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Literary analysis of the bible
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To begin with, Appian and Plutarch had altered motivation to write their accounts. As historian, Appian was more likely to apprise what was actually occur in the Roman history. He covered the background of the agrarian controversy in 133 BC (Appian, Civil Wars ex. 7) and the troubles behind law construction in tribunes’ voting along the report. It is also important to highlight that the subjects of his writing were varied, including the citizen of Roman, Tiberius Gracchus and Marcus Octavius. From this fact, while Appian knew everything about all characters, the readers can conclude that Appian used third person omniscient viewpoint to describe the characters. Meanwhile, in the case of his job to break down someone life, Plutarch was more concerned
Sulla’s earlier career had not been that of an orthodox Optimate. Though he belonged to an old patrician family, it had long slid into obscurity and poverty. Plutarch suggests that a legacy from his step-mother and another from a mistress helped him, somewhat late, to a public career (Plutarch, p. 327). Plutarch was a Greek historian who wrote more than a century after Sulla’s death. Some of his pieces are polemical, that is, his writings possibly arise from scurrilous tracts, written by political adversaries of his subjects. As Marius’ quaestor, he had captured Jugurtha and won the loyalty of his fellow soldiers, sparking a later brutal animosity between the pair. This talent for winning the loyalty of soldiers never deserted Sulla, and that fact would have terrible consequences for Rome (Williams, p.139).
The roles of the characters are particularly useful when comparing and contrasting Oedipus to Darker Face. Oedipus can be argued to be a sympathetic ruler of his people, "my heart must bear the strain of sorrow for all..." (4). He shows a strong desire to rid the land of its despair. Yet as the reader captures a more in-depth glimpse into Oedipus' soul, we find him to be a jealous, stubborn, "blind", guilty, and sinful man. Oedipus' character outwardly seems to want nothing more than to find the guilty persons involved in the murder of Laius, yet when given obvious clues he turns a blind eye, not wanting to know the truth behind the prophecy.
Plutarch presented history through biographical stories of the people that were important and influential during the time period he wished to address. However, after having read some of his work, one realizes that Plutarch inserts his own personal opinion and views of the people at hand into the factual documentation of their lives. For example, in The Life of Crassus, Plutarch expresses a general dislike and negative view of the man, but in The Life of Caesar he portrays the life through a lens of praise. It also seems that he uses his opinions of the people that he writes about to subtly extend moral lessons to the reader. What follows is a further isolation of Plutarch's opinions and lessons from within The Lives of Crassus and Caesar.
The way that the document is written accomplishes this if the person reading it doesn’t know anything else about the history of Augustus as the first emperor of Rome. Augustus only includes his achievements and he leaves out any of his failures and shortcomings as emperor. He also frames every event in a way that makes him look good. Due to this, the document seems more like propaganda than a sincere reflection of his life to someone who knows about the history of his life as emperor. It doesn’t seem like Augustus’s intentions were for it to be a sincere reflection on his life, it seems more like propaganda to make him look good because it leaves out events that may reflect negatively on him. If Augustus had sincerely reflected on his life, I would have expected him to include his failures as well as his achievements. He might have mentioned things that he regrets and wishes he had done differently in his life. However, Augustus chose to only include events that make him look good. Therefore, the document seems more like propaganda to
His character traits are listed in three main accounts by authors A.J. Koutsoukis, Erik Hildinger, who are both current impartial historical non-fiction writers and, Plutarch. Plutarch was a Greek historian, biographer and essayist, who is most famous for his work Parallel Lives, where he focuses on all of the contributing rulers of the Roman Republic. Plutarch is very even handed and focuses on the influence of character and moral lessons that can be learned from these emperors, good or bad.
Writers like Virgil and the monuments of Rome present a glorified view of the history of Rome and of Augustus as well. On the other hand, writers like Juvenal and John paint Rome as an immoral city, defying either God or simple common decency. Also, the works of Horace, Juvenal, and Ovid contrast the rural/urban divide of Rome. Finally, the works of John, Josephus, and Tacitus present Rome as an oppressor, though Josephus does not wholly blame Rome and at times portrays Rome as merciful. As can be seen, the different portrayals of Rome in ancient literature were as diverse as the Roman Empire
According to Aristotle, to have a bad character results in the inability to “form opinions rightly,” or “though forming opinions rightly they do not say what they think because of a bad character” (117-118). Leontini exhibits a calm and collective manner as he “form[s] [his] opinions rightly” and begins to unfold the rest of his compiled tools of rhetoric (117). Leontini discusses four various situations that justify the actions of Helen by stating that her departure from her land and husband was either destined by the Gods, an act of kidnapping, an act of brainwashing through persuasion, or inevitably influenced by “the divine power of gods” that is love, therefore how could she “refuse and reject” the Prince of Troy (40). The effect of having these scenarios is that they are very broad scenarios that Leontini attempts to cover all refutable grounds to dispose of her ill reputation. In all scenarios, Helen is completely innocent and she is being illustrated as having no control over her own self. How could she oppose the Gods, how could she be able to defend herself against such a cruel crime of abduction, how could she be blamed for being indoctrinated, and how could she not fall in love when the power of love is divine? Leontini’s “virtue of style [is] . . . clear,” since “speech is a kind of sign, so if it does not make clear it will not perform its function” (Aristotle, 118). Leontini does not
In my opinion this book is not the evaluation of how approximately fifty million people from two thousand years ago thought about the world that they lived in at the time, but about how a few dozen men wrote about it, in a viewpoint illustrative of only a few thousand. In order to support her view, Edith Hamilton tries to bring these people together, threading together their common thoughts and ideologies. Save for the fact that this book only represents a handful of Roman citizens and the way that they saw the world in which they lived, I do feel like I got a better understanding of the “Roman Way” and the way that life was back then. Along with the history that I learned in class on the subject it makes me be able to picture it better in my mind’s-eye.
The idea of fate has baffled mankind for centuries. Can humans control what happens to them, or is everyone placed in a predestined world designed by a higher power? The Epic of Gilgamesh and Oedipus The King highlight on the notion that no matter what, people cannot control what is destined to occur. Interestingly enough, many other distantly connected cultures had, and have similar gods or goddesses who play a role in the fate of individuals. Oedipus, King of Thebes, was told by the Oracle at Delphi that he would one day kill his father and marry his mother. Determined not to let this prophecy verify his fears, Oedipus does all in his power to prevent this from happening, yet fails. Similarly, Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, attempts to obtain immortality, but fails as well. Gilgamesh's and Oedipus's intense fear and ignorance cause them to try to interfere with their fates, leading to their failures and realization of the futility of trying to control destiny.
Oedipus was a unique individual for his time. He wasn?t seen as being a perfectionist. The impression of the play was to give off a message of imperfection. Cases such as Oedipus?s could be related t...
The myth of Oedipus is one of a man brought down by forces aligning against him. Over the years, different playwrights have interpreted his character in various fashions. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus is a man who is blind to the path on which his questions take him and exemplifies the typical tyrannical leader in ancient times; in Senaca’s Oedipus, it is the fear of his questions that give Oedipus a greater depth of character, a depth he must overcome if he is to survive his ordeal.
On the other hand, narration in tragedy often goes from high to low. Oedipus is a clear example of this. At the beginning he is in a high position and held in high esteem by the people. By the end he has fallen to the depths of despair. Aristotle tells us that plot is the "soul of tragedy," and he points out that we see this through an imitation of life through realistic actions. Taking risks and thinking big characterize narration in tragedy. Hamlet exemplifies these characteristics throughout the storyline. Aristotle insists that tragedy should have the right ending, which generally means that it will have an unhappy ending. We see this in Desire Under the Elms when Eben and Abbie are taken away to jail for the crime.
Thucydides indicates that people are indiscriminate about the stories or accounts they are told. They do not put them to the test. This is the case even with accounts that deal with their own country. Thucydides uses the example of the murder of Hipparchus. The Athenians believe that Hipparchus was a tyrant and was the ruler when he was killed by Harmodius and Aristogeiton. The fact of the matter is, Thucydides says, that it was Hipparchus older brother Hippias who was in power, not Hipparchus. Hippias was the eldest son of Pisistratus, so he was the ruler of Athens, not Hippias, who was younger, and not Thessalus, the third son of Pisistratus, who was also younger than Hippias. As for Harmodius and Aristogeiton, they originally planned to assassinate Hippias. However, somehow Hippias found out about their plot. Knowing that they would soon be arrested, Harmodius and Aristogeiton steered clear of Hippias, knowing that he knew of their plot. The pair suspected their own accomplices of having disclosed the plot to Hippias. Harmodius and Aristogeiton, their scheme spoiled, were still determined to do something. That something soon presented itself when they came across Hipparchus by chance. They encountered him at the Leocorium, where he was organizing the Panathenaic Procession. Since he was Hippias's brother, they murdered him. These were the real facts of the case, yet, somehow, Athenians have swallowed a legend or myth which obscures and distorts the true facts. The illustration of Hipparchus's murder serves to prove Thucydides' point that "People take in reports about the past from each other all alike, without testing them- even reports about their own country" (Thucydides, 12). The inference is that Thucydides...
Oedipus Rex is believed to be one of the best classical examples of the Greek classical order and what tragedy represents. Many Greek tragedies include a central character that is known to be the “tragic hero”. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus the main character plays this role. This paper will give a brief summary of some of the characteristics of a tragic hero, while also analyzing all the major events that lead to Oedipus rise and downfall.
Roman artwork is extremely intricate and diverse, however, a lot of what is referred to as Roman art can better be described by the cultures it conquered. The ancient Greeks were the most influential of these cultures, from their temples and sculptures, to their reliefs and paintings. Greece was the first culture to create major programs for sculpture, painting, and architecture. Many of the first Roman artists were of Greek descent as their artwork reflects the Classical and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece. A lot of what is considered to be Roman artwork is criticized as being mere copies of Greek artwork since they modeled their forms and styles after the Greeks, but other cultures influenced the Romans as well, mainly the Etruscans,