The Inevitability Of Fate In Perseus And Medusa

The Ancient Greeks believed in many gods and heroes during their time. Each one had a sole purpose in a mortal’s lifetime. Greek mythology had a huge impact on religion in Ancient Greece. The Greeks performed rituals in order to honor their gods. Mythology affected the Ancient Greeks in many ways. The origins of mythology, the influences of mythology through a human’s lifetime and lessons taught in the ancient myths will be examined.

on our history and mythology helped shed light to it’s culture, religion, and government of ancient Greece. The Mediterranean has served as a vessel for the early civilizations., Greek mythology has influenced the life style and religion of the Greeks, especially because Greek mythology served as the primary basis of Greek belief, it became the nearest thing the Greeks had to a holy bible.1 These mythologies served as the center of Greek life and these mythologies served as their basis for their life and in turn the mythologies shaped the foundation of the Greek life style, culture, religion that we know today.

One of the common features of the ancient Greeks was their practice of guest-friendship. They honored friendship that had been established by their ancestors. Thus, they would not fight with someone who is a friend. Moreover the Greeks were very competitive of their past. If an aristocrat had ties with a legendary hero of the past, he would be placed in a certain position or status which would earn him respect. Therefore, the stories of their ancestors was very significant.

Throughout this course, I have learned about what a myth is and all of the themes that fit into myths. The most common themes seen throughout the myths we have studied during this course are fate, pride and hubris, heroism, justice and vengeance, and beauty. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about mythology throughout this course and I have always felt that the controlling question driving this course is, why is mythology so important to us, even today? It is important to know the answer to this question and to know about the different themes seen throughout the myths studied in this course.

When people wonder about Ancient Greece the first thing that comes to their minds is Greek mythology; gods and goddesses that have helped shape many historical events. “In ancient Greece, stories about gods and goddesses and heroes and monsters were an important part of everyday life.” (“Greek Mythology.”) The civilization showed that numerous characters and stories helped shape Greeks. The beliefs the Greeks had with mythologies was they understood the meaning behind all the characters that are known today. However, to the Greeks, they were not just characters, these were their gods and goddesses who gave them meaning and understanding of the world around them. Worshiping the gods and goddesses helped them with their religious rituals and the temperament of the weather. A famous wine-jar that was made during this time period was “Achilles killing the Amazon Queen Penthesilea, 540-530 BCE, black-figured amphora”. (Khan Academy) The civilization that they lived in grew around their worship and achievements.

Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey” reveals many aspects of ancient Greek life and culture through character and plot. Through each of the tales circling the life of Odysseus and the Greek people, Homer depicts the history, legends, values, and merits of the ancient Greeks. Greek culture is known to be one of the most flavored and thorough in history, and each facet of it—from religion to ideology to mentalities and beliefs.

Perseus is the son of Zeus and Danae, Zeus is a god and Danae is just a human, which makes Perseus a Demigod. Medusa is a beautiful woman but, she has serpents on her head. People turned into stone as soon as they saw Medusa’s face. The story of Perseus and Medusa always interested me. When I saw the sculpture of Perseus holding the head of Medusa and had his sword in the other had I got interested to know more about the story of Perseus and Medusa, I have always heard the story about Perseus and that he killed Medusa but I didn’t know how. I wanted to know more about the story in detail and how Perseus actually killed Medusa without turning into a stone. The sculpture itself looked beautiful, it was carved in Marble.

The Greek fables that were written in the past still inspire us today. Well lets just say that their are a lot of lessons inside of these fables and myths that can inspire people today and people can learn a lot of lessons from it. For example, in some fables the greeks teach a lesson about appreciating and cherishing what one has before it is won’t have them and when they are gone you will want to have them back again. Some fables that support this claim is “The Hen and The Golden Eggs”, “Heroes Every Child Should Know Perseus”and “The Miser”. These are some fables that can teach people to appreciate and cherish things before they are gone and some myths that show that how to use things appropriatly and to use things usefully.

Throughout history, tales of great heros, gruesome monsters, beautiful enchantresses, and mighty gods have been told. One such tale that is very important to the greeks is the Odyssey. The main character, “Odysseus, was very important to the greeks because he was relatable to the greeks because he was a mortal man who relied not on superhuman strength, but the power of his own mind” (Mr. Carroll). Although clever, Odysseus has many flaws, and because he was greedy, arrogant, and he lets his crew die, Odysseus is not a hero.

Some civilizations perish into ashes, and others supersede the former and ascent to power. Ancient Greece is one such example, rising to the apex of its glory, and as history is depicted to repeat itself, the future was simultaneously on a quest to bring about its diminution. Although this cycle is inevitable, we are blessed by our biological programming to relay the chronicles of such civilizations through stories. Literature allows us to peek through the fabric of time and gain insight into the ideals a civilization was structured upon. Examining the Odyssey will allow us to view the values the Ancient Greeks were reliant on, and how those values and brought about the indomitable hero

Acrisius, the King of Argos, was born a daughter named Danae. In the hopes of obtaining a boy, the king visited Apollo's Oracle in Delphi asking if he'd ever have one. The priestess said no, but warned Acrisius that his grandson, born by Danae, would spell his demise. Fearful of his death, Acrisius locked Danae in a bronze tower with naught among the walls, but a single window, in the hopes of keeping her from any interaction with men. Danae was depressed by captivity and would often pray to the Gods for release. Zeus, upon hearing her pleas, looked down from the heavens and fell in love with her breath- taking beauty. Infatuated, he visited her in the form of golden light flowing through the tiny window. Zeus offered to make Danae his wife

In this essay, I will examine popular Greek ideas concerning fate and their relationship to characters in Homer's Odyssey.

The collections of myths not only tell the history of the Greeks gods and goddesses but also teach moral skills that were valued during the era. There was a story that tell us about a very vain man named Narcissus who was so handsome that everyone who saw him fell in love with him. The only problem was that he was incapable to love anyone other than

The history of Greek mythology is an extravagant chronicle of tales of heroism, tragedy, and tradition. The Greeks had an extreme talent with fine arts, and these abilities are strongly reflected in their

I.Summary: Perseus and the Gordon Medusa begins when Polydektes falls in love with Perseus’ Mother, Danae. Polydektes realizes that he will not obtain Perseus approval over the courtship, but determined to win Danae’s love “by fair means of foul.” Polydektes comes up with a scheme to take Perseus out of the picture. Polydektes pretends to be in love with Hippodameia, Polydektes goes collecting horses as a gift for his bride. “Perseus, when asked for his donation, boasted that if necessary he would even fetch the head if the Gordon Medusa, so Polydektes took him up on his offer, sure that her could never return alive.”