The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest known literary works. This Babylonian epic poem arises from stories in the Sumerian language. Although the Sumerian stories are older (probably dating to at least 2100 B.C.)‚ it was probably composed around 1900 BC. The epic deals with themes of heroism‚ friendship‚ loss‚ and the quest for eternal life. Different historical periods are reflected in literature. National and tribal sagas‚ accounts of the origin of the world and of customs‚ and myths which
Premium Epic poetry Literature Fiction
Ancient Greeks: Theatre as Competition and Ritual The ancient Greeks were the inventors of what is today known as “theater.” Beginning with religious ritual celebrations and competitions‚ they created an art form which has been parent to the modern theater‚ as well as television and film. Although the origins of Greek theater are unknown‚ it is believed that it grew out of the dithyramb‚ songs and dances honoring Dionysus held at a festival called the Dionysia (Theater of Ancient Greece)
Premium
On December 26‚ 1944 while the Battle of the Bulges raged on in Belgium‚ Tennessee Williams paced the floor in the Civic Theatre in Chicago minutes before the first performance of The Glass Menagerie. Williams had a lot on his mind after the failure that was Battle of Angels four years ago and the mediocrity of the final rehearsals. During the four years after Battle of Angels‚ Williams worked for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a writer and worked on The Glass Menagerie in the meantime. Right before Williams
Premium The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams Family
Greek Literature GREEK LITERATURE. The great British philosopher-mathematician Alfred North Whitehead once commented that all philosophy is but a footnote to Plato . A similar point can be made regarding Greek literature as a whole. Over a period of more than ten centuries‚ the ancient Greeks created a literature of such brilliance that it has rarely been equaled and never surpassed. In poetry‚ tragedy‚ comedy‚ and history‚ Greek writers created masterpieces that have inspired‚ influenced
Premium Centuries Ancient Greece Ancient Rome
Much of the information in Dr Faustus is derived from a collection of semi-fictitious German stories (the ‘Faustbuch’) in which the life of German scholar and purported necromancer‚ Georgius Faust are narrated. Where the Faustbuch narrates a simple tale of sin and retribution‚ Marlowe creates a tragedy in which a human being makes a clear choice for good or bad‚ with some knowledge of the possible outcome. In order to do this‚ Marlowe has drawn on the conventions of classical Greek tragedy
Premium Tragedy Christopher Marlowe Sophocles
The Golden Age of Greece Greece is a country with an abundant history more commonly known as the Golden Age of Greece or the Iron Age. The Iron Age began in the year 1000 BCE in Athens. The History of Greece is naturally separated into three periods each marked by its own distinctive artistic achievement. Some of the most famous pieces of literature were created during the first three hundred years of Greece such as the Iliad‚ and the Odyssey‚ and because these stories are based on heroic characters
Premium Parthenon Ancient Greece Ionic order
Happy endings are presumed to belong to the realm of fantasy. In real life‚ after all‚ even a thumping electoral victory is generally more a first act than a last; what ensues‚ much too often‚ is disappointment‚ broken promises and even murmurs of a recall. When the believer‚ in any faith‚ tells us that the reward for bloody sacrifice is eternal joy‚ the nonbeliever is often tempted to think that the believer is merely trying to justify the ways of God to man. On earth at least‚ the end of life is
Premium Life English-language films Religion
did not serve the mortals any justice‚ rather the gods serve only to benefit themselves. Before concluding with how the gods did not serve the mortal in a just way‚ and establishment needs to be made on what the mortal wanted. In the Oresteia‚ Aeschylus began with the homecoming of Agamemnon from the Trojan War. There‚ he acquired a concubine‚ Cassandra. Upon bringing her home‚ his wife‚ Clytemnestra and her lover‚ Aegisthus‚ plotted their murder. This prompted the return of Orestes from his years
Premium Tragedy Sophocles Oedipus
the power to bless those who honor them. There is a distinct tension created between Athena and the Erinyes‚ as it is clear that Athena is taking their customs by force rather than the Erinyes choosing to give up what they hold dear. Refrain I of Aeschylus’ Eumenides begins with the Chorus exclaiming “IOU! IOU! You young gods—you / have trampled down the age-old laws‚ / ripped them out of my hands!” (Eumenides‚ 903 - 905). First‚ the Chorus cries out “IOU! IOU!”. Although this brief
Premium Suffering Pain
In book II of the Aeneid‚ Virgil depicts the fall of Troy as Aeneas tells his tale. Aeneas begins his story as the Greeks have constructed a giant horse. This was clearly an indication for the end of the war as there were no sign of the Greeks. However‚ this was a malicious trick by the Greeks as soldiers were in the hollow belly of the horse. At night‚ when the Trojans had fallen asleep‚ the Greek soldiers hidden in the horse came out‚ opened the gates‚ and gave the signal to the main army. Consequently
Free Trojan War Iliad Greek mythology