While seemingly on a steady decline in the modern age, religion and spirituality continue to thrive as two governing factors amongst individuals in today’s society. Ancient literature not only provides a glimpse into the function of power structures and cultures of a foregone era, but also grants the reader a view into the mindset of the individuals who lived in said century.
Relating to this topic of religious reverence, an apt and perfectly suited work arrives in the form of “The Great Hymn to the Aten,” a poem written by King Akhenaten circa 1300 B.C. Filled with flowing prose and written with the utmost respect and zeal, “The Great Hymn to the Aten” practically overflows with Akhenaten’s ostensibly immeasurable fervor for Aten. Within
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You made the earth as you wished, you alone, all peoples, herds, and flocks; All upon earth that walk on legs, all on high that fly on wings… You set every man in his place, you supply their needs…His life time is counted. Their tongues differ in speech, their characters likewise; Their skins are distinct, for you distinguished the peoples” (“The Great Hymn to the Aten,” p. 31–32).
This type of admiration for one’s creator is also easily comparable to another renowned, respected, and revered work of literature: The Bible. For instance, in Psalm 19, King David praises God as being the creator of the earth, additionally bestowing glory and admiration for guiding his heart and thoughts:
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech…The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making the wise simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes,” (New International Version, Psalm
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Throughout the prose of the poem, doubt is never proclaimed and dissatisfaction is never stated once. Aten is placed on a pedestal, far exceeding any man could possibly ever reach. This serves as an apt counterpoint to the polytheistic deities of Greek and Roman cultures. Within their respective mythologies, Greek and Roman gods are repeatedly portrayed as imperfect, and oftentimes vile, possessing a plethora of human traits, which often coincide with their flaws. While authors such as Homer and Virgil’s creative constructs of their culture’s gods bring them down to a human level in terms of emotion and character, Akhenaten on no occasion seeks to view Aten as remotely reminiscent of humanity. He expresses contentment in lacking a whole understanding of Aten’s ways and total power. Furthermore, the monotheistic disposition of the poem stands as an abnormality amongst the beliefs of the surrounding regions and even within Egyptian culture itself. The admiration and gratitude expressed within “The Great Hymn to the Aten” is exceptionally admirable and provides a wholesome glance into the mindset of a man whose veneration and zeal provided the groundwork for an enduring, remarkable work of ancient
In New Kingdom Egypt, in the 14th Century BCE, one man would attempt to force a change, a revolution, on a people that had remained unchanged and unchanging for 2000 years. This man, the Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, promoted monotheism primarily because of religious intentions and not for political or personal gain. He selected one God, Aten, and it was this deity that was the center of attention during Amenhotep’s reign. Amenhotep IV, who would later take the name Akhenaten, would lead a controversial reign which would result in failure. He would eventually be deemed the “heretic king” (Assmann 149), but what was it that earned him this title? Was Amenhotep IV truly a “heretic king?”
For the Greeks, Homer's Odyssey was much more than just an entertaining tale of gods, monsters, and men, it served as a cultural paradigm from which every important role and relationship could be defined. This book, much more so than its counterpart The Iliad, gives an eclectic view of the Achean's peacetime civilization. Through Odyssey, we gain an understanding of what is proper or improper in relationships between father and son, god and mortal, servant and master, guest and host, and—importantly—man and woman. Women play a vital role in the movement of this narrative. Unlike in The Iliad, where they are chiefly prizes to be won, bereft of identity, the women of Odyssey are unique in their personality, intentions, and relationship towards men.
This course dove into medieval history and touched on all of the most critical elements of the period giving a well-rounded look into the lives and cultures of the middle ages. As the class moved forward it became evident that religion is central to understanding the people, advances, and set backs of this period. We learned how inseparable the middle ages and religion are due to how completely it consumed the people, affected the art, and furthered academics. Since, there is a tendency to teach about history and literature separately from religion and since religion possessed a dominant position in every aspect of a medieval person’s life, while many of us had already looked into the period we missed some crucial cultural context allowing
Sappho’s Tithonus poem bears an interesting duality of historical and literary relevance. Within this essay I focus on the relationship between Sappho and her audience as well as her use of myth, bearing in mind historical context and literary language, and structure.
Introduction Psalm 19 is a very special Psalm because it clearly proclaims the glory of God as revealed through God’s creation and by God’s word. Psalm 19 describes how the glory of God and the knowledge of God’s attributes can be seen and understood through the natural revelation of his creation. Psalm 19 also describes how the special revelation of God’s law more specifically proclaims God’s character and provides wisdom, joy, and light to those who live by that law. The special nature of Psalm 19 was noted by C.S. Lewis in his book Reflections on the Psalms; Lewis stated “I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.”
When we read any pre-historical materials, gods or the divines must be inevitable characters. In some cultures, polytheism is more popular; therefore, we may expect that there are multiple gods appear with different purposes in the writings of polytheistic cultures. Some of these divines are willing to assist the human in achieving their goals and some of them are completely opposite due to different reasons. These “devastating” gods are characterized as the antagonists in the writings for countering the protagonists, who are humans. However, if we analyze and understand their purposes, we may change our minds that the nature of these antagonistic divines reveals weakness in the nature of human authority.
Finally, the basis of religion and its role in the gifts one has is prevalent. The author points out that this story should be read as a poetic agglomeration rather than a telling of flora and fauna. The writer of
Following the first reading is the responsorial psalm 128, which is taken from the fifth book of the psalms. Titled “The Happy Home of the Faithful,” psalm 128 is a prayer for God’s blessing and is one of the songs of ascents. Its verses describe how God shall bless all those “who fear[] the Lord” and “walk[] in his ways” (Ps 128:1). By being devoted to God and following His laws and commandments faithfully, one is able to live a good life as “the good in life comes from God” (Schaefer, 308). God’s blessings are seen in the physical benefits in one’s daily life from fruitful labor, happiness, prosperity, a fertile wife, and a plenitude of lively children.
The Egyptian women gave up there will and ego-self, in blind devotion to God, similar to Halevi’s Hebrew poem (15). Both these specific poems address a blind faith and devotion to God; however, the second half of, “The Wine Everlasting”, Rumi places authority on sight and reasoning unlike Halevi’s Hebrew poem which is entirely based on blind faith and no
...of the entire Earth and Humans shown in the text of the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good”. God approved of what he had made and felt it was the perfect creation of Earth.
The gods in power, like Zeus, exhibit bias, dishonor, betrayal, deception, and many other humanly characteristics. One memorable scene is when Zeus and Poseidon are in conflict with each other over the Achaens versus the Trojans. Zeus controls the battle by “lifting the famous runner Achilles’ glory higher,” (Homer 13: 404). Zeus plays both sides in this scene, acting like a double agent which is dishonorable. Zeus’s bias is prevalent throughout the poem; specifically, he is “bent on wiping out the Argives, down to the last man,” (Homer 12: 81-82). Just like mortals such as Agamemnon and Achilles view each other with suspicion and intolerance, the gods experience identical emotions of wariness, anger, and irritation. This human-like behavior is not restricted to Zeus. Later in the text, Hera lies to Aphrodite to use her powers to manipulate her own husband Zeus. If one looks at Hera as a heavenly entity, her reaction may not make sense, but when it is viewed as a manifestation of human emotion, it become almost reasonable. Her scheming response to Zeus’s meddling with the war is spurred by her support for the Trojans. Hera’s manipulation and Aphrodite’s ego don’t stand alone as examples of this divine humanity. These instances suggest that the deities are being presented in this unique way to help explain behavior of the humans in The
In a time of great intellectual and philosophical change, Oedipus the King, quite arguably better than any other work of Greek literature, exemplifies the ominous reality that the gods really do work quietly behind the scenes. Sophocles’ carefully asserts that no matter how advanced a society becomes, its citizens must remember that the gods have allotted them that advancement.
Voice is a main force that drives along a piece of literature as it adapts to new paths and takes on new meanings based on the speaker, addressee, context, and many other factors. In “If You Want to Sing” from Islamic Mystical Poetry and Psalm 6, through similar basic structures, both writings deploy voice in order to describe suffering and assurance of each respective speaker’s position. However, through this fundamental parallel, the differences in the particularities of the voices employed are further highlighted. The similarity in the general voice and structure accentuates the specific differences in emotionality and clarity that ultimately assist in exhibiting the changing voices of the writings.
Despite the vast differences between the many cultures that make up the world’s population, certain key characteristics, some good and some bad, have shown themselves in every civilization, regardless of time or location. One negative characteristic that has repeatedly made an appearance in the world’s history is man’s desire for power. In the sonnet “Ozymandias”, by Percy Bysshe Shelley, power, which humans consistently fight over and which is also the cause of arrogance in many, is shown as insignificant through the description of a statue’s ruins. The statue is of an ancient ruler, Ozymandias, and throughout the poem he is characterized as powerful, yet arrogant because of his power. Shelley mocks the once great and feared Ozymandias, who is now little known and whose empire has decayed over time.
Damrosch, David, and David Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Ancient World. Volume A. Second Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Pgs. .656-691. Print.