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Myths legend a folk literature
Greek Gods and Goddesses
Greek Gods and Goddesses
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Greek history is full of myths and legends, stories of Gods, Goddess, heros, villains, and everything in between. These stories have been told over and over again and through time the versions have changed. Not only has time taken a toll on these stories but also the culture that these stories are
introduced into. One of the more famous stories is the one of Medusa. The terrible Gorgan that turns people into stone with just one look at her face. There are many versions of her story but they all end the same way, in her death. Not only did her story influence the art in Ancient Greece but it still influences the art today.
According to GreekMythology.com Medusa was originally a beautiful golden- haired girl who worked in Athena’s temple. Medusa made vows to the Goddess Athena, she would be devoted to Athena and live a life of celibacy but that all changed when the God Poseidon met Medusa, he wooed her and they ended up getting married. Infuriated that Medusa broke her vows she punished her by changing her wavy hair into venomous snakes, her gentle eyes being turned into blood-shot ones that would “excite” fear and disgust to anyone that would stare into them, and her skin which was once pale and fair turned into a greenish tinge. As time went on Medusa would be shunned because of her looks turning people into stone. Another version comes from theoi.com, where
Back in Ancient Greece Medusa’s story was used to teach others what could happen when one angered the Gods. Not only that but she was also a sort of boogeyman for children to behave. The artwork that came from this story was to teach and entertain others. Now the story of Medusa is more of a pulp culture than a legend. We see her appear in literature, movies, and even fashion. Part of this trend is the fascination with Greek Mythology and the other part is that we as a culture like to recreate Medusa in as many ways as
Poseidon had ask Medusa for marriage and proposed, and Medusa said yes to his proposal. When they had proposed they went to Athena’s temple, once the’ve arrived they caught by Athena, and at this moment Athena had turned Medusa into a gorgon with snakes in her hair. Never look into her eye’s or will
Mythology was critical to Greek people’s everyday life, just like how religion is in our modern day in age. Everyday events, such as a thunderstorm, could be linked to a god or goddess. For example, when an earthquake would happen, it would be Poseidon crashing his tritan on the ground. People’s lives revolved around the whole ideology and it served as a way to explain the unexplained and to help them in times of need. All of the stories of these great gods and goddesses were passed down generation through generation each time getting more extreme and distorted. People idolized these beings and built stunning life like sculptures of them. Zeus was the most important of all the Greek gods and also king of Mount Olympus. He became a king after
... is one example of how he used a poem to write about what the power of love can do to someone, i.e. bring someone to his or her demise. This kind of approach to myth telling is also prominent in another myth written by Ovid, which can be found in Book 14. This is the story of Dido and Aeneas. In this instinct Dido is tricked and deceived by Aeneas, when he takes advantage over her and uses her. Therefore Dido is left on her own and since her passion of love towards Aeneas was so great, she then finds herself depressed and kills herself. This action is called upon from the power of love and by killing herself she deceived others as well. Now, this is not the exact same comparison as to Medea’s story but it does depict what beholds those who have fallen deeply in love. Good reasoning and justice falls second when it comes to women’s emotions of passion and persuasion.
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
Around the time where Greece was known to be the greatest civilization on earth, many people used myths and stories as an extension of their belief because they were culturally significant and important. Ancient Greece was a male-dominated civilization that created laws which would benefit only those with power, which let to the suffering of those without power. The relationship of the sexes was very important, because it showed how men were more superior and woman were frowned upon because they were treated more like minorities. Aeschylus’ “Agamemnon” is about a Greek king who would do anything, including sacrificing his daughter, because he feels as a man and a king whatever decisions he makes are always just. Sophocles’ “Antigone” is about a girl who goes against the religious values of the society, and get persecuted because state laws restrict her
Terrible Gorgon Medusa. Nobody was able to kill her because if you looked directly at her
The Role of Women in Greek Mythology In learning about the feminist movement, we studied the three articles, discussed and reviewed the different authors perspectives on the topic, and learned how important the role of woman in Greek mythology is. In presenting the feminist theory to the class, we analyzed the three articles, Women in Ancient Greece; Women in Antiquity: New Assessments; and Women in Greek Myth, and discussed how although the three articles provided different views on Feminism in mythology, they all essentially are aiming to teach the same basic concept. In order to understand the feminist theory, we have to understand the notion that although myths are invented and that they involve fantasy, the concept of mythology does not necessarily imply that there is no truth of history in them. Some of the humans may have lived while some of the events may have taken place. Most importantly, the social customs and the way of life depicted in the myths are a valuable representation of Greek society.
Archetypal criticism is used in the continuous employment of the extended metaphor of medusa. In the myth, Medusa is generally portrayed as the incarnation of feminism, as the name Medusa is derived from the Greek word metis meaning feminine. Medusa’s hair could be parallel to the chain events of birth and death as snakes constantly shed and regrow skins. Although the hairs of snakes were meant to diminish her craved beauty and femininity, Medusa could have, in fact, become more womanly, because not only does the phallic snake represent the power of birth unique to women, it also epitomizes danger and intelligence implying that women too possess these qualities. In addition, although the protagonist isn’t prepossessing, it doesn’t alter the fact that the woman is still a dominating ...
The tragic play Medea is a struggle between reason and violence. Medea is deliberately portrayed as not a ‘normal woman’, but excessive in her passions. Medea is a torment to herself and to others; that is why Euripides shows her blazing her way through life leaving wreckage behind her. Euripides has presented Medea as a figure previously thought of exclusively as a male- hero. Her balance of character is a combination of the outstanding qualities of Achilles and Odysseus.
... powerful, manipulative, and extremely smart, yet because she is a woman she has limited social power. She has no chance of being a hero because she acts out of hurt in her marriage and love turned to hate. In Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Agamemnon also kills his child, although it is not praised, he is still considered a hero after his death. Medea is portrayed as being a selfish and ruthless woman, making her unnatural. Nevertheless, the audience finds themselves uncomfortably admiring Medea and her strength as a woman. Medea’s madness portrays how one’s emotions can lead to detrimental results rather than using reason. She is driven by her desire for revenge and will stop at nothing to burn her husband Jason as he did her.
Another thing that proves that Medea has a strange way of thinking is how she rationalizes the murder of Jason’s new wife. Most people, regardless of where they live, feel that murder is wrong. Maybe evoke revenge in the way of ruining a reputation or something along those lines, but never kill. In Medea’s mind, there was nothing else she could do at this point to make Jason suffer like she had suffered. Medea is able to totally remove any human emotion behind the murder. She cannot seem...
Medea’s cruel and savage passions take overtake her reasoning as the story proceeds. Medea’s views differ of that of the traditional Athenian women in that, Medea believes that “…women, though most helpless in doing good deeds, are of every evil the cleverest contrives.
Medea was a very diverse character who possesses several characteristics which were unlike the average woman during her time. As a result of these characteristics she was treated differently by members of the society. Media was a different woman for several reasons; she possessed super natural powers , she was manipulative, vindictive, and she was driven by revenge. The life that Medea lived and the situations she encountered, (one could say) were partly responsible for these characteristics and her actions.
Medea is a tragedy of a woman who feels that her husband has betrayed her with another woman and the jealousy that consumes her. She is the protagonist who arouses sympathy and admiration because of how her desperate situation is. I thought I was going to feel sorry for Medea, but that quickly changed as soon as I saw her true colors. I understand that her emotions were all over the place. First, she was angry, then cold and conniving. The lower she sinks the more terrible revenge she wants to reap on Jason.
In conclusion, myths reflect show us the Greeks view on the world, religion, and nature. Their understanding of the world is both similar and different compared to modern society. Myths also reflect the importance of gods in the Greek society and how each god represented something different. In addition, we can see the role of monsters in myths, what they represent and how were they important. Myths also show us the role of women in society and whether they were as important as men or not.