1. In Greek myth, Zeus is found to have several contradictions.
Zeus was created to be the ideal husband, lover, and father; yet, he constantly cheats on his wife, Hera. Furthermore, in placing Zeus on this pedestal it is curious why Zeus is depicted as amoral or cruel at times (i.e. in Zeus and Prometheus myths). Zeus supposedly holds up virtues and morality for humanity and divinity, however, if this was true why in the Iliad does it allude to there being an uprising against him by Poseidon, Hera and Athena?
2. The two instruments associated with Apollo are the lyre and silver bow and arrows.
Through the lyre he is shown to be passionate and compassionate to others. This signifies his role as a musical god, one that is enthralled with competition, but also in tune with (humanoid) emotions. Since, he is in touch with himself (his emotions), he is sensitive and he is the epitome of culture. He can express himself in a refined way that gets overwhelmed with emotion, however, is put together in a precise way to create a masterpiece. Likely, his music could be seen as soothing in a way we may consider lullabies. Thus, his function was to act as the refined, calming, culturally rich ideal of the musician.
Through the silver bow and arrows Apollo is presented as ruthless, perhaps even a judge. His bow and arrows give him the idea of a protector, but his association with the deal of boys gives him also the edge that is almost cruel. His function was likely to be
Especially after Io’s entrance and the recount of her story, Hera seems more like a jealous wife than the noble queen she is presented as in Hesiod’s work. Her attitude towards Io is blamed on Zeus, who has not only provoked Hera’s actions but is her husband and thus responsible for Hera, as it was customary in ancient Greece.
Out of the tortoiseshell, he crafts a lyre, this is a metaphor for crafting, as gods take the natural world and are able to put it to use. Once confronted by Apollo, Hermes gives a lying speech, he whistles and winks at Apollo making him laugh. Hermes acts like a child and tells Apollo, “I care for sleep, and milk of my mother's breast, and wrappings round my shoulders … I was born yesterday” (263-264). His playful nature allows him to express his musical skills, as he sings sweet songs with his lyre, and manages to trade it for the cattle. Hermes uses his wits and humour to defuse the situation. He is so charming when lying to Zeus, that even he, the great and powerful who punishes those who misbehave, lets Hermes get away with it.
24. Book XVII shows Zeus pitying Sarpedon, Hector, and Achilles’ horses. What purpose do you think is served by this? Why do we see Zeus feeling more pity here than elsewhere in the Iliad?
The manner in which Hesiod presents Zeus’s thoughts regarding his interaction with Prometheus help to provide us with a better understanding of Zeus’s characteristics. Lines 530-531 of Theogony, which describe the eventual freedom of Prometheus, stipulate that this came “not without the will of Zeus,” enhancing the efficacy of Zeus’s ultimate power. Hesiod had previously mentioned Zeus’s intelligence, but he delves more deeply into this attribute in examining the conflict at Mekone between Zeus and Prometheus. “Zeus, eternally wise, recognized the fraud and began to rumble in his heart trouble for mortals, and it would be fulfilled.” (Hesiod 552-55). Here, Hesiod’s audience begins to understand Zeus as an extremely wise, but vengeful god, an image which agrees with Homer’s Iliadic Zeus, and all other accounts of the god in ancient Greek literature. Hesiod goes on, however, to extend
Zeus can be compared to Superman in the sense that he is powerful, he protects the weak, and punishes the wicked. He is a human-like god in a sense he commits adultery, and is often to his wife Hera. The real life ideals represented by Zeus’s role, is one of a just and powerful character that gets justice against those that are bad and by protecting the good and weak. For Zeus being the god over all the Olympian gods it is quite easy to be powerful and just. In real life instance the justice system is the one to execute injustice through the law, the police and court system. This enables the victims that a sense of justice has been served.
The mythological character and God, Zeus, is portrayed in many ways, by many different people. Hesiod describes Zeus as being relentless in his fury. When he gets mad he unleashes all of his power. If his brother Hades wasn’t in charge of the Underworld, he’d make all of Hell break loose. For example, in Hesiod’s Theogony, which is about when Zeus defeated his father, Cronus, he says, “Then Zeus did not hold back any longer, but now immediately his heart was filled with strength and he showed clearly all his force.” (Morford and Lenardon 85) He tends to treat others, mortals and immortals, very unfairly. Two mortals could do the same exact type of sacrilege towards him, and depending on how he felt that day, he would take two very different approaches to how he would treat them. He also doesn’t take any threats towards him very lightly at all. If anyone ever threatens him, he normally punishes them very severely, if he doesn’t destroy them completely. Hesiod’s approach to Zeus’ behavior is overdramatic, and makes it seem more extreme than it probably would’ve been.
music seemed to be merely an excuse for the life he led. It sounded just that
The most obvious thing that is important to the character is his adopted daughter, Anna. Throughout the narrative he shows that he cares for her happiness and her health. She is unable to speak clearly and tell her own story, so the character (father) tells it for her. The character is trying to show the reader how effective music can be as a therapy, and is using his own experience to prove the worth of musical therapy. He gives example after example of how music improved the life of his daughter, and how she looks forward to her day with music so eagerly. One line he says, “Ask her a direct question and you will get a stammered word or two at most. Play a song and she will begin to shout out the words, even if she has never heard them before. ”It is a testament to how much music can change her attitude and behaviours. It seems to fill her with confidence and strength where usually she is frail, a picture painted by the quote above.
Zeus’ affinity for being the main character of a myth is no different in the epic myth about his fight against Cronus and the Titans or the “Titanomachy.” In this larger-than-life battle Zeus has to overthrow his father Cronus and take his predestined place as king of the gods. In this myth however, Zeus has to grow and overcome many challenges that stand in his way to greatness. Zeus has to ask for help from his mother in order to be able to free his sibling from his father Cronus who had swallowed them whole. After Zeus frees his siblings he has to face the mighty Titans, so he asks the Cyclops and the Hecatonchires to aid him in this battle that lasts
The absolute pinnacle of Greek idealism and realism, the Apollo Belvedere, is incredibly life-like, looking more like an actual human being than a solid, immobile statue. Much like other Greek sculptures of the past, the Apollo Belvedere is meant to represent the ideal form of masculinity, and chooses the Greek god Apollo as the embodiment of these traits. The sculpture depicts Apollo, aiming a bow at an unnamed foe, while still remaining incredibly beautiful, calm, and composed. The figure embodies what the Greek people felt a Greek should be, poised no matter the circumstances, while still maintaining a level of grace unattainable for those unlucky enough to find themselves not being Greek. Whereas the Farnese Hercules represented an almost
Zeus was known for a number of things, but his love affairs was one of the numerous things he was famous for. Zeus was the king of all the gods, he was known for the god of the skies, weather, fate and laws. Out of all of his lovers he had over the years, his first was known as Aphrodite. She was the goddess of beauty and was followed by Zeus when she first emerged from the great sea, but she managed to escape him. It did not take much time for Zeus’ wife Hera to realize that their marriage was falling into the deep end. Zeus had a deep lust which then made Hera’s jealousy fester. (Summary 1).
His brother Hector and he were on a peace mission in Sparta on behalf of Troy visiting the king, Menelaus, when Paris ran off with Menelaus’ wife, Helen. This action divides the Gods who constantly meddle with the mortal’s lives. Naturally, Aphrodite is on the Trojans’ side, as was her lover and God of War, Ares, and Apollo. Although Zeus, King of Gods, tried to be neutral, he was pro-Trojan. Hera, Queen of Gods, and Athena help the Greeks because they were mad that Paris chose Aphrodite. Poseidon, God of the Sea and Zeus’ brother, also sided with the Greeks whenever Zeus was not looking. An example of this constant intrusiveness of the Gods in the Iliad was when King “Menelaus hurls his spear, lightly wounding Paris. Paris’ helmet strap becomes caught at his chin and Menelaus has nearly dragged him away before Aphrodite intervenes, breaking the strap. She then wraps Paris in a mist, sets him in his own perfumed bedchamber, and hurries to catch Helen” (Bloom 13). Of course, in the movie version, when Paris becomes wounded he crawls to Hector’s ankles. King Menelaus becomes angered and says Paris is not worthy of royalty nor his wife Helen. Hector is then forced to defend his little brother and kills Menelaus. The elimination of the Gods from Troy, although unsatisfactory, does simplify the movie compared to the complicated plot of the Iliad. Wolfgang Petersen may have had motivation to remove the Gods because it
The Greek gods are highly partisan beings in the Iliad. The Greek gods side with different armies there is no side that is more 'moral' or favored by the gods than the other. The Trojan War itself was largely begun because of a rivalry between Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera. The gods also favor certain mortals Athena prefers Odysseus, for example, while Aphrodite adores Paris. This favoring is not based upon the moral behavior of these particular humans but is instead based in the gods' own prejudices. The gods do not act as moral guides in a Judeo-Christian sense. They are anthropomorphically rendered, jealous, unpredictable, and at times vengeful. They have more power than humans and demand humans' respect, but that respect is commanded by their greater power, not their greater morality. The gods also deliberately insert themselves into human affairs, egging on the Trojan War when it seems to be flagging, or favoring one side over another. "Make all haste, and invent/Some mean by which the men of Troy, against the truce agreed, /May stir the glorious Greeks to arms, with some inglorious deed" (59). However, even the gods have limits Achilles mother Thetis, although a goddess, cannot prevent her son's death, which she knows is inevitable. Q2.In Book 1, with whom is Achilles angry? Why? What does Achilles vow to do in response?
It is not only the mortals who pose anger in the Iliad, but the gods too are not inseparable from it. Once Achilles petitioned Zeus for revenge, Zeus started his involvement in the war, which in turn angered Hera against Zeus, as well as the anger of various other gods, each with his/her own agenda. This way the anger of human beings involved the anger of gods and the situation turned out to be fearful and irreversible. Gods like Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite directly or indirectly took part in the war. Ares and Aphrodite were even wounded in the course of the war. However, the passion of gods was stimulated by human beings that intensified the course of the war. Many mortals were killed in the course of war, and no mortal could survive the attack of gods.
In Hesiod’s Theogony, Zeus is mentioned numerous times in a highly reverential manner. One question that is controversial is: Why is Zeus so precious to everyone? In the Theogony we learn that the background of Styx, Pallas, and their children Nikē, Kratos, and Bia always having a home. “Their home is never far from Zeus, nor is there any abode or journey for which the god is not their guide, but always beside deep thundering Zeus they have their abode”