Essays on Greek Mythology

286

The Concept and Description of Hell in The Iliad, a Poem by Homer

2 pages / 786 words

Hell has been described as a residence for souls after death has long been a topic of discussion and debate. This notion intrigues man. It is a concept that man cannot know about except through direct experience, which, once obtained, cannot be shared. Yet this...

Hell Iliad

287

Unavoidable Destiny: Flannery O’connor’s Southern Adaptation of Oedipus Rex

3 pages / 1470 words

Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood is a powerfully unsettling novel concerning a lost man in the grotesque, dark world of the American South. Published in 1949, Wise Blood’s protagonist Hazel Motes serves as a reflection of the power of mythology that continues to assert itself in...

Novel Oedipus Oedipus Rex

288

The Responsibility of Choice in Prometheus Bound

2 pages / 967 words

Aeschylus’ play Prometheus Bound centers on the struggle between Prometheus and Zeus. Prometheus is an intelligent god who is concerned with the welfare of others. Zeus is a tyrant who acts rashly according to his emotion. The two figures clash when Prometheus, a loyal friend...

Character Myths Zeus

289

Suffering on Hope: Comparing Prometheus and Io

1 page / 800 words

“Let him hurl his twin-forked lightning bolts down on my head.. let him make the wildly surging sea waves mingle with the pathways of the heavenly stars… he cannot make me die,” says Prometheus after his suffering gives him the hope to withstand Zeus (Aeschylus...

Mythology Myths

290

Themes Spawned from The Conflict Between Prometheus and Zeus

1 page / 760 words

Prometheus Bound serves as an allegory radiant in theme. Yet, while the symbolism employed by Aeschylus is fairly ubiquitous, and while some scholars argue that the paramount issues of Aeschylus’s play lie in both Prometheus’s services to mankind and in Io’s wanderings and future progeny,...

Character Myths Zeus

291

Supernatural Nature of Wind in 'Epic of Gilgamesh' and 'Hong Gildong'

9 pages / 3601 words

In many cultures, wind has taken on its own personal identity. Through story telling wind has been given power of the supernatural in order to be used by the gods to influence or punish the heroes of Earth. The supernatural power of wind can be...

Epic of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh

292

Ignorance Results to Immaturity in Adults.

1 page / 1363 words

Understanding the Consequences of Entitlement The most dreaded lesson in the eyes of a child is the concept of “no.” While most children eventually realize that not everything in the world is available for their taking, the select few who neglect to recognize their limitations...

Epic of Gilgamesh

293

Gilgamesh Obligation,failures and Success as a Great Leader

1 page / 912 words

The epic poem of Gilgamesh is recognized as one of the earliest works in literature, originating back to the existence of ancient Mesopotamia. Since then, numerous versions of the story have been published, including one by David Ferry, called Gilgamesh. Regardless of the version, they...

Epic of Gilgamesh

294

Mother, Goddess, Seductress, Harlot: Women in "The Epic of Gilgamesh"

1 page / 3052 words

At the time it was written down, the Epic of Gilgamesh was the definitive national epic of Babylonia. Babylon was the capital and largest city in Babylonia, which lay within the region of Mesopotamia. Today it is among the earliest known works of literary narrative,...

Epic of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh

295

Morals Created from Relationship in Gilgamesh Narratives.

1 page / 882 words

Introduction As human beings, we are inclined to crave human interaction and acceptance. These two concepts eventually lead to friendship—a token cherished by all of us, including the main characters of The Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu and Gilgamesh. Throughout the epic, the theme of friendship...

Epic of Gilgamesh

296

Friendship: How The Death of a Soulmate Affect Gilgamesh

1 page / 1262 words

The famous Italian priest Thomas Aquinas once said: “There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” How does the loss of a friend affect a human being? In Herbert Mason’s retelling book Gilgamesh: A verse narrative, the concept of friendship...

Epic of Gilgamesh

297

The Life after Death Differs in The Bible and Ancient Epic of Gilgamesh.

1 page / 883 words

Questions like these that baffle the human mind, and have done so for centuries: what happens after we die? Is there truly life after death? Such riddles can never be known to those who have not crossed over “to the other side”, so to speak,...

Epic of Gilgamesh

298

Comparative Analysis of Creation Myths in Two Different Cultures

1 page / 1225 words

The eternal struggle between optimism and pessimism is never more apparent than in the comparison of the creation myths of the Yoruba and the Babylonians, The Creation of the Universe and Ife and The Enuma Elish respectively. Humanity springs forth in much the same manner...

Creation Myth Myths

299

Heracles - a Hero and a Victim Ath The Same Time

2 pages / 760 words

Introduction Heracles, Greece’s greatest hero, is a demigod whose mortal life is dominated by a series of successes due to his tremendous strength and failures due to his excessive passions. While, ostensibly, his passions cause him pain and bring about misfortune, he ultimately gains eternal...

Myths Tragic Hero

300

The Heroes of Old and New: Odysseus and Sally Ride

2 pages / 1090 words

With intelligence, courage, determination, and other heroic qualities, who wouldn’t want to have a hero, or much less be one? That’s right- no one! We all have heroes in our lives, and we probably have all taken them for granted at one point. But have...

Heroes Odysseus

301

Barth’s Perseus: from The Young Destroyer to The New Medusa’d Man

5 pages / 2146 words

In The Perseid, the second novella from the novel Chimera, Barth intertwines gender roles in his postmodern portrayal of the myth of Perseus. The Perseid, akin to much ancient Greek mythology, is unabashedly male-centered as the eponymous narrator and his insufferable conceit render women to...

Book Review Perseus

302

Stereotypes and Predetermined Notions in Hercules

2 pages / 968 words

Disney’s film, Hercules, is filled with stereotypes and predetermined notions. Character portrayals and plot development reveal these stereotypes. The focal point will be on gender roles and body image to expose the tacit connotations presented throughout this film. Concealed stereotypes in Disney movies send young...

Hercules Stereotypes

303

The Battle of Ritual and Wisdom: Misogynistic Myths in The Handmaid's Tale

3 pages / 1166 words

Myths are essential to the human race. The Greeks and Romans used them to explain nature, life and death. Abrahamic and Eastern religions use them to modify behavior and mollify human anxiety about what happens postmortem. In order to keep a myth alive, to retain...

Myths The Handmaid’s Tale

304

Analysis of Odysseus as an Angry Narrator Or Cultural Supremacist

3 pages / 1507 words

The foreboding dark mist in the gloom of the night (141) shadowing Odysseus arrival to the island of the Cyclopes suggests a sinister and frightening site. Recounting the unnaturalness of the occupants and the horror of the ensuing events, Odysseus narration seemingly confirms this interpretation....

Odysseus The Odyssey