DOCSLIB.ORG

Orpheus and Eurydice

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Orpheus and Eurydice ORPHEUSAND EURYDICE t 57 ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE Like the other transformations in this book, Eurydice's ill-fated marriage to the mystical lord of song and her tragic metamorphosis from dead to dead again Metamorphoses X.1-77 have fascinated musicians, poets, and artists over the centuries. The story has inspired verse by Wordsworth and Shelley (both of whom looked to Vergil's The tragic story of the singer Orpheus (son of the Muse Calliope) and his account), Swinburne and Robert Browning, Rilke, D.H. Lawrence, Robert beloved wife Eurydice, twice lost to death, is certainly one of the best known of Lowell, and James Dickey; operas by Jacopo Peri (our earliest surviving opera, ancient myths. Ovid's version is told, with remarkable (and intentionally ill- first performed in 1600) and Claudio Monteverdi (1607), by Gluck and Haydn \ and Mozart in the 18th century, by Offenbach in the 19th, and even the modern proportioned) economy, in fewer than 80 lines: On the couple's wedding day, the hero's new bride falls dead, stricken by the bite of a serpent. Having mourned Japanese opera, Hiroshima no Orfe (Orpheus in Hiroshima), by Yasushi Eurydice "sufficiently" and "so that he might not neglect to try the shades of Akutagawa (1967); other musical compositions by Schubert and Liszt and Hell" -two of several deliberately curious details in the narrative-Orpheus Stravinsky; numerous dramatizations, includingHenry Fielding's farce, Eurydice, descends into the Underworld and appeals to Persephone and the prince of or, The Devil Henpeck'd (1737), Jean Anouilh's Eurydice (1941), and Tennessee darkness to allow his wife's return to the land of the living. With a rambling, Williams' Orpheus Descending (1955); paintingsby Titian, Poussin, Rubens, and Feuerbach (seen below); sculpture by Bandinelli and Rodin; and a wide range of highly rhetorical lyric that takes up nearly a third of the entire tale, the minstrel, ,-, who could charm animals and even stones with his song, literally stupefies all the ,I, other artistic productions, among them three choreographed dances by Isadora bloodless souls of Hades (the Danaids leave off carrying their urns and Sisyphus Duncan and the films Orphee (1949) and Le Testament d'Orphee (1959) by Jean sits down on his rock!) and instantly compels Hades' king and queen to his will, Cocteau and Marcel Camus' Black Orpheus (1959). on the condition, however, that in leading Eurydice out of their realm he should never look back at her face. Just as they reach the edge of upper earth, of course, Orpheus does steal a fateful backward glance, only to see Eurydice at that moment, "dying again," tumbling downward and for eternity into the abyss. Briefly stupefied himself at the calamity, and then thwarted in his attempt at a second crossing of the river Styx, Orpheus retreats to the mountains of his homeland Thrace (despite the implications of an earlier pledge to join his wife in death should he fail in his mission). The story was in antiquity widely known from several versions, in particular /. from Vergil's Georgics (IV.452-546), and modern readers ought to consider II. carefully the differences between the two accounts, just as Ovid expected his contemporary audience to do. Suffice it here to say that Vergil's protagonist is at once more heroic and more sympathetic, his Eurydice far more dimensional (in Ovid's telling, the hapless bride is a mere sketch of a character and has but a single word to say, Vale), his rendering of Hell more fearful (and never verging on the comic, like Sisyphus perched on his stone). In Vergil's concluding scene, Orpheus' head, torn from his shoulders by a throng of crazed Bacchantes and hurled into the Hebrus river, cried out the name of his beloved Eurydice again and again as it floated downstream, a pitiable lament re-echoed by the river's banks. In Ovid's anti-epic version, a clever undercutting of the traditional tale, Eurydice, "sufficiently mourned," seems insufficiently loved, and his magniloquent Orpheus seems closer in his ineptitudes to Daphne's blustering "Orpheus and Eurydice" Apollo than to Thisbe's Pyramus, whose actions speak, as properly they should, Anselm Feuerbach, 1869 far louder than his words. Osterreichische Galerie Vienna !iF; ORPHEUSANDEURYDICE1ftII 59 58 1ftII OVID:LOVEANDTRANSFORMATION 1 lode: BookIX hadendedwith the weddingof Iphis andIantheon the island lnde per immensum, eroeeo velatus amietii, of Crete; the marriagegod Hymenaeus(line 2) now makes his way from aethera dIgreditur Cieonumque Hymenaeus ad odis that eventto the weddingof OrpheusandEurydice. immensus, -a, -om, boundless, vast (with aethera 2). tendit, et Orphea nequlquam voce voeatur. croceus, -a, -om, of saffron;saffron-colored,yellow (the colorworn by Adfuit ille quidem, sed nee sollemnia verba bridesin Romanweddings). 5 nee laetOsvultiis nee telIx attulit omen; crocee> ...amictu: the words surround velatus just as the cloak itself fax quoque, quam tenuit, laerimoso strIdula fiimo was wrapped around the god. velO, -are, -avi, -atus, to cover, clothe (with Hymenaeus 2). usque fuit nullosque invenit motibus ignes. 2 aether, aetheris, acc. aethera, n., the upper regions of space, heaven. Exitus auspicio gravior. Nam nupta per herbas digredior, digredi, digressurus, to go away, depart. dum nova, Naiadum turba eomitata, vagatur, Cicones, Ciconom, m. pl., the Cicones (a tribe of southern Thrace). Hymenaeus, -I, m., the Greek wedding refrain,' the god of marriage (cf. Hymen 1.480). *ora, -ae, f., shore, coast. 3 *tendo, tendere, tetendi, tentus, to extend, stretch forth; to proceed. j DiscussionQuestions Orpheus, -a, -om, of or belonging to Orpheus. I 1. How is the positioningof immensum / aethera (1-2) appropriate to the Orphea . voce: Ovid uses the adjective instead of Orpheus' name, in . order to focus on the man's most remarkable attribute, his scenedescribed? mesmerizing voice (which in this case fails to achieve the effect he 2. How doesmeterreinforcemeaningin verses2-3? What is especially desired); cf. Rhodopeius .. yates (11-12). effective in the shift of rhythm in 3? nequiquam: because, while Hymenaeus did appear, his epiphany proved most unpropitious. 3. Comment on the wordplay in voce vocatur (3). 4 I~ iIIe: Hymenaeus. 4. What are the multiple effects of the meter, the polysyndeton, and the nee . / nee . nee (5): an effective polysyndeton. sollemnis, -is, -e, ceremonial, ritual; traditional. positioning of the adjectives in 4-5? sollemnia verba: i.e., the wedding hymn. 5. How does the ominous scene conjured up by lacrimoso ...fiimo (6) 5 nee . ielix: a heavy spondaic line, with conflict of ictus and accent. foreshadow the events that follow? *-omen, omlDlS,-. n., omen, augury, slgn.. 6 quoque quam: note the alliteration and cf. iisque/-osque in the next line. 6. Notice that Eurydice is at first (like Orpheus) not named, but only referred to lacrimosus, -a, -om, tearful; causing tears. as nupta ... nova (8-9); knowing that Ovid's audience was already well lacrimoso. fiimo: the repeated o's are perhaps meant as a mournful familiar with the story, what do you see as the effect? sound effect. stridulus, -a, -om, shrill, high-pitched (here, hissing or sputtering, a sound furthersuggestedby the repeateds's in 6-7). 7 *iisque, adv., all the way to or from,' continuously. nullas . ignes: i.e., the torch was sputtering and smoking (irritating the eyes of the celebrants) and never thoroughly caught fire, even as it was waved back and forth to ignite the sparks. alliteration of nand t, the assonance of per/her-, dum/-dum, and the motus, -us, m., movement (here, even with shaking). series of a's, especially in comitata vagiitur. 8 exitus, -iis, m., departure, exit,' outcome. nupta, -ae, f., a married woman, wife; with nova, a bride. Exitus. gravior: sc. fuit; brevity, ellipsis, and the quick dactyls add 9 dum: as often, the conjunction (which we should expect to precede nupta) is point to the sententia. delayed; cf. the position of postquam (11). *auspicium, -i, n., omen, augury (here abl. of comparison). Niiias, Niiiadis, f., a Naiad (a river nymph). Nam . vagiitur (9): there are some striking sound effects, including vagor, vagiiri, vagiitus sum, to wander,roam. 60 tIIIr OVID:lOVEANDTRANSFORMATION ORPHEUSANDEURYDICEtIIIr 61 10 occido, occidere, occidi, occasiirus, to fall, collapse; to die. 10 occidit in talum serpentis dente recepto. talus, -I, m., ankle-bone, ankle. Quam satis ad superas postquam Rhodopeius auras in talum ... recepto: lit., with a snake's tooth received into her ankle; even in Latin the circumlocution is rather odd, as are other aspects of deflevit Yates, ne non temptaret et umbras, the narrative. ad Styga Taenaria est ausus descendere porta, dens, dentis, m., tooth, fang (note the assonance in serpentis dente). perque leves populOssimulacraque ffincta sepulcro 11 Quam: = Eam, object of deflevit (12); Eurydice, like Orpheus, is still not 15 named (their names are delayed to verses 31 and 64, respectively). Note Persephonen adiIt inamoenaque regna tenentem the internal rhyme Quam. -ras (at the caesura) -quam. -ras. umbrarum dominum, pulsIsque ad carmina nervIs satis: a curious modifier (did Orpheus mourn Eurydice just "enough"?), one of several elements in the narrative which Ovid deliberately introduces to undercut, and even burlesque, Orpheus' heroic image. *superus, -a, -um, above, upper. DiscussionQuestions ad superas . auras: freely, in the air above, i.e., in the upper world; the alliteration of s in this verse (seven times) may onomatopoetically 1. What effect does Ovid achieve through the enjambement of occidit (10) and suggest the swirling of the winds on earth, in opposition to the stillness r the shift of meter following? Comment too on the line's striking c/d/t of the Underworld. Cf. supera . ora (26). I alliteration; are these sounds appropriate to the context? *Rhodopeius, -a, -um, of Mt. Rhodope (in Thrace, Orpheus' homeland).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Case Study: Multiverse Wireless DMX at Hadestown on Broadway
    CASE STUDY: Multiverse Wireless DMX Jewelle Blackman, Kay Trinidad, and Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer in Hadestown (Matthew Murphy) PROJECT SNAPSHOT Project Name: Hadestown on Broadway Location: Walter Kerr Theatre, NY, NY Hadestown is an exciting Opening Night: April 17, 2019 new Broadway musical Scenic Design: Rachel Hauck (Tony Award) that takes the audience Lighting Design: Bradley King (Tony Award) on a journey to Hell Associate/Assistant LD: John Viesta, Alex Mannix and back. Winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards, the show Lighting Programmer: Bridget Chervenka Production Electrician: James Maloney, Jr. presents the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice set to its very Associate PE: Justin Freeman own distinctive blues stomp in the setting of a low-down Head Electrician: Patrick Medlock-Turek New Orleans juke joint. For more information, read the House Electrician: Vincent Valvo Hadestown Review in Lighting & Sound America. Follow Spot Operators: Paul Valvo, Mitchell Ker Lighting Package: Christie Lites City Theatrical Solutions: Multiverse® 900MHz/2.4GHz Transmitter (5910), QolorFLEX® 2x0.9A 2.4GHz Multiverse Dimmers (5716), QolorFLEX SHoW DMX Neo® 2x5A Dimmers, DMXcat® CHALLENGES SOLUTION One of the biggest challenges for shows in Midtown Manhattan City Theatrical’s Multiverse Transmitter operating in the 900MHz looking to use wireless DMX is the crowded spectrum. With every band was selected to meet this challenge. The Multiverse lighting cue on stage being mission critical, a wireless DMX system – Transmitter provided DMX data to battery powered headlamps. especially one requiring a wide range of use, compatibility with other A Multiverse Node used as a transmitter and operating on a wireless and dimming control systems, and size restraints – needs SHoW DMX Neo SHoW ID also broadcast to QolorFlex Dimmers to work despite its high traffic surroundings.
    [Show full text]
  • The Death of Eurydice Orpheus' Descent Into Hades
    Myth #4 Orpheus and Eurydice Name _____________________________________ READ CLOSELY AND SHOW EVIDENCE OF THINKING BY ANNOTATING. Annotate ​ all readings by highlighting the main idea in ​yellow​; the best evidence supporting in​ blue​, and any interesting phrases in ​green. As it is only fitting, Orpheus, “the father of songs” and the supreme musician in Greek mythology, ​ ​ was the son of one of the Muses, generally said to be Calliope, by either Apollo or the Thracian king ​ Oeagrus. Be that as it may, we know for sure that Orpheus got a golden lyre as a gift from Apollo ​ ​ when just a child, and that it was the god who taught him how to play it in such a beautiful manner. Moreover, his mother showed him how to add verses to the music, and his eight aunts how to polish them to perfection, in every style known to man. So, when Orpheus was a young man, as ​ Shakespeare writes, his “golden touch could soften steel and stones, make tigers tame, and huge leviathans forsake unsounded deeps to dance on sands.” Loved by many, this young man loved only the beautiful Eurydice; and she loved him back. This is the story of their tragic love. ​ ​ The Death of Eurydice Soon after the marriage of Orpheus and Eurydice, Eurydice died of a snake bite. Different authors ​ tell different stories as to what led to the fatal encounter. According to the most repeated story, Eurydice fell into a serpent nest after trying to escape from a certain Aristaeus, a shepherd who ​ ​ began to chase her through the forest as soon as he laid his eyes upon her otherworldly beauty.
    [Show full text]
  • Excerpt from Euripides' Herakles
    Excerpt from Euripides’ Herakles (lines 1189-1426) The action up until now: The goddess Hera has sent Madness upon Herakles. Madness has driven Herakles to kill his wife and his children. He mistook them for his enemies, being under the influence of Madness. Herakles is just coming out of the frenzied state he was in, and beginning to realise what he has done. He is contemplating suicide. Suddenly, Theseus of Athens appears on the scene. After a discussion with Herakles’ father Amphitryon, Theseus learns what has happened. At this moment, Herakles is lying in among his dead family members, ashamed of his actions, not wanting Theseus to see his face. I have included some lines here of the discussion between Theseus and Amphitryon, that will lead into the essential discussion between Herakles and Theseus. Theseus What do you mean? What has he done? Amphitryon Slain them in a wild fit of frenzy with arrows dipped in the venom of the hundred-headed hydra. Theseus This is Hera's work; but who lies there among the dead, old man? Amphitryon My son, my own enduring son, that marched with gods to Phlegra's plain, there to battle with giants and slay them, warrior that he was. Theseus Ah, ah! whose fortune was ever so cursed as his? Amphitryon Never will you find another mortal that has suffered more or been driven harder. Theseus Why does he veil his head, poor wretch, in his robe? Amphitryon He is ashamed to meet your eye; his kinsman's kind intent and his children's blood make him abashed.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-07052-3 - Magic in Western Culture: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment Brian P. Copenhaver Excerpt More information PART I INTRODUCTION © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-07052-3 - Magic in Western Culture: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment Brian P. Copenhaver Excerpt More information © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-07052-3 - Magic in Western Culture: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment Brian P. Copenhaver Excerpt More information CHAPTER ONE THE SCRUPLES OF J. G. FRAZER Frazer is much more savage than most of his savages. 1 1 SCAREHORSE Where chariots raced in the stadium at Olympia, part of the track was called the Scarehorse – Taraxippos. Sometimes horses galloped past it, but sometimes they panicked, ending the race at that spot in a jum- ble of wheels and harness that no one could explain. Some said that a horse-whisperer was buried there. Some claimed that the tomb was empty, built long ago to atone for a murder. Others insisted that there was a corpse – of a man who had bad luck at racing and became a malevolent spirit ( daimona ) jealous of the riders. A man from Egypt said that Pelops got the idea to bury something there from Amphion of Thebes. This Egyptian thought that Amphion and also Orpheus from Thrace worked dreadful magic ( mageussai ) so that wild animals came to Orpheus when they chanted, and rocks built them- selves into walls for Amphion. 2 The spectators at the Games were humans – mortal men – and it was they who traded tales about the Taraxippos.
    [Show full text]
  • THE MYTH of ORPHEUS and EURYDICE in WESTERN LITERATURE by MARK OWEN LEE, C.S.B. B.A., University of Toronto, 1953 M.A., Universi
    THE MYTH OF ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE IN WESTERN LITERATURE by MARK OWEN LEE, C.S.B. B.A., University of Toronto, 1953 M.A., University of Toronto, 1957 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY in the Department of- Classics We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September, i960 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of British Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada. ©he Pttttrerstt^ of ^riitsl} (Eolimtbta FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES PROGRAMME OF THE FINAL ORAL EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY of MARK OWEN LEE, C.S.B. B.A. University of Toronto, 1953 M.A. University of Toronto, 1957 S.T.B. University of Toronto, 1957 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1960 AT 3:00 P.M. IN ROOM 256, BUCHANAN BUILDING COMMITTEE IN CHARGE DEAN G. M. SHRUM, Chairman M. F. MCGREGOR G. B. RIDDEHOUGH W. L. GRANT P. C. F. GUTHRIE C. W. J. ELIOT B. SAVERY G. W. MARQUIS A. E. BIRNEY External Examiner: T. G. ROSENMEYER University of Washington THE MYTH OF ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE IN WESTERN Myth sometimes evolves art-forms in which to express itself: LITERATURE Politian's Orfeo, a secular subject, which used music to tell its story, is seen to be the forerunner of the opera (Chapter IV); later, the ABSTRACT myth of Orpheus and Eurydice evolved the opera, in the works of the Florentine Camerata and Monteverdi, and served as the pattern This dissertion traces the course of the myth of Orpheus and for its reform, in Gluck (Chapter V).
    [Show full text]
  • Worksheet 4. Orpheus and Eurydice (Teacher)
    Ovid’s Metamorphoses: A Common Core Exemplar Worksheet 4. Orpheus and Eurydice (teacher) Comparing two versions of the Orpheus and Eurydice story (teacher version) Directions: Use the space below to identify the main similarities of the Orpheus and Eurydice story in the accounts by Ovid and H.D. The basic plot is the same: Orpheus has gone down to the underworld to rescue his wife Eurydice. Because he looks back as they are climbing up, contrary to the mandate of the god, she must return. Now list their differences, using the criteria in the chart below. Under the column headed “So What?” explain why each difference is significant. Additional cells have been included to allow students room to add their own criteria. Ovid’s “Orpheus and Criterion Eurydice” H.D.’s “Eurydice” So What? Begins with the wedding Begins with Eurydice’s Ovid tells the full story Opening of the poem and failure of Hymen to bitter anger at Orpheus from beginning to end. bless it for his arrogance Hymen’s appearance and actions are a foreshadowing of what will happen. H.D. is more focused, telling only a few minutes of the story. Ovid is the omniscient Eurydice speaks in first Ovid is classical, Narrator narrator, telling the story person, clearly expressing relatively restrained in in a measured, her anger and frustration emotion, even in a tale unemotional tone. and using elaborate, involving the underworld, heartfelt descriptions. death, and lost love. H.D. exhibits more of a modern, romantic tone, bursting with resentment and feeling. Orpheus is loving and Orpheus’s personality is Good example of how Attitude of Eurydice brave; he even declares only conveyed through point of view can radically his willingness to die Eurydice’s eyes, and she alter the interpretation of himself if he can’t have views him as “arrogant” a narrative.
    [Show full text]
  • The Underworld Krater from Altamura
    The Underworld Krater from Altamura The Underworld krater was found in 1847 in Altamura in 1 7 Persephone and Hades Herakles and Kerberos ITALY southeastern Italy. The ancient name of the town is unknown, Hades, ruler of the Underworld, was the brother of Zeus (king of the gods) and Poseidon (god of The most terrifying of Herakles’s twelve labors was to kidnap the guard dog of the Underworld. APULIA Naples but by the fourth century bc it was one of the largest fortified Altamura the sea). He abducted Persephone, daughter of the goddess Demeter, to be his wife and queen. For anyone who attempted to leave the realm of the dead without permission, Kerberos (Latin, Taranto (Taras) m settlements in the region. There is little information about Although Hades eventually agreed to release Persephone, he had tricked her into eating the seeds Cerberus) was a threatening opponent. The poet Hesiod (active about 700 BC) described the e d i t e r of a pomegranate, and so she was required to descend to the Underworld for part of each year. “bronze-voiced” dog as having fifty heads; later texts and depictions give it two or three. r a what else was deposited with the krater, but its scale suggests n e a n Here Persephone sits beside Hades in their palace. s e a that it came from the tomb of a prominent individual whose community had the resources to create and transport such a 2 9 substantial vessel. 2 The Children of Herakles and Megara 8 Woman Riding a Hippocamp Map of southern Italy marking key locations mentioned in this gallery The inhabitants of southeastern Italy—collectively known as The Herakleidai (children of Herakles) and their mother, Megara, are identified by the Greek The young woman riding a creature that is part horse, part fish is a puzzling presence in the Apulians—buried their dead with assemblages of pottery and other goods, and large vessels inscriptions above their heads.
    [Show full text]
  • 3. Monody and Opera
    Monody & Opera Florence Grand Duchy of Florence Italian Peninsula Monody & Opera FLORENCE Monody & Opera The CAMERATA Monody & Opera The CAMERATA Giovanni de’ BARDI, patron Jacopo CORSI, patron Girolamo MEI, historian Vincenzo GALILEI, musician Monody & Opera Polyphony = “Many Voices” Monody = “One Voice” Monody & Opera Reaction Against the Madrigal… The Madrigal The most important secular genre of the sixteenth century The Madrigal Composers enriched the meaning and impact of the text through musical setting. The genre became an experimental vehicle for dramatic characterization, inspiring new compositional devices. The Madrigal First Practice “Music is the mistress of the Text” Second Practice “The Text is the mistress of the Music” The Madrigal Claudio Monteverdi Cruda Amarilli (pub. 1605) The Madrigal The Madrigal Artusi / Monteverdi Controversy Giovanni Maria Artusi L’Artusi (pub. 1600) Monody & Opera The CAMERATA Musicians Jacopo PERI Giulio CACCINI Emilio de’ CAVALIERI Monody & Opera Speech song of Greek and Roman Theatrical Tragedies & Epic “GREEKS and ROMANS” Monody & Opera “[The Camerata] having repeatedly discoursed on the manner in which the ancients used to represent their tragedies, and whether they employed song, and of what kind, Signor Rinuccini took to writing the play Dafne, and Signor Corsi composed some airs to parts of it… and shared his thoughts with Signor Peri. The latter, having listened to their purpose and approving of the airs already composed, took to composing the rest… “The pleasure and amazement produced
    [Show full text]
  • Prof. Thomas Hubbard Office
    Prof. Thomas Hubbard Office: WAG 9 Hours: TTh 1-1:30, F 1-3 Phone: 471-0676 E-mail: [email protected] TAs: Colin MacCormack ([email protected]) & Tim Corcoran ([email protected]) TA office hours by appointment SYLLABUS - CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY (CC 303 - #32145) The purpose of this course is to familiarize students in depth with the major myths of Ancient Greece, which have proven so influential on art, literature, and popular imagination in Rome, Renaissance and Baroque Europe, and even the contemporary world. We shall examine the various cultural influences that shaped and transformed these stories, as well as the way that gods and heroes were embedded in religious cult and ritual. Students will also be afforded the opportunity to learn about major theories of interpretation. The format of the course will center around daily lectures, but questions and discussion are encouraged. This course carries the Global Cultures flag. Global Cultures courses are designed to increase your familiarity with cultural groups outside the United States. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from assignments covering the practices, beliefs, and histories of at least one non-U.S. cultural group, past or present. PART ONE: THE OLYMPIAN GODS Aug. 27 - "The Nature of Myths and their Interpretation: The Case of the Greeks" Sept. 1 - "Who Were the Greeks?" Reading: Csapo, Theories (pp. 1-36) Sept. 3 - "Myths of Creation and Cosmogony" Reading: Hesiod, Theogony (pp. 61-75); Handbook: Uranus, Ge, Cronus, Rhea, Atlas, Titans, Giants, Cyclopes, Hundred-handed Sept. 8 - "Zeus and the Establishment of Power" Reading: Hesiod, Theogony (pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Thucydides on Early Greece and the Trojan
    1.1-23: Preface Motivation for this history (1) (1.1.1) Thucydides of Athens composed the war the Peloponnesians and Athenians fought against each other. He started as soon as it broke out, since he foresaw it would be important and more noteworthy than all before it, a deduction based on the highest level of every aspect of preparedness reached by both sides, and the observation that the remaining Greek peoples were joining one side or the other from its outbreak or planning to later. (1.1.2) And this was in fact the largest mobilization by Greeks as well as a considerable number of non-Greeks,1 extending over virtually the entire population. (1.1.3) Preceding ones, including those of the more distant past, although impossible to determine clearly after so much time, were probably not important either as wars or anything else. Determining the past by means of deductions (1.3-21) This belief is based on my study as far back as possible, and the deductions2 I thought were plausible. Earliest Greece: displacement, violence and insecurity (except for Athens) (1.2.1) Long ago, what is now called Greece probably did not have a stable population. In the earliest stage there was migrations, since any one group was quick to abandon its own land when attacked by any 1 Barbaroi, used by T. both in the neutral sense of “non-Greek” and in the pejorative sense of “backwards” (in the latter case translated as “barbarian”). 2 The following 20 chapters survey Greek pre-history (much of it mythical) to demonstrate the shortcomings of previous mobilizations.
    [Show full text]
  • Lecture 9 Good Morning and Welcome to LLT121 Classical Mythology
    Lecture 9 Good morning and welcome to LLT121 Classical Mythology. In our last exciting class, we were discussing the various sea gods. You’ll recall that, in the beginning, Gaia produced, all by herself, Uranus, the sky, Pontus, the sea and various mountains and whatnot. Pontus is the Greek word for “ocean.” Oceanus is another one. Oceanus is one of the Titans. Guess what his name means in ancient Greek? You got it. It means “ocean.” What we have here is animism, pure and simple. By and by, as Greek civilization develops, they come to think of the sea as ruled by this bearded god, lusty, zesty kind of god. Holds a trident. He’s seriously malformed. He has an arm growing out of his neck this morning. You get the picture. This is none other than the god Poseidon, otherwise known to the Romans as Neptune. One of the things that I’m going to be mentioning as we meet the individual Olympian gods, aside from their Roman names—Molly, do you have a problem with my drawing? Oh, that was the problem. Okay, aside from their Roman names is also their quote/unquote attributes. Here’s what I mean by attributes: recognizable features of a particular god or goddess. When you’re looking at, let’s say, ancient Greek pottery, all gods and goddesses look pretty much alike. All the gods have beards and dark hair. All the goddesses have long, flowing hair and are wearing dresses. The easiest way to tell them apart is by their attributes.
    [Show full text]
  • Pelops Hippodamia Pelops Pelops Hippodamia Zeus
    Tantalus = X Œnomaüs = Y Niobe Pelops = Hippodamia Chrysippus Lydia Pisa Mycenæ & Argos Peloponnese Hippodamia Pelops Hippodamia Pelops Pelops Hippodamia Zeus Œnomaüs Temple of Zeus, Olympia Tantalus = X Œnomaüs = Y Niobe Pelops = Hippodamia Pittheus Chysippus Atreus Thyestes Thebes Pisa Mycenæ & Argos Peloponnese Atreus vs Thyestes Sign 1: Golden Fleece Aëropē Sign 2: The Sun Delphic Oracle: Must beget child by own daughter, Pelopia Atreus = Aëropē Thyestes = X Pelopia Agamemnon Menelaus Ægisthus Mycenæ & Argos Sparta Recognition token: sword Leda wife of Tyndareus Leda Icarius Tyndareus = Leda Zeus Penelope Clytemnestra Castor Helen Polydeuces Clytemnestra = Agamemnon Helen = Menelaus Clytemnestra = Agamemnon Helen = Menelaus Iphigenia Orestes Electra Hermione Mycenæ / Argos Sparta Castor and Polydeuces Helen’s Suitors Oath of Tyndareus devised by Odysseus Winner: Menelaus Æacus = X (Ægina) Thetis = Peleus Telamon Phocus Achilles Telamonian Ajax (“The Greater”) (Phthia) (Salamis) Myrmidons = ant-men Phthia Salamis Ægina Peleus Thetis Eris Wedding of Peleus and Thetis Judgment of Paris Judgment of Paris Etruscan mirror Uni = Juno = Hera Menrfa = Minerva = Athena Turan = Venus = Aphrodite Georges Dumézil idéologie tripartite (three-part ideology) Sovereignty Kings Sanctity Hera Priests Law Warriors Military Power Athena Economy Peasants Fertility Aphrodite Production Priam = Hecuba Paris Hector many many (Alexander) (50+) (10+) other daughters sons Heinrich Schliemann discovered Troy (Wilusa) 1871 wife in “Helen’s Jewels” Where’s Odysseus? Odysseus = Penelope Telemachus Prophecy: Troy will not fall until/unless Achilles fights for the Greeks. Peleus = Thetis Achilles Achilles and Chiron Prophecy: Troy will not fall until/unless Achilles fights for the Greeks. Achilles on Scyros If I remain here, attacking city of the mighty Trojans, I lose my nostos, but I will have undying kleos.
    [Show full text]