In the poem called Works and Days, written by an ancient Greek poet Hesiod, a god named Prometheus gives mankind the gift of fire without the consent of Zeus. This infuriates Zeus, which results him to punish Prometheus by inflicting him with eternal pain. Not only did Zeus punish Prometheus, but he also penalized mankind. In Hesiod's poem, it mentions, "The price for the stolen fire will be a gift of evil to charm the hearts of all men as they hug their own doom" (45).
Heracles, a Greek demigod and son of Zeus, is known far and wide as one of the greatest heroes of Greek mythology due to his awesome accomplishments. However, Heracles is not only defined as a hero through these actions, but by his characteristics as well. In Euripides’ Heracles, his character is truly put to the test. His most prominent traits shown throughout the story are his loving devotion to his family, his kindness as both a friend and son, and his continued determination during horrendous times.
HUM2225 Dr. Hotchkiss September 30, 2016 Moral Insight Plato’s Euthyphro is based on a lesson between Socrates and Euthyphro outside of the Athenian court about the definition of pious or impious. Euthyphro was surprised to see Socrates there and even more curious to find out why he was there. Socrates explained that the court was persecuting him for impiety because Meletus was spreading rumors about him corrupting the Athenian youth. Euthyphro explains to Socrates that he was there to prosecute his father for murdering a farm worker named Dionysus.
The Oresteia is a trilogy written by the Greek author Aeschylus that comprises of three plays; Agamemnon, the libation bearers, and the Eumenides. The central theme of this book is “justice” which in the case of Orestes has led to exile. This book was written at a time when the star of Athens was in decline. It was a time that marked the establishment of a new socio- political order, a democracy adjudicated by the rule of law. This rule of law meant the institutionalization of justice (i.e. having a justice system), where cases are heard and verdicts are being reached based on evidence.
Medea’s character in Euripides and in Ovid’s versions show some comparable similarities, but also differences. However, are these differences highly pointed out as to conclude Medea is not the same person, if it came down to substituting one another? To begin with, in both versions Medea is a highly intelligent and capable woman. She seems very logical as to remember the details of her experiences, and puts every event in an orderly way, making sense of each person’s actions as she describes it. Therefore, she knows not only her afflictions, but also everyone else’s way of thinking and action.
Analysis of Zeus’ Interaction with Prometheus in Hesiod’s Theogony and Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound Hesiod’s
Hercules and Theseus, two great heroes from mythology, seem to be similar in many ways. Both extremely brave and noble; with a love of danger and adventure mixed with compassion, creates the perfect heroes. Their stories intertwine with one another’s when Hercules has to save Theseus from the chair of forgetfulness in Hades. Theseus saved Hercules when he was distraught with intent to kill himself. In a similar way, they both stood by their friends no matter the cost.
The relationships between the Greek gods and mortals have always been complicated. The gods can be generous and supportive, but also harsh and destructive towards the humans. They claim to be all powerful beings with unlimited power and influence, but in truth, they are far more human than they are perceived. They meddle with human lives, not because they are wise, but because of their own selfish reasons. In Homer’s
Can the murderess, Medea, be justified for the killing of her own offspring? Medea is a play written by Euripides in the year 431 B.C. and basically is a tragic Greek mythological play that deals with themes such as love, marriage, betrayal and revenge. Summing it up, this play specifically is about how Medea is sent into exile due to Creon (the king) feeling threatened by her. He is feeling threatened by her because Jason (Medea’s husband) took another bride to bed which happened to be the king’s daughter.
Euripides’ Cyclops would most likely work for a modern audience. Even though some people nowadays do not have some background information, such as who were the old god, like Hera and Bacchus, these are not essential to understand this play. Secondly, this play is different from the others, being considered a satyr play -a parody- which might hold the attention of the audiences on the way the story is built towards the end, and it is not bring to read/watch a play like that since it grabs the audience’s attention through a comic and unexpected action. Finally, Euripides managed to criticize his own society, demonstrating troubles they had to face at that time, which shows to the modern audience the suffering of humanity always existed and it
A cyclops, in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead. The name literally means "round-eyed" or "circle-eyed". Hesiod described three one-eyed Cyclopes, Brontes, Steropes and Arges, the sons of Uranus and Gaia, brothers of the Titans, builders and craftsmen, while the epic poet Homer described another group of mortal herdsmen Cyclopes the sons of Poseidon. Other accounts were written by the playwright Euripides, poet Theocritus and Roman epic poet Virgil.
Hesiod’s Theogony tells a riveting story of the creation of the universe. Through its vivid description and primitive cosmogony, it informs the reader that Hesiod sees himself as someone who bridges the gap between the human and god-like realm. The myth also shows that while people have free will, often times their lives are so intertwined by the god’s activity that sometimes it makes their decisions less meaningful than they really seem. Hesiod is simply the teller of the story who as has the unique role of transmitting the origins of the universe to people, but he has no control over how these events take place.
In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer portrays Greek gods and goddesses as possessing human qualities and faults. Through their actions and emotions, Homer emphasizes the detrimental effects of lust, envy, wrath, and greed in ancient Grecian society. He also never fails to remind readers of the importance of respect for holy figures because of their powerful abilities to create chaos and wonder". Homer wants to prove that gods and humans share a variety of traits, and the only difference is that god don’t allow these flaws negatively to impact their society. To help further his argument, we can compare Greek gods and goddesses to that of Christianity.
When referring to Iphigenia among the Taurians, Edith Hall says in her introduction of the Euripides plays, “Its escapist plot, lack of a catastrophic death or suffering, and happy ending have led it to be classified as a tragicomedy” (xviii). Atrocity is a concept that is very important in the known plays written by Euripides. It seems insignificant in Iphigenia at Aulis and Iphigenia among the Taurians because there is no tragedy that occurs within the two plays. It is actually an important and significant concept to both plays when thinking about the storylines because the near-atrocities contribute to the drama and intensify the storylines. These two plays are very obscure compared to other tragedies because they both nearly have atrocities but they are avoided in the end.
5. What was a scene that worried or scared you? What made it that way? There was a time the odysseus when to go see zuse to confront him in order to get the curse that has been placed on him to be removed.
