Hecuba And The Bacchae Electra Analysis

Another way that the names of places were affected by Greek myths is through its effect on religious practices and sacred places. One such place that was important to the Greeks was the sacred place of Delphi. Delphi was dedicated to Apollo, the god of prophecy. It is also believed by the Greeks to house its namesake, the Oracle of Delphi, which would proclaim prophecies to those that worshipped it and made sacrifices. People from all over Greece flocked to this area to give offerings to the Oracle in hopes of receiving a prophecy. Another sacred place to the Greeks was Mount Olympus. Mount Olympus was the tallest mountain in Greece, and was believed to be the home of the gods. It was chosen as such because in Greek mythology, this is the place where the gods took their stand against their parents, the Titans. In this battle, the gods climbed the mountain to attack from out of range of the Titans. After winning the battle and becoming the supreme deities of Greece, the gods have resided there ever since. Even more, the base of the mountain the home of the nine muses, goddesses of the arts. This affected the lives of many Greeks because it influenced what they did and where they had to travel to when they felt they

By referencing Danaë and Cleopatra, two royal women who suffered similar fates to Antigone, the chorus sympathizes with her.  In the first stanza of the ode, they allude to Danaë, saying “even she endured a fate like yours, / (. . .) buried within her tomb” (1036-1040).  Through this allusion to Perseus’s mother, who suffered in an underwater tower, the chorus praises Antigone for her fortitude and shows their support for her through their horror for her fate.  When they reference “the princes doomed at birth/ and their mother (. . .)/ walled up in a tomb of stone”, the story of Cleopatra, the chorus likens her to the daughter of the North Wind who was also buried alive (1079-1080).  The comparison between Antigone’s suffering and the

In the ancient Greek world, religion was personal, direct, and present in its citizens’ daily lives. During this time, they participated in animal sacrifices and offerings, created myths to explain the beginning of the human race and gave reverence to their gods by building temples which controlled the urban landscape. They also participated in local festivals and sporting and artistic competitions. Religion was never out of the presence of ancient Greece’s citizens. While they may have made up their own mind on the terms of their religious beliefs, some may have been completely confused if these gods actually existed. There were certain fundamental beliefs that must have been sufficiently widespread, in order for the Greek government to function. In ancient Greece, gods existed, they influenced human concerns, and they welcomed and responded to acts of godliness and worship.

Each of the Sumerian cities had a premier god that was worshipped above the others. Although the sky god was the supreme god, it was not the most worshipped in all cities. This premier god tied to the successes of the city as well as its fortunes, and was even thought to protect the city from harm. The deity would be worshipped in a tall pyramid (also known as a ziggurat), which was built in the center of the city, often on a hill or platform. This is identical to how the Greeks would build temples in honor of their city’s major deity. For example, the Parthenos (Temple of Athena) in Athens was where the Greek god Athena was worshipped. According to Greek mythology, Athena and another god Poseidon were in competition to see who would gain control over Athens. Poseidon gave Athens the gift of a spring, and Athena gave the city the olive. Unfortunately for Poseidon, he was the god of the seas and his springs were salty and not very useful for the people of Athens. However, the olive was very useful as it provided food and oil. The olive became the main export of the city, and thus Athena was heavily worshipped in Athens.

There was a myth that at the beginning of the existence of the city of Athens both gods offered gifts to the people of Athens, in order to sway them in deciding their patron god. Athena offered peace and prosperity while Poseidon offered naval power. The Athenians accepted Athena’s gift. Athens overall culture continued to reflect this decision, the city, in addition to being a center for architecture and mathematics, also played an important role in the progress of government, theology and philosophy. This myth could also give an explanation of why Athenian people may have felt superiority to other city states such as Sparta. The mythological significance it had was much greater than with another city-state such as Thebes, although it was related to the story of Hercules, and

Sexism is a topic that is often discussed today since it still permeates throughout society, just as it did more than two thousand years ago. That discrimination often causes pain and suffering on the receiving side, in this case women. An example of the sexist undertones in this piece of literature comes from Creon, “You scheming source of every criminal act you have a woman’s wickedness; your daring shows masculine strength, ignoring what men say.” (Seneca 80 lines 266-268). This sentence illuminates several different facts about Greek culture and their treatment of women. First, those in power, namely Creon, who is king, believes that women are “wicked” and evil. Second, it implies that women are not supposed to ignore and protest men within the social structure, those that do object a man show that they are not womanly, they display qualities of a man, according to their culture. All of this culminates inside of Medea’s failed marriage with Jason. As a consequence of this sexism, it made it easier to simply break off the marriage and marry Creusa. Those supporting Jason could just present the claim that Medea is a crazy woman, and since they are male, perpetrating such actions is acceptable. Consequentially, breaking of her marriage with Jason is the main reason that Medea slowly spirals into suffering and

Unlike religious gods today, the Greek gods resembled human being in their form and their emotions, and suffered from the same dilemmas humans throughout time have faced. The Greeks believe in many gods and think they are very much like people. They have both supernatural powers and human weaknesses. The gods would fight, play on each other, gets angry or jealous, and steal from each other. The Olympian Gods live atop Mt. Olympus in Greece behind a gate of clouds. They watch the mortals down on earth which they can visit any time, and are responsible for the success or failure of human life. The Greeks worship their gods, pray, give offerings, and build temples to please the gods so they will not give any punishments.

His mother Semele, who was a mortal woman, was the daughter of Cadmus of Thebes. Zeus fell in love with Semele and became human to seduce Semele. When Hera, Zeus wife, find out of the affair between Zeus and Semele she because furious and her raging jealousy made her transformed into an older woman who pretended to be Semele’s nurse. After she gained Semele’s trust, she planted doubt in Semele about Zeus and his true form. This seed of doubt and curiousness made Semele asked Zeus to grant her a wish.

Medea accomplished that by giving birth to two children for Jason. As the play slowly unraveled, it plainly displayed that she was faithful towards her husband, but being an ideal Greek wife was not her factual nature. She was independent and her qualities made her different from the Corinth women. In the opening sequence, the nurse introduced Medea as a frightening woman when someone wronged her. “Her temperaments are dangerous and will not tolerate bad treatment. For she is fearsome. No one who joins in conflict with her will celebrate an easy victory”, the nurse presented (page 2, line). From this, the reader can envision how ordinary other Greek women were. How they didn’t have a mind of their own and were defenseless towards those shabby treatments from men. These women were submissive and didn’t have any control over their lives. However, the protagonist Medea did. She took matters in her own hands when her husband betrayed her.

These works demonstrated the tendency of gods to meddle in the affairs of man, as well as to mate with mortals in order to create a breed of men who were part-mortal and part-divine. Because of the ever-present possibility of divine intervention, the ancient Greeks were extremely cognizant of their actions and heeded the whims of the gods. Beginning from the eighth century, citizens of ancient Greece began to attempt to appease the gods through magnificent statues and architectural feats (Cartwright). Buildings such as the Parthenon in Athens, the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, and the Temple of Apollo in Delphi celebrate the notoriety of the gods and goddesses as well as their almighty power. Although these temples are no longer tributes to the gods of Olympus, they are still a source of adulation for many and are still relevant in society. For example, the term a “Delphi utterance”, which refers to an ambiguous comment that is difficult to decipher, originates from the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, which is home of the oracle of Apollo, who is infamous for uttering bewildering statements that were rumored to predict the

In a town called Dallas, Texas there was a small married family with one kid. Zeus was the father, and Hera was the mother of a child named Ares. Zeus was the god of the sky, and his son Ares was the god of war, and Hera was the goddess of Marriage. Zeus is having affairs with other women while he is married to Hera the goddess of marriage, and Ares don't like it.

Delphi was one of the most important sites in all of ancient Greece. The city of Delphi housed one of the greatest enigmas of the ancient world: the Pythia. Situated along the side of Mount Parnassus, at The Temple of Apollo the Pythia, Apollo’s highest priestess was said to be the greatest oracle in all the land. Dating back to the 14th Century B.C.E. the oracle spat out prophecies to open ears. Apollo, as the god of all oracles, as well as many other things, was the patron saint of Delphi.

The Ancient Greeks believed so fully not only in the existence of their Gods but in their Gods tendency to play an active role in mortal life that this belief percolated into the narratives of their art. In Antigone, the chorus personifies Death in the first stasimon and places it in opposition with man in order to foreshadow Creon’s tragic downfall.

Like the Egyptians, Greek civilization had multiple gods that were immortal and very powerful, but there were twelve major gods that were the most important. Some of these gods and goddesses were Zeus, Hera, Athena, and Apollo to name a few. They were believed to reside on Mt. Olympus. Greek gods were immortal. The people of Greece built temples (much like the pyramids that were in Egypt), and gods were worshipped at these temples. Ceremonial rituals or any other special occasions took place here also. Most of the temples were constructed to honor a god, and they were sacred in their being. They sacrificed animals, held festivals, and sporting events. It is apparent that the Greeks adapted some similar qualities from Egyptian religion, but they are still unique in their own way.

In this paper I will look to discuss Greek myths and how they are significant to Death in Venice and how these myths are used as metaphors within the novella. Myths and legends act as a form of moral regulation within society (Morford et al. 2013). They pose an extreme situation followed by what is deemed the “wrong choice” that is followed by extreme consequences to the character’s choice. Within Mann’s Death in Venice there are several instances of Greek mythology being used as metaphors that foreshadow various aspects in the book, such as Aschenbach’s impending death. The novella also makes comparisons between prominent Greek Gods and Myths, the Greek ideal to characters and situations in the novella.