Comparison Of Love And Obsession Of Beauty In Greek Mythology

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter tells the story of Demeter, the goddess of fertility of grain. Demeter has a daughter with Zeus by the name of Persephone. The hymn explains the strong bond between Demeter and Persephone and how distraught Demeter is when her daughter is abducted. This traumatic event causes Demeter to live among mortal men disguised as an old woman and withdraw the fertility of the earth. In this paper, I will examine how the Homeric Hymn to Demeter operates as a charter myth, or narrative that explains modern practices, and how successful the hymn is in conveying the modern practice.

The Goddess Persephone was a very beautiful and well worshiped goddess, she was loved by all, do to how she was very kind and caring as well as being able to bring warmth to the earth also known as spring. Persephone is the daughter of Zeus the king of all gots and the daughter of Demeter the goddess of the harvest. Indeed she was very beautiful, or at least enough to catch the eye of the ruler of the underworld. He then fell instantly in love with her and knew he had to have her. So he devised a plan to take her as his own. One day Persephone was picking flowers for her mother Demeter when she noticed a beautiful scent and decide to follow it. After wandering off from the field she looked up at birds fluttering and suddenly the sky began to

Society today revolves around appearance, love, and relationships with others. Young girls grow up yearning for the perfect body image to accomplish what is considered ‘beautiful’. Many people desire their relationship to develop a particular way based on the typical definition of romanticism. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, influences all people looking for love or in love. A negative aspect of Aphrodite is her influence to judge based on impressions.

     Hades is one of the brothers of Zeus. He is the unlucky one who got to rule the underworld. He is cruel and unforgiving. Only two have ever gone to Hades domain and returned, Hercules and Odysseus. Hades fell in love with Zeus’s daughter and devised a plan to abduct her. With Zeus’s help they succeeded in the capture of Persephone. Her mother Demeter was so enraged she cursed the Earth. She continued the curse even after she was released. It was only after her mother Rhea was allowed to see her that she let the Earth prosper (message).

In the myth “Persephone”, as retold by Anne Terry White, Hades falls instantly in love with the Goddess of harvest and takes her to the underworld with him. Have is all the sudden alarmed by the heaven, fire breathing beasts that had been buried underground, so he comes up to the land. Anthradite, Goddess of love, spots Hades and commands her son, Eros, to shoot with an arrow of love, hoping it would make Hades release the beasts kindly. Hades suddenly gets shot and his heart slowly begins to soften. Suddenly, in the distance, Hades sees Persephone, goddess of harvest, gracefully working in the meadows and he instantly falls in love with her. As a result, he decides to practically kidnap he and takes her down to the underworld with him.

Gender inequality has been a controversial topic for numerous religions and cultures throughout history. Women were commonly regarded as the subservient gender, an idea that was no different in Ancient Greece. Throughout Greek mythology, women were considered inferior and troublesome symbols, while men were known for courage, leadership, and strength. While there is no argument of the flagrant sexism that is illustrated in Greek mythology, it can also be claimed that women were given a situated position of freedom, necessity, and power as well. Many popular Greek plays and myths contain several complexes and well described female characters. These goddesses themselves, partook the role of victim, heroine, and villain as it illustrated the diversity of characters in which women were portrayed and seen in both Ancient Greek society and mythology, allowing us to question “Were the women of Ancient Greek mythology equally represented as free and superior?” The creation of the Greek mythological universe, the creation of multi-gendered goddesses or deities, and the free and superior personalities accredited to women in Ancient Greek mythology to answer the question that women were fairly represented as powerful in Ancient Greek mythology.

Although, the women often appears in Greek mythology as dangerous and immoral. In the myths of the Greeks from the earliest poems of the archaic period to the sophisticated dramas of classical Athens, there appears a pervasive fear of women. Female characters of many Greek dramas child killer Medea, the husband killing Clytemnestra, and the mother killing Electra. While these females appeared previously in Greek myth, the Greek authors further explored their characters and displayed their malice in greater depth. As can be seen from myths and drama, this fear as it surfaced in ancient Athens is voicing of the male concern that women are a threat to their masculine society and have the potential to disrupt and destroy

The Rape of Persephone began as a simple story of peace and unchanging atmosphere. Demeter, goddess of the earth, agriculture and fertility in general, withheld her gifts from the earth in an act of isolation and depression once she lost Persephone. Before tragedy struck, she was loved by all for providing a climate for crops to flourish year round.Persephone held the sweetest disposition and was admired by all who knew her- including the God of the dead, Hades. However, unbenounced to her and her mother, her father Zeus had agreed to the turmoil that would soon ensue. As Persephone quested for the most enchanting flower, Hades, “the lord of the dark underworld, the king of the multitudinous dead, carried her off underneath the earth, driving a

There are many analogies between this short story and the myth of Persephone and Hades. When Persephone was taken by Hades she was admiring a beautiful narcissus flower, and during her first few months in the underworld she cried and wailed because she was unhappy. Hades gave her pomegranate seeds to make her happy, just as the man gave the girl alcohol to sooth her nerves. The man, practically begging the girl to go through with the abortion, saying it will make them happy again because they wouldn’t have to worry about it any longer. The man, in many ways resembles Hades, because he is stopping at nothing to have this beautiful youthful maiden to be his not

Innocence and maturation are two key aspects of the human experience. The innocent mind allows you to live with less doubt and worry but it leaves you vulnerable to manipulation and people taking advantage of you. Thomas Hart Benton’s Persephone portrays the myth of Persephone and Hades. The Rape of Persephone goes as so; Zeus gives Persephone to Hades to have as his wife. Persephone is out and about and Hades takes her to the Underworld. A heartbroken Demeter, goddess of harvest and agriculture, Persephone’s mom, refuses to grow anything until Persephone returns. Persephone is allowed back but Hades tricks her, making her unable to leave the underworld permanently. Demeter compromises that Persephone can be in the Underworld part of the year but that nothing will grow while her daughter is away, forcing Persephone’s return and creating the seasons. Taking a new turn on the ancient myth, Benton sets the painting in a rural scene and illustrates a bare Persephone lying leisurely, surrounded by greenery with Hades and his chariot lurking behind her. The juxtaposition between the foliage, Persephone’s nude figure, and the wrinkled Hades in the background creates an imbalance between maturation and sexuality with a blithe young woman caught in the middle. Overall, Benton’s Persephone accentuates the bliss of naivete coinciding with the overwhelming malevolence and sexualization present in the world.

Zeus made to help Hades get his girl Prersephone (Demeter's daughter) Boy named Narcissus had been completley gorgeous and everyone wanted him but he had no want for them. One day he goes and looks at the rivver, sees his reflection and questions how anyone can campare to his own beauty ie. he was in love with himself. He then decided to die. The Nymphs could never find his body only a flower that they named after him.

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter addresses the fate of Persephone is in the hands of others and is removed from freedom of choice as she is portrayed as a minor. In effect, it is symbolic of the power family holds as the actions of her mother, her father Zeus and her husband Hades determine her path. The text accustoms nickname Persephone throughout the passage as the ‘Core’, the ‘Girl’, or ‘Virgin’. These nicknames assume her role as an underage girl not responsible for her life decisions. The Hymn begins with highlighting the role of the patriarch in a family Zeus as both the head of the family and the other gods who must defer to him as he arranges Hades to take Persephone against her will. As Demeter struggles with the mourn and loss of her child she begins to abandon her reproduction responsibilities and Persephone is ordered to go to the side of your dark robed mother. However, Hades persuades Persephone to eat pomegranate seeds, representing the loss of her innocence as it spiritually bounds her to Hades. Zeus accustomed to be acknowledges as the father of justice and good government rectifies the issue with the arrangement that Persephone remains with Hades however returns to her mother and the Gods for 2 thirds of the year. The Fate of Persephone portrays the common marriage cycle that pertained in Ancient Greece whereby it held the connotation of death for the maiden and submission and adaptation into their Fathers orders.

Hades was a bitter middle-aged man whose heart softened once he saw Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. So he kidnapped her and brought her down into the Underworld. Demeter had become infuriated with Hades and released her anger on the earth in the form of a time where no crops should grow. Meanwhile, Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds which made her want

A love goddess is a deity associated with sexuality, love, fertility, beauty, and in some occasion’s death. These goddess are common in mythology and may be found in many polytheistic religions. Although there are vast differences among these goddess’, since they have to serve each particular culture’s needs, there are also many similarities that can be drawn to them. There are two love goddess’ that are believed to have many similarities, they are the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Norse goddess Freya. Although these goddess’ have many differences some similarities are their appearance, lost lovers, a love of beautiful things, charm, an association with the sea, the day Friday and fish.

"A myth is a collective term denoting a symbolic narrative in religion, as distinguished from symbolic behavior (cult, ritual) and symbolic places or objects (temples, icons)". (The New Encyclopedia Britannica. Vol. 24)Mythology is a collection of myths meant to explain the universe. Mythological stories were told in many different cultures and civilizations. The existence of myths is known in every society. Many different myths were conceived to explain occurrences that happened in nature.