Complications In The Homeric Hymn To Apollo And Aphrodite

Meanwhile, there was the mighty Zeus, the king of the gods, who was married to the goddess Hera. Hera is the goddess of War and Honesty, but she had an awful temper and often took it out on her husband, Zeus. Hera only loved Zeus because he was the king of gods and she wanted some of that power for herself, so she never let him leave her side, and although he was her husband, she talked badly about him, and constantly blamed and insulted him. Aphrodite witnessed this many times and started to feel empathy for Zeus, she knew Zeus was kind and didn’t deserve to be treated like that. At this, anger burned inside of Aphrodite for Hera and what she did to hurt Zeus, and as this anger burned she felt a passion. Aphrodite casually began to develop feelings for Zeus. She always told herself she shouldn’t, that Zeus was married and she needed to stay away, but she couldn’t help how she felt for Zeus.

Holding great influence over both gods and mortals, Aphrodite could have anyone or anything she wanted. Using her unique powers, she could charm and convince her various desired lovers for much more than love and romance. Many have said that she was the goddess of lust, desire, trickery and sex appeal. Either way, Aphrodite had an assortment of engagements with other mortals and immortals. Her most recognized encounter was with the notorious Ares, who later went on to take the actual title of being her husband.

In Greco-Roman Culture, humans imagine the deities of mythology to be and act certain ways, due to the needs they must fill. People invented certain deities for reasons that align with what they needed from them. To examine how a deity has a certain purpose, one must first examine what they are like. Athena and Ares are examples of deities invented for very specific purposes. One must first look at Athena and Ares’ similarities and differences in relation to their characteristics, their sexuality and physical appearances, as well as their different powers and how they are worshipped, to discover why they were created.

Aphrodite represents erotic love as a fascinating form of divine influence. The nude Aphrodite has powerful meaning and

Relationships between gods and mortals are vital to Greek culture. Hippolytus, as strongly devoted as he is to the goddess Artemis, fails to show respect to the goddess of sexuality, Aphrodite. Aphrodite initially describes Hippolytus as, “an arrogant young man who should be punished for his contempt for [Aphrodite’s] world.” (Halleran, 274) His constant disrespect of the goddess results in Aphrodite’s scheme to ultimately get Hippolytus killed. Although Hippolytus has the support of the goddess Artemis, Aphrodite’s scheme to have Hippolytus killed ultimately triumphs, relating the play to Greek culture, implying the gods ultimately decide all mortals’ fate. Another god who impacts the life of Hippolytus is Poseidon, father of Theseus. Poseidon grants Theseus three wishes, and does Theseus well by fulfilling the curse Theseus wishes for his son; the curse of death. Evidently, Poseidon, although knowing Theseus may be making a decision he will regret, grants Theseus his wish, representing the strong relationship between Theseus and Poseidon. The relationships

From lines 370 to 400, Aphrodite acts like a coward when she gets hurt on wrist. Homer’s word choice suggests that she is not used to pain, she gets a cut on her wrist and drops her own child whom she was protecting earlier. Aeneas might have died if Apollo did not save him, when Aphrodite overreacted to her

Firstly, in the outset of the play, Aphrodite’s speech is necessary for both plot development and characterisation. Her contempt towards Hippolytus and her dark intentions are at first revealed to

The first Homeric Hymn of Aphrodite tells the story of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, desire, and beauty. She is the daughter of Zeus and highly regarded among both immortals and mortal men. The story recounts the power that Aphrodite possesses as well as the limitations of her power. One limitation this hymn primarily focuses on is a situation in which Aphrodite is humiliated. This myth utilizes strategies such as story structure and word choice in order to describe how Aphrodite is humiliated.

The Apollonian and the Dionysian is a philosophical concept based on different mythologies, many Philosophers and figures have invoked this dichotomy in critical and creative works. Both are one of the important themes within Nietzsche’s first major work, The Birth of Tragedy and they are terms used to designate the two central principles in Greek culture.

Many authors have employed the religious beliefs of their cultures in literature. The deities contained in Homer’s Odyssey and in the Biblical book of Exodus reflect the nature of the gods in their respective societies. Upon examination of these two works, there are three major areas where the gods of the Greek epic seem to directly contrast the nature of the God of the Israelites: the way problems are solved, the prestige and status that separates the divine from the masses, and the extent of power among the immortal beings.

In Ovid Metamorphoses, the Roman literature described the ruthless act of Pluto of rape, to seize and carry away Proserpine without the consent of Ceres and in parallel in the Homeric Hymns of Demeter; Persephone was seized and carried away by Hades without the consent of Demeter. The invariant theme that was identified in both the Greek and Roman literature was the loss of innocence of Persephone/Proserpine. Despite the various differences the story was presented, it reinforced the innocence that was stolen from the god of the underworld, Hades or also known as Pluto. Throughout this paper, it will discuss the similar characteristics of the two myths such as the motive that led and encouraged the god of the underworld to kidnap

“Gods can be evil sometimes.” In the play “Oedipus the King”, Sophocles defamed the gods’ reputation, and lowered their status by making them look harmful and evil. It is known that all gods should be perfect and infallible, and should represent justice and equity, but with Oedipus, the gods decided to destroy him and his family for no reason. It might be hard to believe that gods can have humanistic traits, but in fact they do. The gods, especially Apollo, are considered evil by the reader because they destroyed an innocent man’s life and his family. They destroyed Oedipus by controlling his fate, granting people the power of prophecy, telling Oedipus about his fate through the oracle of Apollo, and finally afflicting the people of

In Homer’s The Odyssey the reader is introduced to a number of powerful women, who, as per the social rules of the time, are expected to bend to the whim of their male counterparts. These women, while persuasive and cunning, fall victim to the patriarchal status of Greek society; Penelope, wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus, must obey the word of her son; the nymph Calypso must obey the command of Zeus through Hermes; Nausicaa must obey the word of her father. However, the goddess Athena does not fall as low as these women, and therefore through her status, quick wit, and strength of character is able to persuade the King of Gods himself to allow Odysseus to return

It is almost like Aphrodite’s strengths are explained only to bolster up Zeus’ feats. Zeus uses this power, and “into Aphrodite herself Zeus sent sweet desire to sleep with a mortal man” (citation). Zeus is never reprimanded for this, despite the fact that it appears he used this power to admonish Aphrodite’s pride and powers. Its these same virtues that Zeus thrives through, ensuring that he is the only one who can boast these assets, so no one can challenge his authority. This authority is reference in the Hymn to Demeter, when Persephone is abducted and she calls “on Father Cronides, the highest of gods and the best. But no immortal god or mortal man heard her voice” (citation). When Zeus does not help Persephone, though, she is never abandoned, for “Thereafter for nine days Lady Deo roamed the earth” (citation). Demeter will not stand by while her daughter is abducted, going and asking of other gods, “Who it is that has gone off and ravished her away from me against her will? Who is it of gods or mortal men?” (citation). When Demeter discovers that “There is none other responsible of the immortals but Zeus himself,” Hecate tries to coax Demeter down, and although she “greatly pit[ies] and revere[s Demeter in her] sorrow,” she asks of Demeter, “Goddess, cease from your long lamenting. It is not fitting for you vainly to hold onto anger unassuaged like this” (citation). However, Demeter does not relent, and “grief more dread and bitter fell

A Similarity of both Apollo and Aphrodite manipulation is the revelations of the motives are revealed before their actions take place. In the first Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, the story describes the beautiful, virgin goddess who falls in love with the mortal, Anchises. Aphrodite eludes the most powerful Greek god Zeus and in retaliation, Zeus forces Aphrodite to fall in love with a mortal which eventually leads to her falling in love with Anchises and have sex with him. Aphrodite intentions are made clear before any actions take place and is described, “And when she saw him, Aphrodite, lover of laughter, she loved him, and a terrifying desire seized her heart” (Aphrodite 87-88). Comparing this hymn to the second Homeric Hymn to apollo, the story has similarities to the story of Aphrodite. For example, Apollo also reveals his