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Relationship between Greek gods and humanity
What was the ancient greek gods' relationship with humanity
Relationship between Greek gods and humanity
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“Jason and the Argonauts” is a greek mythology telling the story of Jason --with the aid of his crew, the Argonauts-- and his endeavors through the unknown seas which is assumed to be the Aegean or Mediterranean Sea. His father was killed in a false prophecy given by Zeus to Pelias. Pelias says he would be willing to step down from the throne but only if Jason acquired the golden fleece for him in Colchis. Throughout his journey to acquire the fleece, he demonstrated his ability to be brave and courageous in all life-threatening situations. Some say that he was destined to do this since it was prophesized by the gods. However, everything he did himself he could have backed away. That is the beauty of free will and being a human being. Jason …show more content…
He was pitted against all odds. Jason faced a mechanical bull to which seemed indestructible. Not knowing what will happen he fought for his life and eventually overcame the bull by tiring it out as well as plowing the field to play the dragon’s teeth. After this, his most famous battle against the skeletons when they arose from the ground began. He cleverly dodged the attacks making skeletons attacked each other. His victory encourages the population of his bravery and his ability to handle pressuring situations. He is acknowledged by the king of Colchis as a brave warrior. His ability to tackle any problem without fear is an inspiration to all. Jason has proven himself to be a great captain over time. His crew looks up to him, he is revered as a great fighter, and he has fought into the abyss against the odds when he took the chances with his crew, became bait in fighting the Harpies, and facing against the odds with t bull and the skeletons. Jason is the epitome of bravery in this story and others see him as so but more importantly, he wasn’t a puppet of the gods. Humans can disobey the rule and power of the gods just like Meda did resist against Zeus. We create our own story and that is exactly what Jason
Jason and Medea are both responsible for Jason’s success in his quest for the Golden Fleece; however, Medea seems to be more responsible rather than Jason himself. Although it may be Jason who accepted the quest himself, Medea has helped Jason throughout the whole story. She’s provided gifts, tactics/advice, and assistance, so it’s difficult to give most of the credit to Jason. Without Medea Jason wouldn’t of been able to complete the task. This means that he wouldn’t of been able to return to rule the throne over Pelias.
Initially, In the movie Medea is not the one with the magical powers to help Jason. Instead, Jason receives help even as a child from the goddess Hera. She grants him help that is set as a limit from Zeus. The gods are using this control because it is a game to them.
Everyone knows the story of Hercules, but not everyone knows that it follows the same pattern as most hero stories. Hercules is a story about the son of Zeus. When Hercules was a baby, Pain and Panic, Hades’ evil henchmen, gave him a potion to turn him mortal. It was prophesied that this baby would be the one to defeat Hades and they didn’t want that to come true. Since Hercules was now mortal, he could no longer live on Mount Olympus. A couple on earth took him in so he could grow up as a human. Hercules knew something was different about himself, so when he grew up, he set out to discover who he really was. Even though Hercules is an ancient Greek myth, it still follows Joseph Campbell’s modern basic outline of a hero’s journey.
Jason's uncle Pelias had usurped the throne of Iolchus (much as Penelope's suitors threatened to do), which Jason had a legitimate claim to. Pelias wanted to get rid of him, but dared not to kill him outright. So, he agreed to abdicate the throne if Jason would journey and get the golden fleece, which was at a temple in Colchis (on the Black Sea). Pelias expected the voyage to be fatal, for it had danger at every step. However, Jason called for and received an impressive roster of heroes to aid him on his journey.
Medea's lived Colchis, which is an island in the Black Sea, and the Greeks considered it as the "edge of the earth" and a "territory of barbarians". Medea is a sorceress and also a princess, she used her powers to help Jason secure the Golden Fleece, she then ended up falling in love with him, and left with Jason to live in Lolcus. Medea was a loyal wife and her and Jason have two children together. Jason betrays Medea and marry's another woman who is daughter of Creon, the King of Corinth. Jason's weak rationalizations of his actions for what he did to Medea make him a weak and unsympathetic character.
When people think of Jason, they most likely think of the Golden Fleece. It wasn’t so easy for him to get it though. According to the Encyclopedia of Myths, when Jason was about twenty, he decided to head back to Iolcus to claim the throne back. On his way, he came upon a river. He stopped to help an old lady cross. In the process, he lost a shoe. This lady was actually Hera in disguise. When Jason had arrived at Iolcus, Pelias had noticed he had only one shoe. The king had been warned about a man with only one shoe. He told Jason that in order for him to win back the throne, he had to steal the Golden Fleece, which Pelias thought to be impossible. Jason got a magical ship named Argo. He then assembled a team and headed across the sea to steal it. His army would soon be called the Argonauts. Jason became the leader. Some of the famous Argonauts included Hercules and Orpheus. In order to get the Fleece, Jason had to “yoke two fire-breathing bulls to a plow, saw a field with dragons teeth” and win a fight against the warriors who had come from the dragon teeth, according to the Encyclopedia of Myths. He was able to complete all of these things because he had the help of Medea, the king of Colchis’s daughter. Some believe Madea was a sorceress. Many believe Hera had convinced Aphrodite to make Medea fall in love with Jason. From then on, Medea helped Jason steal the Fleece (“Jason”).
Both of these two male characters are not title roles. They both fall prey to the actions of a woman, one whom they both originally thought they had complete control over. Antigone's martyrdom and conflict with the State brings Creon's destruction and Medea's double murder and infanticide brings his destruction. However, how much is this brought about through their own weakness and how much can we attribute this to a cruel fate? The issue is essentially whether a stronger person than Jason or Antigone could have avoided the destruction, and were they crushed by their own internal weakness ('hamartia'). An important to clarify is that we are not judging their personality. A despot can be a strong character and a man of high morals can be a weak character. The deciding factor is how rigidly they cling to their ideals and their ability to listen to others sensibly.
adventures, he proved himself to be not only a great hero but also a cunning and
Even though Medea’s crime are despicable, Jason is also a despisable character. When he encounters Medea for the first time in the play, he says, “Even if [Medea] hates me / I could never think badly of [Medea]” (Euripides 462-463). It is easy for Jason to say these kind words because he is not the one being abandoned for another spouse. He also undermines Medea again after she recites how she helped him in on the Ship Argo. Instead of giving her any credit or appreciation, Jason confesses, “since you make such a mountain of it, I think that Kypris, god of love, was the savior” (Euripides 525-526). It is not enough to leave Medea for another woman while allowing her and her children to be exiled, but Jason also felt the need to discredit her contribution to his
By the end, the husband and wife are left devoid of love and purpose as the tragedy closes. In Medea, a woman betrays her homeland because of her love for a man. Jason is the husband that she ferociously loves and makes sacrifices for. They have two children together: Antigone and Ismeme. In Jason's quest for the golden fleece, Medea assists him in multiple ways.
When Jason left Medea to marry Glauce, Medea was plagued with sadness and then with anger. The man she loved, the man that she gave up her life for, had betrayed her. In the patriarchal society that Medea lived in, it was not acceptable for a woman to protest any decision made by her husband. Medea went against all social standards and took revenge on Jason for the wrongs that he had committed. She was willing to take any chance and sacrifice even her most valued possessions. Medea knew that the best way to avenge the wrongs of Jason was to kill Glauce and the children. It was a huge sacrifice for Medea to kill the children that she loved, but she allowed herself to look past that love and only see her hate and contempt for Jason. Medea was willing to go against every rule that society set, so that her husband wouldn't get away with leaving her for political reasons.
In Medea, a play by Euripides, Jason possesses many traits that lead to his downfall. After Medea assists Jason in his quest to get the Golden Fleece, killing her brother and disgracing her father and her native land in the process, Jason finds a new bride despite swearing an oath of fidelity to Medea. Medea is devastated when she finds out that Jason left her for another woman after two children and now wants to banish her. Medea plots revenge on Jason after he gives her one day to leave. Medea later acts peculiarly as a subservient woman to Jason who is oblivious to the evil that will be unleashed and lets the children remain in Corinth. The children later deliver a poisoned gown to Jason’s new bride that also kills the King of Corinth. Medea then kills the children. Later, she refuses to let Jason bury the bodies or say goodbye to the dead children he now loves so dearly. Jason is cursed with many catastrophic flaws that lead to his downfall and that of others around him.
The stories characters, Medea and Jason, can be seen as representations of two different responses to life. For hundreds of years, society has judged each others actions and reactions based on just cause. This story, to me, has a type of underlying theme that drags the reader into a moral debate, which forces you to really question your own belief system.
In The Medea, Medea gives up her home, murdered her brother and tossed the pieces of his corpse and betrays her family to escape with her lover Jason. Against her father's wishes she helps Jason recover the Golden Fleece. Afterwards, Medea and Jason fall in love, get married and Medea gives birth and raises two sons. Unfortunately, Jason abandons Medea and marries King Creon's beautiful daughter. Medea alternates her role from a lover and partner in crime to an obsessive prideful monster. Me...
The epic hero Beowulf was also very skillful when it came to battles. When he first fought Grendel, Beowulf had no idea what he was up against. Instead of just attacked Grendel, he waited until the monster had killed one of the other men in the hallway while Beowulf watched under the guise of sleep. Then when Grendel came to claim Beowulf's life, he knew that hand to hand combat was the only way to defeat this foe. The monster latched onto Beowulf's arms, but Beowulf did the same to Grendel.