Love at First Sight A prominent actress once said, “I believe love at first sight is possible. Centuries of literature and art and beauty has been dedicated to that idea… (Maggie Grace)”. That precise idea is certainly grasped in numerous Greek works, and when it comes to the myth of Perseus and Andromeda, it is something that cannot be questioned nor defeated. It pertains to the legend of two strangers, who come across one another by coincidence, when Andromeda, a beautiful princess, sees herself in trouble, and Perseus, son of Zeus, intertwines with her magnificent looks, and helps in her liberation. The love and affection they mutually have towards one another, can be depicted in the painting “Perseus and Andromeda”, painted in 1891 by …show more content…
That is where Andromeda’s mother shackled her, and left her for dead, to be surrendered to the sea giant named Cetus, who was brought by, the god of the seas, Poseidon. His order awakened an evil and dark creature to guard the kingdom of Ethiopia who was reigned by the queen, Cassiope. Andromeda’s sacrifice deal was triggered by her mother’s bragging, about how beautiful Andromeda was, more beautiful than the sea nymphs, who were the daughters of Poseidon. The nymphs heard the rumors of what she believed, and they protested to their father, who then retaliated by calling up the malevolent …show more content…
Her innocence can be seen by the white glow that shines off of her gentle soft skin. Her body language displays fear, but hopefulness and faith at the same time. Her arms are snarled behind her back, meticulously touching the black and evil creature to demonstrate how near she is to witnessing hell, but the clothes that she is wearing are almost off, and that is to depict that soon she would be unbound from her taker. Perseus sees the princess in misery, and releases the glorious arrow that perforates through the tough, thick, and obscure skin of the being. Almost immediately Cetus, the monster that once lay in between the two, apprehends that he would soon be overpowered by the muscle of the son of Zeus, and that Perseus was stronger than he ever
As one of the most well known ancient Roman love poets, Ovid has demonstrated bountiful talents within his writing. When reading myths from his book titled Metamorphoses, you gain an enlightening insight of how he viewed mythology. To Ovid, love was the origin of everything. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that most of his poems relate to the theme of love. However, not all poets are the same and every re-telling of a myth has its own unique perspective. In this paper I will compare and contrast the myth of Medea in Euripides Medea and Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book 7. I will then explain how Ovid’s approach to love and loss correlate to his general approach to myth as a whole. I will support my belief with evidence from Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book 14.
It is often—in books, poems, paintings, and sculptures—that one hears of and sees the goddess of love. But when is it that one hears of the god? In Greek mythology, Eros is the god of love, and a god who is many times overlooked. In Robert Bridges’ “EPÙÓ” and Anne Stevenson’s “Eros”, the idea that Eros is overlooked is portrayed, but in two separate ways. Techniques such as diction, imagery, and tone are used to help convey the idea.
In classical Greek literature the subject of love is commonly a prominent theme. However, throughout these varied texts the subject of Love becomes a multi-faceted being. From this common occurrence in literature we can assume that this subject had a large impact on day-to-day life. One text that explores the many faces of love in everyday life is Plato’s Symposium. In this text we hear a number of views on the subject of love and what the true nature of love is. This essay will focus on a speech by Pausanius. Pausanius’s speech concentrates on the goddess Aphrodite. In particular he looks at her two forms, as a promoter of “Celestial Love” as well as “Common Love.” This idea of “Common Love” can be seen in a real life context in the tragedy “Hippolytus” by Euripides. This brings the philosophical views made by Pausanius into a real-life context.
First, he is called to an adventure in which he is assigned to complete an impossible task. Then he is mentored by Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and assisted by the magical gifts given by the nymphs to overcome a monster. Using the advice and tools he has received on his journey, Perseus kills the monster with his wits by using the reflection of his shield instead of relying on brute force. On his road back home, Perseus commits a good deed by saving a damsel in distress by slaying another monster. Finally, Perseus arrives home and is arguably the only Greek hero with a happy ending.
In this assignment, I will be analyzing the characteristics of Odysseus and Penelope based on Homer and Ovid’s accounts. By exploring this element, we can compare and contrast how Odysseus and Penelope behave in certain situations. Although they have many similarities, they are both different as well, in which each displays a series of their own wisdoms in their encounters.
Perseus defends his mother’s honor, but in the process aggravates the King. The King plans to remove Perseus from his mother’s side. In order to do this, however, the King must use a fake engagement to Hippodameia and demand horses as engagement presents. Since Perseus cannot afford a horse, the King asks him instead to bring the head of Gorgon Medusa to him. Unfortunately, Medusa was a challenging target for Perseus. After Poseidon fancied Medusa, Athena gave Medusa snakes for hair so that she would have to live an ugly life. In addition to having snakes for hair, Medusa’s glare could also turn intruders into stone. But an engagement present is worth the risk, right? And so the journey begins. Clad with Athena’s bronze shield, Hephaestus’s sword of diamond, Hades’s invisibility helmet, and Hermes’s winged sandals, Perseus embarks to decapitate Medusa (“Perseus
There are a couple of ways that I can emotionally relate to this painting of Medusa. The reason that Perseus killed Medusa was to save his mother. I could understand him doing that because if the only way that I could save a family member or someone I love is to cut off the head of Medusa, then I would not have a problem doing that. It was definitely a very difficult and scary thing for him to do and it would be difficult and scary for me as well. However, if I had to put myself in danger in order to save a family member or someone that I love, I would do it.
The story Persepolis uses the medium of graphic novel and the perspective of a child to convey her message. The events of Persepolis are very dark and in some
The image that has been produced over time about the Goddess of Desire, the renowned Aphrodite, is one of a longhaired beauty, riding atop a scallop shell to bestow her beauteous wonders upon the mortal earth and Olympus. This is an icon of femininity and perfection, the most stunning of the already statuesque gods and goddesses. Doves and sparrows are her counterparts as is the sweet and playful Cupid in later Roman myths. However, this seemingly flawless picture of delicacy and sensual delights is far from perfect. In fact, when looked at a little more closely, the mien of Aphrodite becomes distorted, her beauty playing out to actually be her curse. In the next pages we will delve into the true nature of the Love Goddess, contemplate the source of her ‘deeds’ and then determine how high a pedestal she actually rests upon.
The depiction of the Greek and roman myths are given unique insights from different authors. The Hymn to Demeter and Ovid's Metamorphosis provide and insight to Demeter's love for her daughter, Persephone, and explores its affect on the surrounding environments. The theme of separation and isolation is present in both of these myths, however, in Ovid's Metamorphosis, he symbolizes the environment in important events, has characters playing different roles, and empowers female deities.
Has there ever been a time where you have experienced true love, but everything was not what you expected? You thought everything was at the forefront but there was a deeper meaning to things. Well in the poem “First Love: A Quiz”, A.E. Stallings introduces you to the deeper side of things. This poem doesn’t consist of many literary devices, but Stallings uses her choice of words to make the reader give thought to the text, and to the story being told of Persephone and Hades. The structure of the poem also helps to better understand the actual meaning of the poem. As you read this “quiz” everything gets very abstract and your options become harder and harder to choose from.
Perseus was a hero in greek mythology, known for killing Medusa, the monster that could turn men to stone just by looking at them. He did this because he was on a quest rescue his mother from being married to an evil ruler named Polydectes. Perseus made a promise to kill Medusa and return to the wedding with Medusa's head and turn Polydectes to stone. Perseus received gifts from the god Hermes and the goddess Athena to help him on his way, the gifts being an invisible cap and a never ending wallet from Hermes, and a invincible shield and an invincible sword from Athena. Perseus eventually finds Medusa's lair through the help of the three blind women who share an eye and a tooth between them selves. Perseus cautiously sneaks up on Medusa while she's sleeping, and Perseus sees her in the reflection of his shield, and takes a big, heavy swing and swiftly cuts off Medusa's head. Medusa's Gorgon sisters wake up and chase
Perdita ultimately takes on the natural image of Proserpina as well as her role as a lost daughter. Through the flowers Perdita mentions, she effectively manages to describe not only her own identity, but that of the goddess. Even though Antigones abandons the shepherdess at birth, Perdita’s missing person and questionable identity causes others to also lose the ones they love and opportunities they could have had. Because the loss of Perdita creates significant loss for others, it is as though the maiden has a hand in others’ lives, much like the gods. Thus her indirect intervention, image, and role as a lost daughter all play a key part in her representation of Proserpina.
Hades shows himself to Perseus and with the rage of what Hades has done to Perseus, Perseus grabs a lighnting bolt from his sword and throws it at Hades sending him back to the underworld. Saving Andromeda and she offered to make him king and he had refused. Zeus asked if he wanted to join him in Olympus but refused and requested to stay a demi-god but Zeus granted him Io as a companion. In the story according to the Greeks Danae is the daughter of King Acrisius. When he had them put in a box and thrown into the ocean and saved by the fisherman named Dictys they both were still alive and Danae ended up falling in love with Dictys and they were married. Dictys’ brother King Polydectes wanted to take Danae as his wife, Perseus hearing the news he offered to pay any price for his mother not to marry King Polydectes. Sense Polydectes was afraid of Perseus he quickly made an offer that he will allow his mother to stay married to Dictys, only if he brings back the head of Medusa. Bravely, Perseus accepted his