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Constellations in ancient Greece
Andromeda myth
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Cetus deserves mention because some say the constellation represents the sea monster sent to Ethiopia as punishment for the boasting of Queen Cassiopeia. The monster nearly kills Andromeda, daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus, but is itself killed by the hero Perseus.
More frequently, though, Cetus is represented as a whale, which implies no connection to the Andromeda myth--though it certainly is possible that the ancients perceived whales as monstrous creatures. Either way, the constellation is appropriately a large one, and is relegated to the southern sky--far from Andromeda, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and Perseus.
When Queen Cassiopeia boasted that her daughter Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids, this invoked the wrath of Poseidon who sent the sea monster Cetus to attack Ethiopia. Upon consulting a wise oracle, King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia were told to sacrifice Andromeda to Cetus. They had Andromeda chained to a rock near the ocean so that Cetus could devour her. Perseus found Andromeda chained to the rock and learned of her plight. When Cetus emerged from the ocean to devour Andromeda, Perseus managed to slay it. In one version, Perseus drove his sword into Cetus' back. In another version, Perseus used Medusa's head to turn Cetus to stone.
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Zeus or Poseidon created the dragon as punishment for Cepheus and Cassiopea, the royal couple of Joppa because Cassiopea boasted that she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than the goddesses and the Nereids, or sea nymphs. Depending on the source, either the Nereids petitioned Poseidon for retaliation or the gods demanded
The Task, In Perseus the main task that happens is when Perseus a demigod, son of Zeus goes out to capture something special. Perseus sets out on an adventure to kill Medusa and capture her head to bring back as a gift. The hard part is that in one glance eye to eye at Medusa you will automatically turn into stone. Therefore, this was a hard feat to accomplish and it was one that he wanted to fulfill after he told they guy who was going to marry his mom he would bring them Medusa’s head. He laughed at him and that was a sign of determination for Perseus to accomplish his goal
Perseus as well as saving his mother, married Andromeda and sailed off with her after saving her
The conflict between Hercules and Cacus in The Aeneid illustrates their characterizations, contrasting them through their moral stances. The epic’s portrayal of Hercules’ as a moral individual appeals to the audience’s view of him as the hero of the passage. Hercules’ moral character is exhibited when King Evander introduces the story of Hercules and Cacus, stating, “Here . . . was / once a cave which the rays of the sun never reached. This was / the home of the foul-featured, half-human monster by the name of Cacus . . . Long did we pray and in / the end we too were granted the help and the presence of a god” (Virgil 8.193-6, 199-200). Further to Evander’s story, he also illustrates the morality of Hercules’ heroism by stressing the fear of Cacus: “Never before had our / people seen Cacus afraid. Never before had there been terror in / these eyes” (8.222-4). Evander delineates the morality of Hercules by showcasing his heroic element, as well as recognizing his divinity; these attributes, as well as his act of striking fear into Cacus, solidify his morality. Hercules’ virtues appeal to the audience, allowing them to...
A ritual is usually a ceremony that includes a series of actions that are performed according to a certain order. Most of the time rituals originate from myths. In Athens, several people participated in a group of events known as The Eleusinian Mysteries, hoping for a fulfilling and great afterlife. The Eleusinian Mysteries, a cult centered on a myth of Persephone's journey to and from the underworld, were celebrated from the eighth century B.C to the Hellenistic period. To the ancient Greeks, myths had a purpose and that was to basically explain the world around them. The myth and the mysteries itself were a symbol of life, death, and rebirth. The mysteries were created from the story and it was their way of demonstrating their honor and belief of the two goddesses. Events that occurred during the Eleusinian Mysteries symbolized a part of the myth of Demeter and Persephone, which is proof that the rituals practiced are associated with the myth.
1. Where does the hero originate? What of his ancestry is significant? Consider in what way it is significant.
In two amazing poems, both poets make allusions to the myth of Persephone. The myth of Persephone tells of her kidnap by Hades, the God of the Underworld. She is then fated to spend one-third of the year in the underworld as Hades’ bride because she consumed pomegranate seeds. This myth appears frequently as a metaphor not only in “The Pomegranate” and “The Bistro Styx,” but in many others as well. In both poems, the myth of Persephone is used to symbolize the mother-daughter relationships.
His grandfather, is King of Argos, his name is Acrisius. Acrisius had a daughter named Danae, however he wanted a son. So in search for an answer towards having a son, Acrisius went to the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle said that Acrisius’ daughter, Danae would be the one to carry a baby boy, but this child would kill Acrisius. To avoid his own death, Acrisius created an underground chamber to lock his daughter in, therefore, she would be unable to conceive a child. Little did Acrisius know that Zeus would shape shift into golden rain and conceive a child with Danae. Naturally, Danae gave birth to Perseus. When she was let out of this underground chamber Danae met Polydectes. Polydectes was determined to make Danae his wife and that is exactly what happened. Perseus was unable to grant his mother and Polydectes a gift, so he was told to bring back Medusa’s head. Perseus was successful in retrieving Medusa’s head. On his journey back home he met a beautiful Goddess who was in distress. Perseus saved her from a horrific sea monster and they instantly fell in love and wanted to be joined together in holy matrimony. However, Andromeda’s uncle was no too pleased with this decision. He wanted Andromeda only for himself. Therefore he planned to murder Perseus but was unsuccessful since Perseus had the advantage of Medusa’s head. Perseus showed Andromeda’s uncle Medusa’s face and he then was turned to stone. When he returned home with the gift, he found out Polydectes was abusing his mother. Instead of giving him the present he used it against Polydectes and turned him to stone as well. Acrisius became aware of what Perseus was capable of doing so he decided to flee. Although that didn’t help as much as he believed it would. Perseus and his grandfather ran into each other at the Games Ceremony, in Larissa. When Perseus went to throw the discus it slipped from his grasp and clashed into his grandfather’s head, killing
Aegus, Theseus’s father, commands him to go to Athens. Theseus becomes determined to choose the perilous land passage from the peloponnesus across the Isthmus of corinth to Athens and had to face different types of enemies. “Theseus made land travel safe between Troezen and Athens and earned fame and honour”(Roseberg & Baker 246). Theseus confidence not only allows him to accomplish finishing the dangerous passage, he also made two easy ways to get there. Perseus meets a beautiful girl name Andromeda. Andromeda explains how the lord of the sea sends a ravenous sea monster upon their land. “I will rescue your daughter, in return Andromeda will be my wife” (206). Perseus was confident that he would defeat the monster. Knowing that her life would have had to be sacrificed, Perseus was confident in his abilities and is aware of his own strength which leads him to be positive in the defeat of the monster. Although Perseus is
Perseus was born to Danae and the Greek god Zeus. Acrisius, the father of Danae, was told by the oracle of Apollo that Danae’s son would kill him. After finding out that Danae had her son, Perseus, Acrisius shut Perseus and Dane up in a large chest cast the chest out to sea. After a while out in the sea, they landed on the island of Seriphos, where they were saved by the king Polydectes’s brother, Dictys. Polydectes, after hearing about Danae, wanted her to marry him. In order to get rid of Perseus, so that no one would be able to stop him from marrying Danae, Polydectes came up with a plan. He pretended to be marrying the daughter of one of his friends and required everyone to bring him a wedding gift. Polydectes knew that Perseus, being very poor, would arrive empty-handed. Perseus vowed that he could bring Polydectes anything that he wanted and so Polydectes demanded Perseus to bring him the head of the gorgon Medusa, hoping that he would be killed. Perseus set off on his adventure to kill Medusa and while stopping to rest one night in an unknown land, Perseus realized how hopeless the adventure seemed to be. “Gorgons were horrible, instead of hair they had black serpents that writhed on their head, they had brazen hands that could...
His own grandfather put him and Danae, his mom, in a box and threw him into the sea when he was a baby! He accidentally killed his grandfather, Acrisius, when a he threw a flying discuss and the wind took it. He was participating in athletic games. The disc knocked directly into his head, but since he was older this just killed him. However, by killing Acrisius, Perseus was fulfilling a prophecy given before he was born. Everyone knows you can not interfere with a prophecy. According to http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/perseus/p/Perseus.htm since Perseus had killed his grandfather, he felt bad about reigning in his place. So, he went to the Tiryns where he found the ruler, Megapenthes was willing to exchange kingdoms. Megapenthes took Argos, and Perseus, Tiryns. Eventually Perseus was killed by Megapenthes(son of Proteus, Perseus’ half-brother). He didn’t have an unusual death like most heroes do, but that’s not what makes a hero. He was placed in the stars as a constellation. Now hopefully you understand why Perseus would be considered one of the best greek heroes.
Perseus grew up to be a strong fearless lad. One day he claimed to King Polydectes, “Oh, Host and Benefactor, I owe you too much gratitude to repay you with the common gift of a horse. I shall bring you the head of Medusa!”(Evslin.110) Perseus set off for his mission, he encountered the gray sisters and the apple nymphs forcing them to give him information about Medusa’s location. Then he went to Medusa with three gifts from the apple nymphs: a sword, a shield, and the Cap of Darkness. Successfully Perseus killed Medusa and while bringing Medusa’s head towards the island of Sephiros. He encountered a sea serpent who was creating trouble by the nearby town of Cepheus. Perseus drew out Medusa’s head and turned the sea serpent into stone. Throughout Perseus’s mission he encountered many obstacles and he handled each challenge in a smart and clever way, unlike King
... foolishness of her mother, the Queen Cassiopeia. He saves Andromeda by cutting off the serpents head. After this, he returns to the island and the evil king. He goes to the Kings court and raises Medusa’s head turning the King and his court into stone. Later at a sporting event he throws a discuss which heads into a crowd and strikes and kills the King Acrisius, his grandfather. Then he and Andromeda are able to live happily ever after.
In the mythological story of Perseus and Poseidon, in order to save the princes a three headed dragon was killed. In contrast oftentimes often times dragons are seen as amazingly strong and dangerous creatures that everyone loves. They are liked a lot because of their appearance and
Hades shows himself to Perseus and with the rage of what Hades has done to Perseus, Perseus grabs a lighnting bolt from his sword and throws it at Hades sending him back to the underworld. Saving Andromeda and she offered to make him king and he had refused. Zeus asked if he wanted to join him in Olympus but refused and requested to stay a demi-god but Zeus granted him Io as a companion. In the story according to the Greeks Danae is the daughter of King Acrisius. When he had them put in a box and thrown into the ocean and saved by the fisherman named Dictys they both were still alive and Danae ended up falling in love with Dictys and they were married. Dictys’ brother King Polydectes wanted to take Danae as his wife, Perseus hearing the news he offered to pay any price for his mother not to marry King Polydectes. Sense Polydectes was afraid of Perseus he quickly made an offer that he will allow his mother to stay married to Dictys, only if he brings back the head of Medusa. Bravely, Perseus accepted his