Monsters of Greco-Roman Myth Essay

One example from The Hero’s Journey article states “heroes have an altruistic spirit that urges him or her to act against evil and defend the greater good”. This quote is the ideal hero modern times view as. Odysseus goes through a journey, killing monsters, using trickery and acts as immortal. This description of him shows a common archetype and viewing of heroes in ancient Greek times. “Heroes are only mortals, ones that try their best to accomplish feats while fighting against internal and external forces,” found in the The Hero’s Journey, is another quote for a hero's archetype. (Harris,3) Odysseus is only a mortal given a task to accomplish while fighting monsters and facing great dangers. The title hero varies between different cultures, but all have a similarity. Ancient Greeks viewed heroes as immortal, massive, god-like, and known for killing using trickery, while modern times view heroes as muscular, immortal, saving people, and wearing capes when doing it. Lastly, a quote in the same article states “ A hero could not be heroic without something or one to overcome.”(Harris,15) A hero needs an obstacle in order to be an interesting hero. Odysseus must overcome all dangers throughout his journey home.

The ancient Greeks invented gods and goddesses for almost every aspect and purpose in life, and gradually developed intricate yet captivating stories for them. The ancient Greece was a harsh world. City States are constantly at war; life expectancy was short, and infant mortality was as high as 50%; the weather was unpredictable, thus at times, food became scarce (3,4). Although the ancient Greeks were highly rational and believed in science, the existence of deities helped explain what was not understood by the ancient people. Worshiping and pleasing their gods were a vital part of the Greek society (5). The Greeks produced a large amount of artworks to pay tribute to the gods and goddesses in exchange for their favor. Humanism is evident in how Greek artists depicted their deities. Civilizations predating the Greeks carefully distinguished their deities from humans in artworks. For example, Mesopotamian deities have bull horns or have animal bodies with a human head; Egyptian gods are depicted as having animal heads on human bodies, or they have features to distinguish them from humans, such as Osiris and Isis. However, Greek gods and goddesses are represented in normal human forms. They are physically more attractive and more powerful than human beings, yet they possess human attributes, such as flaws, weakness, and emotions, etc. Greek artists believe that gods and goddesses should be elevated and

     A hero is defined in classical mythology as a man, especially the son of a god and a mortal, who is famous for possessing some extraordinary gift. Beowulf, the title character of an epic poem and Superman, a more modern day hero are both prime examples. Beowulf and Superman exhibit several differences, but they also share some similar qualities.

Many think being a hero is having super powers, but on the contrary it's more than that. A hero is one who is distinguished for their courage and bravery, and looked upon for their great deeds. A hero like this is not just found in modern society today, but in mythology as well. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus earns the title of a true hero by conveying many qualities such as: determination, courage and leadership.

Being a legitimate hero is not all about having the extraordinary supernatural powers commonly seen on television. Heroes are people who aid others, often putting themselves at risk to do so. They made the decision to fight, not necessarily physically, for their values. Odysseus, the main character in The Odyssey, should be considered a hero. He put his own life in jeopardy to protect his men from the supernatural threats that they faced throughout their journey. Odysseus should be regarded as a hero because he is brave, clever, and cautious.

Evolutions of civilizations can occur because of differences in people’s religion, culture, or geographic setting of the settlement. The relationship between the world of the gods and that of men was perceived differently by the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Hebrew ancient civilizations. This is demonstrated by the way each group viewed the process of creation. They had different thoughts on the creation of their gods, the universe and of man. This essay will discuss the relationship between humans and their gods in three different ancient civilizations: Sumerian, Egyptian and Hebrew.

The symbols Scylla and Charybdis represent two invincible monsters in Greek mythology. On one hand, Scylla represents a terrible, cruel, and unassailable monster. His view pleased neither man nor a god. She possesses twelve deformed dangled feet, and six exceeding long necks at the end of each a monstrous mouth containing three row of thick, close, and full of Black Death teeth to catch the unfortunate passing by. On the other, Charybdis not only lies in the depths of the seas as a liquid mass, but also swallows up water and ships three times daily and then spits them out three times a day. Charybis is before all a sea gulf and represents the dangerous fury of the waves and eddies in the sea. Their celebrity is such that the language has kept

In most stories the typical hero is a person who is selfless, strong, uses their power, if any, to help others, and are usually nice and humble. Greek heroes however tend to vary in comparison. For instance, in the Iliad by Homer, the Greek hero Achilles is very strong and well loved, but he only fights in battles to gain personal glory, not to help others however, he is still a hero nonetheless. The ideal of heroism fluctuates between cultures, therefore the notions of heroism set forth can be contradicting. The heroes in the short stories Theseus retold by Robert Graves and The White Snake by the Grimm brothers show similar and dissimilar traits in both character, and the concept of heroism; but, both of the main characters are still considered heros.

Throughout history, humans have leaned towards remembering notable members of history as having more than human capability. The “heroes” of the story tended to possess some larger than life abilities. Hercules, for example, a Roman adaption based in ancient Greek mythology was thought of as a demigod meaning that he carried both the blood of mortals as well as that of the Gods. Some of his feats include, slaying the Nemean Lion and the capture of the Erymanthian Boar. Many other myths of Hercules, however, were not as popular as and were mostly used to increase national pride amongst the Romans. One of these myths include the slaying of the monster, Cacus, by Hercules.” As Hercules and Cacus, the nationalist citizen represents both a heroic liberator and an oppressive monster” (Pogorzelski 2016: 41). In the Aeneid, written by Virgil, there is a monster, Cacus, destroying the town of Pallanteum. Hercules happens across this town and habitually does what many of the myths about him say. This town would eventually become Rome and with its rise to power came more myths of the same sort. As stated by Pogorzelski, the Romans continued to tell stories of Aeneas, who defeated Turnus, Augustus who defeats Antony. It can be plainly seen, that Rome enjoyed telling stories of their past heroes to inspire hope and pride in the Roman way. Ancient Rome was a country mired in war throughout its history. It saw itself as conquerors of the world, while at the same time needing to protect itself from other nations eying its territory. Stories that provoked extreme nationalism during this time and may have been instrumental in the Rome’s ascension to the one-time leader of the world as well as its demise at the hand of nations made to feel inferior by the Romans. The myth of Hercules exists unto this day, and that fact is important in showing the fascination that people

What makes a hero? In our society, a hero is thought of as a tall man who wears a cape and has super powers, but to the Greeks, it was very different. In every Greek tragedy, there is the tragic hero, defined by Aristotle as a character who is an extraordinary person, with both good and bad qualities. Although the character reaches a level of insight, a tragic flaw, such as hamartia, leads to their failure in the end. A perfect example of this can be found in Sophocles’ trilogy, The Theban Plays which follows the struggling city of Thebes and the efforts of its rulers to escape their misfortune. Antigone, the third play is an excellent example of this. As the title is Antigone, one would assume that she is the tragic hero, or heroine, but

In the beginning, the goddess of the sun looked upon the earth, and created animals to roam in the rays of her sunshine. She blessed the land with animals like squirrels, to scurry and scatter the seeds of the tall trees. She created the deer, to frolic in her sun bathed meadows, and graze upon the lush grasses. The butterflies and bees she created to spread the sweet nectar of the plants, and cover her green earth in vibrant colors. At last, the sun goddess was pleased with her work, and decided it was time for her to rest. When she took her leave of day, the moon god emerged and took over, creating the many creatures of the night. In contrast to the sun goddess, he created the owl and cricket, to perch in the trees and bushes, and fill the night with sound. He created bats, to fly through the night sky, and feed on insects, which he created to be their sustenance. While the moon god was busy creating animals to fill the night, he made a simple, easy to miss mistake. When he created the panther, he gave it a velvety black coat, to blend in with the darkness of its environment. He gave it agility to run from

Medusa: A woman with snakes for hair, face could turn anyone to stone, beheaded by Theseus, was once a beautiful woman and priestess of Athena before being raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple and being given this form in punishment.

Throughout art history, artists have shown not only their cultural beliefs, but they have also shown their religious perspectives as well. Artists have shown images of deities through sculptures, paintings, and even buildings. An example representing a deity would be the bronzed sculpture Zeus or Poseidon from 460-450 BCE. Different from Egyptian religions, Greek gods were always created in a human form due to the fact that they felt higher and much more greater to followers of religions that worshipped animals or mountains. Greek gods were responsible for many parts of the natural world and human life, for example, love, warfare, and the seasons. The first images were very firm, portrayed no movement, and were very straightforward, but later in time these images shaped the human body with much detail and precision, as we see with Zeus or Poseidon, as well as showing movement. Zeus was the leader among the Greek gods and is shown with an ideal and godlike body. Due to his right hand appearing as if he is holding an object, it is said that he could be holding a thunderbolt, representing Zeus or the God of sky and thunder, or possibly a trident, representing Poseidon or the God of Sea. His stance is slightly back, representing movement or action, and he appears

In the world not many heroes stand against the “monsters” in our life but the few stand to defend us when we can not from the police and fire department to the marines and rangers who have given their lives to protect ours. The best epic book that helps describe this is Beowulf the story of a supernatural hero who travels across the sea to save a kingdom from a great and powerful monster and his mother. The hero defeats them in a great manner much like the heroes of today.

If you think soap operas have strange twisted plotlines, wait until you hear about mythology. Mythology is the beliefs or reasons for events in history or life, but some people say it is just folklore and fairy tales. Even though it isn’t true, there are some people who still believe in myths because they say, “You can believe what you want but it’s just myths” (Wasson).