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How do parents relate to their children in greek myth
Hesiod's theogony simplifled
How do parents relate to their children in greek myth
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While reading Theogony, it becomes apparent that Hesiod shows a bias for the eventual “fathers-sons” outcome, as the male sky-god Zeus is the literary equivalent of a “godmodding” character, or when character has the ability to do practically anything without limits or boundaries. As the story progresses, it becomes a pattern that last-born sons are trouble for their fathers. This pattern is consistent until Zeus takes over, when a potential first-born son becomes the problem. There is also something to be said about how often that the last-born sons are trouble for their fathers. The pattern is consistent until Zeus takes over, when a first-born son becomes the
problem.
In Hesiod’s Theogony, the Muses, which are the nine singing goddesses who he came across one day while taking care of his lambs, serve as a guide to the poet’s genealogy and organization of the origins of the gods by inspiring him to write down the lineage as they sing it. Using their angelic voices, the Muses presented Hesiod with the history of the cosmos in order. Thus, inspiring him to become a poet; he made this major change in his life and that resulted in Theogony, a chronological poem that consists of short life lessons, punishments, and roots of many Greek gods and goddesses. In this poem, Hesiod described these accounts as songs, when in fact, they were long verbal stories of how the gods of Olympus came to be. The sole purpose of
Hesiod suggests that the arrival of womankind is the sole cause of the world’s strife—including the necessity for both hard labor and reproduction. Her one redeeming quality is portrayed through the hope that remains in the jar after Pandora closes the lid, entrapped in the “unbreakable container” (Lombardo 26). This remaining Hope in the jar is symbolic of a woman’s uterus and her ability to bear children, and in turn provide her husband with an heir to his property (Fantham et al. 39). Raising these children properly was the next crucial duty of a mother, so that they may go forth and fulfill their respective duties just as their parents had before them. In relation to this, the Hymn to Demeter demonstrates the attachment a mother had to her children, because once the children were old enough to marry, the mother’s sole purpose in life had been completed. Demeter’s grief over having her daughter snatched away from her shows how difficult the transition was for
Monarchs ruled Athens, before the life of Theseus. To kept the monarchy in control and continue the current rulers authority, an heir had to be born. Conflict between the current ruler and those who wanted to take over his position was always inevitable. In Plutarch writing, Theseus was born to the king of Athens, Aegeus, and Aethra, the daughter of the wise Pittheus. After Aegeus’ encounter with Aethra, he left shoes and a sword under a rock so that if he did produce an heir he would return to Athens to be at his father’s side. Aegeus knew that if he did produce an heir that he had to keep the child a secret so that his enemies, the fifty sons of Palla, would not kill the child. When Aethra’s son was born her, her father claimed that little Theseus’ father was the god of the sea, Poseidon, hiding the secret of the real father. In addition, it is possible that Poseidon was said to be the boy’s father because this could boost the boy’s reputation as he grew.
Throughout the last books of The Odyssey Homer tells us how Odysseus restores his relationships with his friends and relatives at Ithaca. Perhaps one of the most revealing of these restoration episodes is Odysseus' re-encounter with his son, Telemachus. This re-encounter serves three main purposes. First, it serves to portray Telemachus' likeness to his father in the virtues of prudence, humility, patience, and planning. Secondly, it is Odysseus' chance to teach his son to be as great a ruler as Odysseus himself is. Lastly, Homer uses this re-encounter to emphasize the importance of a family structure to a society. To be able to understand the impact that this meeting had on Odysseus it is necessary to see that Telemachus has grown since his first appearances in the poem and obviously since his last contact with his father; Odysseus left Telemachus as an infant now their relationship is a man to man relationship rather than a man to child relationship.
With time come change, change in the human experience. That fact applies no differently to literature, specifically reflected through reading ancient prose with a modern lens. A relevant example is the relationship of a father and son in Homer’s Odyssey. Through characterization on the surface, this significant relationship appears quite distinct in contrast to such relationships today. However, these quite humane and sentimental relationships are no different than those experienced today—those of a father and son. Quite frankly, what is true of humans in the ancient world is true to humans today, ability to feel such potent emotion, to experience such a significant relationship yields the human need of affection and connection, as reflected with the relationship of the father and the son.
Through Theogony and Works and Days, Hesiod expressed a hostility toward women that was endemic throughout Greek antiquity. His misogyny is best revealed through his story of Pandora, the creation of women. The very idea that women were created as an affliction for mankind proves that Hesiod looked down upon women with disdain. The depiction of Echidna as a beautiful woman and terrible beast represents his vision of the female race. His compassion for anti-feminist ethics and absolute distrust of women is present in both his books. His misogynistic random sucker-punches at the opposite sex were common belief in ancient Greece. "He who believes a woman, believes cheaters." His teachings of women were common belief in ancient Greece and his prejudices were completely misogynistic.
The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus and his both literal and figurative journey home to Ithaka. When the great king, Odysseus travels to Troy on the account of war, many obstructions hinder him from returning home. During his absence, his deprivation of being a father to his son, Telemachus, causes great disappointment. Without a father, his son strives to grow and mature yet he has not the slightest idea of where to. However, as Telemachus struggles to reach manhood and his father struggles to return to Ithaka, their seemingly separate journeys are connected. They both learn values that turn a boy into a man and a great man even greater. In the epic poem the Odyssey, Homer uses parallel rites of passage with Odysseus and Telemachus to develop the importance of the father son-bond.
A suitor is defined in Oxford Dictionary as a man who pursues a relationship with a particular woman, with a view to marriage. In the epic novel The Odyssey, there are a number of suitors after the same woman, Penelope. Penelope is the wife of the famous Odyssey, and the mother of Telemachus. Telemachus is not fans of the suitors that remain in his house waiting to see which his mother will chose, her husband who has been gone for twenty years or one of the new suitors in the house. Antinous is suitor that cannot be missed in the house. He is always speaking about his ability to win over Penelope better than any other suitor in the house. He is different than the other suitors because he is not portrayed at someone with emotion or sympathy.
In the epic story of Gilgamesh, the friendship between King, Gilgamesh, and his companion, Enkidu, is a example of true friendship. Before the friendship of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Gilgamesh was a man of raw and abuse. He had a boastful attitude and arrogance, and he was equally excessive abusive of his power. It was this abuse in power which led his city, Uruk, into an overwhelming state of rage and injustice. At the moment they meet, neither Enkidu nor Gilgamesh would 've thought the person they were fighting would become their best friend and `brother '. Within their first meeting, Enkidu and Gilgamesh challenge each other by blocking one another 's path in the street in a demonstration of each other 's stubbornness. After their
Roman and Greek mythology are filled with multiple interpretations of how the creator, be it the gods or nature, contributed to the birth of the world. These stories draw the backgrounds of the gods and goddesses that govern much of classical mythology. Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Hesiod’s Theogony are two pieces of work that account for how our universe came to be. A comparison of Theogony with Metamorphoses reveals that Hesiod’s creation story portrays the deities as omnipresent, powerful role whose actions triggered the beginning of the universe whereas in Metamorphoses, the deities do not play a significant role; rather the humans are center of the creation. The similarities and differences are evident in the construction of the universe, ages of man, and the creation of men and women on earth.
The bond between a parent and a child is one of the strongest things on this earth. The relationships between father and son in the novel The Chosen by Chaim Potok, the poem "The Gift" by Li-Young Lee, and the short story "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather all show this strong bond. In all three genres father and son are the most prominent characters. All have the absence or near absence of mother figures. They also all show how important a father is to his son. The Chosen by Chaim Potok, "The Gift" by Li-Young Lee, and "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather all show the importance of father-son relationships through the fathers' involvement in their sons' lives, the fathers teaching their sons life skills, and the fathers' immense love for their sons.
Hamlet, of the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a young man with many distinctive characteristics. He is the loving and beloved son of Hamlet, the deceased King of Denmark. He is talented in many ways, as actor, athlete, and scholar. Prince Hamlet draws upon many of his talents as he goes through a remarkable metamorphosis, changing from an average, responsible, young Prince to an apparently mad, raging son intent upon avenging his father’s untimely death.
... children, Zeus, survived and it ultimately led to Cronus’s downfall. In order to uphold his preeminence, Cronus needed to limit the competition, which were his children. Also, in the myth of Medea, Medea assassinated both her children and her younger brother, without any sympathy. To be certain that her younger brother did not rebel against her in the future, she took the necessary steps to eliminate him. Medea as well murders her own children in which she bore to Jason, only to make him suffer. The vicious ways in which parents used to control their children’s lives just sparked a more hostile relationship.
William Shakespeare, a poet and playwright wrote many tragedies of similar ideas of young people opposed to marriages. In the story of Othello, Desdemona’s father Brabantio always invites Othello over his house to listen to his stories. Brabantio never expected Othello to marry his daughter. From the beginning of the play Brabantio believes Desdemona is his property and she is only allowed to marry men that he chooses. Because Othello is a moor and not a Venetian Brabantio does not accept him. With the story of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet falls in love with Romeo who is the son of the Montague clan. Juliet is from the Capulet clan, the enemy of the Montague clan. Unfortunately Juliet is undecided between the two and forces herself to pick between Romeo and her family. In Othello and Romeo and Juliet the father-daughter relationships of Brabantio and Desdemona and Juliet and Capulet focuses on love and possess. Similar to Juliet, Desdemona has a dilemma of choosing a lover over her family. Both works can compare to one another because of the father disagreements and greed over their daughters.
The issue of fatherhood is extremely relevant both in the play Oedipus Rex and the play Fences by August Wilson. Oedipus struggles with realizing who his father is and whether he will ever be there for him. He doesn’t know his father so doesn’t have a normal father son relationship. Troy seems to be in his children’s life but very minimally. The importance of having a father for a son deeply effects whether that son will be successful, happy, and responsible in their life.