An unexpected blizzard last Friday forced me to alter my itinerary and take refuge at the Over the Edge Hotel. Moments after checking in, I discover the Hotel’s Hideaway bar and then ordered a Burgundy. Then sauntered to the secluded inglenook and sat down, at the same time as a nonagenarian eased himself into an overstuffed wingback chair opposite me. I noticed immediately his extremely long, vivid white hair and beard, the twisted walking stick inlaid with precious gemstones that aided his gait and the opulent cloak, worn across his narrow shoulders, which swept the floor gracefully. I sit there in a pair of skinny jeans, loafers without socks, and a sweatshirt with a small hole in the sleeve desperately trying not to stare at the elderly dude. The old fellow sometime later, …show more content…
I asked why he had chosen Dionysus rather than Bacchus. He studied me then declared Dionysus, the Greek deity of wine had overall more panache than the drunken sour grape Roman god Bacchus did. I laugh and briefly share my fascination of the Immortals, in addition, I told him I still sought answers to several questions concerning them. Gradually Didget raised an overgrown eyebrow, pressed his thin lips firmly together, then nods numerous times before asking, what questions begged answering. Acknowledgedly confessed there were only three questions. What was their authentic origin? What triggered their expulsion? What happened to them once they lost their status within society? Didget, in time leans towards me, whispers, something about twelve Gatekeepers, and by hereditary right, he has been one for the past seventy years. He chuckled and joked, the term Gatekeeper was misleading, because he wasn’t the keeper of any gates, in fact he was a troubleshooter for the Immortals. Consequently, I experienced an enormous cognitive hiccup because his utterance was preposterous and then it might be the epitome of
While visiting the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, I came across The Indian Triumph of Dionysus. Originating in Rome, it was created by a wealthy follower of Dionysus’s mystery cult in the late second century A.D. This worshiper evidently wanted to construct a sarcophagus in tribute of Dionysus’s accomplishments. Furthermore, Dionysus is surrounded by characters that are within the mystery cult because the creator wants the viewers to know with whom he is associated. With these two things combined, the patron hoped to shed light on a piece of history that they believed to be prominent during his life.
In Horace Miner’s Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, Miner demonstrates how the Nacirema’s culture and performed rituals are poorly understood. Miner’s harsh perception of the Nacirema’s rituals influences the reader’s perception. While the Nacirema’s rituals may seem to have exotic customs and sound taboo, the observer, Miner uses a technique that is inaudible to the conscious mind and makes the strange seem familiar by comparing the Nacirema’s rituals to those of modern-day Americans of
Because of his displeasing appearance, he is abhorred by society and forced to live. away from it, secluded in forests and so on. Finding the door open I entered the. An old man sat in it, near a fire, over which he was preparing his breakfast for the day. He turned on hearing a noise and perceived me, shrieked loudly, and quitting the hut ran across the fields."'.
Untouched and unhindered, he continued on a path, not yet discovered, towards the unknowing Prince Prospero. Although he had a slow pace, he made an unexplainable distance in a small amount of time. Some masqueraded man from the retreating group grew enraged and curious of this mysterious man. He ran up to the figure and placed a hand on his mask with the intent to tear it off of the ghostly man. The moment he laid his hand upon the mask, he screamed in agony and pain. Then, unable to pull his hand or the mask free, his fate was sealed. His scream withered away along with his final breath, as he turned old and crumpled onto the lustrous floor in a pile of black ash. Silence and absolute stillness filled the room before a wine glass, half full of a red drink, descended from the whitley g...
“Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given,” (1.32-34) is a simple quote reminding us the entities in charge of all characters in the poem The Odyssey – the gods. Hubris, or excessive human pride, is most detested by the gods and likewise is most punishable by them. The Odyssey is a story about Odysseus and Telemachus, two heroes who throughout their adventures meet new people and face death many times. Telemachus goes to find his father after he learns from Athena that he is still alive. The two meet, and Odysseus attempts to go back to Ithaca after he was lost at sea, and on his way there becomes one of the most heroic characters in literature as we know it. Like all heroic characters, Odysseus began to display hubris as he learned how true of a hero he was. James Wyatt Cook, a historian and an expert on The Odyssey, wrote about how hubris can affect the characters that display it. He says, “Because Homer’s Odyssey is essentially comic, that episode [opened wind bag destroys ship] is only one of a series of setbacks Odysseus experiences before reaching his home in Ithaca and recovering his former kingdom and his family. Such, however, is not the case for those who display hubris with tragic outcomes.” (Cook 1) Initially, Odysseus learns about Aias who died as a cause of the excessive pride he portrays. Proteus warns Odysseus when he says, “…and Aias would have escaped doom, though Athena hated him, had he not gone widely mad and tossed outa word of defiance; for he said that in despite of the gods he escaped the great gulf of the sea, and Poseidon heard him…...
In “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”, Horace Miner (1956) revisits the rituals of a North American group, the Nacirema, as first described by Professor Linton in the early 1900s. Miner depicts these people as quite vain; obsessive over money, appearance and health. While the economic status of a Nacirema individual is extremely important, nothing compares to the significance of the rituals of the body. These rituals tend to involve various steps that allow the Nacirema people to present themselves to the world in their fittest, most beautiful form. The majority of these rituals are performed by the individual in their own home, in extreme privacy. The body is viewed as a disgusting vessel, in need of constant upkeep to be presentable to others. The Nacirema home contains one or more ‘shrines’, devoted to transforming the body into the definition of health and beauty. The main purpose of the shrine is to hold charms and magical potions, bought from
Labeling himself as a “friendless man” (45), he feels bereft of “counsel” (38) in this “wretched exile” (40). To escape his lonely reality, he fantasizes about the stable way his life used to be and dreams of “the earlier days [of] the gift-throne” (44). Yet he must face reality and the memories that torment him - memories of lost kinsmen and their “clasps,” “kisses” (41), and “voices” (55). The tactile and auditory imagery is vivid in the dreams; unfortunately, he must awake to a stark, depressing reality.
Everyone has that one character, whether they are fictional or real, that they admire and adore because of their accomplishments throughout their life. The few men that are able to ascend past decades and become known for centuries as a hero are categorized as epic heroes. Epic heroes are able to truly transcend through time and are often times studied by the highest scholars in the world. The most notable hero who is often referred to is one of the world’s first ever heroes known ad Odysseus of Ithaca. His tale involved three main sequential parts. His first challenge was the war at Troy which pulled him away from home for ten years. Next was his ten year journey to get back home as he battled the gods and monsters of all kinds. His third wave was when he had returned home. Odysseus had to fight against the suitors that were plaguing his home to regain his crown. In
Situational Irony: When Zeus sent Thanatos (Death) after Sisyphus because of his betrayal. Sisyphus was able to outwit Death because he asked Thanatos to demonstrate how a pair of handcuffs worked and then locked them on Death himself or he used some trick to entrap Death in heavy chains. But you would expect that there was no way that Sisyphus was able to escape Death but his intelligence outsmarted Thanatos and he trapped Death.
Picture this: a hero of great legends who travels to the underworld and back to get directions to his home from a blind prophet. It sounds like quite an impossible journey, but that is exactly what makes Odysseus all the more fascinating. The Odyssey, an epic poem orally transmitted by Homer, a Greek poet who wrote The Iliad, had to contain some variety of attributes that Greeks valued in a person. That one embodiment of what the Greeks found intriguing in a character is Odysseus. Odysseus is known as what is called an epic hero. An epic hero is a protagonist of a story that represents the most important attributes of a civilization. Odysseus, being based in ancient Greece, is the embodiment of intelligence, loyalty, and strength.
A calm crisp breeze circled my body as I sat emerged in my thoughts, hopes, and memories. The rough bark on which I sat reminded me of the rough road many people have traveled, only to end with something no one in human form can contemplate.
Odysseus of the Odyssey and Moses of Exodus The Book of Exodus is considered to be an epic poem as by definition. An epic poem as defined by Funk and Wagnalls is a poem celebrating in stately, formal verse the achievements of heroes, gods, and demigods (426). The Book of Exodus as well as the entire Bible was written in the form of an epic poem. Major characteristics of epic poems are that there is always a heroic figure. Moses is indeed comparable to Odysseus, the heroic figure in the Odyssey. Although both men had different purposes they are still considered comparable according to the definition of an epic. Like Odysseus, Moses
When they first find the old man, the villagers claim that “he’s an angel” (Marquez 1). There is no denying the man’s divinity but he seems to represents much more than your average angel. In fact, the old man doesn’t resemble the typical image of an angel at all. Rather than being a young and pure angel, he is “much too human” with his “unbearable smell”. His angelic wings are even “strewn with parasites” with mistreated feathers (2). This contrasting imagery, however, doesn’t completely undermine the old man’s divinity; rather it draws attention to his lackluster appearance. The disappointments we feel towards the old man along with his particular characteristics make him remarkably similar to the one of bible’s tragic heroes; he is th...
I wearily drag myself away from the silken violet comforter and slump out into the living room. The green and red print of our family’s southwestern style couch streaks boldly against the deep blues of the opposing sitting chairs, calling me to it. Of course I oblige the billowy haven, roughly plopping down and curling into the cushions, ignoring the faint smell of smoke that clings to the fabric. My focus fades in and out for a while, allowing my mind to relax and unwind from any treacherous dreams of the pervious night, until I hear the telltale creak of door hinges. My eyes flutter lightly open to see my Father dressed in smart brown slacks and a deep earthy t-shirt, his graying hair and beard neatly comber into order. He places his appointment book and hair products in a bag near the door signaling the rapid approaching time of departure. Soon he is parading out the door with ever-fading whispers of ‘I love you kid,’ and ‘be good.’
The treatment of family members among the gods generally involves actions and conversations that are crass, vengeful, or selfish. There is no sense of protection or an undying, unconditional love between relatives. Instead, the gods view each other as obstacles and have little concern about how they impact one another (1. 594-600). These immortal characters also threaten and carry out physical harm to one another as if it were commonplace. The lack of respect is seen time and time again, emphasizing the absence of family values (8. 12-30). There is little sincerity shown between immortals because all of their interactions are a facade for an ulterior motive. The gods use their beguiling charm on one another, only to get ahead in superficial and egocentric ways. Power and control are far superior in the eyes of the gods, because they know that no matter what they say or do to their family, they will always be there.