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The relationship between gods and mortals in greek myth
Ancient greek relationship to gods
Ancient greek relationship to gods
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What was Ovid's view of the gods' ethical performance? Throughout out all of Ovid's metamorphoses, Ovid conveys stories of man's interactions with the gods and how that effected nature. Many of these stories came out of petty arguments such as the story of Arachne and Minerva, Cupid and Apollo, and Niobe which produced the spider, laurel tree, and a mountain. The main point throughout is that man is not in charge and must obey the hierarchy. The gods could be unfair but they are superior and it wouldn't matter.
It is also significant that he has intentionally broken away from the stereotypical austere images of the gods, and has set his gods at the opposite end of the scale to the Virgilian gods. BIBLIOGRAPHY: OVID METAMORPHOSES Translated by A.D.Melville VIRGIL THE AENEID Translated by R.Fitzgerald D.C.Feeny The Gods in Epic G.K.Galinsky Ovid's Metamorphoses R.O.A.M.Lyne Further Voices in Virgil's Aeneid Wilkinson Ovid Recalled C.H.Wilson Jupiter and the Fates in the Aeneid --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Virgil's Aeneid: book: 1.5 ff.
The Greek gods were portrayed as humans, which meant that they were not perfect. That is, the gods made mistakes, felt pain (e.g. Aphrodite in love with the mortal Adonis), and succumbed to anger and their tempers (e.g.
If you have ever had a conversation with someone whose first language is not the same as your own, you are probably familiar with the idea that there are certain words and phrases that do not translate perfectly from one language to another. This conflict is usually a matter of one language having a single word or succinct phrase for a concept which another language might need an entire sentence to capture.
One of the most unmistakable, evident themes of Hesiod's didactic narratives is the moral decay of the characters portrayed within them. Ironically, many of his creatures which he brings alive in his literature develop this decay in an evolutionary succession. Hesiod conveys to his readers this idea of negative succession mainly within one of his more well-known works, Theogony. Both groups of characters in the Theogony, gods and mortals, display this moral decay as his story progresses. This decomposition of law and morality within succeeding generations of characters is brought about by different events, according to Hesiod. In Hesiod's Theogony, different races of men are created and destroyed according to the will of the gods, so it appears that Hesiod is putting the gods in control of the general disposition of the mortals. The gods, unlike some mortals, have no superior being to fall back on or to blame their behaviors on, so it seems to me that they more at fault with their wicked behaviors than the race of men in this narrative. Although it seems that Hesiod attempts to put these immortals in a good light by tinting the image of their questionable behavior with his constant flattering adjectives (and such), he, either consciously or inadvertently, paints a dark picture of their true ethics and characters.
In this essay, I hope to provide answers to how the actions of Hippolytus and Phaedra relate to the gods, whether or not the characters concern themselves with the reaction of the gods to their behavior, what the characters expect from the gods, how the gods treat the humans, and whether or not the gods gain anything from making the humans suffer. Before we can discuss the play, however, a few terms need to be defined. Most important would be the nature of the gods. They have divine powers, but what exactly makes the Greek gods unique should be explored. The Greek gods, since they are anthropomorphic, have many of the same characteristics as humans.
In time, all stories are changed or diluted. How the legend is told becomes slightly biased by the person telling it, or fragments are lost to memory. One of the best examples is the cultural view regarding the Greek God of Death and the Underworld, Hades.
Oedipus, in contrast to Creon, holds a more submissive view to the gods. In his response to Jocasta, for instance, he pleads “you pure, blessed gods, may I not see that day,” indicating a more docile standing with the gods. One can assume this is the case because by pleading to the gods, Oedipus does two key things: First and foremost, he acknowledges their desires to trump his and secondly, he acknowledges their power and superiority over his mortal life. Where Oedipus is humble, Creon is prideful: After Haemon accuses his father of “trampling on the gods’ prerogatives,” Creon accuses him of being a “foul creature” and “worse than any woman.” By responding with such harsh words to his own son, Creon verifies the claim that he does in fact, look down on the gods. Simply put, one must have incredible hatred for the gods in order to practically disown their child for supporting them, and this hubris just isn’t evident with Oedipus. As such, this contrast in respect (or lack thereof) for the gods is just one of many ways Creon reveals his significantly more hubristic
Duty is not taken lightly by these Mythological-Ancient-Greek-gods! When events turn and Oedipus realizes what he has done, he keeps his promise he made to his city. He finds himself in a sticky situation realizing he has killed his father and married his mother and decides he must follow suit; He banishes himself and “he rips off her brooches, the long gold pins holding her robes-and lifting them high, looking straight into the points, he digs them down the sockets of his eyes,” gouging his eyes out and leaving him blind (Sophocles 128.) Similarly, Medea is just as dutiful as Oedipus. Medea feels it is her duty to save her children from the harsh punishment they would receive as mortals on earth. She knows the punishment they will receive will come from a place of anger and hatred if they are left to deal with the consequences of her actions. Medea decides “as soon as possible I must kill my children and leave this land before I give my enemies a chance to slaughter them with a hand that’s moved by hatred” (Euripides 169.) Along with her instinct to be dutiful, Medea is also a mother with the instinct to protect her children… no matter how much harm she has already
As I said before, Zeus is the father of all gods and humans. He represents the idea of an independent moral code that all humans and immortals must obey. If any god or mortal did not follow this moral code, Zeus would enforce justice and watch over the punishment of the wrongdoers (Cunningham and Reich 33). Although Zeus is known for representing a moral code, Zeus’ behavior was far from moral. “Zeus was subject to pleasure, pain, grief, and anger, but he was most susceptible to the power of Eros – love, which often got the objects of his desire in a lot of trouble with his wife, Hera. Zeus wa...
According to Akin L. Mabogunje and J. D. Omer-Cooper, he was a great general who founded the Owu kingdom and was deified upon his death. He promised to return from the dead, if his people needed him and called him. Osofisan makes Anlugbua the god of the elements, which to some extent corresponds to Poseidon’s position in Euripides’s drama.On the surface of things, then, it is the interrelations between the gods that direct their actions. The human world is merely their playground, and the mortals must follow the whims of the gods. This fact is summed up by Shakespeare when he says through the character of King Lear “Osofisan’s play is certainly opened by Anlugbua, but we get to know through Anlugbua’s obvious ignorance of the situation that
The gods in power, like Zeus, exhibit bias, dishonor, betrayal, deception, and many other humanly characteristics. One memorable scene is when Zeus and Poseidon are in conflict with each other over the Achaens versus the Trojans. Zeus controls the battle by “lifting the famous runner Achilles’ glory higher,” (Homer 13: 404). Zeus plays both sides in this scene, acting like a double agent which is dishonorable. Zeus’s bias is prevalent throughout the poem; specifically, he is “bent on wiping out the Argives, down to the last man,” (Homer 12: 81-82). Just like mortals such as Agamemnon and Achilles view each other with suspicion and intolerance, the gods experience identical emotions of wariness, anger, and irritation. This human-like behavior is not restricted to Zeus. Later in the text, Hera lies to Aphrodite to use her powers to manipulate her own husband Zeus. If one looks at Hera as a heavenly entity, her reaction may not make sense, but when it is viewed as a manifestation of human emotion, it become almost reasonable. Her scheming response to Zeus’s meddling with the war is spurred by her support for the Trojans. Hera’s manipulation and Aphrodite’s ego don’t stand alone as examples of this divine humanity. These instances suggest that the deities are being presented in this unique way to help explain behavior of the humans in The
“Gods can be evil sometimes.” In the play “Oedipus the King”, Sophocles defamed the gods’ reputation, and lowered their status by making them look harmful and evil. It is known that all gods should be perfect and infallible, and should represent justice and equity, but with Oedipus, the gods decided to destroy him and his family for no reason. It might be hard to believe that gods can have humanistic traits, but in fact they do. The gods, especially Apollo, are considered evil by the reader because they destroyed an innocent man’s life and his family. They destroyed Oedipus by controlling his fate, granting people the power of prophecy, telling Oedipus about his fate through the oracle of Apollo, and finally afflicting the people of Thebes with a dreadful plague. Fundamentally, by utilizing fate, prophecies, the oracle of Apollo, and the plague, the gods played a significant role in the destruction of Oedipus and his family.
The difference between the way Homer and Ovid present the gods and their relation to human being is that in Homer, the gods are more tough on the humans than in The Metamorphoses. In The Iilad, some gods were focused on returning Odysseus home while some were trying to stop him in his tracks. This story also focuses more on environment and symbolism because of the way the story is written. In Metamorphoses, the gods seem to care more about human beings. They show stronger emotions towards them. You can see this through all of the theme changes that occur in the story. They penalized people who were wicked and reward those that were piety. Metamorphoses set the tone in Book I, when the gods punished Lycaon for trying to kill Jupiter in his
This anti-epic certainly does not follow the adventurous theme of the epic. There is no protagonist hero to focus on unless you visualize the god's prey as the hero in his/her escape. The assembled writings seem to be more of a recording of the misdeeds of the gods. It appears that Ovid wanted to write about the desires of gods and people instead of a great adventure.
In the tragic play, Oedipus Rex, the Gods and religion greatly influence the social structure which in turn has a profound effect upon how the events unfold. Oedipus is the head of the state. There is a direct parallel in the demise of his household and city state which eventually comes to a full circle to destroy him. Even though Oedipus is praised by his people for being a responsible and honest king, he possesses a major character flaw in his attitude towards the gods which causes the tragic torture he faces in the end. Over the duration of the play, there is a strong sense of contamination towards the state, because it is facing a time of plague, and towards the leader Oedipus, because he is unknowingly in a relationship with his own mother. The cleansing of the state can only occur if the ruler, Oedipus, and his ignorant ways are put to rest. The state and the household are directly linked to Oedipus. His incestuous ways are the outcome of anger from the gods for being intelligent and because the leader of the state is plagued with such a flaw the state must suffer for the wronging of the leader. This sense of contamination ultimately leads the gods to cleanse the state, household, and Oedipus by revealing the flaw to everyone and Oedipus at the same time.