DOCSLIB.ORG

CSMUN XI Olympus Cabinet Topic A: Threat of the Titans Return

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
CSMUN XI Olympus Cabinet Topic A: Threat of the Titans Return CSMUN XI Olympus Cabinet Topic A: Threat of the Titans Return Historical Background Before the Olympians, the Cosmos had more horrendous rulers. These beasts were called the Titans. They originally descended from Uranus and Gaea. Mortals interpret these beings as the heavens and the Earth. They gave birth to twelve Titans, which included six females and six males. The females were named Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea, and Themis. The males Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Cronus, Crius, and Iapetus. One Titan rose and took power of all the Cosmos. This unforgiving immortal was Cronus. In his fight to take power, he castrated his own father by direction of his mother. This plan was executed with his brothers and sisters.They ruled on Mount Othrys. Uranus told Cronus that their fates would be alike; he predicted that Cronus’s children would one day overthrow him too. In fear of one day losing the Cosmos, Cronus became an angered king. Always acting on impulse instead of strategy and wisdom. Eventually Cronus and Rhea gave birth to the Olympians. Still in fear of being overthrown, he ate his own children. Rhea tricked Cronus; she managed to keep one of her children safe. This child was Zeus. He was raised in a cave in Crete. Once he became a man, he went to his father’s mountain. Along with help from Metis, he put mustard in Cronus’s wine. This caused him to throw up each Olympian one by one. This event triggered Titanomachy. Titanomachy was a ten year war fought between the Olympians and the Titans. During this the Olympians freed four giants. Three Cyclops and the Hecatonchires who had been trapped in Tartarus. They were sent there by Cronus. After being freed, they were eager to join the fight against Cronus. The Cyclops created Zeus’s lightning bolt; they also helped create Poseidon’s trident and Hades’s helm of darkness. Using these weapons the Olympians won the battle. Zeus banished the Titans who did not fight alongside him to the pits of Tartarus. Current Situation After the war, the three strongest brothers of the Olympians decided to divide the wonders of Earth. They drew straws to decide which God earned what. Zeus drew the longest straw, making him the ruler of the Heavens and King of the Sky. Poseidon drew the second longest straw gifting him the God of the Seas. Hades drew the shortest draw making him the God of the Underworld. Tensions between these brothers rose. Hades was unhappy with his placement, though he never acted on his angered emotions. The Titans have been in Tartarus since Titanomachy was fought. Though Tartarus seems like an inescapable prison, captives of Tartarus have been freed previously. When Zeus released Cyclops and the Hecatonchires he killed the guard watching Tartarus. The three Hecatonchires was placed as the guard of Tartarus. The Olympians recently were informed that Hecatonchires was killed at his post. All captives of Tartarus have escaped. Most of the female Titans were spared from Tartarus, although with this news have vanished. The Olympians are unsure if these women joined their fight or have been killed for their betrayal. Other beasts of the godly world have gone missing as well. The Titans seem to be recruiting soldiers. The Olympians are preparing for war. Questions to Consider Who killed Hecatonchires? Should the Olympians ask for aid from beasts as the Titans seem to be doing? What powers or connections does your god have to help in this war? What advantages can the Olympians explote? Should the Olympians attempting to make more weapons with cyclopes? Vocab Terms ​ ​ Olympians- Twelve Greek gods living on Olympus ​ Cyclops- A one eyed giant with special abilities in blacksmithing ​ The Hecatonchires- A one hundred armed creature with strength greater than most gods and ​ titans Tartarus- The deep pit within the underworld that is used as a prison for the unwanted creatures ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Mortal- A human being subject to death, often contrasted with a divine being ​ Topic B: Dealing with Mortal Population Historical Background In what humans call Ancient times, they were aware of the existence of the gods. They worshiped the Olympians for their power and strength. Human also crafted art and literature in honor of the Olympians. The gods would come down from Mount Olympus to earth and have Romantic relationships with humans. This has resulted in several demigod children. These children have been known to cause conflict between the gods. One example of many would be Aneas. He was the son of Aphrodite and a proud Trojan. Then, through not fault of his own, the Trojan War broke out. This caused the Olympians to take the side of the Trojans or the Greeks. Hera and Aphrodite were largely involved with the war. Hera did all she could to derail Aeneas from fulfilling his destiny. She did this because of her undying hate for Aphrodite which transferred onto Aeneas. Another situation that arose with god and mortal contact was Dionysus and his mother. Dionysus is the only god born from a mortal mother. His mother’s name was Semele. She was the daughter of Cadmus, the king of Thebes. During the time they were together, Zeus promised Semele he would grant her every wish. Semele was having an affair with Zeus only for a short time before Hera learned of their relationship. When Hera became aware of this she became enraged. The queen of Olympus tricked Seleme to ask Zeus to appear to him in his true state. Since he promised to grant her every whim, this promise was no different. Seleme’s mortal body could not handle Zeus’ true form. She was killed by his lightning. After Zeus realized what he had done, he knew he must save their unborn child, Dionysus. Zeus sewed him to his thigh until he became mature and strong enough. Current Situation As time continues to race by, the gods are faced with a difficult challenges, beyond a threat to their power. The human race has continued to grow in size and knowledge. As time pressed on, their faith in the Olympians and their power is almost obsolete. They worship other Gods and items. Today these beings are more observant than ever before, which beckons the question: how long until these beings see the truth once more? The knowledge they have acquired over these many years has allowed them to create weapons that could even be deadly to gods. They create explosives, missiles and other deadly instruments. With a possible war rising with the Titans, the Olympians are struggling with the decision of showing the mortal humans their existence and power or attempting to keep this war out of the mortal eye. The Olympians must weigh their options and think of all possibilities. These would include a possible war with the humans or aid from them in the war with their fallen fathers. Questions to Consider Based on your gods actions and views would they want humans to be aware of them? Would the mortal population aware of the gods cause more demigod related wars and future problems? Are the humans a threat? Are the Olympians putting humans in danger by being unaware of the Titans? Positions Zeus- He is the god of the sky and thunder. He also stands as the king of the gods. Being married ​ to Hera causes large issues, considering Zeus’ untamable eye for beauty. With a harty list of illegitimate children, Zeus’ wife becomes consumed by jealousy and envy. As King of the gods, he holds the most responsibility for protecting Olympus. Poseidon- Serving as the god of the sea, he holds an enormous ​ amount of power. Always outshined by his brother Zeus, he has a level head with all but Zeus. Still holding a bitter rivalry with Athena after the contest for Athens. He lost the contest to her after she created the olive tree. He holds large power over Mount Olympus. Hades- Hades is the god of the underworld. A gloomy god ​ with a strong grudge against his brothers Zeus and Poseidon. He rarely leaves the underworld causing him to have become even more hostile to Mount Olympus and all its inhabitants. He desires for the mortals to know the existence of the gods. Athena- As the goddess of wisdom, Athena is not afraid to ​ speak her mind and spread her knowledge. She is calm and collected. Aware of all possibilities, she thinks through each decision with caution. This beautiful goddess does not waste her time with petty fights and old problems as the other gods do. Athena does not want the humans to know of the gods because of more conflicts she believe will rise. Ares- Strong and vicious are the best words to describe the god of war. He is what the humans ​ call “trigger happy”. Ares strives for conflict in all forms of the matter. This can be useful but also deadly. A great ally to have during the potential war with the Titans, if his alliance does not waver. Hera- Hera is the queen of the gods. She is the goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth. A ​ beautiful goddess with a soiled reputation of being jealous and spiteful of her husband's enteral list of lovers and illegitimate children. Though she husband’s disloyalty drives her mad, Hera is still wise in the ways of the cosmos and conflicts alike. She is strongly against the humankind in fear her husband will continue his unforgiving habits. Hermes- Hermes, commonly known for his tricks and schemes, serves as the messenger of the ​ gods. He is also the god of travelers, thieves, trade and more.
Load more
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

3 pages remaining, click to load more.

Recommended publications
  • Demeter and Dionysos: Connections in Literature, Cult and Iconography Kathryn Cook April 2011
    Demeter and Dionysos: Connections in Literature, Cult and Iconography Kathryn Cook April 2011 Demeter and Dionysos are two gods among the Greek pantheon who are not often paired up by modern scholars; however, evidence from a number of sources alluding to myth, cult and iconography shows that there are similarities and connections observable from our present point of view, that were commented upon by contemporary authors. This paper attempts to examine the similarities and connections between Demeter and Dionysos up through the Classical period. These two deities were not always entwined in myth. Early evidence of gods in the Linear B tablets mention Dionysos as the name of a deity, but Demeter’s name does not appear in the records until later. Over the centuries (up to approximately the 6th century as mentioned in this paper), Demeter and Dionysos seem to have been depicted together in cult and in literature more and more often. In particular, the figure of Iacchos in the Eleusinian cult seems to form a bridging element between the two which grew from being a personification of the procession for Demeter, into being a Dionysos figure who participated in her cult. Literature: Demeter and Dionysos have some interesting parallels in literature. To begin with, they are both rarely mentioned in the Homeric poems, compared to other gods like Hera or Athena. In the Iliad, neither Demeter nor Dionysos plays a role as a main character. Instead they are mentioned in passing, as an example or as an element of an epic simile.1 These two divine figures are present even less often in the Odyssey, though this is perhaps a reflection of the fewer appearances of the gods overall, they are 1 Demeter: 2.696.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cosmic Myths of Homer and Hesiod
    Oral Tradition, 2/1 (1987): 31-53 The Cosmic Myths of Homer and Hesiod Eric A. Havelock I HOMER’S COSMIC IMAGERY Embedded in the narratives of the Homeric poems are a few passages which open windows on the ways in which the Homeric poet envisioned the cosmos around him. They occur as brief digressions, offering powerful but by no means consistent images, intruding into the narrative and then vanishing from it, but always prompted by some suitable context. A. Iliad 5.748-52 and 768-69 The Greeks in battle being pressed hard by the Trojans, assisted by the god Ares; the goddesses Hera and Athene decide to equalize the encounter by descending from Olympus to help the Greeks. A servant assembles the components of Hera’s chariot: body, wheels, spokes, axle, felloe, tires, naves, platform, rails, pole, yoke are all itemized in sequence, comprising a formulaic account of a mechanical operation: Hera herself attaches the horses to the car. Athene on her side is provided by the poet with a corresponding “arming scene”; she fi nally mounts the chariot and the two of them proceed: 748 Hera swiftly with whip set upon the horses 749 and self-moving the gates of heaven creaked, which the seasons kept 750 to whom is committed great heaven and Olympus 751 either to swing open the thick cloud or to shut it back. 752 Straight through between them they kept the horses goaded-and-driven. 32 ERIC A. HAVELOCK 768 Hera whipped up the horses, and the pair unhesitant fl ew on 769 in midspace between earth and heaven star-studded.
    [Show full text]
  • The Complete World of Greek Mythology Free Download
    THE COMPLETE WORLD OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY FREE DOWNLOAD R.G.A. Buxton | 256 pages | 28 Jun 2004 | Thames & Hudson Ltd | 9780500251218 | English | London, United Kingdom Aesop Gets Into Greek Mythology, Plus 4 More Clever Finds Many of them bore children who had significant stories within the mythology, too. By using LiveAbout, you accept our. Uranus is the identified god who ruled the heavens, and Gaia is the one who ruled the earth. Oedipus is the Greek mythological hero who was "destined" to wreak havoc in his family and, in effect, his city as well because he is a king. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of beauty, love, and sexuality. Mount Parnassus. Came out of the water. Amazonian War. What is an octane rating? So technically, Ares is also the brother of Athena, since their father is Zeus. But it's not easy to reach him there, for one has to cross the River Styx with some payment, and his three-headed dog named Cerberus guards the principal entrance. He currently writes for Snopes. The famed golden fleece became one of the prerequisites of the Greek mythological hero Jason to become the king of Iolcus. Narcissus is the Greek mythological character who was supposedly so good-looking that even he fell in love with his own beauty when he saw his own reflection in a body of water's surface. The Complete World of Greek Mythology grow a tail. Meanwhile, his twin sister Artemis is the goddess of the moon, so they complement each other that way. Mount Othrys. Pegasus is a stallion who had many encounters in major stories in Greek mythology.
    [Show full text]
  • OMC | Data Export
    Ayelet Peer, "Entry on: Heroes in Training (Series, Book 9): Crius and the Night of Fright by Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams ", peer-reviewed by Lisa Maurice and Daniel Nkemleke. Our Mythical Childhood Survey (Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2018). Link: http://omc.obta.al.uw.edu.pl/myth-survey/item/399. Entry version as of September 24, 2021. Joan Holub , Craig Phillips , Suzanne Williams Heroes in Training (Series, Book 9): Crius and the Night of Fright United States (2015) TAGS: Apollo Ares Artemis Athena/ Athene Crius Cronus Demeter Hades Hera Hestia Poseidon Pythia Rhea Zeus We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover. General information Title of the work Heroes in Training (Series, Book 9): Crius and the Night of Fright Country of the First Edition United States of America Country/countries of popularity Worldwide Original Language English First Edition Date 2015 Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, Heroes in Training: Crius and First Edition Details the Night of Fright. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. New York: Aladdin Press, 2015, 88 pp. ISBN 9781481435062 (paperback) Action and adventure fiction, Alternative histories (Fiction), Genre Bildungsromans (Coming-of-age fiction), Humor, Illustrated works, Mythological fiction, Novels Target Audience Children (Older children, 8-14 yrs) Author of the Entry Ayelet Peer, Bar Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, lisa.maurice@biu.ac.il Peer-reviewer of the Entry Daniel Nkemleke, University of Yaoundé 1, nkemlekedan@yahoo.com 1 This Project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 681202, Our Mythical Childhood..
    [Show full text]
  • Tradition and Innovation in Olympiodorus' "Orphic" Creation of Mankind Radcliffe .G Edmonds III Bryn Mawr College, Redmonds@Brynmawr.Edu
    Bryn Mawr College Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies Faculty Research Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies and Scholarship 2009 A Curious Concoction: Tradition and Innovation in Olympiodorus' "Orphic" Creation of Mankind Radcliffe .G Edmonds III Bryn Mawr College, redmonds@brynmawr.edu Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy . Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.brynmawr.edu/classics_pubs Part of the Classics Commons Custom Citation Edmonds, Radcliffe .,G III. "A Curious Concoction: Tradition and Innovation in Olympiodorus' 'Orphic' Creation of Mankind." American Journal of Philology 130, no. 4 (2009): 511-532. This paper is posted at Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College. http://repository.brynmawr.edu/classics_pubs/79 For more information, please contact repository@brynmawr.edu. Radcliffe G. Edmonds III “A Curious Concoction: Tradition and Innovation in Olympiodorus' ‘Orphic’ Creation of Mankind” American Journal of Philology 130 (2009), pp. 511–532. A Curious Concoction: Tradition and Innovation in Olympiodorus' Creation of Mankind Olympiodorus' recounting (In Plat. Phaed. I.3-6) of the Titan's dismemberment of Dionysus and the subsequent creation of humankind has served for over a century as the linchpin of the reconstructions of the supposed Orphic doctrine of original sin. From Comparetti's first statement of the idea in his 1879 discussion of the gold tablets from Thurii, Olympiodorus' brief testimony has been the
    [Show full text]
  • THE OLYMPIAN GODS Student Worksheets
    CLIL COURSE MATERIALS CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY: THE OLYMPIAN GODS Student worksheets Pilar Torres Carmona December 2008 CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY: THE OLYMPIAN GODS STUDENT WORKDHEETS UNIT 1. MYTH AND MYTHOLOGY What is a myth? A myth is a story about gods and other supernatural beings and how they made or shaped the world and humanity. The events told in these stories happened in a very remote past. Myths are a part of religion, and they give an explanation of the world from a moral point of view; there is an ideology under every myth. Myths are also metaphorical; they do not try to explain the world in a logical or scientific way, but through imagination. However, we can still use myths to understand and explore culture: its viewpoints, activities and beliefs. Who made up Myths are very old stories. They are so old, that we do not know who myths? made them up: they are anonymous. People told these stories over the years and this is why we have many versions of them. Sometimes these stories –or parts of them—were written down and now we can enjoy them. Where does the The word ‗myth’ comes from the ancient Greek word μῦθος ―mythos‖. It word ‗myth‘ means ―word, story‖ and it reveals the oral origin of these stories. come from? ‗Mythology’, from the Greek words μῦθος ―mythos‖ story and λόγος What is ―logos‖ collection or study means both collection of stories/myths and study mythology? of the myths. Why classical Every civilization has its myths. We call classical mythology the body of mythology? myths of ancient Greece and Rome.
    [Show full text]
  • Greek Religion and the Tradition of Myth Religion
    Greek Religion and The Tradition of Myth Religion • Religion • An institutionalized system of rituals. • An institution is a “system of ideas whose object is to explain the world” (Durkheim, 1965: 476). • Spiritualism • A belief in forces that exist outside of space and time but that can act within those domains Culture and Belief • “Religion is sociologically interesting not because, as vulgar positivism would have it, it describes the social order...but because... it shapes it” (Geertz 1973, 119). • “The social function of myth is to bind together social groups as wholes or, in other words, to establish a social consensus” (Halpern 1961, 137). Mythos • Archaic Greek: a story, speech, utterance. • Essentially declarative in nature • Classical Greek: An unsubstantiated claim • Mythographos • Logographos • Logopoios Modern Definitions • “…Myth is defined as a complex of traditional tales in which significant human situations are united in fantastic combinations to form a polyvalent semiotic system which is used in multifarious ways to illuminate reality…” • (Burkert 1985: 120). • “A traditional story with collective importance” • (Powell, 2009: 2) Logos • An argument • A statement or story based on comparative evaluation or collection of data • The result of a process • A study • Bio-logy, Socio-logy, mytho-logy • Powell: • logos is defined by authorship, it has a known origin, • mythos is anonymous, it exists in a social milieu undefined by its origin Truth and Falsehood • “The poet and the historian differ not by writing in verse or in prose… The true difference is that one relates what has happened, the other what may happen. Poetry, therefore, is a more philosophical and a higher thing than history: for poetry tends to express the universal, history the particular.” • (Aristotle Poetics 1451a.
    [Show full text]
  • Lab Assignment 1
    CS181: Programming Languages Vladimir Vacic, Christos Koufogiannakis University of California, Riverside Lab Assignment 1 1. Given the following graph of possible flights between seven US cities: (graph taken from the web site of the American Mathematical Society, http://www.ams.org) a) Write a Prolog program that would check if there is a route from Fresno to Dallas, from Seattle to Boston, and from Atlanta to Fresno. b) Write a C program that does the same thing. Note: you have to write complete, working programs, run them and show the results. As far as C goes, the choice of data structure to store the relations between cities is yours. Warning: if there are cycles in the graph, Prolog might never find a solution and may never say that there are no solutions. If this happens in your assignment, make a note of that. 2. Given the partial family tree of the gods of the ancient Greeks encoded as a Prolog database: parent(chaos, gaea). parent(gaea, cyclope). parent(gaea, chronos). parent(gaea, coeus). parent(gaea, oceanus). parent(uranus, cyclope). parent(uranus, chronos). parent(uranus, coeus). parent(uranus, oceanus). parent(chronos, hades). parent(chronos, poseidon). parent(chronos, zeus). parent(rhea, hades). parent(rhea, poseidon). parent(rhea, zeus). parent(coeus, leto). parent(phoebe, leto). parent(leto, apollo). parent(leto, artemis). parent(zeus, apollo). parent(zeus, artemis). parent(oceanus, iapetus). parent(tethys, iapetus). parent(hera, ares). parent(zeus, ares). male(chaos). male(cyclope). male(uranus). male(chronos). male(coeus). male(oceanus). male(hades). male(poseidon). male(zeus). male(ares). male(apollo). male(iapetus).
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • Tethys Festival As Royal Policy
    ‘The power of his commanding trident’: Tethys Festival as royal policy Anne Daye On 31 May 1610, Prince Henry sailed up the River Thames culminating in horse races and running at the ring on the from Richmond to Whitehall for his creation as Prince of banks of the Dee. Both elements were traditional and firmly Wales, Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester to be greeted historicised in their presentation. While the prince is unlikely by the Lord Mayor of London. A flotilla of little boats to have been present, the competitors must have been mem- escorted him, enjoying the sight of a floating pageant sent, as bers of the gentry and nobility. The creation ceremonies it were, from Neptune. Corinea, queen of Cornwall crowned themselves, including Tethys Festival, took place across with pearls and cockleshells, rode on a large whale while eight days in London. Having travelled by road to Richmond, Amphion, wreathed with seashells, father of music and the Henry made a triumphal entry into London along the Thames genius of Wales, sailed on a dolphin. To ensure their speeches for the official reception by the City of London. The cer- carried across the water in the hurly-burly of the day, ‘two emony of creation took place before the whole parliament of absolute actors’ were hired to play these tritons, namely John lords and commons, gathered in the Court of Requests, Rice and Richard Burbage1 . Following the ceremony of observed by ambassadors and foreign guests, the nobility of creation, in the masque Tethys Festival or The Queen’s England, Scotland and Ireland and the Lord Mayor of Lon- Wake, Queen Anne greeted Henry in the guise of Tethys, wife don with representatives of the guilds.
    [Show full text]
  • The Art and Artifacts Associated with the Cult of Dionysus
    Alana Koontz The Art and Artifacts Associated with the Cult of Dionysus Alana Koontz is a student at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee graduating with a degree in Art History and a certificate in Ancient Mediterranean Studies. The main focus of her studies has been ancient art, with specific attention to ancient architecture, statuary, and erotic symbolism in ancient art. Through various internships, volunteering and presentations, Alana has deepened her understanding of the art world, and hopes to do so more in the future. Alana hopes to continue to grad school and earn her Master’s Degree in Art History and Museum Studies, and eventually earn her PhD. Her goal is to work in a large museum as a curator of the ancient collections. Alana would like to thank the Religious Studies Student Organization for this fantastic experience, and appreciates them for letting her participate. Dionysus was the god of wine, art, vegetation and also widely worshipped as a fertility god. The cult of Dionysus worshipped him fondly with cultural festivities, wine-induced ritualistic dances, 1 intense and violent orgies, and secretive various depictions of drunken revelry. 2 He embodies the intoxicating portion of nature. Dionysus, in myth, was the last god to be accepted at Mt Olympus, and was known for having a mortal mother. He spent his adulthood teaching the cultivation of grapes, and wine-making. The worship began as a celebration of culture, with plays and processions, and progressed into a cult that was shrouded in mystery. Later in history, worshippers would perform their rituals in the cover of darkness, limiting the cult-practitioners to women, and were surrounded by myth that is sometimes interpreted as fact.
    [Show full text]
  • Top Left-Hand Corner
    The four novels Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion and The Rise of Endymion constitute the Hyperion Cantos by the American science fiction writer Dan Simmons. This galactic-empire, epic, science fiction narrative contains a plethora of literary references. The dominant part comes from the nineteenth-century Romantic poet John Keats. The inclusion of passages from his poetry and letters is pursued in my analysis. Employing Lubomír Doležel’s categorizations of intertextuality— “transposition,” “expansion,” and “displacement”—I seek to show how Keats’s writings and his persona constitute a privileged intertext in Simmons’s tetralogy and I show its function. Simmons constructs subsidiary plots, some of which are driven by Keats’s most well-known poetry. In consequence, some of the subplots can be regarded as rewrites of Keats’s works. Although quotations of poetry have a tendency to direct the reader’s attention away from the main plot, slowing down the narrative, such passages in the narratives evoke Keats’s philosophy of empathy, beauty and love, which is fundamental for his humanism. For Keats, the poet is a humanist, giving solace to mankind through his poetry. I argue that the complex intertextual relationships with regards to Keats’s poetry and biography show the way Simmons expresses humanism as a belief in man’s dignity and worth, and uses it as the basis for his epic narrative. Keywords: Dan Simmons; The Hyperion Cantos; John Keats’s poetry and letters; intertextuality; empathy; beauty; love; humanism. Gräslund 2 The American author Dan Simmons is a prolific writer who has published in different genres.
    [Show full text]