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Use of symbolism and figurative language in the odyssey
Greek mythology reseach essay
Use of symbolism and figurative language in the odyssey
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Greek mythology has many different stories that can depict different morals. For example, the myth of Helios, the sun god, and his son, Phaeton shows the importance of not letting your fantasies distract you from reality. However, the theme would not be clear without the main conflict. In this case, the conflict was Phaeton's desire to drive his dad’s magical car that brought light to the world. This would sound simple to most gods, but Phaeton was no god, he was a mortal lad that could evidently not handle such responsibility and overtake the obstacles that came with making the world bright. Phaeton’s desire led to disaster, as predicted. His strong eagerness really emphasizes how he lost sight of reality, for he wanted to do something
Virtue in the Greek world was determined mainly by how one is viewed by others. This was an important notion for the Greeks, since their society was very aggressive. The world of the Odyssey was fiercely competitive, as each hero strove to outdo the other (Finley 118). This competitive attitude stems from the Greek concept of arête, or excellence (Moran 2). This neec for excellence is what caused the Greeks to try their hardest to fulfill their function as a human and as a member of society. In order for a Greek person to be fully functioning, they had to excel in certain attributes that were key to their role in society. For the average Greek male, their function was to be brave, effective, and honorable. These three qualities are the virtues that every Greek male strived to attain, with honor being the most important. Bravery and effectiveness are both related to combat and how a man conducted himself on the battlefield. If a man is not effective in war, or other occupations, then he had no means to attain arête. The same can be said about bravery, since bravery is essential for a warrior to succeed. Honor is the most important virtue of the Greek...
Roman and Greek mythology are filled with multiple interpretations of how the creator, be it the gods or nature, contributed to the birth of the world. These stories draw the backgrounds of the gods and goddesses that govern much of classical mythology. Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Hesiod’s Theogony are two pieces of work that account for how our universe came to be. A comparison of Theogony with Metamorphoses reveals that Hesiod’s creation story portrays the deities as omnipresent, powerful role whose actions triggered the beginning of the universe whereas in Metamorphoses, the deities do not play a significant role; rather the humans are center of the creation. The similarities and differences are evident in the construction of the universe, ages of man, and the creation of men and women on earth.
Now that it is clear what each author held in highest regard it is possible to view the ancient world with more understanding. Homer shows that the ancient Greeks valued honor and skill in everything that a person did. The better a person did something the more excellence they would have. Sadly he also showed that the ancient Greeks were elitist. The great men were important and gained their rank through excellence, while lower men went unnoticed and treated poorly. Both authors show the importance of the gods to the ancient Greeks in everyday life. The gods were not thought of as silent far off beings; instead they were next to you and could have good and bad reactions to deeds of men. Sophocles showed the importance of family and duty. He also shared the belief that something can be more important than devotion to a nation or the laws of man.
In Greek mythology having power and control over others was the greatest achievement that any character could achieve. In order to gain this dominance many characters had to use fraudulent tactics. These tactics were learned from earlier generations and then tweaked in order for future success. This path was an example of how Ouranos, Cronos and Zeus all came to power. In the poem Hesiod’s Theogony, the Greek family relationships between the husband, wife and their children are a repeated cycle, built on the characteristics of power, deceit and achievement that maintained the family dynamic in Greek life.
The Enlightenment period is based on general belief’s that human reason should serve as a guide for religious, philosophical, and scientific reasoning. As seen in Phaedra, Phaedra lacks moral responsibility, truth, and reasoning. . Phaedra is seen as the tragic hero. Tragic Heroes are common for plays and stories during the Enlightenment period. During the play Phaedra does anything she can to achieve her state of happiness; until it turns everyone’s life to misery. All of humanity is guilty of the lack of reasoning and the absence of moral responsibility at any given time. In the play Phaedra moral responsibility is diminished for her actions toward Hippolytus. Phaedra knew it was wrong to lust for Hippolytus, and then she would lie about it ...
Greek mythological stories contain many entertaining features: terrible monsters-Medusa and Hydra-, adventurous heroes-Perseus and Hercules-, and amazing gods-Zeus and Athena-. In addition to entertaining the reader, Edith Hamilton's Mythology contains many Greek values and morals that can educate the reader. Many scholars study these values to learn more about the ancient Greek culture. One particular value shown throughout Greek myths is hospitality.
Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound portrays a greek god detained by a superior for disobedience against the latter’s rule. On the other hand in Euripides’ Hippolytus portrays lust and vengeance of the gods and the extent that they can go to to avenge it.
In conclusion, one sees that honor is central to the Greeks because honor is the foundation of family and society. Both texts, the Iliad and Antigone depict the goal of every Greek hero is to ensure his place in the social memory of his society by seeking honor in his lifetime and performing a proper burial after he passes away. The pursuit of honor is the driving force for what Greeks have done to their society, family and friends. Both texts imply that family’s love is a main ingredient in making decisions. Because of love, Achilles, Priam and Antigone are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to gain honor for themselves as well as for their families.
Homer clearly and precisely depicts the religion and the ethics of the Achian and Trojan societies in The Iliad. During the time of the Trojan war, religion played an important role in the societies. Sacrifice, prayer, and rituals were all equally significant, and the superiority of the gods and the fates above humans was a standard of society. The gods were sacred deities to whom one had to bestow honor and respect. Within the society, honor, glory, and fame were desperately sought by warriors striving to achieve enduring notoriety. One's word represented a considerable commitment to be acted upon. Religion and ethics are prominently displayed in the characters throughout The Iliad due to their importance in Greek and Trojan society.
Murray, Robert D. Jr. "Sophocles Moral Themes." In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.
Although possessing good morality is considered one of the essential characteristics of being a hero in today’s society, the Greeks did not factor moral character when originally classifying heroes. According to Scott LaBarge, a professor of Classics, specializing in ancient philosophy, at Santa Clara University, a traditional Greek hero was someone who accomplished something profoundly above the “normal scope of human experience”. (LaBarge) What LaBarge means with this statement is that anyone who e...
An increasing amount of contemporary literature traces its origins back to the early works of Greece. For ages, humans have fascinated themselves with the impossible notion of perfection. Unrealistic expectations placed on those who were thought to be the noblest or most honorable individuals have repeatedly led to disappointment and frustration, either on the part of those particular individuals or those they influence. Classic characters, like Odysseus and Oedipus for instance, exemplify the excess of some positive character trait, like pride or honesty, which ironically leads to their personal misfortune.
In Ancient Greece, the lives of the multi-religious yet cognitive people were structured accordingly to their religious practices. Althought there was no dominant set of religious beliefs or dieties, the Greeks believed in what rather seems to be a pantheon of gods all similar in each definitive culture that seem to come together and reign supreme as the polytheistic religion of the Greek people. These beliefs came about from cultural diffusion between different religions and are reflected majorly in Roman polytheistic beliefs which transpired into the beliefs of many other cultures. It is believed that the Ancient Greek religion was comprised of ideologies from philosphers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, and that it became significant through the poetry of the epic writer Homer. The Greek beliefs influenced the cultures and minds of people in many city states throughout Ancient Greece especially Athens, Sparta, and the Minoan civilization and served as a foundation for the culture of these civilizations.
“Gods can be evil sometimes.” In the play “Oedipus the King”, Sophocles defamed the gods’ reputation, and lowered their status by making them look harmful and evil. It is known that all gods should be perfect and infallible, and should represent justice and equity, but with Oedipus, the gods decided to destroy him and his family for no reason. It might be hard to believe that gods can have humanistic traits, but in fact they do. The gods, especially Apollo, are considered evil by the reader because they destroyed an innocent man’s life and his family. They destroyed Oedipus by controlling his fate, granting people the power of prophecy, telling Oedipus about his fate through the oracle of Apollo, and finally afflicting the people of Thebes with a dreadful plague. Fundamentally, by utilizing fate, prophecies, the oracle of Apollo, and the plague, the gods played a significant role in the destruction of Oedipus and his family.
There is something uniquely different about each of the Greek myth, each have their own message that it wants to deliver. Take the example of the Greek myth Athena and Arachne. This is the story of a young maiden that went against the goddess Athena because she thought that she was the best in the art of weaving. In the story, Athena herself was jealous of the maiden who was named Arachne because of her incredible skill. Because of her jealousy, she turns Arachne into a spider. From this story it is shown to us the poor quality of the goddess because god and goddesses should not be jealous especially of a mortal. Therefore the moral is that do not challenge someone who is better than you and also too many pride will lead to your downfall.