The Logic of Hellenic Mythology Jin-Zhong Gong
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Greek Mythology at the Service of the Portuguese Inquisition: the Case of Hercules and the Hydra of Lerna
Athens Journal of Mediterranean Studies- Volume 1, Issue 1 – Pages 25-44 Greek Mythology at the Service of the Portuguese Inquisition: The Case of Hercules and the Hydra of Lerna By Milton Dias Pacheco Greek mythology has been along the centuries a fruitful source of inspiration to artists and writers, as it possesses the strength of expressing symbolically the most common circumstances of life. Regarding the threats that in every age put in danger human life the most popular figure was maybe the Hydra that infested the region of the Lake of Lerna, in Argolis. This mythical figure may still have an older origin as it is connected with chthonic dangers. Because of its terrifying aspect, reptilian traits and poisonous breath, it was related to the evil and the domains of Hell. Later the Hydra significance became larger and deeper as it represented the heresies that could affect the Christian orthodoxy. According to this point of view, every defender of the Catholic Faith was immediately compared to Hercules, the Greek hero who succeeded in killing the mythological Hydra monster. In this way, it is easy to understand why this representation was often used in connection with the Iberian Habsburg Kings, as it worked as a political strategy of this dynasty, in which the Spanish Habsburgs were faced as the guardians and defenders of the Church of Rome, mainly in times when the Inquisition developed a determinative role. An illustrative example of this was the decoration of the arch built by the Inquisition in Lisbon, when King Philip II of Portugal visited the Portuguese Empire capital. -
Page 1 Zeus + Plouto 18. Zeus + Electra Teucros Tantalos Oinomaos
Pe ops + Nippodameir da!shte6 Asa.acos Ganymedes Anchhes + Aphrodite8i']? Cl a Cytios !:r€9!: Elethyia Ares 0,2 Hephaitlos m laoetos +Asiar A".' Zeus + l'1a a Eecrn 3 other daughters 308 ovrD OYID 309 50 I musr endlcssly feel rhe los ofan absenr husband. Or of Euryrmchus and -Arrinous' ever srabbins hands? The towes ofTroy havc been razed; for me alone, tliey still remair, O. all lhe re$ whom you in your absence are alLowing to grow fet rhoush a vlcrorious scrder plows dle l.nd willt a caprured ox. on fie trcdures won at rhe cos ofyour blood? Where Troy once stood rherei; onLy a fietd of grah. The canh flourishes, Your final huniliation? Add to your lose the beggr Irus and fenilized by Phrygim blood. arvaiting the harvesring sickle. Melanthius, who drives you. flock ro feed rhe suiros'bellies. Cu*ed plowshr* str;ke the half-buried bones ofnen, \tre fe only three in number, allunsuircd fo. war-a powerles wife, and rhe ruins orfallen houses lie hidden arrong rhe weeds. your old fatheq Laenes, and Telemachus, just a boy, md him r-c,. w .pr :iC Though victorious, you arc still sone, and I have no way of krowhg I rJrnor lo.r ,e,er .ly ro " hryou. rlo- - h. r o why the delay. or where your unfeeling hearr is hidirg. ro.ait ro fyto, "grir r rhe, olJt h,orh,.. Every srilor who turns a foreign ship to these shores leaves I pray rhn the gods preserye rhe ba ral order ofrhe Fares, rhar only aftet answering numetous questions aboutyou, he willclose borh my eyes and yous on our fina.lda1s. -
Provided by the Internet Classics Archive. See Bottom for Copyright
Provided by The Internet Classics Archive. See bottom for copyright. Available online at http://classics.mit.edu//Homer/iliad.html The Iliad By Homer Translated by Samuel Butler ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BOOK I Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another. And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people, because the son of Atreus had dishonoured Chryses his priest. Now Chryses had come to the ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, and had brought with him a great ransom: moreover he bore in his hand the sceptre of Apollo wreathed with a suppliant's wreath and he besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two sons of Atreus, who were their chiefs. "Sons of Atreus," he cried, "and all other Achaeans, may the gods who dwell in Olympus grant you to sack the city of Priam, and to reach your homes in safety; but free my daughter, and accept a ransom for her, in reverence to Apollo, son of Jove." On this the rest of the Achaeans with one voice were for respecting the priest and taking the ransom that he offered; but not so Agamemnon, who spoke fiercely to him and sent him roughly away. -
Folktale Types and Motifs in Greek Heroic Myth Review P.11 Morphology of the Folktale, Vladimir Propp 1928 Heroic Quest
Mon Feb 13: Heracles/Hercules and the Greek world Ch. 15, pp. 361-397 Folktale types and motifs in Greek heroic myth review p.11 Morphology of the Folktale, Vladimir Propp 1928 Heroic quest NAME: Hera-kleos = (Gk) glory of Hera (his persecutor) >p.395 Roman name: Hercules divine heritage and birth: Alcmena +Zeus -> Heracles pp.362-5 + Amphitryo -> Iphicles Zeus impersonates Amphityron: "disguised as her husband he enjoyed the bed of Alcmena" “Alcmena, having submitted to a god and the best of mankind, in Thebes of the seven gates gave birth to a pair of twin brothers – brothers, but by no means alike in thought or in vigor of spirit. The one was by far the weaker, the other a much better man, terrible, mighty in battle, Heracles, the hero unconquered. Him she bore in submission to Cronus’ cloud-ruling son, the other, by name Iphicles, to Amphitryon, powerful lancer. Of different sires she conceived them, the one of a human father, the other of Zeus, son of Cronus, the ruler of all the gods” pseudo-Hesiod, Shield of Heracles Hera tries to block birth of twin sons (one per father) Eurystheus born on same day (Hera heard Zeus swear that a great ruler would be born that day, so she speeded up Eurystheus' birth) (Zeus threw her out of heaven when he realized what she had done) marvellous infancy: vs. Hera’s serpents Hera, Heracles and the origin of the MIlky Way Alienation: Madness of Heracles & Atonement pp.367,370 • murders wife Megara and children (agency of Hera) Euripides, Heracles verdict of Delphic oracle: must serve his cousin Eurystheus, king of Mycenae -> must perform 12 Labors (‘contests’) for Eurystheus -> immortality as reward The Twelve Labors pp.370ff. -
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.). -
CLASSICAL MYTHS Unit 3. the Trojan War
CLASSICAL MYTHS Unit 3. The Trojan War 1. The fragments below belong to the text you are about to read. Work in pairs to decide where they should go. a) the son of Thetis and Peleus b) the king of Troy c) but was destined never to be believed d) sister of Helen e) According to the legend, the son of Ilos was Laomedon, who was regarded as a cheat and a liar f) It was a formidable fleet and army which left the Greek shores to embark on the siege of Troy g) Odysseus decided it was time to use some guile h) a priest of Apollo i) Menelaus, in the other hand, lived happily for many years with Helen j) During the wedding festivities the uninvited Eris, goddess of Discord, threw down a golden apple k) whom Zeus had seduced when he came to her in the disguise of a swan l) The Greeks began sacking the city m) and dragged the body three times round the city wall behind his chariot n) the man the Greeks had left behind THE TROJAN WAR Greek legends tell of a 10-year war between the Greeks and the people of Troy in Asia Minor. Troy was said to have been founded by a man called Teucer who became its first king and under his great-great-grand-son, Ilos, it received the name Ilion _1_ . Apollo and Poseidon built a wall round Troy for him, but Laomedon refused to give them the payment he had promised. In revenge the gods sent a sea monster to ravage Troy but the hero Heracles promised to kill it on the condition that Laomedon gave him his horses. -
ON the ORACLE GIVEN to AEGEUS (Eur
ON THE ORACLE GIVEN TO AEGEUS (Eur. Med. 679, 681) Aegeus, according to Euripides the childless king of Athens, consulted the oracle at Delphi on the matter of his childlessness, and was given a puzzling answer. He decided, therefore, to seek an explanation from Pittheus/ king of Troezen, who had the reputation of being a prophetic expert and a wise interpreter. On his way from Delphi to Troezen Aegeus passes through Corinth,1 meets with Medea, and repeats to her the Pythia’s advice: ἀσκοΰ με τὸν προυχοντα μὴ λῦσαι πόδα ... (679) πρὶν ἄν πατρῷαν αΰθις ἐστίαν μόλω. (681) Ί am not to loosen the hanging foot of the wineskin ... until I return again to the hearth of my fathers.’ Medea does not attempt to interpret the oracle, but offers instead to cure Aegeus’ childlessness with drugs when she arrives at his court, and the Athenian king having promised to grant her asylum proceeds to Troezen and to the begetting of Theseus. Ἀ hexametric version of the oracle, which somewhat differs from that of Euripides, appears in Apollod. Bibl. 3, 15, 6 (and in Plut. Thes. 3, 5): ἀσκοΰ τὸν προυχοντα πόδα, μεγα, φερτατε λαῶν, μὴ λυσῃς πρὶν ἐς ἄκρον Ά·θηναίων ἀφίκηνοα. ‘The bulging mouth of the wineskin, Ο best of men, loose not until thou hast reached the height of Athens.’2 1 Cf. T.B.L. Webster, The Tragedies of Euripides (London 1967) 54: ‘It is reasonable that he should pass through Corinth on his way from Delphi to Troezen,’ but cf. Α. Rivier, Essai sur le tragique dEuripide (Lausanne 1944) 55, and the literature cited by him. -
Greek Mythology
Greek Mythology The Creation Myth “First Chaos came into being, next wide bosomed Gaea(Earth), Tartarus and Eros (Love). From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night. Of Night were born Aether and Day (whom she brought forth after intercourse with Erebus), and Doom, Fate, Death, sleep, Dreams; also, though she lay with none, the Hesperides and Blame and Woe and the Fates, and Nemesis to afflict mortal men, and Deceit, Friendship, Age and Strife, which also had gloomy offspring.”[11] “And Earth first bore starry Heaven (Uranus), equal to herself to cover her on every side and to be an ever-sure abiding place for the blessed gods. And earth brought forth, without intercourse of love, the Hills, haunts of the Nymphs and the fruitless sea with his raging swell.”[11] Heaven “gazing down fondly at her (Earth) from the mountains he showered fertile rain upon her secret clefts, and she bore grass flowers, and trees, with the beasts and birds proper to each. This same rain made the rivers flow and filled the hollow places with the water, so that lakes and seas came into being.”[12] The Titans and the Giants “Her (Earth) first children (with heaven) of Semi-human form were the hundred-handed giants Briareus, Gyges, and Cottus. Next appeared the three wild, one-eyed Cyclopes, builders of gigantic walls and master-smiths…..Their names were Brontes, Steropes, and Arges.”[12] Next came the “Titans: Oceanus, Hypenon, Iapetus, Themis, Memory (Mnemosyne), Phoebe also Tethys, and Cronus the wily—youngest and most terrible of her children.”[11] “Cronus hated his lusty sire Heaven (Uranus). -
The Historical Background of the Trojan War
447 The Historical Background of the Trojan War. By John L. Myres and K. T. Frost. 1. Rameses III. and the Sea-Haiders. To give complete and accurate account of events in the Levant during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries B. C. is one of the most diffi- cult tasks presented by ancient history. It is also one of the most fasci- nating; for it must include not only a summary of what is known of the peoples of Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt, but also a survey of the My- cenean Age, and the Late Minoan "Sea-Raiders". It is moreover the historical background of the Trojan War. It was a time of great unrest, of fierce invasions and national migrations, whose effects lasted long. At the turn of the Century, in 1200 B. C. these are the main lines of the picture. From the Adriatic Sea to the Persian Gulf a large pro- portion of cities and tribes were independent of any great overlord. Knossos had been OTerthrown for some two centuries and although partly reinhabited it no longer ruled the waves, and the Mediterranean was swept by the Late Minoan sea-rovers. Egypt was powerless abroad and decadent at home. Babylon was just driving out the Kassites who had ruled for some centuries, and as yet the new native dynasty had little influence outside^). Assyria, whose power had greatly declined since the death of Tukulti-Ninib some forty years earlier, was beginning to reassert herseif but was still fully occupied in guarding her own frontiers. The empire of the Hittites was being finally overthrown by a fierce invasion of the Muski Phrygians who had crossed from Europe and were devastating Asia Minor. -
Thebaid 2: Oedipus Descendants of Cadmus
Thebaid 2: Oedipus Descendants of Cadmus Cadmus = Harmonia Aristaeus = Autonoe Ino Semele Agave = Echion Pentheus Actaeon Polydorus (?) Autonoe = Aristaeus Actaeon Polydorus (?) • Aristaeus • Son of Apollo and Cyrene • Actaeon • While hunting he saw Artemis bathing • Artemis set his own hounds on him • Polydorus • Either brother or son of Autonoe • King of Cadmeia after Pentheus • Jean-Baptiste-Camile Corot ca. 1850 Giuseppe Cesari, ca. 1600 House of Cadmus Hyrieus Cadmus = Harmonia Dirce = Lycus Nycteus Autonoe = Aristaeus Zeus = Antiope Nycteis = Polydorus Zethus Amphion Labdacus Laius Tragedy of Antiope • Polydorus: • king of Thebes after Pentheus • m. Nycteis, sister of Antiope • Polydorus died before Labdacus was of age. • Labdacus • Child king after Polydorus • Regency of Nycteus, Lycus Thebes • Laius • Child king as well… second regency of Lycus • Zethus and Amphion • Sons of Antiope by Zeus • Jealousy of Dirce • Antiope imprisoned • Zethus and Amphion raised by shepherds Zethus and Amphion • Returned to Thebes: • Killed Lycus • Tied Dirce to a wild bull • Fortified the city • Renamed it Thebes • Zethus and his family died of illness Death of Dirce • The Farnese Bull • 2nd cent. BC • Asinius Pollio, owner • 1546: • Baths of Caracalla • Cardinal Farnese • Pope Paul III Farnese Bull Amphion • Taught the lyre by Hermes • First to establish an altar to Hermes • Married Niobe, daughter of Tantalus • They had six sons and six daughters • Boasted she was better than Leto • Apollo and Artemis slew every child • Amphion died of a broken heart Niobe Jacques Louis David, 1775 Cadmus = Harmonia Aristeus =Autonoe Ino Semele Agave = Echion Nycteis = Polydorus Pentheus Labdacus Menoecius Laius = Iocaste Creon Oedipus Laius • Laius and Iocaste • Childless, asked Delphi for advice: • “Lord of Thebes famous for horses, do not sow a furrow of children against the will of the gods; for if you beget a son, that child will kill you, [20] and all your house shall wade through blood.” (Euripides Phoenissae) • Accidentally, they had a son anyway. -
Hungry Mother State Park Stargazing for March, April And
Welcome to Hungry Mother State Park Hungry Mother State Park Attention all stargazers, the night sky is calling. Here at the park we have some prime viewing areas located at the Stargazing spillway, the beach front and the ballfield behind Ferrell Hall. Year-round in the Park the sky is filled with stars, planets and constellations with stories to tell. Here Please watch for additional in the Northern Hemisphere we have monthly Stargazing guides to circumpolar constellations that can be learn more about stargazing in viewed all year long. What are you our park. waiting for? Let’s go stargazing. For more information about March Constellations Virginia State Parks, please visit: Cancer Canis Minor www.virginiastateparks.gov April Constellations Discovery Center Hydra Hours of Operation: Leo 10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. daily May Constellations Corvus March/April/May Virgo Star Gazing Smart Phone Apps Star Walk 2 Night Sky Star Tracker Interpretation Office: Sky Map Phone: 276-781-7413 [email protected] March Constellations April Constellations the god Zeus placed the figure of a gigantic lion in the sky with the rest of the stars. Cancer (The Crab) Hydra (The Serpent) The people of Nemea were terrorized by the According to an ancient Greek legend, the Hydra is the longest constellation in the sky. lion. Several times they tried to destroy the figure of a gigantic crab was placed in the It is so long that it takes more than six hours beast. Heracles was ordered by the king, nighttime sky by the goddess Hera to form to rise completely. -
The Etiquette of Games in Iliad 23 Scott, William C Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Fall 1997; 38, 3; Proquest Pg
The etiquette of games in Iliad 23 Scott, William C Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Fall 1997; 38, 3; ProQuest pg. 213 The Etiquette of Games in Iliad 23 William C. Scott Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, boastfulness, disregard of all rules, and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words, it is war minus the shooting. George Orwell HE GAME-NARRATIVE in Book 23 of the Iliad has been dis cussed from various erspectives but not as a unit that Tsupports the design of the epic through its detailed struc ture. Although the proper awarding of prizes clearly echoes the main theme of the poem, the book has been attacked by traditional analysts as an uneven patchwork, albeit composed of spirited remnants.1 Even those who incorporate this section of the narrative into the Iliad usually advance quickly through it in their eagerness to reach the high ground of Book 24.2 Several who focus directly on Book 23 employ it in defense of a more major point about Homeric composition: it has recently been mined for material supporting theories of consistent charac terization,3 for earlier narrative stories, 4 or for rules of conduct 1 The unity of the game-narrative has long been questioned by e.g. D. B. Munro, Homer, Iliad, Books XIII-XXIV· (Oxford 1897) II 398f; W. Leaf, The IliaJ2 (London 1902) II 468f; C. S. Kirk, The Songs of Homer (Cam bridge 1962) 222f; P. Chantraine and H. Couble, Homere, L'IHade, Chant XXIII (Paris 1964) 15ff; and M.