Rebecca McKenney
Greek and Roman Mythology in Translation
Mrs. McCleanhan
13 October 2016
Prostátis Apo Eiríni
We have heard of war deities and deities who defend justice, but you may not have heard of Prostátis Apo Eiríni. He is the Protector of the Peace. When he decides to walk among us, we casually overlook him. Who would think that a five foot five man wearing a semi-formal black and white suit with a dark gray trench coat and a dark brown Tyrolean hat would be considered a deity? He is an extrovert kind man who wonders through the world in search of a person who seeks out justice and peace. It is no wonder why, on several occasions, he has appeared at a courthouse or in the middle of a protest. Prostátis Apo Eiríni isn’t your typical
…show more content…
For the first several years, Prostátis Apo Eiríni tried to keep his head down and tried to learn the law of mortals since he wanted to be treated like a normal guy. A rumor has it, that he first appeared at a courthouse just outside of Athens in a town that has long been forgotten in history. Two men appeared before a judge with a grave grievance. The first man accused the other of stealing his prized cow and trying to sell it back to him for a profit. As Prostátis Apo Eiríni approached, the argument grew to be more aggressive. Prostátis Apo Eiríni reached down his coat, pulled out the Calming Whistle, and blew. A sweat sound filled the air and soon the two men had ceased their vocal …show more content…
He wanted to lash out at them, in fact he nearly would have destroyed the town where it not for the fact that he saw a child. Quickly, he take off his coat and flung it into the air. The higher the coat went, the larger it grew until the whole area was covered with darkness. The people began to notice a since of despair for what they had done and began to weep. But before the streets were too wet to walk, the coat gave a bright light and filled the air with humor. They townsfolk laughed and laughed. The coat returned to Prostátis Apo Eiríni back into its normal shape and size. But the laughter would not end until after he left the town. The moment he left the town boundaries, the people gained control of themselves and forgot what had caused the incident in the first
On that first fateful day, when Romulus struck down his own brother Remus, the cauldron of Rome was forged in blood and betrayal. The seeds on the Palatine hill cultured one of the most potent and stretching empires of human history. Though this civilization seemingly wielded the bolts of Zeus, they were infested with violence, vanity, and deception. Yet, one man—or seemingly “un”-man—outshone and out-graced his surroundings and everyone within it. He brought Rome several victories and rescued his beloved country from an early exodus, thus providing her a second beginning. This man was Marcus Furius Camillus, and against a logical and emotional mind, he was oft less than loved and celebrated. At times he was disregarded, insulted and even
Throughout Aristophanes’ “Clouds” there is a constant battle between old and new. It makes itself apparent in the Just and Unjust speech as well as between father and son. Ultimately, Pheidippides, whom would be considered ‘new’, triumphs over the old Strepsiades, his father. This is analogous to the Just and Unjust speech. In this debate, Just speech represents the old traditions and mores of Greece while the contrasting Unjust speech is considered to be newfangled and cynical towards the old. While the defeat of Just speech by Unjust speech does not render Pheidippides the ability to overcome Strepsiades, it is a parallel that may be compared with many other instances in Mythology and real life.
After being separated of his sister, Equiano was sold to a blacksmith in a pleasant African country, who had two wives and a few children. They used to treat him right and try all the possible ways to make him feel comfortable. Equiano´s work for this family consisted in dealing with the bellows and in helping an old slave to cook and take care of the poultry. Unfortunately one day Equiano killed one of the chicken and presuming that he would be punished for it ran away and hid himself in the bushes. While hidden in the bushes,
Greek mythology and Roman mythology both have an importance in both ancient history and the modern world. People often confuse the two and mistake them for each other. They may be similar on paper but they are very different. Greek mythology is more original, had a bigger influence on the ancient people, and has a bigger influence on the modern world.
In many cultures there are flood myths that normally pertain to angered Gods who release their anger by flooding the world to cleanse whatever caused the anger in the first place. In the Roman culture, one of the flood myths mentioned states that Jupiter had been angered by the evil that came with humanity and had wanted to burn the Earth. However, Jupiter had feared by doing so Heaven would be set ablaze as well and thus, with Neptune's help, flooded the Earth. The hero Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha had been the only two to survive. Jupiter had recognized their religious lifestyle had let them live and retracted the flood. Deucalion and Pyrrha had then repopulated the world by throwing stones behind them. In the Murato culture, there is a myth in which a man had been fishing in a lagoon of the Pastaza river, a crocodile had swallowed the fisherman’s bait and the man killed the crocodile. The mother of crocodiles had been angered by this and had slashed the water with her tail creating a flood in the area and drowning everybody except for one man who had climbed up a palm tree. After the flood had subsided the man climbed down from the tree, cut off a piece of his flesh, planted it in the soil, and had grown a woman. He had then married the woman and begun to repopulate the world.
Numerous mythologies we have read throughout this semester have had an underlying message. Those who are loyal to their beliefs, their spouses, and the gods are rewarded, but those who prove to be unfaithful are dealt with harshly. From the multitude of examples in mythology, I have chosen four to discuss: Cupid & Psyche, Odysseus & Penelope, Medea & Jason, and Antigone & Creon. Each of these characters and their stories exemplify either rewards or punishments for their actions from the gods and fates. First, we must discuss how to define loyalty in a way the Greek and Romans would agree with. Loyalty wasn’t just wives obeying husbands, or servants obeying masters, but also the people obeying the rules of the gods. Obedience is a key part of the ancient concept of loyalty, as you cannot be truly loyal to a person or to the gods without respecting their wishes and being obeying them.
The ancient world was comprised of mysteries. There were no scientific explanations for the structure of the world, the existence of humans, or the meaning of life. To explain these dilemmas they turned to religion and mythology. However, as were often isolated geographically there was no universal answer to any of these questions, though many cultures many have derived similar solutions to certain questions, despite being separated by large physical distances, such as the Greeks and Egyptians. Although there are minor differences, Greek and Egyptian mythologies share many similarities.
The Greek and Genesis creation stories resemble each other in many ways but also they have their differences too. Imagine two stories that come from two different places could have so many similarities, but it also has it’s differences.
Mythology is the traditions that have been passed down orally, among a culture, for many generations. Myths can include several different elements, often varying slightly. Most include fantasy or unnatural characters, such as monsters, dragons, gods and goddesses. Myths generally tell a story which is the basis for many beliefs among a culture. Greek and Roman myths encompass the gods that the cultures worship. Myths often serve to teach a lesson or play on superstitions. The origin is unknown and because it has been handed down orally, there are variations in the story. The story often travels around to other cultures also. This leads to similar myths among cultures. Similar situations and characters
Greek and Roman mythology is well know. The people of that time period were passionate about the gods and did everything in their power to please them. Like most religions the goal is be like one of the gods in order to achieve good fortune or to gain everlasting life. One of the most interesting characteristics about the Greek and Roman Gods is how the gods are not perfect in that they make the same mistakes that the average human would make. These characteristics were put into place to allow ancient Greeks and Romans to effectively relate to the gods making them more believable. This is unlike other religions where the god(s) are shown as the all perfect character making no mistakes. These characteristics relate back to the family and
Origin myths deliver stories explaining how the world, humans or objects came to existence. Describing where the nation comes from, they are very important to the culture of given region. Therefore, each nation developed its own stories and beliefs; however, there are many similarities between myths of various religions and cultures. A good example would be Native American stories about origin and their resemblance to Greek mythology or to the Bible. Similarities can be seen in different spheres such as creation of humankind or even in the story about flood.
With man and nature, there is seemingly a constant curiosity that of which compels many to contemplate questions and to ultimately seek answers for those questions. In modern day, man seeks science, logic, and mathematics to name a few in order to search for those compelling thoughts. However, it was seemingly not that easy in the era of the Ancient Greeks. The Ancient Greeks did feature mathematics, however, to explain natural phenomenon, there was not a reference to science and logic, and like other nations it was rather, mythology.
Roman mythology involves stories relating to the inception of ancient Rome and its religious practices, represented through both literature and visual artworks. These stories were treated as historical fact, despite containing supernatural components. Central themes include morality, heroism, personal integrity and responsibility to community and Rome. With regard to religion, Roman mythology concentrates more on the ideas of ritual, cult and augury rather than theology and cosmology. Rome's foundation myth is that of the story of Romulus and Remus, the image of the brothers suckling at the She-Wolf (Lupa) being a very famous image associated with Rome.
I have been raised in a family that values logic and reason, but one that also appreciates other people’s morals and beliefs. Among these have been individuals of different Christian denominations, Hindu, and Islamic beliefs. Sense a predominant number of religious beliefs and logical ideas stem from early civilizations, I often wonder the extent to which logical ideas differ from religious tenants-sense both manifest from the human mind. To engage this research question, I have specified my topic to compare and contrast the ideas of Greek philosophers (such as Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, and Pythagoras) to the ideas of Greek Mythology. Logically, it makes sense to focus on Greek ideas because they laid the foundation for modern government and religious tenants.
In Roman religion it was crucial “to serve the gods and ensure goodwill” (The Roman Republic). The English word “Religion” comes from the Latin word “Religio” (Overview of Religion). Latin was the ancient language of Rome, but for the Roman’s the translation meant something very different from what we understand it as today. To the Romans, “Religio” translated to “ the fear of gods” (Overview of Religion). Romans invested much of their time serving the gods, performing rituals and sacrifices in honor of them. On the contrary Greek religion did not prefer to execute rituals as much as the Romans. Greeks were more lenient when honoring the gods. They did not have a theological dogma: a part of theology dealing with truths of faith concerning God and God's work. Their many gods had different purposes and works they performed. The Greeks relied more on the verbal spread of the religion rather than having a written form. Although different, both religions had forms of praising and honoring their gods. Greek and Roman religion have many differences and similarities that impacted each group of people.