What are motifs? Motifs are recurring patterns that help to develop the overall meaning and theme of the text. In classical mythology‚ which typically refers to Greek and Roman mythology/literature‚ motifs are significantly prevailing and can be analyzed. Greek and Roman myths are often written as an opposition of current reality. Similarly‚ this means there are major exaggerations on the basis of creating a good story. Many of the pertaining issues try to stimulate such a strong and emotional response
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While being pelted with rocks from the jealous fianc?e‚ he happens to lose his footing and falls‚ with Eurydice in his arms‚ down the side of the mountain. This could very well symbolize his return to the underworld after being ripped apart by the Maenads‚ where he and Eurydice now spends eternity‚
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Ancient Greek times enveloped many revolutionary discoveries and creations‚ especially in the world of literature. Literature flourished in Greece with the help of poetry and drama. Three profound playwrights left a significant impact on Greek culture: Aeschylus‚ Sophocles‚ and Euripides. Out of the three most influential playwrights of ancient Greek times‚ Euripides turned out to be the most distinct. Euripides was born in 480 BCE on the island of Salamis. He lived during the time of the Peloponnesian
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To this day scholars offer a number of different interpretations of Euripides’ The Bacchae. This essay will argue the centrality of ‘sophia’ (wisdom) and its opposite ‘amathia’‚ similar to the interpretation offered by Arrowsmith and Dodds: that the central idea of The Bacchae is that wisdom – possession of humility‚ acceptance and self-knowledge‚ encompassed by the Greek word ‘sophia’ – is the greatest and most necessary quality humanity can possess in the face of godly power. In particular this
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Dionysus Dionysus was the God of wine‚ theatre‚ vegetation and ecstasy in Ancient Greek mythology‚ represented by a leopard‚ a drinking cup‚ a fruit vine‚ and a thyrsos. According to Ancient Greek scripts‚ he was worshipped by Mycenean Greeks from 1500-1100 BC. Where he came from is uncertain‚ but his clans took many different forms. In some‚ he arrives from the east as a foreigner‚ and in others he arrives from the south. He is known as “the god that comes” and his foreignness is essential
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Concurrently‚ during the various festivals‚ the maenads‚ with the sounds of crashing cymbals‚ would work themselves into a drunken frenzy; while devouring the raw flesh‚ being known as aggressors conceived as beasts of prey. Attic vase paintings exhibit such imagery during the second half of the sixth century B.C. In fact‚ M. P. Blavatsky’s book Isis Unveiled‚ reports an essential rite of the Bacchus’s orgies became the maenads practice of omophagia; the dismemberment of sacrificial victims
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Scene 5 (Enter blind Teiresias‚ led by a boy. The opening speeches of Teiresias might be in singsong contrast to the realistic lines of Creon‚ or perhaps there is another way to establish that Teiresias is ’weird.’) TEIRESIAS This is the way the blind man comes‚ Princes‚ Princes‚ Lockstep‚ two heads lit by the eyes of one. CREON What new thing have you to tell us‚ old Teiresias? TEIRESIAS I have much to tell you: listen to the prophet‚ Creon. CREON I am not aware that I have ever
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Greek Vase Painting‚ Archaic and Classical Periods A Comparison of Back and Red-Figure Painting Rich Grudzinski Art History One Black-figure and red-figure painting techniques were the most popular methods of painting vases and other vessels during this period. A third method‚ the white-ground technique was too delicate for everyday use and was mainly used for making lekythoi (a type of pottery used for storing oil‚ commonly placed in Greek graves as offerings to the deceased). Therefore
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In a drama‚ a tragedy is the occurrence of unfortunate and consequently‚ disastrous events or circumstances that fall upon the protagonist in the play. Looking back hundreds of years ago we come across playwrights like Shakespeare and Euripides. Both have written some very tragic pieces‚ but which one wins for writing the most tragic play? A comparison between Hamlet and The Bacchae shows many similarities but also‚ many differences. This two pieces show very revealing characters enduring human struggle
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“”Empty fantasies” these myths certainly are not. On the contrary‚ they contain much more that is real than if they were reporting that which had once occurred”.1 This quote by Walter F. Otto in his book‚ Dionysus: Myth and Cult‚ though used for a specific example‚ articulately and briefly explains why we read myths at all. They tell us not only about the people of the time‚ but also about ourselves. Through myths we can learn about a culture’s values‚ about why we choose to or not to devote our
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