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THE CURSED PROPHETESS
“Oracle, in the Ancient Greek world, was a shrine where people went to seek advice from prophets or prophetesses (individuals who had special powers to speak on behalf of a god or foretell the future). Besides referring to an altar, the word oracle also refers to the prophet or prophetess, and to his/her prophecy” (Cassandra). The Ancient Greeks wholly believed in these sacred persons. When disease would corrupt a city, the people would go to the shrines to ask a prophet to speak on behalf of the gods. Once the Greeks knew the cause of the plague, they would do everything in their immortal power to convince the gods to relieve them from their suffereing. In the same way as Oedipus, the king of Thebes, asked Tiresias (a prophet) to speak for the gods explaining why his people were suffering, in Oedipus Rex. The Ancient Greeks believed their fate lay in the powers and oracle of the prophets and prophetesses. There was one prophetess, however, that was an exception to this belief. Although
Cassandra was the most beautiful and intelligent prophetess, in Greek mythology, her prophecies were never believed.
Stories of gods falling in love with or lusting after young beautiful women appear everywhere in Greek mythology, and the case of Cassandra is no exception. Greek gods chose their prey because of some distinguished characteristic or part of their geneology. Cassandra was a lovely young woman, and described by Homer as the most beautiful of
Priam’s daughters. Apollo, similarly, was the most handsome of the young gods. Cassandra describes Apollo as someone who “struggled to win me, breathing ardent for me” (Lefkowitz 15).
Cassandra, daughter of Queen Hecuba and King Priam of Troy, was a beautiful young woman blessed with the gift of prophecy by the god
Apollo. In return, she was supposed to love him, but at the last minute she shunned Apollo. As an act of revenge, Apollo added a twist to her gift:
Cassandra was doomed to tell the truth, but never to be believed (Cohen
50).
Cassandra has always been misunderstood and misinterpreted as a madwoman or crazy doomsday prophetess. She has always been shown in paintings with her long hair flying around her shoulders in what was considered lunatic fashion, scantily clad, and helpless on her knees in the face of her predicted doom. However, there is so much more to
Cassandra than her maddened predictions and pitiable treatment.
Cassandra was a great, intelligent heroine who was cursed by the gods for not playing by their rules. She is a tragic figure, not a madwoman
With the start of the plague Europeans looked desperately for help to answer their many questions, on why God would allow such a thing to occur. People throughout Christendom had prayed devoutly for deliverance from the plague and when their prayers weren't answered they began to change their methods of administering the traditions which were attached to the church. They were left alone to live life without the powerful God which left awe and fear in all, during a very difficult era. Religion affected every aspect of everyday life and without it a new period of philosophical questioning lay ahead.
Many people of this time thought the Plague arrived due to their sins as accounted by Gabriele de’ Mussis. “I pronounce these judgment: may your joys be turned to mourning, your prosperity be shaken by adversity, the course of your life be passed in never ending terror…no one will be given rest, poisoned arrows will strike everyone, fevers will throw down the proud, and incurable disease will strike like lightning” This quote reveals that God imposed the plague onto the people and they had to suffer due to their sins. In another section of this book, there is an excerpt from Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron. In it he describes the symptoms the people in the city of Florence suffered due to this disease. “It’s earliest symptom, in men and women alike, was the appearance of certain swellings in the groin or the armpit, some of which were egg shaped while some where the size of a common apple…Later on…people began to find dark botches and bruises on their arms, thighs, and other parts of the body” This source is one of many found in Horrox’s book that all list the same symptoms for this mysterious disease throughout all of
The church also helped the spread of the plague. The priests, from the catholic church, went from house to house visiting the sick. The priest would visit the sick person to anoint them before they died. This was a catholic belief and is still done today. It is called anointing of the sick, it is a sacrament in the catholic faith. This caused the disease to spread rapidly because the priest would visit a sick person and become infected. He then would ...
was abandoning them at this time, but the priests were dying too. When the plague
As the tsarist regime fell, Lenin and the Bolshevik Party entered Russia. They operated on a Marxist platform and operated quickly to “develop Russia in such a way as to spread social revolution throughout Europe and eventually the world.” Though their opponents were also Marxist the Bolsheviks were the most militant, least tolerant and most revolutionary. After toppling the remaining dictatorial powers during the October Revolution the Bolsheviks created multiple Soviets and disclosed all the secrets of the tsars, including the treatises that had been made with other countries. All of this was done in an effort to expose the corruption of the capitalist countries and the old regime. What the party did not count on, however, was how their actions would impact the rest of Europe and how other nations would respond.
...ns of anti-Bolsheviks and according to Service, 500,000 sent to the Gulags through 1917-21. Pipes highlights the significance of the Red Terror as ‘a prophylactic measure designed to nip in the bud any thoughts of resistance to the dictatorship.’ Lenin also used class warfare to terrorise the middle classes and hostile social groups. This played well with the workers and soldiers and made it difficult to criticise the new government. As a result, Lenin’sintroduction of the Cheka (1917) and the emergence of the Red Terror (1918) ensured his rule was absolute not only within the party but across the Soviet Union.
Historians believe that the plague was caused by fleas that came to Europe from Asia on ships. At the time, people thought they were being punished by God and that they were being abandoned to fend for themselves. They thought the plague was being spread by bad smells.
During the fourteenth century, bacteria and viruses were mostly unknown to doctors, which meant they were most certainly unheard of for the majority of the population. Now, it is widely believed that it was caused by bacterial strains. Back then, however, people had to produce their own reasons for the Plague. In Europe, the causes of the Black Death were said to be miasma (impure air) carried by the warm southern winds. The event of March 20, 1345, the conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, and excessively atrocious clothing were thought to add to the ubiquitous disease. In contrast, the people near the East believed that the said disease was supposedly caused by miasma as well, but due to wind carrying the vile odor of Mongol bodies...
Trotsky’s career as Commissar of War illustrated his capabilities to lead, command and organize a body of individuals, it is undeniable he had the makings to be an exemplar leader. His militarization of grain requisitioning, use of blocking units in battle tactics, establishment of field tribunals to counter the massive desertion problem that had powers to enact the death sentence, his dismissal of the Kronstadt sailor manifesto as “petty bourgeois demands”(Trotsky) and their later massacre by sixty thousand of his own troops as well as his defense of Petrograd in 1918 all illustrate his ability to be a ruthless and successful leader in Russian, and someone fit to succeed Lenin. However, Trotsky lost the power struggle because Stalin was the only member who had influence in all three sectors of governance; Poliburo, Orgburo and Secretariat as General Secretary, a decision put forward by Lenin...
Video games are widely popular as a form of entertainment for young children and teenagers in the United States, and many of these games contain forms of violence. Because this causes exposure to such graphic images for many children, there has been a concern that these violent forms of entertainment affect these children. Numerous studies conducted by groups of psychologists have been directed on this particular issue, leading to evidence both for and against this claim. This is an issue which parents should acknowledge, as it greatly impacts their children. Therefore, parents must become aware of the issue of violence in video games and monitor their children’s access to such games because history as well as numerous studies and statistics to have shown that they have negative effects on children, causing desensitization due to the exposure to such intense images.
The first believed cause of the plague was that God was punishing the people for sins they had committed. Due to this, many people were told the only way to get better would be through penance. Some took this advice to extreme levels and beat themselves severely to the point the church outlawed such showings. People also started taking herbal medications, and they would fumigate rooms and aerate city spaces with smoke and herbs. These methods helped kill some of the diseased fleas that carried the plague. Another theory was earthquakes had released poisonous gases that contained the plague. This theory was met with individuals obtaining aromatic amulets (amulets made with herbs) to protect themselves. Others who were infected decided the best
Socrates reaches a conclusion that defies a common-sense understanding of justice. Nothing about his death sentence “seems” just, but after further consideration, we find that his escape would be as fruitless as his death, and that in some sense, Socrates owes his obedience to whatever orders Athens gives him since he has benefited from his citizenship.
Ever wonder why children and teens seem to be more aggressive and violent? Violence has gone up because of violent video games. The games children play these days are rated higher than what their age group are suppose to play. “In this study, children who played video games often with older siblings were twice as likely as other children to play mature-rated games (Considered suitable for ages 17 and older)” (Violent). Children are acting violent due to the games they play.
In the story of Daphne and Apollo, the chief agent of transformation is love, represented by Venus and her youthful and mischievous son, Cupid. When the god Apollo brags to Cupid of his great might exemplified by his defeat of the python, Cupid humbles him by reducing the great god to a shameless lover with his gold-tipped arrow of love. A transformation of sorts takes place when the Cupid's arrow strikes Apollo. Apollo transforms from a bragging God who claims superiority over Cupid by saying, 'You be content with your torch to excite love, whatever that may be, and do not aspire to praises that are my prerogative,';(p. 41) to a man possessed by desire. Despite his powers of strength and domination, the God of War is humbled by Love. A lesson is being taught to Apollo by Cupid. A weakness is spotlighted and exposed, and the role of Apollo is almost completely reversed. He is transformed from a figurehead of power to a crazed lover with no power over his love.
“About 76% of parents agree that violent video games does increase aggressive behavior among you teens and children. Arguments say that violent games cause more bulling and fighting in schools (Do violent video games contribute to youth violence).” These young teens and children act out as the carteries form the violent video games. They want to be though and to be the person everyone is afraid of or the popular person.