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Differences and similarities of greek and roman gods
Hesiod: a theogony interpretation
Comparative note on greek and roman mythology about deities
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The Character Differences of Hesiod's Zeus and Ovid's Jupiter There is no doubt in mythology that the king of gods, Zeus, is the most supreme and powerful, ruling the sky. He controls the thunderbolt, a symbol of power feared by both gods and mortals. The Greeks and Romans honored Zeus above all other gods. He is without mistake, the god of all gods. Their stories of Zeus are plenty; his designs have molded mythology from his birth. Zeus' victory in outwitting his intelligent wife, Metis, by swallowing her pregnant, was the gateway used by the Greeks and Romans to show Zeus as the greatest god to come since his father and grandfather. However, as the stories of the gods and goddesses unfold, the Greeks and Roman's interpretation of Zeus' characteristics are different. Zeus is always upheld as the king of gods, but his other personal attributes to his godly rein are conflicting. Zeus' characteristics of fearfulness of female deities, cunningness and use of trickery, and lust in Ovid's Metamorphoses compared to the Theogony are opposed due to Hesiod's true respect of Zeus versus Ovid's lack of respect of Jupiter in Roman mythology. The first difference in Ovid and Hesiod's writings of Jupiter and Zeus, is the god's position with the female deities. In mythology, Jupiter is all-powerful. However, Ovid portrays him as being afraid of his wife, Juno. There are two examples in Ovid's Metamorphoses (BkI: 601-621) of Jupiter's apparent fear of Juno. After Jupiter raped Io, Juno approached him. Afraid that Juno would catch him in the act, Jupiter transformed Io into a heifer hoping to avoid the consequences of Juno's wrath. When Juno asked where the "beautiful" heifer was from, Jupiter lied to her and said the heifer was "born from... ... middle of paper ... ...the god based upon conflicting traits of fear, deceit, and lust. Zeus' main characteristic is power in both Greek and Roman mythology. However, when Ovid's Metamorphoses is compared to Hesiod's Theogony, Juno's power is limited. Ovid's lack of respect and belief about Jupiter is apparent in his writings, which portray Jupiter as fearful, cunning, deceitful, and lustful. In opposition, Hesiod views Zeus as fearless, intelligent, and certainly not lustful. Zeus' characteristics in the Theogony are reflected from Hesiod's belief about the god to be much more than a worthless myth to the Greeks. Instead of mocking and disrespecting the all-powerful god of Greek and Roman mythology, Hesiod respects Zeus as the most powerful god. Works Cited Ovid, Metamorphoses West, M.L. Hesiod, Theogony and Works and Days. (1988). Oxford University Press. Oxford, New York.
Both the poems of Hesiod’s tell of the curse of Pandora and both have Prometheus as the main character. Prometheus in both is the cause of why Zeus inflicted
... in deceptiveness and similarity with her: “Two of a kind, we are, contrivers, both. Of all men now alive you are the best in plots and storytelling. My own fame is for wisdom among the gods-deceptions, too” (8. 379-383). It is as if though Athena represents these qualities heavenly, whereas Odysseus represents them on earth. Athena further exclaims to Odysseus, “Whoever gets around you must be sharp and guileful as a snake; even a god might bow to you in ways of dissimulation. You! You chameleon! Bottomless bag of tricks!” (8. 371-375). It is of no surprise that by Odysseus and Athena gathering forces and wit in this journey, nothing could stand in their way and Odysseus’s homecoming. Thousands of years later, the Odyssey stands proof to that.
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.
Zeus the god of the sky who was married to his sister Hera the goddess of marriage and ultimately jealousy. Another one of Zeus’s roles was that of being the lord of justice for the gods. This goes back to the story of Oedipus Rex with the Priest of Zeus represented the people of the plight of Thebes and him asking for justice to be done for the people. Though he is known by being the Lord of Justice he is also known for being very unfaithful to his wife. This unfaithfulness can reverberate back to the way that Oedipus Rex had a love for his mom almost in the way that it relates to inbreeding. In a way that Zeus had many affairs though his most famous was Leto. Leto was one of his first relationships apparently before Zeus was married to Hera. Leto was the...
Zeus was the lord of the sky, earth, rain, and leader of the Olympian divine beings. He toppled his dad and slaughtered his siblings with a specific end goal to discover who might take the spot on his dad's royal position. His weapon was a thunder jolt, he tossed this at any individual who disappointed him or opposed him. He wedded and undermined Hera.
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 ...
Jupiter was the ruler of the gods. He is also known as Zeus to the Greeks. The King of Gods in Greek Mythology Zeus was the ruler of the sky, and had the power to create thunderstorms and lightning as well as earthquakes. He was the child of Cronus and Rhea. As the story goes he was their sixth child, and the father to protect him from being overthrown had eaten the five previous children. Zeus was taken to a city called Crete and hidden from his father. As Zeus grew older and learned of what happened he found a potion to make his father regurgitate the other children. Once this happened they all teamed up and killed their father. Zeus then became the ruler of Mount Olympus, and head of the new line of Gods. Jupiter was the predominant power holder of Roman Gods. He was ruler of the sky, the daylight, all the weather, and even the thunder and lightening.(Ruck,Carl and Staples, Danny, pg 19)
Athena, the goddess of wisdom, is Odysseus’ protector throughout his journey to return to Ithaca. Athena’s first task in aiding Odysseus is requesting that Zeus, her father, send Hermes to Ogygia, Calypso’s island, to request that she allow Odysseus to journey home. Athena again comes to Odysseus’ assistance when he meets the princess Nausicaa. She enhances his appearance so that Odysseus will win the princess’s favor, and thus, return home. When Odysseus is walking into Phaiacia, Athena clouds him in a mist so that n...
For example, the bad side and his biggest detriment on his ten year voyage that turned into a twenty year voyage is Poseidon punishing him along the way, making it even harder to complete the voyage and return home. Poseidon, god of the sea creates heavy storms countless times along Odysseus’s journey. He also had a sea monster, Scylla kill some of Odysseus’s men. At one point during his voyage Poseidon punishes him even more severely by stranding Odysseus and his men onto a deserted island to where they couldn’t return home. Zeus expresses Poseidon’s hatred for Odysseus when he says “How could I forget godlike Odysseus? No other mortal has a mind like his, or offers sacrifice like him to the deathless gods in heaven. But Poseidon is stiff and cold with anger because Odysseus blinded his son, the Cyclops, Polyphemus, the strongest of all the Cyclopes, nearly a god. The nymph Thoosa bore him, Daughter of Phorcys, lord of the barren brine, after making with Poseidon in a scalloped sea –cave. The earth shaker has been after Odysseus ever since.” (180) throughout the story there have been clues to people being jealous of all the great qualities that Odysseus has. These are not the only evil gods/goddesses that Odysseus had to face on his voyage. It was every day that he was fighting a new enemy that he had to conquer. The gods that were considered good helped Odysseus, the most important one being Athena.
Zeus was the god of all gods. He was the god of thunder and the sky. Zeus’ his father was named Cronus. Zeus overthrew his father to become more powerful. Zeus’ brothers were Poseidon and Hades. Metis was Zeus’ first wife. While the two of them were together they had the goddess Athena. Zeus later married Themis and his six children with her. Mnemosyne was Zeus’ third wife which he had nine children with. After that he married Hera who he treated very poorly. Apollo and Artemis were also children of Zeus but they were not born by one of his wives. Their mother was Leto, it was said that Zeus’ wife Hera, embarrassed Leto during her entire pregnancy as “revenge.”
His name, Zeus actually means the bright sky. The people who worshiped him believed that he was, “The essence of all divine power. No deity received such wide-spread worship” (Struck). Zeus’s power is known to be greater than all of the gods put together. He power was known to be more “magical” than Horus’s because Zeus is able to control changes in the sky and wind, which includes rain, thunder, and lighting. He can also cause the storms to stop by shaking his oegis, which calms all the elements. Zeus had many abilities that allowed him to go farther and deeper than any mortal man’s mind. “Zeus foretold the future through omens and oracles” (Larkin). Along with Horus, Zeus was also in charge of judging peoples actions and punishing them accordingly. Zeus, being moral and wise and “As being the guardian of morality, Zeus enforced moral among men, for Zeus himself was very wise” (Larkin). Zeus took much interest in the actions of all the people, he wanted everyone to be kind, moral, and just. He believes that even the poorest of people have their own potential. This aspect of Zeus closely resembles how Horus was depicted by the people who worshiped
It is also significant that he has intentionally broken away from the stereotypical austere images of the gods, and has set his gods at the opposite end of the scale to the Virgilian gods. BIBLIOGRAPHY: OVID METAMORPHOSES Translated by A.D.Melville VIRGIL THE AENEID Translated by R.Fitzgerald D.C.Feeny The Gods in Epic G.K.Galinsky Ovid's Metamorphoses R.O.A.M.Lyne Further Voices in Virgil's Aeneid Wilkinson Ovid Recalled C.H.Wilson Jupiter and the Fates in the Aeneid --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Virgil's Aeneid: book: 1.5 ff.
Zeus is the god of the sky, lightning, thunder, and justice. Zeus is the king and father of all the gods. Hera is his sister who is his wife. Most people think that Hera was Zeus 's only wife, however, before Hera became the wife of Zeus, he was married to Titan Metis. But Zeus got worried that his son would be stronger in power than him so he swallowed Metis and married Hera. Zeus, like all mythical Greek gods, had symbols they were
There once was a god named Zeus, the god of all gods, his people praised him and feared him
Zeus is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, he is the king the rules the gods of Mount Olympus. His cognate with the first element that is his is Roman Jupiter. His mythologies and his powers are almost the same, though that they aren't the same as those that are from Indo-European. Zues is the child of Cronus and Rhea and he is the youngest child to be born.