Myth: The Chimera

Greek mythology is one of the coolest things anyone could think of. The ideas of gods and goddesses coming down to earth to interact with the human race, is quite an amazing thing. In many cultures, gods are very important. The ancient greek culture is an example where mythology is very important to the people, the gods are everywhere in daily life. Yet with the made up mythology, they needed a place to begin with and the greeks are no exception, but the story of the gods beginning is very interesting.

The essay, “Slouching Toward Chimeras,” by Jeremy Rifkin addresses the moral dilemma of biological engineering between different species; including, the constant genome in these experiments- Homo sapiens (humans). Chimerism is the genetic engineering of two different species to create a hybrid offspring that contains the genetic code from both parents. This is an idea that has been around since the Ancient greek, however, it has not become reality until recently. One of the large controversies surrounding chimerism is the re-combination of the human gene with a different species, giving that hybrid human characteristics- depending on the gene inserted, the traits can be expressed physically of mentally. The main reason for chimeras with part

Greek Mythology has been known to be one of the footprints left by the civilization of ancient Greece to our history and these mythology somehow shed a light to the culture, life style, religion and history of ancient Greece since the mythology were the primary basis of the origin of the ancient Greeks and they believed that these mythologies explained the origin of why things turned out to be like that.

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.

One of the most important aspects of a mythological story are the magical and mysterious events.

Greek mythology has always been a very fascinating subject to talk about. The belief that gods and goddesses once ruled the Earth is an interesting idea. To think that the land and sea were once looked upon by one of the strongest and fiercest gods that ever lived. Poseidon or Neptune was known to be one of the strongest gods that ever walked on the planet. Poseidon is best known for protecting and watching over the ocean.

In my research I have learned an addition of facts and stories about Greek mythology. Like how “the Pegasus and Chrysor came from the blood of Medusa’s head after Perseus cut it off” (Greek Mythology). Or how the “Amazonian group of warriors was all females” (Greek Mythology). The more that I have research about my topic the more fascinating and interesting it becomes. I hope that everyone will further their research and knowledge on this topic whether it’s reading a book, researching on the Internet, or even just watching a movie.

     Mythology is a way that the ancient societies explained why things are the way they are and how they came to being. Two ancient societies are infamous for their mythology. These societies are Greece and Rome. Great authors were made be the mythological works they wrote. Homer was a famous author who is best known for his epics. It is from these epics that most of the gods and actual myths well known. I am writing of two of these gods in particular, Saturn and Dionsysus.

War is physically and mentally exhausting on all parties involved. This notion is made evident in Stephen Crane’s “Red Badge of Courage” and Yusef Komunyakaa’s “Camouflaging the Chimera” Although different genres, one being a novel excerpt and the latter being a poem. Both pieces of literature explore the day-to-day life and psyche of the soldier. “Red Badge of Courage” is told by “the youth” Henry Fleming. As he looks on to groups of soldiers and wonders why they are so eager to die as he thinks of his own death and the peace that comes with it. “Camouflaging the Chimera” is narrated by a soldier who is more connected to his fellow soldiers as he describes the endless waiting in ditches and how nature is involved in war. In both works, the

Greek mythology also includes a number of monsters and strange creatures such as the one-eyed Cyclops in the Odysseus story, a gigantic boar in the fabled Kalydonian hunt, sphinxes, giant snakes, fire-breathing bulls and more. (Brummett) These creatures may represent chaos and lack of reason, for example, the centaurs half-man and half-horse. Fierce and fantastic creatures often emphasize the difficulty of the tasks heroes are set, for example, the many-headed Hydra to be killed by Hercules, the gorgon Medusa whose look could turn you into stone and whom Perseus had to behead.

With the sections provided online, information concerning nymph influence upon Greek culture and Greek mythology is accessible. The excerpts taken from throughout the novel cover how nymphs were portrayed as companions and prophetic inspirations for gods and mortals respectively. This information provides a deeper insight on how Greek culture was affected by these female spirits of the natural world. Though the author wrote in a somewhat boring way, the information was particularly useful as it added a different point of view on the influence of nymphs in Greece and the information was supported by evidence from ancient-Greek writers such as

Mythology is a series of stories made by one culture to entertain or to increase the knowledge of their own beliefs to the world. Over the last few centuries, many cultures have created stories to demonstrate their valiant strength or superiority amongst other cultures. Not only that, but, they used these myths to increase faith in their religions. Nevertheless you may find texts confusing because you many think it is about a hero or the importance of religion. On an example, of a myth that has received a large amount of criticism is the mythical story of Beowulf.

Stories which has stood the test of time become mythology. Mythology lends itself to different interpretations, retellings. Each retelling, intentional or not, includes a bias. As time elapses, new aspects are added to the story while some may be forgotten.

I picked Egyptian mythology because I was talking with my grandma and she said it was very interesting.

Mythos, the Greek word for myth means story, appertain to colorful tales that enlightens about the origins of humans and the universe. Myths, as amazing as it sounds, is also a cause for birth of new religions, where and how they originated. Many cultures have myths about how the gods and goddesses came to be, even elucidating the origin of humanity and its traditions. Even ideas about how this world of ours came to existence have many myths, creation myths behind it, disparate in every culture and society, which demonstrates a view on its role in the world. Mythology is simply the study of the myth. There are many psychological theories and meanings that explicate mythology. The most recurrent belief about the psychological value of myth is that myths emblematize contrasting elements of our own psyches or souls. The psychoanalytical frames of reference on myths have indisputably been ineluctable. Myths were and still are progressively seen as expressions of desideratum in the human psyche. But the big question is, what is the beneficence of mythology towards the amelioration of society? If there are myths to decipher or exhibit certain things, character or situations, there also are science and technology, which accommodate every explanation needed to understand each of those things. Many go to science for such interpretation, which conveys the impression of taking care of the signification behind all those natural phenomena,