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Through recent human history, there have been many plays in different aspects of literature. In Greek Mythology, the myth of Heracles can be inspected as to whether he is a hero or a murderer. One Greek writer, Euripides, writes about the tragic story of Heracles. It is a story about tragedy, madness, humanization of a hero and psychological natures. The story explores the interplay between if Heracles is sane or insane, and how he falls from all his glory and emerges from the dark, ember ashes as a changed, humble man through the phenomenon of friendship. In my opinion, Heracles is an innocent being and his body is used by an external spirit to deliver an evil onto himself.
Madness is a fundamental part of Greek tragedy that creates and intense, disturbing drama. In the case of Heracles, he is brought down at the height of his glory. He is a man that achieves his success through his own abilities. He is a hero that is strong, willful and lusts for experience. Even in his early childhood, he expressed traits of great hero where he destroys a snake in his childhood, he is very athletic, he hunts a lion at the age of eighteen, Furthermore, his labors represent brute strength where he deals with lions, carnivorous horses, and raging bulls. Also, Heracles has a twin brother, Iphicles, who is very much opposite to him. Iphicles, is set out to become a king and live in a dignified manner, while Heracles is made into a slave. This shows that Heracles had a troubles childhood where he wasn't treated to a normal, conditional family. however, Heracles is also pig-headed and directly challenged the gods sometime. Even though he has super-human strength, he is no match for the divine. Heracles brings much misery to the life around him, wh...
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...ader does not see Heracles himself acting out of madness, but rather hears his action from a secondary character.
Briefly speaking, Heracles is a sane man that is plagued by madness and has his innocence ruined. Heracles himself cause his ruin because of the ruin he has cause so many other people. His personality makes him his own worst enemy which leads to his demise. However, he still possesses qualities of a model son, good friend, and a caring and protective father. Furthermore, the Goddess of madness also protest again the deed that is to be done upon Heracles, showing that even the most mysterious, far-fetched character in this Myth supports the noble Hero.
Works Cited
Arrowsmith., William. Euripides Heracles. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1956. Print.
Powell, Barry B. Classical Myth: International Edition. S.l.: Pearson Education (Us), 2011. Print.
Greeks are known for many things. We know them for their poetry, for their philosophy, their politics--and also we have come to know them for their childish, petty, lustful, little gods. These gods, vengeful in the extreme, have been a source of much literature. However, not all the gods have the same publicity agent, and have suffered in obscurity for much too long. One of these gods, one of the Twelve Olympians, has been obscure in the least. He is different in most ways from the other gods, and I am here to illuminate him further to you. His name? Hephaistos.
...ro. In the Helicon Encyclopedia of Literature they interpret Heracles myth as “Viewed as the personification of strength, courage, and endurance, Heracles and his legends may have been regarded as an allegory of the triumph of good over evil” (Helicon Encyclopedia). Heracles can be viewed as a story of good vs. evil because Heracles had to overcome the struggles placed on him from his opposition.
Since the days of mythological origin to the origin of pop culture, various mythological stories have been adopted and presented to newer generations. Some of these presented adaptations of mythological stories have significantly been modified in order to be deemed entertaining by audiences in a pop culture generation. Thus, my study will seek to compare mythological hero's during their time to how they have been depicted in modern day. Moreover, my study will analyze the similarities and differences between the Greek hero Heracles and his replica character, Hercules, depicted in Disney's adaptation of this myth. Although there are few similarities between the two versions, the differences between Heracles and Disney's Hercules are prominent. These differences help modern day audiences relate more easily to the characters in the story. Furthermore, the alterations have enabled a new aspect of heroism to emerge since Disney tailors it's movies towards youth who can seek valuable lessons from animated movies. Disney's choices through these alterations will be determined by focusing on the main plot, characters presented in the movie, peripheral details, and the notion of being a "true hero" that Disney presents.
The Trial is also used to purify the hero and help him atone for evils. This is seen clearly in the Hercules legend of Greek mythology. The jealous goddess Hera uses her power to make Hercules insane and in his madness he slaughters his own children. He then journeys to Delphi and consults the oracle which tells him that he must serve for ten years as his cousin Eurytheus' servant and must perform ten labors. Through his labors he is able to atone for his past evil deeds and regain the favor of the gods (D'Aulaire 132-146).
It is key to grasp the meaning of madness in order to understand Hamlet’s audacity to utilize it as well as to why he unconsciously fell into his own act. Madness is a condition of the mind that abolishes all rational thought leaving an individual with no accurate compreh...
Hercules, or known in Latin as Heracles, was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity. In art Hercules was portrayed as a powerful, muscular man wearing lion's skin and armed with a huge club. He was also described as being a macho man buffoon, who was very impulsive. Hercules’ home and birthing place is in Thebes, Greece. Thebes is a city in central Greece. It plays as an important setting in many Greek myths, such as the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and many other important roles in Greek Mythology. The demigod, Hercules has an interesting origin, he is most famous for his 12 labors, and leaves a legacy in words and expressions.
The quickest take over of madness is exhibited in Hamlet’s love interest, Ophelia. The most important example of madness is shown in Hamlet after his meeting with the Ghost and his plot for revenge upon his uncle. The most unexpected example of madness is in Laertes who in a fit of rage loses all gentleman like qualities and almost upsets the kingdom. All of these characters add up to the idea that to lose someone a person cares about dearly, ultimately ends in losing one’s composure and going mad. If we take away anything from Shakespeare’s play, it should be that each of us should think over our decisions prior to making them to insure we don’t have the same fate as the characters stated
The first type of madness is that of “[an] seer’s inspiration coming from Apollo” (265b), for whom like “the prophetess at Delphi, no less, and the priestess at Dodona,” are able to guide the cities, like Sibyl, through divine prophecies “[onto] the right track in respect to the future” (244a-b). The second type of divine madness, [the] mystical initiation ascribed to Dionysus,” symbolizes wisdom and retribution, or justice. Plato further emphasizes wisdom and justice in his play Bacchae, in which he represents Dionysus as the personification of retribution, or justice, in, juxtapose to Pentheus, whom personifies traditions. Pentheus, due to his lack of wisdom, failed to not only see the divinity of Dionysus, and distinguish between what is reality and illusionary, but his death also symbolized the act of justice for underrepresented citizens, particularly for women that held no political power or representation in the state. The third classification of divine madness, “a poetic madness coming from the Muses,” depicts how madness can inspire the people it processes by educating them on “[the glorifications of the] myriad deeds of those in the past” (245a). Once processed with madness, Socrates emphasized how their works often eclipse the poetry of the sane, underlining how the poetry of the sane
William Shakespeare’s creation of the character of Hamlet within the tragedy of that name left open the question of whether the madness of the protagonist is entirely feigned or not. This essay will treat this aspect of the drama.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, one of the most evident and important themes is the theme of madness. The theme is apparent throughout the play, mainly through the actions and thoughts of Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes. Madness is defined as the quality or condition of mental illness or derangement (being insane). Madness is at the center of the conflicts and problems of the play and is conveyed through Shakespeare’s elaborate use of manipulation and parallels between Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes to contribute to Hamlet’s tragic character. All examples of madness begin and end with death.
Aristotle, a philosopher, scientist, spiritualist and passionate critic of the arts, spent many years studying human nature and its relevance to the stage. His rules of tragedy in fact made a deep imprint on the writing of tragic works, while he influenced the structure of theatre, with his analysis of human nature. Euripides 'Medea', a Greek tragedy written with partial adherence to the Aristotelian rules, explores the continuation of the ancient Greek tales surrounding the mythology of Medea, Princess of Colchis, and granddaughter of Helios, the sun god, with heartlessness to rival the infamous Circe. While the structure of this play undoubtedly perpetuates many of the Aristotelian rules, there are some dramatic structures which challenge its standing with relevance to Aristotle's guidelines, and the judgment of Medea as a dramatic success within the tragic genre.
In Greek society, the role of women was considered to be insignificant compared to the Greek men. The women had very few rights, no room to voice personal opinions, and a very bleak future with few options for a better life. According to Moses Hades, professor of Greek studies, women in ancient Greek plays are known to be the main characters and take the role of the villain, victim, or the heroine. In Euripides’ play Medea, Medea, the main character, plays all these roles. She represents the heroine by helping her husband secure the Golden Fleece prior to their marriage, and then portrays the victim by being betrayed by her husband, and finally the villain by murdering her loved ones. Therefore, Euripides follows the standard format for a Greek tragedy.
Before the twentieth century plays were mainly written as either a tragedy or comedy. In a tragic play the tragic hero will often do something that will eventually destroy him. In the book Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the tragic hero. In this tragic play the main character, which is portrayed as Oedipus, will do a good deed that will in turn make him a hero. This hero will reach his height of pride in the story, and in the end the action, which he had committed earlier, will return and destroy this man who was once called a hero.
The time period of Greek theater’s popularity was a very influential time in our world’s history. Without knowing what Greek theater was all about, how can someone expect to truly understand a tragic play and the history it comes with? The history behind the character of Oedipus, in the play Oedipus the King, is very complicated. His intricate past dealing with prophecies, family members, and murder is the main focus of the story. There are many characteristics that complete Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero; these being the presence of hamartia and peripeteia, a sense of self-awareness, the audience’s pity for the character, and the hero is of noble birth.
The role that madness plays in The Spanish Tragedy and in Hamlet, indeed in all revenge tragedies, is a vital one; it provides an opportunity for the malcontent to be converted by the environment into the avenger.