The Ambivalent Heroism of Ajax in the Odes of Pindar
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1 | Mysticism Mysticism: a False Model of the Christian's Communion with God and Sanctification by Pastor Mark R. Perkins H
Mysticism: A False Model of the Christian's Communion with God and Sanctification By Pastor Mark R. Perkins Human spirituality has suffered more from the assault of mysticism than from any other enemy. Even among Christians, mysticism is overwhelmingly misunderstood, rampantly practiced against every caution, and is a vital conduit for the introduction of a great volume of false doctrine into the world. Today, mysticism is wildly popular among Christians. Movements such as contemplative spirituality, spiritual formation, and in large part the charismatic branch of evangelical Christianity all have significant elements of mysticism. Because of extensive involvement in mysticism, the result to Christianity through the ages has been nothing less than devastating. In generation after generation mysticism has produced heresy and war, and from association with the name of Christ has done significant harm to the reputation of Christians and the church. The purpose of this presentation is to define mysticism, and then to determine whether the biblical description of communion with God, and of sanctification, meets that definition. Other benefits will accrue in the journey. The Definition of Mysticism According to the concise Oxford English Dictionary, a mystic is “a person who seeks by contemplation and self–surrender to attain unity with the Deity or the absolute, and so reach truths beyond human understanding.”1 While anything mystical is something “having a spiritual, symbolic, or allegorical significance that transcends human understanding… relating to ancient religious mysteries or other occult rites.”2 The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church adds this illumination, “In modern usage ‘mysticism’ generally refers to claims of immediate knowledge of Ultimate Reality whether or not this is called ‘God’) by direct personal experience;”3 Finally, Francis Schaeffer emphasizes the unintelligibility of mysticism, “Mysticism is nothing more than a faith contrary to rationality, deprived of content and incapable of communication. -
Summaries of the Trojan Cycle Search the GML Advanced
Document belonging to the Greek Mythology Link, a web site created by Carlos Parada, author of Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology Characters • Places • Topics • Images • Bibliography • PDF Editions About • Copyright © 1997 Carlos Parada and Maicar Förlag. Summaries of the Trojan Cycle Search the GML advanced Sections in this Page Introduction Trojan Cycle: Cypria Iliad (Synopsis) Aethiopis Little Iliad Sack of Ilium Returns Odyssey (Synopsis) Telegony Other works on the Trojan War Bibliography Introduction and Definition of terms The so called Epic Cycle is sometimes referred to with the term Epic Fragments since just fragments is all that remain of them. Some of these fragments contain details about the Theban wars (the war of the SEVEN and that of the EPIGONI), others about the prowesses of Heracles 1 and Theseus, others about the origin of the gods, and still others about events related to the Trojan War. The latter, called Trojan Cycle, narrate events that occurred before the war (Cypria), during the war (Aethiopis, Little Iliad, and Sack of Ilium ), and after the war (Returns, and Telegony). The term epic (derived from Greek épos = word, song) is generally applied to narrative poems which describe the deeds of heroes in war, an astounding process of mutual destruction that periodically and frequently affects mankind. This kind of poetry was composed in early times, being chanted by minstrels during the 'Dark Ages'—before 800 BC—and later written down during the Archaic period— from c. 700 BC). Greek Epic is the earliest surviving form of Greek (and therefore "Western") literature, and precedes lyric poetry, elegy, drama, history, philosophy, mythography, etc. -
Poetic Authority and Oral Tradition in Hesiod and Pindar
CHAPTER SIX POETIC AUTHORITY AND ORAL TRADITION IN HESIOD AND PINDAR Ruth Scodel Elsewhere, I have discussed the distinction Homer makes, especially in the Odyssey, between the songs of bards and other storytelling.1 This argument rests especially on three recent insights that appear to point in quite opposite directions. First, Andrew Ford shows in Homer: the Poetry of the Past how the Odyssey evades the reality of the transmission of poetic tradition as well as that of bardic contests. The Muses simply replace poets’ teachers; the narrative content of per- formance has no naturalistic source.2 S. Douglas Olson has shown in Blood and Iron how richly the same epic depicts the workings of everyday oral tradition, its considerable interest in how news gets around.3 Third, Louise Pratt argues convincingly that the truth-claims of early Greek poetry need to be interpreted relative to their rhetor- ical functions in context. While only fables are truly fiction, for most poetic narrative historical accuracy is not the primary concern.4 Homer, then, shows how people in reality create and spread kleos, but he seems to want to avoid facing the obvious implication that poetic performances depend on what earlier storytellers have trans- mitted. The proem to the Catalogue of Ships perfectly demonstrates this peculiarity in its distinction between the Muses, who see and hear everything, and poet and audience, who only hear the kleos and know nothing (Il. 2.484–93). So in asking why Homer does not acknowledge openly that his stories depend on tradition, I looked at what distinguishes bardic performances from other storytelling prac- tices in Homer, and concluded that the most important distinctions 1 R. -
Prayer of Supplication Almighty God, Your Son Jesus Christ Was Lifted High Upon the Cross So He Might Draw the Whole World to Himself
UMC of Cucamonga “Tenebrae Service” Prayer of Supplication Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross so he might draw the whole world to himself. Grant that we, who glory in his death for our salvation, may also glory in his call to take up our cross and follow him; through Jesus Christ our lord. Amen. Message : Lamb of God It’s dark outside this evening. It’s appropriate for us to gather at this time for a service of Tenebrae, a service of darkness, when we remember Jesus’ death on a cross. But there’s a big difference: the darkness we are experiencing is natural. The sun has set and the stars and moon are out. The darkness that covered the land of Israel on the Friday afternoon when Jesus was crucified was different. Supernatural darkness covered the whole land. Jesus was crucified at mid-day and died in the middle of the afternoon, so the sun was out – yet it could not be seen. Passover is always held during a time of the new moon – there is no way it could have been an eclipse. The darkness represented all the forces of evil and the darkness of our sins as they gathered at one moment. I believe it would be truly frightening to experience, regardless of our modern scientific knowledge and sophistication. That’s because the darkness was palpable and true evil was present. If we had been there, we would have wondered, “What’s up?” What happened that afternoon was foretold. It fulfilled God’s Law. -
Marathon 2,500 Years Edited by Christopher Carey & Michael Edwards
MARATHON 2,500 YEARS EDITED BY CHRISTOPHER CAREY & MICHAEL EDWARDS INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL STUDIES SCHOOL OF ADVANCED STUDY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON MARATHON – 2,500 YEARS BULLETIN OF THE INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL STUDIES SUPPLEMENT 124 DIRECTOR & GENERAL EDITOR: JOHN NORTH DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS: RICHARD SIMPSON MARATHON – 2,500 YEARS PROCEEDINGS OF THE MARATHON CONFERENCE 2010 EDITED BY CHRISTOPHER CAREY & MICHAEL EDWARDS INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL STUDIES SCHOOL OF ADVANCED STUDY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON 2013 The cover image shows Persian warriors at Ishtar Gate, from before the fourth century BC. Pergamon Museum/Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin. Photo Mohammed Shamma (2003). Used under CC‐BY terms. All rights reserved. This PDF edition published in 2019 First published in print in 2013 This book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0) license. More information regarding CC licenses is available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Available to download free at http://www.humanities-digital-library.org ISBN: 978-1-905670-81-9 (2019 PDF edition) DOI: 10.14296/1019.9781905670819 ISBN: 978-1-905670-52-9 (2013 paperback edition) ©2013 Institute of Classical Studies, University of London The right of contributors to be identified as the authors of the work published here has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Designed and typeset at the Institute of Classical Studies TABLE OF CONTENTS Introductory note 1 P. J. Rhodes The battle of Marathon and modern scholarship 3 Christopher Pelling Herodotus’ Marathon 23 Peter Krentz Marathon and the development of the exclusive hoplite phalanx 35 Andrej Petrovic The battle of Marathon in pre-Herodotean sources: on Marathon verse-inscriptions (IG I3 503/504; Seg Lvi 430) 45 V. -
The Temple of Astarte “Aglaia” at Motya and Its Cultural Significance in the Mediterranean Realm
See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342170872 The Temple of Astarte "Aglaia" at Motya and Its Cultural Significance in the Mediterranean Realm Article · January 2019 CITATIONS READS 0 329 1 author: Lorenzo Nigro Sapienza University of Rome 255 PUBLICATIONS 731 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: microbiology helps archeology View project PeMSea [PRIN2017] - Peoples of the Middle Sea. Innovation and Integration in Ancient Mediterranean (1600-500 BC) View project All content following this page was uploaded by Lorenzo Nigro on 15 June 2020. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Chapter 5 Lorenzo Nigro The Temple of Astarte “Aglaia” at Motya and Its Cultural Significance in the Mediterranean Realm Abstract: Recent excavations at Motya by the Sapienza University of Rome and the Sicil- ian Superintendence of Trapani have expanded our information on the Phoenician goddess Astarte, her sacred places, and her role in the Phoenician expansion to the West during the first half of the first millennium BCE. Two previously unknown religious buildings dedicated to this deity have been discovered and excavated in the last decade. The present article discusses the oldest temple dedicated to the goddess, located in the Sacred Area of the Kothon in southwestern quadrant of the island (Zone C). The indigenous population worshipped a major goddess at the time of Phoenician arrival, so that the cult of Astarte was easily assimilated and transformed into a shared religious complex. Here, the finds that connect Astarte of Motya with her Mediterranean parallels are surveyed. -
Sophocles' Philoctetes Roisman, Hanna M Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Summer 1997; 38, 2; Proquest Pg
The appropriation of a son: Sophocles' Philoctetes Roisman, Hanna M Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Summer 1997; 38, 2; ProQuest pg. 127 The Appropriation of a Son: Sophocles' Philoctetes Hanna M. Roisman ANHOOD in archaic and classical Greece-as in modern times-is generally manifested not so much in relation M ships with women as in relationships with other men, especially in the relationship between father and son. The Greek male is expected to produce sons who will continue his oikos (e.g. Soph. Ant. 641-45; Eur. Ale. 62lf, 654-57). Further, as Hesiod makes clear, sons should resemble their fathers in both looks and conduct, especially the latter (Op. 182,235; ef Ii. 6.476-81; Theophr. Char. 5.5). Such resemblance earns the father public esteem and proves his manliness; the lack of it may be cause for disparagement and calls his manliness into question. 1 We learn from Ajax and Philoctetes that Sophocles follows the Hesiodic imperative that sons should resemble their fathers in their natures and their accomplishments. Ajax sees himself as an unworthy son, having lost Achilles' arms to Odysseus, and prefers to commit suicide rather than face his father, Telamon, who took part in Heracles' expedition to Troy and got Hesione, the best part of the booty, as a reward (Aj. 430-40,462-65, 470ff, 1300-303; Diod. 4.32.5). At the same time, he expects his son, Eurysaces, to be like himself in nature, valor, and in everything else ('ttl.~' aA.A.' OIlOlO~, Aj. 545-51). Sophocles' Philoctetes, on the other hand, presents the strug gle between Odysseus and Philoctetes for the 'paternity' of Neoptolemus, as each tries to mold the young man in his own 1 Even in contemporary Greece the intense male rivalry for proving oneself takes place among men alone, while women and flocks serve as the object of this rivalry. -
The Higher Aspects of Greek Religion. Lectures Delivered at Oxford and In
BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIET OF Henirg m. Sage 1891 .A^^^ffM3. islm^lix.. 5931 CornelJ University Library BL 25.H621911 The higher aspects of Greek religion.Lec 3 1924 007 845 450 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924007845450 THE HIBBERT LECTURES SECOND SERIES 1911 THE HIBBERT LECTURES SECOND SERIES THE HIGHER ASPECTS OF GREEK RELIGION LECTURES DELIVERED AT OXFORD AND IN LONDON IN APRIL AND MAY igii BY L. R. FARNELL, D.Litt. WILDE LECTURER IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD LONDON WILLIAMS AND NORGATE GARDEN, W.C. 14 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT 1912 CONTENTS Lecture I GENERAL FEATURES AND ORIGINS OF GREEK RELIGION Greek religion mainly a social-political system, 1. In its earliest " period a " theistic creed, that is^ a worship of personal individual deities, ethical personalities rather than mere nature forces, 2. Anthrqgomorphism its predominant bias, 2-3. Yet preserving many primitive features of " animism " or " animatism," 3-5. Its progress gradual without violent break with its distant past, 5-6. The ele- ment of magic fused with the religion but not predominant, 6-7. Hellenism and Hellenic religion a blend of two ethnic strains, one North-Aryan, the other Mediterranean, mainly Minoan-Mycenaean, 7-9. Criteria by which we can distinguish the various influences of these two, 9-1 6. The value of Homeric evidence, 18-20. Sum- mary of results, 21-24. Lecture II THE RELIGIOUS BOND AND MORALITY OF THE FAMILY The earliest type of family in Hellenic society patrilinear, 25-27. -
Hesiod Theogony.Pdf
Hesiod (8th or 7th c. BC, composed in Greek) The Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, are probably slightly earlier than Hesiod’s two surviving poems, the Works and Days and the Theogony. Yet in many ways Hesiod is the more important author for the study of Greek mythology. While Homer treats cer- tain aspects of the saga of the Trojan War, he makes no attempt at treating myth more generally. He often includes short digressions and tantalizes us with hints of a broader tra- dition, but much of this remains obscure. Hesiod, by contrast, sought in his Theogony to give a connected account of the creation of the universe. For the study of myth he is im- portant precisely because his is the oldest surviving attempt to treat systematically the mythical tradition from the first gods down to the great heroes. Also unlike the legendary Homer, Hesiod is for us an historical figure and a real per- sonality. His Works and Days contains a great deal of autobiographical information, in- cluding his birthplace (Ascra in Boiotia), where his father had come from (Cyme in Asia Minor), and the name of his brother (Perses), with whom he had a dispute that was the inspiration for composing the Works and Days. His exact date cannot be determined with precision, but there is general agreement that he lived in the 8th century or perhaps the early 7th century BC. His life, therefore, was approximately contemporaneous with the beginning of alphabetic writing in the Greek world. Although we do not know whether Hesiod himself employed this new invention in composing his poems, we can be certain that it was soon used to record and pass them on. -
1 Divine Intervention and Disguise in Homer's Iliad Senior Thesis
Divine Intervention and Disguise in Homer’s Iliad Senior Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Undergraduate School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University Undergraduate Program in Classical Studies Professor Joel Christensen, Advisor In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts By Joana Jankulla May 2018 Copyright by Joana Jankulla 1 Copyright by Joana Jankulla © 2018 2 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Joel Christensen. Thank you, Professor Christensen for guiding me through this process, expressing confidence in me, and being available whenever I had any questions or concerns. I would not have been able to complete this work without you. Secondly, I would like to thank Professor Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow and Professor Cheryl Walker for reading my thesis and providing me with feedback. The Classics Department at Brandeis University has been an instrumental part of my growth in my four years as an undergraduate, and I am eternally thankful to all the professors and staff members in the department. Thank you to my friends, specifically Erica Theroux, Sarah Jousset, Anna Craven, Rachel Goldstein, Taylor McKinnon and Georgie Contreras for providing me with a lot of emotional support this year. I hope you all know how grateful I am for you as friends and how much I have appreciated your love this year. Thank you to my mom for FaceTiming me every time I was stressed about completing my thesis and encouraging me every step of the way. Finally, thank you to Ian Leeds for dropping everything and coming to me each time I needed it. -
Sophocles' Ajax and the Greek Epic Cycle
Eating from the Tables of Others: Sophocles’ Ajax and the Greek Epic Cycle1 Athenaeus in his Deipnosophistai remarks that “Sophocles took great pleasure in the Epic Cycle and composed whole dramas in which he followed the Cycle’s version of myths” (ἔχαιρε δὲ Σοφοκλῆς τῷ ἐπικῷ κύκλῳ, ὡς καὶ ὅλα δράματα ποιῆσαι κατακολουθῶν τῇ ἐν τούτῳ μυθοποιίᾳ, Deipnosophistai 277c).2 This statement is equally apposite for his Ajax Philoctetes, Oedipus (both Tyrannus and Coloneus) and Antigone. However, while examining in depth the plot and the construction of some of the characters in Sophoclean tragedy, one realizes that Sophocles, although indebted to the poets of the Epic Cycle for his plots, feasts at Homer’s table as well, reminding us of what Aeschylus said about his tragedies as being slices from Homer’s great dinner parties (τὸ τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ λαμπροῦ Αἰσχύλου, ὃς τὰς αὑτοῦ τραγῳδίας τεμάχη εἶναι ἔλεγεν τῶν Ὁμήρου μεγάλων δείπνων, Athenaeus Deipnosophistai 347e). The second point I would like to make refers to a methodological principle. I subscribe to the view that a playwright of fifth c. BCE Athens not only “feasts” at the tables of others but freely transforms and adapts his borrowings to the new ideology of his genre and the social and political circumstances of his time.3 In Sophocles’ time, there is the polis, with a value system that has evolved gradually but steadily, from the Homeric, through the archaic, down to the classical period. Moreover, Sophocles, as with all poets, had a particular style and personal preoccupations that characterize his work.4 1 I would like to thank the participants in the Greek Epic Cycle Conference, held in ancient Olympia on 9–10 July 2010, for their useful comments on the oral presentation of the present paper. -
Brothers Fighting Together in the Iliad
BROTHERS FIGHTING TOGETHER IN THE ILIAD I We find in the Iliad numerous pairs of brothers (or half brothers on the father's side, or first cousins on the father's side) fighting together on foot or in the combination of chario teer-paraibates 1). And this is not confined to the men who are said to have taken part in the Trojan war, but it embraces the "mythical world of the past" 2), that of the demigods 3), the rivers 4) and even the gods 5). Moreover, if we turn to the leaders of the various groups of Greeks and Trojans, as given in book 11, we find that a 1). Such for example are: Ajax Telarnonius and Teucer (the Atav'ts, cf. p. 291), Mynes and Epistrophus (II 692f.), Phegeus and Idaeus (V 10f.), Echemon and Chromios (V 159 f.), Krethon and Orsilochus (V 542 f,), Aesepus and Pedasus (VI 21 f.), Hector and Alexander (VI 514 f., cf. VII 1 f.), Ascalaphus and lalmenus (IX 82f., cf. II 512), Peisandrus and Hip polochus (XI 122 f.), Hippodamus and Hypeirochus (XI 328 f.), Charops and Socus (XI 426 f.), the Molione (XI 750, 709 f.; XXIII 638 f.), Polybus, Agenor and Akarnas (XI 59 f.), Helenos and Deiphobus (XII 94 f,), Archelochus and Akamas (XIV 463 f.), Hector and Cebriones (XII 86 f.), Deiphobus and Polites (XIII 533 f.), Podarces and Iphiclus (XIII 693 f,), Deiphohus and Helenos (XIII 780 f.), Ascanius and Morys (XIII 792 f.), Atymnius and Maris (XVI 317 f.), Antilochus and Thrasymedes (XVI 322; XVII 377 f.; XVII 705), Euphorbus and Polydamas (XVII 1 f.), Chromius and Aretus (XVII 492 f.), Aretus and Hector (XVII 516), Polydorus and Hector (XX 407 f,), Laogonus and Dardanus (XX 460 f.), or Deiphobus and Hector (XXII 226 f.).