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Recommended: Greek mythology today
While studying the solar system in our eighth grade science class, we were each assigned a constellation to research. The constellation that was assigned to me was Cepheus. In this paper my goal is to explain the myth behind this constellation and describe its features.
To achieve my goal, I have organized my paper into three main sections, one of which has sub-sections. In the first section, I will explain the Greek mythology that is associated with the constellation Cepheus. In the second section, I will describe the physical characteristics of this constellation: discovery, location, shape, size, visibility, stars, and special characteristics. I will end my paper with a conclusive section about my constellation and research.
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
The constellation Cepheus is named after the Ethiopian King Cepheus. This is why the constellation is also referred to as the King. Cepheus was married to Cassiopeia. Together, they had a daughter named Andromeda. The myth states:
Cassiopeia claimed she and her daughter, Andromeda, were more beautiful than the sea nymphs, the ...
* Scully, J & Herington, C.J., Aeschylus: Prometheus Bound (Oxford University Press, New York 1975)
Yet, despite the fact that no two women in this epic are alike, each—through her vices or virtues—helps to delineate the role of the ideal woman. Below, we will show the importance of Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa, Clytaemestra, and Penelope in terms of the movement of the narrative and in defining social roles for the Ancient Greeks. Before we delve into the traits of individual characters, it is important to understand certain assumptions about women that prevailed in the Homeric Age. By modern standards, the Ancient Greeks would be considered a rabidly misogynistic culture. Indeed, the notoriously sour Boetian playwright Hesiod-- who wrote about fifty years before Homer-- proclaimed "Zeus who thunders on high made women to be evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil (Theogony 600).
Perseus, the twenty-forth largest constellation, is depicted as a man holding a sword in one hand and the head of Medusa in the other. Ptolemy discovered the constellation during the second century. Measuring 28 degrees in length, it lies in the Northern Hemisphere and can be seen best in December around nine o’clock P.M. It can also be seen in the Southern Hemisphere during the summer from latitudes north of negative thirty-five degrees. (Coder pp. 85 & 87, Fanshawe, Perseus Astronomer, Perseus Champion, Perseus Constellation)
Clarke, Leonard W.‘Greek Astronomy and Its Debt to the Babylonians' The British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 1, No. (Cambridge University Press. 1962)
She is always spoken of respectfully and is remembered for her heroic deeds. She is not degraded like many of the other women Odysseus sees in the underworld. Everyone worships her and speaks about her achievements with great admiration; she is truly admired, but because she is a goddess. Athena has control over men that most women in The Odyssey do not. Women 's lives depend on what men think of them, on the other hand, men 's lives depend on Athena 's opinion of them. Athena is "Zeus ' virgin daughter" and no one has used her in that way. She is too important to be used as being an enjoyment for men; they depend on her for their own welfare. Another woman that plays a big role in this epic is Calypso. Calypso a nymph, a child of Zeus, and lives on an island in the middle of the ocean. One day Odysseus is sent to her by the god of the sea, Poseidon, because Poseidon was mad at Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops. It is on this island that another woman is used as a sexual toy and is not thought of for her own achievements, but rather for her beauty, and the fact that she is the daughter of Zeus. Men in The Odyssey only value women who they can use for physical needs and wealth, such as the women in the underworld that Odysseus encounters, and Penelope. Homer shows us how men in The Odyssey consider women less important than men. The readers rarely hear of women throughout the book. When they do, they are shown
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.
The reader finds an initial parallel between the myth and story through Conrad's 'sea,' as compared to Orpheus' 'underworld,' along with the surface of the quest motif. The ship in "The Secret Share" is described as "at the starting point of a long journey" (Conrad 273), and as being "very still in an immense stillness.... [where] nothing moved, [and] nothing lived" (273). I read the stillness of the sea and the absence of life is an allusion to the stillness of death, which is the realm Orpheus takes his journey to, before turning homeward. Moreover, the stars are described in this opening scene, but do not reappear in the story until after the departure of 'the secret sharer'; the narrator's Euridice or hidden self (this hidden self aspect closely reflects the 'double' nature of the 'sharer' as well). Between these two appearances of the stars, which could only visible in an 'overworld,' the ship and its crew as consumed by "the tide of darkness" (273) that encompasses the vessel, much as Orpheus leaves behind the stars when he descends into the realm of death in Hades.
The spirit of Christmas continues, as the notable star is place at the tip-top of the Christmas tree. When comprehending the birth of Jesus Christ, one will soon learn of the part of the story that is about a star that led the three wise men east, towards the
In his book, Repcheck recounts how a Catholic Church cleric invented a highly complicated theory of the heavens’ architecture. Copernicus made a breakthrough by solving a significant astronomical problem. Everybody except the astronomers had earlier accepted Aristotle’s concept that heavenly objects revolved around the earth in perfectly circular orbits. The astronomers were opposed to this notion since their calculations could not work according to it. Repcheck introduces Ptolemy who described a cosmos in which the earth positioned itself somewhat off-center and other heavenly bodies revolved in one circular orbit inside a second ideal circle at changeable speeds. Even though Ptolemy’s model was rather complicated, astronomers found it to be reasonable in their calculations. Astronomers were still using this new concept even 1500 years later. In this regard, the author starts to bring Copernicus into the picture.
One of the most notable contributors to the field of astronomy, never actually worked a telescope. The unjust discrimination against women barred one of the most brilliant astronomers of the 20th century from ever actually viewing the stars she was studying. This did not pose a problem however, as Henrietta Swan Leavitt challenged these notions of female inferiority and ineptitude by entering the predominately male field of astrology and excelling. Henrietta Leavitt's prodigious discovery of the period-luminosity relationship amongst Cepheid variable stars would forever change the way we perceive the universe and known galaxies as well as lay the foundation for astronomers such as Harlow Shapley, Hertzsprung, and Edwin Hubble to expand our knowledge of the universe.
Ruggles, Clive L. N. "Ancient astronomy: an encyclopedia of cosmologies and myth." 2005. Google Books. December 2011 .
In class I was looking forward learning about the Milky Way, it was something I have been interested in for some time. So in this paper I am going to expand on what we learned in class and talk a little bit more about our Milky Way. So The Milky Way is one of the cosmic galaxies that are made up of billions of stars. The solar system, which is part of Earth, is located in the galaxy. There are many legends about the name of this galaxy. The people our earth can see this galaxy and its stars on clear nights. Its stars look close despite the distance, giving a calm white color that looks like Milky way. In ancient Greek mythology said that “Heraclius wanted to suckle from Hera, but he could not.” He felt very disappointed and the
She had a true love for Cassio, but he gave her nothing in return. He was ashamed of being around her in public. You’re able to see each women’s own personality and compare it with the other ones. Some women stayed the same, while others evolved into new people.
Astronomy is a natural science focusing on the study of celestial objects such as moons, stars, planets, nebulae and galaxies. Astronomy is considered to be one of the oldest natural sciences; early civilizations throughout history such as the Babylonians, Egyptians and Greeks performed methodical observations of the sky. The Babylonians had different astronomical records regarding the position of the moon, sun and stars, on the other hand the Egyptians used astronomy to know the time and afterwards they developed a calendar based on the solar year. The following paper will focus on the ancient Greek astronomy, interestingly the origin of the word astronomy is Greek it comes from two words; astron meaning "star" and nemien refers to "to name". This paper will explain and highlight the methods used, famous figures and the achievements attained during the ancient Greek astronomy era.