In the play Bacchae, Euripides describes a world filled with hypnotized citizens—Thebes; a world that consists of a god spreading his religious beliefs and views. For instance, Dionysus, the protagonist of the play, is portrayed as a divine god—god of wine, theater, and happiness. This divine god prevents the young King of Thebes—Pentheus, from governing his society. In addition, in order to maintain a successful and stable society; the citizens of a society must obey the laws and its leader. Therefore, one is able to argue that King Pentheus is no longer the King of Thebes—Dionysus is the new king. The citizens, especially the women, in Thebes began to ignore the laws of their society; the moment they began to worship Dionysus—a god who King…
Bibliography: 1dkennedy.org. (2004, July 15). The Greek Myths: 1 - Robert Graves. Retrieved from dkennedy.org Book reviews: http://www.dkennedy.org/C2025243227/E518045992/index.html…
The ancient religion of Greece was polytheistic. According to Greek myths, the Gods and Goddesses lived in Northern Greece, on Mount Olympus. Ancient Greek citizens honored their gods and goddesses with temples, festivals, sacrifices, and athletic competitions.…
A boy tries to impress his parents, who are always fighting, by catching a big fish.…
As a result, Virgil had to show the supremacy of Roman virtues: gravitas, dignitas, and pietas. Among these Aeneas particularly embodies in pietas, and is emblematic of it in book II of the Aeneid when he flees burning Troy bearing his father, who carries the household gods, on his back. Since pietas means to be dutiful to family –specifically to the father which is expanded to the community and to the state in ancient Roman world, Aeneas is not culpable for leaving Dido if we follow the author’s viewpoints. With that said, Virgil seemed to use the love affair between Dido and Aeneas to show superiority of Roman race over Carthage and to provide rightful reason for Roman’s ruling over the world. Dido descends from an ideal leader who 'bore herself joyfully among her people..like Diana'(Bk1,502) to a woman dominated by her passion who 'raged and raved round the whole city like a Bacchant.'(Bk4,307). In contrast, Aeneas is forced to endure his own suffering, to 'fight down the anguish in his heart'(Bk4,580) and to remain 'faithful to his duty much as he longed to sooth her sorrow.'(Bk4,583) His decision to abandon Dido becomes 'a heroic and kingly choice of virtue' (Cairns, 50) an expression of Pietas, an an action worthy of great admiration in the Roman…
5. Cicero and Casca discuss the omens the gods have revealed. They are disturbed, thinking the gods may be angry with them.…
* The Greek and Roman gods were a center of the lives of the noblemen, providing them with topics for conversation and reasons to donate money for the “good of Rome” in the form of temples and statues in their honor. Although it would seem that the Romans are fiercely committed to their religion, it is obvious in scenes like the dinner services at the house of Kalandion that they do this only for political gain or attention.…
While the city of Troy was being burned and sacked, a survivor known as Aeneas would begin a mission to deprive the Greeks of their victory of Troy not through the sword and spear, but through his words. Aeneas knew that the Greeks would tout themselves as brave strategists who managed to outwit the Trojans. The Greeks would make Aeneas city appear as though they were full of imbeciles that fell to the mighty hands of the Greeks. In order to tarnish the image the Greeks would no doubt boast, he would tell a story to Queen Dido that not only takes away the Greek’s ability to claim credit, but also say that the burning of Troy will allow the Trojan’s to become more powerful than the Greeks could ever have imagined.…
“The text authors claim that the midterm elections of 1866 were “more crucial than some presidential elections.” Do you agree? Why or why not?”…
The fish tank is a symbol of the ebb and flow between good and bad times. The fish’s existence which relies solely on the owner 's hand is predictable only by the constancy of the protagonists’ marriage. When the marriage is stable the aquarium is clean, the fish is well fed and happy “wondrously free, swimming – for all he knew – in Lake Superior… free of desires, needs, and everything else” (218). This clean state represents the favorable parts of life. When the marriage become unstable the opposite happens, the aquarium became a filthy mess, “the water so clotted it had become a substantial mass, a putty within the fish was presumably swimming, or dead” (215). The dirty stage symbolizes the base facets of life; the water is restricted, dark, and full of need. The fish tank is a representation of the ephemeral nature of life and the good and bad times we all face in our own lives.…
Dionysus is a greek god of vine, grape harvest, wine, vegetation, fertility, ritual madness, pleasure, theater and religious ecstasy. In Roman mythology he is known as Bacchus.…
I will now briefly discuss Dionysius I, a tyrant of Syraceus during the classical period of Greek history. Aristotle, in his work Politics, wrote, ‘a tyrant is set up from among the people and the multitude to oppose the notables, in order that the people may suffer no injustice from them’ . As before with the Cypselid dynasty, we see Dionysius I come to power with the aid of the military and the demos. However despite their origins we once again during Dionysius reign see the steady decline of populous support. Dionysius I was an aristocrat and held a clerical position within the political system of Syraceus until he was elected as a general in 405B.C. Once again we see a tyrant using social unrest to gain access to power. During the Peloponnesian…
Myth and Knowing. An Introduction to World Mythology . New York City, NY:…
Socrates’s initial intension was to tap from the repertoire of the assumed and over – estimated knowledge of Euthyphro, as part of his defense. The dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro was based on the role of the deities and justice in the man’s actions as Euthyphro presented himself as man of great religious knowledge. Euthyphro, also referred to as learned, soothsayer and diviner, postulated his belief that the relationship between man and the deities was more of a commercial beneficial relationship.…
Throughout The Iliad, Homer offers us a glimpse into the lifestyles of the ancient Greeks and their beliefs. They are a very spiritual and in many ways superstitious people. The main thing to note throughout The Iliad is the interaction between the gods and the humans. Any way one looks at the situation, they can immediately see that humans are mere pawns to the gods in their game of chess. The success and failures of the humans depends on what god would be helping which group and at what particular time. This essay will explain the three main reasons the gods in The Iliad intervened with humans: Firstly, gods who act on their own personal motives, secondly, gods who act as favors to other gods, and finally gods who act as favors to humans.…