Greek society worshiped many different deities in times of both turmoil and prosperity. The portrayal and worship of Zeus as a god of justice, shows that Greek society renounced insolence and malpractice. They looked to the heavens for retribution of acts done in poor taste. Greek society also believed that the gods were who determined one’s fate and knew the future. This is why oracles were so coveted, because they allowed for the communication with the gods on the outcome of one’s future. In the play Women of Trachis, we see this type of mortal and god relationship with Zeus and his son Heracles. Zeus foresees the death of Heracles as being caused by one already dead and in the end it is the blood of Nessus and the poison of the Hydra which delivers Heracles to his tragic and painful death. …show more content…
He seeks to reprimand man for their wrong doings in the plays Women of Trachis and Medea. In Hippolytus, Zeus’ nature appears more clouded but it is one that still coincides with his judicial nature. The Greeks often looked to Zeus for vengeance against those who had done wrong and forgiveness for the wrongs they had done, for they knew that Zeus was one who judged them and their lives. The will of Zeus is one that man must in the end respect no matter how much they may question it and is also one that they seek answers about. Zeus is the god who determines the ultimate fate of mortals and the consequences for their
...the god based upon conflicting traits of fear, deceit, and lust. Zeus' main characteristic is power in both Greek and Roman mythology. However, when Ovid's Metamorphoses is compared to Hesiod's Theogony, Juno's power is limited. Ovid's lack of respect and belief about Jupiter is apparent in his writings, which portray Jupiter as fearful, cunning, deceitful, and lustful. In opposition, Hesiod views Zeus as fearless, intelligent, and certainly not lustful. Zeus' characteristics in the Theogony are reflected from Hesiod's belief about the god to be much more than a worthless myth to the Greeks. Instead of mocking and disrespecting the all-powerful god of Greek and Roman mythology, Hesiod respects Zeus as the most powerful god.
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).
Ultimately, Athena has a great effect on all three of the main characters within The Odyssey. She is the one who finally sets in motion the return of the great warrior king Odysseus and helps him attain revenge on the suitors once he arrives in Ithaka. Athena helps to make Telemakhos brave and hopeful for his father to return home, giving him the courage and direction he lacked without his father for the first twenty years of his life. Even Penelope received help from the grey-eyed goddess in finding ways to protect herself from the advances of the suitors. Reading the classic epic poem The Odyssey, one can see how the great goddess Athena's relationship with Odysseus, Telemakhos as well as Penelope exemplifies how she impacted everyone she came across.
The Greek gods were portrayed as humans, which meant that they were not perfect. That is, the gods made mistakes, felt pain (e.g. Aphrodite in love with the mortal Adonis), and succumbed to anger and their tempers (e.g.
Mythology was very important to the men and women of ancient Greece. They worshipped the gods and goddesses, wrote poems about them, and based a great deal of art work off of them. The people of Greece looked to the gods and goddesses for help in all aspects of their lives; including health, agriculture, and war. Reading about Greek mythology can inform people about the society of Greece itself because the Greek gods were created by the people of Greece. Three main goddesses who were worshipped by the Greeks were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. These three goddesses represent three different types of women in Greek society. Sarah Pomeroy, author of Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, believed that “the goddesses are archetypal images of human females, as envisioned by males” (8). Pomeroy understands the significance in the differences between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, and what those differences meant for the women of Greece who were required to follow three important rules. The first rule was for the women to live a life of domesticity and motherhood. This was very important to the men in the society. The women were the only ones able to bear children. Also, if they were forced to stay in the house, men could keep a greater control on their wives, and not have to worry about them having affairs. The second important trait was virginity until marriage. Its importance to the Greek culture lied in the fear of a woman’s power. The men of the society felt it best that a woman remained a virgin until she was married; however this same attribute was not required of a man. Their belief can be explained by this quote written by P. Walcot in the article “Greek Attitudes Towards Women: The Mythological Evidence”: “The Greeks believed women...
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 this essay, I hope to provide answers to how the actions of Hippolytus and Phaedra relate to the gods, whether or not the characters concern themselves with the reaction of the gods to their behavior, what the characters expect from the gods, how the gods treat the humans, and whether or not the gods gain anything from making the humans suffer. Before we can discuss the play, however, a few terms need to be defined. Most important would be the nature of the gods. They have divine powers, but what exactly makes the Greek gods unique should be explored. The Greek gods, since they are anthropomorphic, have many of the same characteristics as humans.
The Odyssey details Odysseus’ arduous return to his homeland. Ten years have passed since the end of the Trojan war and Odysseus, the “most cursed man alive”, has been missing and presumed dead by many. (10.79). Throughout the novel, gods play a significant role in the fate of Odysseus and other characters. The extent of the gods’ role though is not unqualified, contrary to Telemachus’ suggestion that, “Zeus is to blame./He deals to each and every/ laborer on this earth whatever doom he pleases” (1.401-403). While Zeus does have this power, his description of how humans meet their fate is more accurately depicted throughout the novel. As he aptly points out, “from us alone, the say, come all their miseries, yes,/ but they themselves, with their own reckless ways,/ compound their pain beyond their proper share” (1.38-52). While the gods do doom certain mortals, many of these mortals exacerbate their ill fate by making rash decisions and ignoring the gods’ warnings. The gods are also not always disrupting mortals lives; they often aid mortals in need. In fact, mortals who effectively court the favor of the gods often benefit greatly. While the gods’ powers are unquestionable, no one god’s power is insurmountable. Gods can be outsmarted and their wrath escaped. The Odyssey, in congruence with Zeus’ statement, ultimately, portrays human freedom as existent, but limited.
My sister was recently kidnapped and is being held on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. I asked two Gods to help me find her, and I chose Poseidon and Zeus. I picked these two because their powers best benefit my strengths. Poseidon is the God of the ocean, and that benefits me because she is somewhere in the ocean. Since I am good at driving boats, Poseidon can calm the seas and make sure there aren’t any big waves and difficult waters throughout my search. With his help of calming the seas, the search will be faster and my sister will return home safely. I also picked Zeus. I picked Zeus because he is the God of the sky. Having him by my side will give me a great view of all the islands in the Pacific Ocean. He can see the tiny islands
In Greek society, the role of women was considered to be insignificant compared to the Greek men. The women had very few rights, no room to voice personal opinions, and a very bleak future with few options for a better life. According to Moses Hades, professor of Greek studies, women in ancient Greek plays are known to be the main characters and take the role of the villain, victim, or the heroine. In Euripides’ play Medea, Medea, the main character, plays all these roles. She represents the heroine by helping her husband secure the Golden Fleece prior to their marriage, and then portrays the victim by being betrayed by her husband, and finally the villain by murdering her loved ones. Therefore, Euripides follows the standard format for a Greek tragedy.
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 society in which social position was vital for having a successful family, the Greek and Roman families internally struggled with one another. This constant conflict stems from the father’s desire for control and the society’s high placement of power. In the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone, Zeus’s interest for his selfish gains prompts him to “ ( give ) Persephone to the Lord of Dead to become his queen “ ( Rosenberg Demeter 96). Zeus does not ask Persephone nor Demeter, his beloved wife, presenting that he does not show any opinions on their feelings. Although Zeus in reality just wanted to have a powerful family with the addition of Hades, his love for power overrode his love for his family and created a tension between the other members and him. In another Greek myth, Jason and the Golden Fleece, shows man’s love for supremacy through ...
“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.
To begin with, the ancient Greeks explained the creation of the universe, in particular the Earth and its elements, by a system of anthropomorphism in which their gods are human-like and are representatives of these elements. For example, Zeus is the god of heaven while Hades is the underworld lord (Hesiod, p.145). Unlike the Christians’ god who is “flawless”, the ancient Greeks’ divinities are portrayed as humans and are far from perfect. Their gods behave like ordinary people except they are immortal and have supernatural powers. Like any human being, the Greeks’ gods have love, jealousy, sadness, etc. For instance, in Euripides’ Bacchae, Zeus falls in love with Semele, which makes Hera becomes jealous and tries to kill Semele and Dionysus (Euripides, p.209). The Greeks even have a physically imperfect god, Hephaestus. This is to say that the gods’ attitude toward mortals is affected by how people treat them as the Greeks’ gods have emotions like humans.
Zeus is the only exception to this; he makes judgement calls as to the other gods’ involvement in the war. Even when his own son Sarpedon, was about to die, Zeus chose to let the event go on unaltered (although he is mainly persuaded by Hera to allow this to happen). On the other hand, Hera displayed some of the more typical actions of the gods. After Paris judged Aphrodite the fairest over Hera, she was angry at and resentful towards the Trojan people, and sought revenge through her actions during the war. So she sided with the Greeks, along with the goddess Athena, who was also resentful towards the Trojans because of Paris’s