Learning from Ancient and Modern Themes and Customs

760 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Contribution Of Ancient Greece And Roman To Western World

Learning from Ancient and Modern Themes and Customs

It has been said that there are under thirty plots in the world, and that all stories, in all languages, all over the world and throughout history, are simply variations on these. Parallels can be drawn between all literature; however, classical mythology has had particularly far-reaching effects on our present civilization. Modern society holds a fascination with Greek and Roman society, and classical literature and mythology are certainly no exceptions. Regardless of location, language and time period, humankind has always followed relatively similar thought patterns. Therefore, it follows that all stories created by humans would have certain parallels and would contain certain universal themes, details and values.

One of these is the idea of the wrongdoings of mortals being punished. The idea of punishment for sinners is a ubiquitous one, found in cultures all over the world. For instance, in the Bible, as well as there being a hell in which sinners are imprisoned, there is also Tartarus (a compartment in the underworld of hell), which was created by God for those fallen angels who left their first estate. In almost all cultures, some form of this idea has evolved. The concept of sinners’ eventual penalization is a comforting one for those who have been wronged. This philosophy, of course, retains a place in the current day, with the idea of hell, present in most religions in some form. In addition, it is unequivocal that in most contemporary films and books, the villain is inevitably punished in the end. Many cultures have also adopted some form of an apocalyptic end of the human race. The image of Noah and the Great Flood is one of the most familiar in the Bible. Oth...

... middle of paper ...

...y his harsh treatment of the wrongdoers as well as the lavish reward given to the elderly couple who made them welcome. Clearly, this tremendous emphasis on hospitality has since become archaic; nevertheless it gives us a better idea of the value system adopted by the Romans. Like most stories, the classical Roman tale of Baucis and Philemon can be related to the narratives of many other cultures. Because all literature and legends stem from the same origins, they all contain certain inevitable similitudes. Patterns of archetypes, values, and themes can be seen in writings and stories throughout history and all over the world. As well as using these patterns to study the similarities between ancient and modern society, mankind can use them to recognize the differences that exist and learn more about the civilizations which helped to shape the world in which we live.

Show More
Related

  • The American Monomyth Summary

    1552 Words  | 4 Pages

    The structure of stories, on which Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and Booker’s Seven Basic Plots elaborated, is actually only a portion of the field of study it is under. Comparative mythology not only studies the structure of hero stories, but also origins, themes, and characteristics of myths from various religions and cultures. They study the language, psychology, history, and anthropology in order to identify a common theme or beginning point. Even without delving into religion, many common elements have come to light. For instance, many cultures have tales of people with strange supernatural abilities, others speak of similar creatures that reside in water, air or land, while still others extol the importance of talisman and religious symbols. Despite cultures existing on different ends of the earth and having little contact for much of their existence, they share these common

    Read More

  • Divine Justice In 'Sir Gawain And The Green Knight'

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    In most ancient literature some sort of divine justice is used to punish people's acts in life. This is that case with Dante's Inferno, where the Author categorizes hell in 9 circles. Circle 9 being the lowest sins and punishments as the circles decrease. From the time this was written to now in days many things have changed, and things are not seen the same no more. Back then sins like greed and gluttony were ranked as high sins but now people would probably rank those very low with other things like murder way on top. Yet the basic structure set by Dante remains.

    Read More

  • Read the Corn-Sale Dilemma (Cicero, On Duties 3.50-57). How can this scenario help to understand the ancient arguments for treating other people gener

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    The story reflects a rich spectrum of historical and ideological contexts. Cereals were the staple foods in Greco-Roman antiquity;3 still, food shortages were endemic. Prejudice against profiteering merchants dates back to Homer’s Odyssey (Bk 8.163-4). Generous giving by the affluent elite, on the other hand, was both expected and celebrated. For instance, in the anonymous Latin romance Story of Apollonius King of Tyre4

    Read More

  • Moby-Dick: When In Doubt, It's From Shakespeare

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    Main Idea: The importance of Shakespeare, the Bible, and fairy tales is that they are all myths. Myth in this case doesn’t mean that they aren’t true, but rather that they are stories that seek to, as Foster puts it, “explain ourselves to ourselves.” Myths are important and are a part of a culture’s collective memory. Here, in Western culture, we are mostly associated with Ancient Greek civilization and the myths that lie there. We can see references to those myths in all sorts of literature.

    Read More

  • Gift-Giving in Beowulf and the Odyssey

    1693 Words  | 4 Pages

    Literature has always been an immensely helpful resource when discerning cultural values in societies past and present. Through the study of noteworthy historic fictional and factual, texts we are able to distinguish parallel characteristics present through many different cultures and time periods. These distinguishing characteristics are one of the main things that help us to determine when and how a society, or world culture as a whole changes as time moves forward. When similarities are identified throughout many cultures in the same time period academics are able attach general titles to that specific time expanse. The “Heroic Age” is an example of a labeled span of time that generally maintains societal sameness throughout the period. The epic texts of Beowulf and The Odyssey are examples of culture revealing novels created during the heroic age. The texts help to prove the idea that societies maintain a basic status quo for many years because there is a 1500 year separation in the creation of the books. Despite this time difference in authorship, similar cultural ideals can be recognized throughout each novel. Both Greek and Germanic cultures emphasized the power and importance of receiving and giving gifts as a means of displaying and achieving power. Beowulf and The Odyssey share the general theme of giving, and when comparing the two, it is easy to conclude that giving and receiving is an integral part of both the Germanic and Grecian cultures of that time.

    Read More

  • Horatius Cocles: Citizenship In The Roman Republic

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    Horatius Cocles demonstrates Roman values with his readiness to assert himself for the good of the community despite any ramifications. He even attempts to advise his men in the direction of virtue by claiming “that it was vain for them to seek safety” (Livy, 20). These men appear to follow standards typical of the Greeks, as their personal motives guide their actions instead of the needs of others. Their lack of concern for the entire state of the Republic is an example of what individuals were not to do. The success of the individual, in this case Horatius, is a victory in Rome, which contrasts the idea of individual arete, valued by the Greeks. The greatest honor for a Roman was saving the life of another Roman whereas in Greek culture, an individual displays excellence in competition (Burger 91). For the Greeks, an individual may achieve honor at the cost of defeating another. In contrast, Romans sought to achieve honor by protecting what was best for all. Therefore, Romans valued self sacrifice while Greeks appear more self-centered (Burger 91). Horatius Cocles demonstrates the values of the Roman society in his steadfast opposition to the enemy. He is a model to the state for his courage in adversity.

    Read More

  • Aesop's Miserables Analysis

    1408 Words  | 3 Pages

    The birthplace of Aesop’s Fables originated in ancient Greece and is widely speculated to have been written by a slave named Aesop. Many critics over time have questioned the true original author of this book, however, they seem to agree that Greece is the actual geographical location of its birth. The specific version of Aesop’s Fables discussed in this essay started with a man named George Fyler Townsend, who began the process of recreating the book by translating it into English and publishing it in 1870. Townsend’s Aesop’s Fables represents a collection of translated stories that highlight morals above anything else, and these morals reflect the values that Townsend considered to be the most important to transmit from Aesop’s original version in Greek to the English-speaking people of his time.

    Read More

  • The Drummer Boy of Shiloh

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    A narrative is specified to amuse, to attract, and grasp a reader’s attention. The types of narratives are fictitious, real or unification or both. However, they may consist of folk tale stories, mysteries, science fiction; romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, and personal experience (“Narrative,” 2008). Therefore, narrative text has five shared elements. These are setting, characters, plot, theme, and vocabulary (“Narrative and Informational Text,” 2008). Narrative literature is originally written to communicate a story. Therefore, narrative literature that is written in an excellent way will have conflicts and can discuss shared aspects of human occurrence.

    Read More

  • The Roman Way, by Edith Hamilton

    2468 Words  | 5 Pages

    She uses these stories to try and explain what the ideas, attitudes and beliefs are that make up the “Roman Way.” Summary The Roman Way is basically an informal history of Roman civilization as Edith Hamilton interprets the writings of the greatest literary figures from around the time of 200 B.C. to 100 A.D. Some of these writers include Cicero, with his vast assortment of letters; Catullus, the romantic poet; and Horace, the storyteller of an unkind and greedy Rome. They are three affluent white men from around the same period of time, although each of them had very different styles of writings and ideologies.

    Read More

  • Allegorical Punishments: Analysis of Dante’s Use of Allegory in Inferno

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Dante’s Inferno, those who never repented for their sins are sent there after death. Like the old Latin proverb says, “The knowledge of sin is the beginning of salvation.” (“Latin Proverb Quotes” ThinkExist) The punishments in his Hell are decided by the law of retribution, which according to Webster’s Dictionary is the total effect of a person's actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining the person's destiny. (“Retribution” Merriam-Webster) Therefore, Dante creates a variety of reprimands for the three different types of sins: incontinence, violence, and fraudulence. These penalties can also be referred to as allegories because of their hidden moral meaning. The three best allegories in Dante’s Inferno describe the flatterers, fortune tellers, and suicides.

    Read More

  • Rome And The Origin Of Rome's Myths Of Origin

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    It was Roman myths of origin which imparted the most quintessentially Roman qualities onto the city and its people. Since Rome’s founders first exhibited the desire for conflict, so too has Rome. The sense of divine protection of such importance to the city’s people, is a direct product of the creation myths. The myths also provided evidence of the honour found within rusticity, giving rise to the value Romans placed on thrift and simple living. The myths of origin also stipulated the nobility of Rome’s founders, who would come to reflect the nobility of later Romans. The broad implications of the creation myths on Roman society, were felt most sharply by women, who were subjugated throughout the city’s history. Rome is deeply reflective of its myths of origin, as it was the myths which shaped the city into what it became.

    Read More

  • Ap-Smacking Is Wrong

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    In day-to-day life, people commit all kinds of sins that may not seem that heinous to others. Jaywalkers, for example, are not as brutal and unrelenting in the public’s eye as a vicious serial killer who carries around a chainsaw. However, some meager sins are extremely annoying to certain individuals, leaving them with the notion that the sinners must be punished in the depths of hell. “Sins” like chewing with one’s mouth wide open, being too confident in one’s own abilities, killing animals without utilizing them for food, and, most of all, spoiling movies have, for centuries, left people cringing and debating whether the consequences for hurting someone are worth facing. Therefore, there are certain sections and circles of hell devoted

    Read More

  • The Classical Mythology

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    Homer is credited for writing epics that generate source materials for the modern world. The Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer are captivating stories with fascinating heroic characters. The Homer stories share with classical mythology typical recurrent motifs. The two Homer epic poems focus on the Trojan War, and its result. The epic poems contain the Greek mythology featuring the Greek gods, goddesses, mythological creatures, and the Greek heroes, and heroines. In addition, the principal motifs typical of classical mythological hero stories are; the dominance of fate, evil fighting against the gods, and death. In both the classic mythology, and he modern fiction hero stories, the heroes always have a helper in their expedition, but ultimately, they have to stand alone, face the darkness, and conquer it in order to become victorious.

    Read More

  • Greek Culture Vs Roman Culture Essay

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    Did you know that the Romans are the most powerful nation in human history, conquering the world and no nation could have stop them from becoming the greatest nation. But the Romans didn’t think of all the practices that were going on at that time. The Romans were totally different before they adapted the some of the practices of the Greek which changed their nation completely, which made them superior than other nations. Firstly, I would like to talk about how the Roman culture were the complete opposite from the Greek before they started to adapt their cultural ways, and how they started to take in practices that are used in everyday life. Secondly, I would like to talk about the cultural difference between the Greek Empire and Roman Empire

    Read More

  • Comparing The Epic of Gilgamesh with The Odyssey

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey both are held in high respect by literature analysts and historians alike for the characterization of the hero and his companion, the imagery brought to mind when one of them is read, and the impressive length in relation to the time period it was written in. The similarities that these two epics share do not end with only those three; in fact, the comparability of these works extend to even the information on the author and the archetypes used. However, The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh contrast from one another in their writing styles, character details, and main ideas. Both epics weave together a story of a lost man who must find his way, but the path of their stories contrast from one another.

    Read More

More about Learning from Ancient and Modern Themes and Customs

Open Document