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Compare the underworld in greek, roman, christian, and other religious cultures
The myth about persephone
The myth about persephone
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The universe will sing of death as long as it shall continue live. It is universally understood that everyone, someday, must die. Their life will be over for understood reasons or not, and we, as humans, must learn to accept that loss. For the ancient cultures to understand this concept of the end of life, they personified death as a god who was both keeper of souls and eternal punisher. Despite their many cultural differences the Greek Goddess Persephone and the Nordic Goddess Hel, both Queens of the Underworld, personify the divide and the unity of life and death through their physical appearance, their seemingly cruel treatment of heroes, and the importance of water in their otherworldly domains.
Persephone appears in Greek mythology as
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Numerous lively heroes ventured into Persephone’s clutches with the hopes of beating death, yet she explains that despite their god-like strength they too will die. Two such heroes were Theseus and Pirithous. When Theseus and Pirithous attempted to kidnap the Queen of the Underworld she enticed them to sit in the chair of forgetfulness where their flesh fused to the cushions and refused to relinquish them (Taylor 268). Persephone appears many times to offer food, drink, or rest to weary heroes in the underworld in order to trap them there forever in the same manner that Hades tricked her (Taylor, 268). Because of Persephone and Hades’ antics many people hated them as gods, but Persephone’s cruelty serves as a reminder that while death is necessary it is not always kind. In the same manner that Persephone accepted her fate, mortals must also accept their own imminent …show more content…
In Persephone’s underworld there is an infamous river by the name of Styx, which dead men must journey across its toxic waters in order to enter the land of the dead. “Water is connected to the ocean which is the source of livelihood, transportation, and death for the seafaring people like the Greek; and water is a mysterious force that brings up vegetation from the earth. Thus it is not coincidental that the ocean borders Hades and other subterranean lands of the dead; the ambiguity of water is a perfect component of the dual nature of the underworld—a source of danger as well as fertility and wealth,” (Taylor 397). Water is very symbolic of rebirth and is often associated with the sacrament of baptism. The ancient cultures viewed the life bringing and death-dealing waters as a form of mysterious rebirth into the underworld (Taylor 397-399). Persephone herself was reborn in the underworld as a queen. After crossing the river Styx, Persephone became one of mythologies most notable queens. She also symbolizes the same aspects of water through her dual nature as life giver in the springtime and death incarnate during her reign in the underworld. Her personification in the Styx explores the journey between life and death that all mortals
Furthermore, Ovid illustrates fate as a concept that not only supports the powers of the Gods, but also challenges it. The readers view many cases in which mortals suffer horrible fates due to the passion of the Gods. Thus, they pray to the Gods to escape or go opposite of their already destined fates quite similar to how Frodo did when he was given the opportunity to destroy the One Ring (the “Mount Doom” scene in the film), but could not. This sort of opposition to fate due to uncontrollable forces can be seen with the mythological roles of Hercules, as well as Orpheus in the sense of how either one of them are recognized for their accomplishments and success.
This theme of death giving meaning to life is prevalent throughout the Odyssey. Hell is death, heaven is now, in life, in the field of time and action.
In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Demeter’s grief is demonstrated through the concepts of divinity and humanity being symbolically contrasted with a woman’s purpose and social status as a mother or daughter. While “terrible” is a word we would expect to describe grief, “brutal” is interesting due to its violent connotations (Hymn to Demeter, 90). As a “brutal grief that seized the heart” it lends itself to a comparison with the violent seizing of Persephone, echoed here in Demeter’s emotions about her daughters’ capture, and perhaps denoting that the nature of what causes grief may be reflected in how it is felt (Hymn to Demeter, 90). The words “brutal” and “seized” also portrays grief itself as uncontrollable and forceful, even to the non-human Being described as “like four goddesses” while Demeter herself is divine and yet, unrecognisable as such seems to hark back to their youth and beauty as a divine gift, while Demeter, in her grief, appears to lose divine status (Hymn to Demeter,108, 94-95, 108).
‘Demeter’ is a poem about the story of Demeter. "Demeter was the goddess of harvest and Persephone was the goddess of springtime. Hades, the lord of the underworld, kidnapped Persephone. Hades fell in love with Persephone and asked Zeus to help him kidnap her so she could become his bride. The crops started to wilt and humans couldn't grow crops anymore. However Zeus told Hermes to bring back Persephone and to make sure she didn't eat any food from the Underworld. Hermes fetched Persephone. But before she left, Hades convinced her to eat 6 pomegranate seeds. Hermes made a compromise and said Persephone had to stay in the Underworld as Hades wife for six months. That's why there are seasons. In the fall and winter, Persephone goes down into the Underworld and Demeter mourns. In the summer and spring, she comes back and Demeter rejoices. " (1)
In the Hymn to Demeter, the rape of Persephone starts with her picking flowers and she comes across the hundred headed narcissus which "Gaia made grow as a trick for the blushing maiden" (HHDem. 8-9). This trick is set into motion by Zeus, but since Gaia plays the role of protecting the youngest generation, this is a foreshadowing that Persephone's ordeal will be for a good cause. Hades moves in to take Persephone when the grounds gapes open and she begins to cry aloud. Demeter hears her daughters screams but she is powerless against Hades, hence the separation of distance between them. The grief stricken Demeter goes through an experience which plays out the role of a symbolic death. this is because the relationship between the mother and daughter ends at a wedding.
Anyone except those who could not speak Greek or have committed murder were allowed to participate in these rituals. Although most things that occurred in the Hall of Initiation were meant to be kept secret, some have been revealed. The mysteries were divided into two parts, the Lesser Mysteries and the Greater Mysteries. The Lesser Mysteries, which happened annually, was a preparation for the Greater Mysteries and represented Persephone's first time being in the underworld. Hades, god of the underworld, saw Persephone and wanted to make her his wife. Persephone did not like him so he abducted her and took her to the underworld. Persephone was the main focal point and was honored during these rituals. Before moving on,
The Ancient Greeks sought to define how humans should view their lives and how to create an existence dedicated to the basis of the “ideal” nature. This existence would be lived so as to create an “honorable” death upon their life’s end. Within their plays, both dramas and comedies, they sought to show the most extreme characteristics of human nature, those of the wise and worthy of Greek kleos along with the weak and greedy of mind, and how they were each entitled to a death but of varying significance. The Odyssey, their greatest surviving drama, stands as the epitome of defining both the flawed and ideal human and how each individual should approach death and its rewards and cautions through their journeys. Death is shown to be the consequence
The story of Medusa and Perseus is known as one of the top thriller tales in Greek Mythology. To begin, Medusa is one of three sisters, Sthenno and Euryale. However, she is the only mortal one. Originally, Medusa had golden, long, beautiful hair. She was Athena’s Priestess and swore to a celibate life. Later on, Medusa met Poseidon, fell in love with him and completely forgot about her vows to Athena. The Goddess Athena was so infuriated that she turned Medusa into a hideous looking monster. Her golden locks became venomous snakes and her face became so grotesque that any God or immortal to look into her eyes would become a statue of stone. Athena did this so Medusa would not attract any man. The same came for her sisters because Poseidon
Although no mortal can escape his destiny, it is the more heroic mortals that attract the attention for (better or worse) of the gods. Odysseus’ bravery in battle fascinated the gods, causing them to take a special interest in him. During Odysseus’ trip to the underworld, he meets with Hercules who relates to the special notice that the gods have taken in Odysseus, " high-born son of Laertes, ready Odysseus, so you, poor man, work out a cruel task such as I once endured when in the sunlight, I was the son of Kronian Zeus, yet I...
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
So, Persephone now resides in the underworld six months out of every year. When the Olympians overthrew their father Cronus, the Olympians drew straws to see who would rule what part of the world. Even though Hades, also known as the Roman God Pluto, drew the straw for the underworld, there are many gods, goddesses and personifications within the underworld besides him.... ... middle of paper ...
However, he received help from a couple of people, for example: the ferry girl. She helped Inman cross the river. When they were crossing the river in her canoe, they encountered “the Whitworth [as] Inman thought” (Frazier 88). The ferry girl ended up saving both of their lives when she “threw her weight to rock the canoe hard” (89). The ferry girl was quick witted and showed Inman the way west when they were safe from danger. In mythology, the River Styx is a river to the Underworld. The River Styx is ferried by Charon, he helps take Odysseus to the Underworld so he can get back to Ithaca. The ferry girl represents Charon. River Styx resembles a harsh place, going from a living world to one that is dark and unpleasant, but for Inman it was the opposite, he was going from the dark unpleasant place to finding
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 ...
An interesting and important aspect of this Greek notion of fate is the utter helplessness of the human players. No matter the choice made by the people involved in this tragedy, the gods have determined it and it is going to come to pass. T...