinded and desecrated to the point where he is a beggar, he will not give up on his life and on the life of his two daughters Antigone and Ismene, and his two sons Eteocles and Polynieces who were supposed to help their sorrowful father like true sons and true men but instead they “tend the hearth like girls. “(304). Yet Oedipus still gives praise to those who have helped him, his daughters Antigone and Ismene, although he has no sight, is poor, and his life is of no meaning to him, he recognizes honor and loyalty when he sees it:

Antigone from the time she left her childhood behind and came into full strength, has volunteered for grief, wandering with me, leading the old misery, hungryHard labor, but you endured it all, never a second though for home, a decent life, so long as your father had some care and comfort. And you, child, in the early days, all unknown to Thebes you left the city, brought your father the oracles, and prophecy said to touch his life. You were my faithful guard, you took that part when I was an exile from the land” (304).

It would be hard to think of any suffering more overwhelming than the suffering that was endured by Oedipus: “At the summit of his power he discovered himself damned, by his own pertinacity [stubborn persistence] discovered that he had horribly offended against the decencies by which men must live. In one day he fell from sovereignty and fame to self- blinded degradation, and later was driven into exile. ” (Fitzgerald 145). In the eyes of all the people, Oedipus was looked at as no better than a slave and was treated as no better than one as well.

When being led by his older daughter Antigone after 20 years of exile from his homeland Oedipus and Antigone stumble upon the city of Colonus, a beautiful city governed by King Theseus. Oedipus entering the city in old rags, as a blind poor man is a contrast between Oedipus and the beauty of Colonus of which is easily revealed. (145). Here in the cities are where the Furies dwell. Those who commit severe sins, such as murder in Oedipus’ case, are pursued to these Furies. Oedipus, well aware that the Furies must punish him as an act of punishment from the gods, asks the chorus to tell him “their awesome names so I can pray to them. (Sophocles 285).

After all that Oedipus has suffered; after killing his own mother and having wed his mother, after being betrayed by his sons, after exile, after blinding himself so he would not have to look into the eyes of the horrors of life, “why is he merely not an obsessed and vindictive old man? ” (Fitzgerald 148). Oedipus was and still is an intelligent man in the play, as wee see him going for the supreme importance of the pure man. “During the years in which Oedipus probed his own guilt he has come to terms with it. ” (148).

Though he was guilty of murder and of incest relations he has redeemed his sins and is still hopeful for a second chance at life as an honest and noble man in the eyes of the gods. Oedipus is considered to be a large symbol of hope in Oedipus at Colonus. In the play, Oedipus is a protagonist, a good man, a former ruler, who wants to redeem himself for the dreadful sins he has committed some 20 years ago or so. Oedipus’ dress is quite significant in his mark of hope and him the protagonist because in the later years of Sophocles, “he began to stage his men as beggared kings and heroes in rags” (Whitman 146).

Sophocles did this to his protagonists to express that true good men have benevolent inner and outer morals and “it is hard to see how the supremacy of man’s inner divinity could have achieved fuller expression than in the shimmering vision of Oedipus. ” (146). The true purpose of Oedipus’ appearance and his purpose in life in Oedipus at Colonus really was to not show that god show mercy on men and men can redeem themselves heavenly in the eyes of the gods but the purpose was bring out the, so called, god and divinity, in men: Oedipus, beginning with that knowledge, now becomes a god- in the specifically fifth-century sense of a god such as man can become

His anguished burden of tragic courage has by its very weight prevented him from turning into the shadow the gods would make for him; for his tragic courage is as divine and inviolable as they. ” (146-147). In the plays of Sophocles, the protagonist who is action-oriented is behaving as any hero should and does behave. In Oedipus at Colonus, Oedipus does not lack action so he therefore can be regarded as a hero, although his triumph has halted years back.

Oedipus would not be considered the best of Sophocles’ heroes if he achieved his successfulness by his own self-destructiveness. (147). After Creon comes to Colonus to take Oedipus back to Thebes and bury him right outside their borders so the city will not be plagued Oedipus refuses to go and yet persistent Creon does not withdraw. He captures Oedipus’ guide and beloved daughter Antigone so that Oedipus will suffer more than he already has. But still Oedipus remains confident that he will get his revenge on those who harmed him most.

Wandering around Greece for 20 years in exile has been a hard feat for Oedipus and for his young daughter but Oedipus still lives, not only because the gods let him live until he has fulfilled his destiny but because he alone knows that he must fulfill his destiny. Although blind Oedipus cannot see, he sees what he must he do before he is to leave the world. When Oedipus’ own sons betray their father he still remains focused on his revenge and he dies at the end but only after he has had his revenge on those who he planned it on and after his daughters are safe from the threat of Thebes and it’s inhabitants and rulers.

Sophocles made it so clear that Oedipus was a representation of hope in Oedipus at Colonus that other playwrights, such as Seneca, a famous Spanish playwright, used characters after Oedipus in his tragedies. However, “In literary quality, Seneca’s tragedies will not bear comparison with Greek tragedy. ” (Baade XV). Sophocles made Oedipus such a sign of hope for Seneca, that he began writing tragedies of that stature. (Baade XIV). Since Oedipus wasn’t allowed exile from Thebes to the mountains by Creon, he was forced to live in the palace as Creon was the king and his two boys grew up to be men.

When he finally leaves Thebes and wanders for many years as a beggar with his young daughter Antigone by his side as his guide. “His life is so wretched that he feels death creeping up on him,” but he knows he cannot die until he has had his revenge. (Melchinger 154). An oracle is given to the people of Thebes that the town where Oedipus is dead and buried will be at peace. Knowing of this oracle, Oedipus still continues on to Athens to seek refuge and redeem his sins.

“The play describes how Oedipus approaches death, and how political power tries to seize him in order to secure its own salvation. (155). Throughout this escapade, Oedipus remains loyal and true to his destiny before he dies in anyway, by force or by act of the gods. This is why Sophocles allows Oedipus a choice of where he should die, because he is so concentrated on the well being of his daughters and on his fates. One main point of why Oedipus is an icon for all hope is his interaction with the king of Athens/Colonus, King Theseus. Throughout mythology, King Theseus was known for his kindness and goodness and his willingness to help people.

When this poor, old, blind, broken down Oedipus enters Colonus and Theseus speaks to him for the first time, he quickly agrees to help the poor man with anything that he asks of him because he knows what suffering he has had and what his life has been like since birth and the fact that Oedipus has carried on this far amazes the young Theseus who is willing to care for this poor beggar: “Such kindness-who could reject such a man? First, in any case, Oedipus is our ally: by mutual rights we owe him hospitality I espect his claims, I’ll never reject the gifts he offers, no, I will settle him in our land, a fellow-citizen with full rights. ” (Sophocles 323).

These gifts Oedipus offers are the desecration of his body. When he dies he must be put in the grave of the city where he chooses to die and that city will never have disputes and will remain in peace forever. When blinded Oedipus entered Colonus, Theseus vowed to him he would protect him always and never let anyone take him away against the will of Theseus: “I do know this: no one can take you away from here against y will. Men have threatened for ages, blustered their threats to nothing in their rage I know my name will shield you well, you’ll never come to grief. ” (Sophocles 325). When Creon comes to Colonus to “take back Oedipus and give the proper burial he deserves in his true homeland,” Theseus steps in and holds true to his word, his name did shield Oedipus. (Roche 158).

Before Oedipus should die and be buried, be buried in Athens, he must continue with his atonement for his sins and purify his soul before he may enter the afterlife. Roche 159). In this part of the play Sophocles makes use of that Oedipus is a sign of hope and the fact that Theseus will guard Oedipus makes it evident that Theseus believes in Oedipus’ hopes and desires. Theseus knows Oedipus will properly fulfill his destiny and he has hope in him that Oedipus will die in Athens after his soul is cleansed of all evil, and then all will be at peace. Sophocles has built his plays on the audience knowing the outcome of the end of the play.

In Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles “constructed scenes to get the most out of the ironic contrast between appearance and reality. ” (O’Brien 32). In the play Oedipus seems to the characters in the play to be a poor, blind, helpless old man with no hope or meaning in life. Yet to the audience Oedipus seems like a strong and confident man who after suffering so much, after what no ordinary man could live to bear through, will not die until he is cleansed of all evil deeds and dies when he so chooses to.

In conclusion, it is evident that Oedipus is a very big depiction of hope, not only in Oedipus at Colonus but also in Oedipus the King. Although he seems to the audience in one play as a honest and loyal man who suffers great damage, and in another one who should die and not live the miserable life of not seeing and knowing what you have done in your past. However, careful analyzing of Oedipus will lead the audience to believe Oedipus will not die until he is a pure man, his destiny is fulfilled, and he has a chosen a resting place for all eternity.