Riley’s hypothesis of the divine influences in Christianity. The divine influence is the beginning of the God of Christianity and is how monotheism arose in cultures where polytheistic religions had long prevailed. This chapter focuses on the concepts of creation in the ancient world (prior to Christianity), the role of gods and humans in the material world, how humans reached heaven, and types of monotheism. These sections are to be expected in an analysis of the relationship between ancient religions to Christianity, but Dr. Riley’s “Greek Science and the Monad” is the most fascinating in the discussion of the divine influences in Christianity. In this section, Dr. Riley declares this to be the origin of the concept of the Christian god, rather than it deriving from the religions of the Near East.
By doing this emotional scene, Pullman is alluding to the Odyssey. This proves that he was influenced by the epic when writing his own novel. It is clear by looking into Young Adult fiction, such as The Hunger Games and His Dark Materials, that authors have been influenced greatly by ancient materials. Myths were once an oral tradition that were then written down by authors such as Homer, so that they can now be remembered and used within literature. Whether it is that a whole series can be based off a myth, like The Hunger Games, or whether it is just a scene, like the land of the dead in the Amber Spyglass, it is clear that through myth ancient materials have influenced Young Adult fiction a great
As for the following segment, the main sources are, the previously mentioned Romantic Gothic and The Gothic Text by Marshall Brown. Around 1800, the so-called "dark romance" replaces the early-romantic uprising mood in Germany. Ludwig Tieck’s “Mondbeglänzten Zaubernächte” gives a rather gloomy, sarcastic and broken view of the situation. The origin of the Gothic Romanticism is found in the English Gothic novel: novels such as "Castle of Otranto" by Horace Walpole (1764) or Anne Radcliffe 's "The Mysteries of Udolpho" (1794). It broadens the scope of the general romanticism to the irrational: It turns to the absent - excessive, scary - demonic, Satanic and fantastic.
Both churches also are grounded in the foundational doctrines and practices of the Eastern Orthodox Church, especially as it has to do with mysticism and iconoclasm. Despite minor doctrinal differences, the two churches remain grounded in the roots of Orthodoxy rather than the Roman
For example, Colonus became the setting for many of Sophocles’ known plays (Mastin). Even the community’s legend of Oedipus, a Theban king, became the main character for Sophocles’ tragedies (Buller). As stated by Sienkewicz, “It may be attributable to the well known patriotism of Sophocles, who did not follow the example of many contemporary artists, including Aeschylus and Euripides, in leaven Athens for the court of a foreign patron.” By this he means that Sophocles’ love for Athens was the reason he never left his home, even if another kingdom offered him more money. Another of Sophocles’ muses that he looked up to was Aeschylus, a dramatist that lived before him. In Mastin’s, “Ancient Greece- Sophocles”, he states that Sophocles respected Aeschylus so much that he went as far as to imitate his work and style until he developed his own.
The Greek theatre chorus functioned as narrator of the myth, as a moral guide of the actions, and as the alter ego of a specific character. In this role it was a physical extension of the audience and a link between the drama and the audience. When the actors talked to the chorus, they were also asking the audience for moral approval of their actions. It built a link between the public and the heroes in the drama. The song is a prayer that calls upon the gods: Zeus, healer-god of Delos, the immortal child of golden Hope, deathless Athena, Artemis, Phoebus himself.
With a goal of explaining these tensions and educating readers on the difficult issues that slavery created, Toni Morrison wrote Beloved. The religious allusion in Beloved serves many purposes. Creating a common ground for greater mutual understanding, religious allusion expands the audience and greatly helps to clarify many aspects of Morrison’s writing. Everyone knows the Bible, allowing for more universally reaching storytelling through her characterization, narration, and metaphorical writing. While painting vivid pictures of grandiose feasts, imminent apocalyptic destruction, and heavenly preaching figures, Morrison fashions unique identity and easily-comprehendible scenes.
Taking the Roman religion as a norm, one is able to cite this ‘religious flexibility’. For a very long time, Roman religion was animistic, but due to Etruscan influences Romans embraced anthropomorphism. What is more, the names of Roman gods have Indo-European roots . Later on, there is a slow decline in belief in the old deities as Rome was transformed from an agricultural community into an increasingly urbanized and sophisticated one . Yet, all the old public performances and rituals continued, but became colder and formal.
Throughout the course of history, millions of texts have been recorded. The term intertextuality has permeated the vast array of ancient texts creating a web of interconnected thoughts, values, stories, and ideas. Traditionally, there has been a divide between the sacred and secular world. In this paper, there will be a comparison of two texts, one sacred and one secular. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Hebrew Bible both arose from a strong oral tradition during the same time and area.
Beowulf has been read by millions of readers and critiqued by hundreds of scholars, yet it remains a popular classic worldwide; perhaps the very construct that weaves varying religious contexts has helped to create an enduring interest in this poem. Christian mores mingling with Germanic myth and nature’s religion create a distinctive relationship seldom seen in other literary works. One of literature’s earliest epic poems, Beowulf, contains a unique amalgamation of religious concepts that, at times, seem to contrast each other. Considering the time period and popular worldview of the time during which the poem was written, it is likely that the author was intentional in the style and content of his work Beowulf, written sometime between