The Greek Holiday with a Twist - Original Writing
That fantastic day had arrived. I had waited long enough for this
holiday, two years, five months, three weeks and three days to be
exact. Stuffing all our suitcases, with the limited amount of clothes
we were allowed to take, we hurried downstairs to live our dream.
'Come on, Harry'. Shouted mum, standing with her hand on the round,
and brass doorknob, halfway walking out of the door.
'O.k., o.k, I'm coming' I said in an excited voice.
Dad was continuously beeping at the car horn. This felt great; I was
determined to have a great time.
After a fractious journey, we arrived on the dock, and there she sat,
silently sophisticated but just big enough to fit us all on board. The
waves lapped the side of the boat, which gave off a refreshing spray.
The other car had arrived, with my parent's best friends waving
franticly at us. We all piled on our separate boats, as each family
had a boat each for a two-week trip around the Greek islands. Dad took
the helm and the journey began.
The first thing on my mind was to find out what the weather forecast
was for the next day, considering we were getting off the boat at
Corfu. To enjoy the two hundred kilometres of coastline with long
golden, sandy, white pebble and shingle beaches. Also to enjoy our
two-week plan of fun-packed activities, which tomorrow included a trek
up the hills to experience the breathtaking panoramic scenery,
overlooking the quaint fishing harbours.
Tuning in the radio, the weather was on the change again.
'Tomorrow there will be a southerly wind, up to force two or three.'
Announced the weather forecast man.
We crashed out underneath the starry clad sky. Only to find us still
there the next morning watching the sun rises. What a sight it was,
the sky filled with rainbow colours with a red blanket acting like an
over sheet. In the distance, our friends on the other boat were
Greek Excellence and the Hero The hero of an epic poem repeatedly endures many trials that can prove his ability to be worthy of the title hero. In the passage 6.440-481 in The Iliad of Homer, Hektor's heroism is tested, especially when he faces the choice of returning to battle or staying with his family. When analyzing what drives Hektor to return to the battlefield and what makes him a hero, it is obvious that the "Greek educational ideal" known as areté greatly influences him (Western Civilization: A Brief History, Perry, 43). While Homer reveals the mindset of Hektor in this passage, he also criticizes the role of the hero, and possibly the notion of Greek excellence, in Hektor's motivation to fight.
The Kite Runner is a story about the life of an Afghan boy named Amir and his experiences of growing up under unusual circumstances. Such circumstances include being raised in a world of social classes that separate him from his Hazara servant, having to become a refugee from his own country, and trying to gain the love and appreciation of his father who seems to have shut out his own son on multiple occasions. In the book, the reader comes across a situation which fits the description of a commonly used literary term, Greek tragedy. A Greek tragedy is a drama in which a main character or character of interest is usually quite successful and content with their life at the start of the story, yet are brought to ruin and suffers great sorrow due to a tragic flaw. This theme of Greek tragedy is a common factor in the works of Sophocles, Achebe, and Hosseini despite major time and cultural differences.
The Odyssey, a poem written by a man named Homer, who is illustrating the approach of Odysseus’ traveling home to grasp back his sovereign power as king in Ithaca, for ten years following the Trojan War. In the poem, Homer maneuvers numerous amounts of diction to add gruesome and agonizing tones to demonstrate the complications Odysseus’ and his crew mates go from the beginning to the end of the journey in southern Greece and cross the Indian Ocean. As a result of diction being applied from start to finish in the story, it establishes an understanding of the poem in an experiential approach for the audience.
Many diverse cultures are found in every corner of the world. Every culture is defined by its traditions and values. The film “The Odyssey,” depicts the culture of the ancient Greeks where it illustrates the life of a man, Odysseus, who has gone on a journey just to get back to his kingdom. Many values and traditions could be identified through the path of the journey. Some elements that are found important to the Greeks are the music, the religion, and the duty to the kingdom.
From the times of Aristotle to modern day Boal people have tried to come up with a definition of tragedy that encompasses all of the works they feel to be tragedies. However, there are always a few exceptions to their rules that make their thesis insubstantial. Those who define tragedies all have different elements that they say are necessary in classifying something as a tragedy. Unfortunately for us, no one definition has ever been settled upon that everyone agrees with. The one factor that does seem to be present in every interpretation of what is necessary in a tragedy is the catharsis that is brought up in the viewer. Without that emotional reaction, whether of pity, empathy, sympathy, or perturbation, a work never seems to be classified as a tragedy. O'Neill wrote Desire Under the Elms borrowing themes from the myths of Phaedra, Medea, and Oedipus. He was trying to create a Greek tragedy in the setting of his time. Racine wrote Phedre in classic Greek style, attempting to create a Greek tragedy that had been written in the modern day. Both of these plays sought to entwine the modern world with Greek tragedies. While they each have distinctly different ways of accomplishing their goal of writing a modern Greek tragedy, they are both tragedies in their own way and bring about the similar effect of Catharsis.
There are three major shifts in ancient Greek sculptural development such as Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic. Each major shift is unique and has its own characteristics based on how Greeks perceived their natural and supernatural surroundings.
In society today, Going Greek is a controversial topic. One of the main questions on every freshman's mind when he or she first arrives at school is "Should I rush a fraternity or a sorority?” This is a particularly tough decision for most people, and there are many determining factors to consider. While evaluating the Greek system as a whole, one must consider the reasons that make becoming part of the Greek system so worthwhile. Joining the Greek system is a unparalleled experience because it gives individuals a second family that helps to make a home away from home, it gives students an easy way to become a major part of campus life, and it provides young adults with a a good foundation as an individuals entering alumni status.
A mythology is an important feature of many cultures. A myth is a sacred narrative that explains how the world and humankind assumed their present form. In a broad sense, it can refer to any traditional story. A myth’s function is to provide a model for behavior and to provide a religious experience. By reenacting myths societies bring themselves closer to the divine.
Greek life in most people’s eyes is considered to be joining a sisterhood or brotherhood such as a sorority or a fraternity. Greek life is an extremely large part in numerous universities. More than half of the students are actually members of a Greek organization. Some may say that Greek life is not for them, but they truly do not know all of the advantages that come from being a member of a Greek organization. Do they realize how several of our nation’s leaders were members of Greek life probably not, since most of them were? One should join Greek life, not only for abundant friendships gained, but because of advantages, for example leadership skills and along with the countless networking
Greek mythology and performances are often based off the evidence of calamitous and catastrophic epics, usually called tragedies. An archetypal tragedy is a disastrous play that directly follows the phases of a typical tragedy, and induces a plot revolving around one specific event aimed at one or more protagonists. An archetypal tragedy includes a protagonist that experiences a completion of an ideal, fatal faults, and ardor realizations and intuitions. In Oedipus, an epic written by Sophocles, Oedipus becomes known as the protagonist with harmful circumstances perspiring around his fate. Sophocles introduces Oedipus as a tragic character by inducing hubris and dramatic irony as key components to his downfall. Oedipus’ hubris can directly relate to his determination in finding Lauis’ killer because of his physical actions taken upon other suspects, assuming he himself is not someone to add to the equation. Dramatic irony augments Oedipus’ search for truth and justice; these indication mold the structure for a typical Greek tragedy.
Greece is a country well known by its great interests and diverse cultures. It is located between the East and the West in the continent of Europe, which is known as a great location in the continent. “It covers about 130, 647 square kilometers of land and 1,310 square kilometers of water, making it the 97th largest nation in the world with a total area of 131,957 square kilometers. Greece became an independent state in 1829, after gaining its sovereignty from Turkey. The population of Greece is 10,767,827 (2012) and the nation has a density of 82 people per square kilometer. The currency of Greece is the Euro (EUR). As well, the people of Greece are referred to as Greek. Greece shares land borders with four countries; Macedonia, Albania,
Entering college can be intimidating, it’s a whole new different life style, there are new people, professors, and the classes are so much different compared to high school. There are some many ways to get adjusted to the college life, but the greatest way is by joining Greek life, either a sorority or a fraternity. Most people believe that Greek life is dangerous because of hazing that has been going on and the way the media portrays Greek life, therefore it has become a controversial issue. They think that all we do is drink, party and haze the pledges. But what people do not know is when joining a fraternity or sorority it actually helps you do better in school it helps you get better networking and of course brotherhood. Students should join Greek life because it can make them a very successful person, for example “Since 1825, all but three
In ancient Greece, heroes were defined by the heroic code. Four of the main qualities Homeric heroes possess which make up the heroic code to be a speaker of words and a doer of deeds, to stand fast and firm, when it comes to battle, to be the bravest and best of others, and lastly to help one’s friends while harming one’s enemies (“Homeric Ethics” n.d.). The heroic code is interlaced throughout Homer's epics, especially in the Iliad and the Odyssey. In the Iliad, Hector, Prince of Troy, is portrayed as a Greek hero because he participates in each element of the heroic code. In the Odyssey, Odysseus, King of Ithaca, is a hero according to the heroic code because of the many deeds he does on his journey home. The heroic code understood in Homer’s epics is seen through Hector and Odysseus as they conduct themselves to follow the heroic code.
Throughout the ancient world, religions and ideologies have developed into forms and practices that influence the very essence of civilizations. Religions could pose as a form of foundation for the beliefs, ideas, social organizations, and economic structures of a certain group of people. They provided a means of justification and form of unity between people and they helped establish and infuse new ideas into a culture. Religions were used as source to explain the misconcepted beliefs in nature and science as well as natural phenomina and it was also used to provide a source of motivation, control, and stability in a civilization.
Throughout studying many myths, I came up with many new observations. Many questions came into my mind about these myths. Greek mythology takes us back to a time when people had a connection with nature and when nature played a major role in people’s lives. The religious beliefs of the people who wrote the myths are found in the background of these myths; however, they are not to be read like religious texts. The myths try to offer explanations of “how”, which makes us think deeply about the purpose of these myths and the questions they draw to our minds. According to the myths we studied in class, the world created the gods, not the other way around. The gods were always created in the image of man, which shows how much men were important in their society. Furthermore, many of these Greek myths show us the difference between the views of the Greek then and our view towards many aspects of the society, including nature. Monsters appear in Greek myths and have different representations and roles. Greek mythology reflects a view of the Greeks towards the world and how certain aspects of their lives are similar and different to modern society.