An Analysis of Robert Ji-Song Ku's Leda In Robert Ji-Song Ku's short story "Leda," the main character, Sorin, leads a life of imitation. He applies himself to his graduate studies in comparative literature a little too readily: he compares not just text to text; he also compares his life to text, to "works of literature" (Wong 281). If his life does not match that of at least one literary character on several levels of interpretation, whether emotional, physical, or mental, he changes his behavior
An Overview of Electra Euripides' play Electra, produced in 415 b.c.e., starts with a peasant recounting past events: Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus murdered Agamemnon and took the throne of Mycenae. Agamemnon's son Orestes escaped and has been raised in Phocis. Daughter Electra, when marriageable, was forced to wed this peasant instead of any noble, whereby Aegisthus' rule might be endangered. The marriage has not been consummated. "If any man thinks me a fool, for harbouring / A young
Penelope was the daughter of Icarius, of Sparta. Her father was the brother of Tyndareus, making her a cousin to Helen of Troy, and Clytemnestra. It was during the contest for Helen's hand that Odysseus was able to wed Penelope. Odysseus knew he had little chance of winning Helen, as he was not as wealthy as some of the other suitors; he instead used his greatest asset, cunning, to secure a wife. He approached Tyndareus with the offer of a trade; in exchange for Penelope's hand, he, Odysseus, would
Shortly after Penelope gave birth to her son Telemachus, Odysseus had to leave his family because of the oath he made to King Tyndareus as a suitor of Helen (Penelope - Greek Mythology Link). On page 821 of the Encyclopedia of World Mythology, it tells that Penelope waited for Odysseus during a war that lasted ten years. Once the war was finally over, nothing had been heard from
Since Odysseus was the King of Ithaca in Ancient Greece, he “was bound, by oath, to defend her [Helen], Menelaus,” (Odysseus’ Journey) and most importantly, Greece. Many years before, Odysseus offered Tyndareus, the father of Helen, a solution to Helen’s suitors, in exchange for Penelope, Icarius’ daughter. Furthermore, in order to guarantee the decision, Odysseus and the suitors pledged on a solemn oath to defend Menelaus and Helen if they were ever in
In his tragedy Iphigenia in Aulis, Euripides portrays Iphigenia with qualities that were especially uncommon for the women of Greek literature. Although a majority of the tragedy is centered around Agamemnon’s struggle to make a seemingly impossible decision, the significance and beauty of this tragedy is highlighted near the end of the tragedy when Iphigenia chooses to sacrifice herself to Artemis for the greater good of Greece. This act of selflessness highlights qualities such as courageousness
Myths of Natural Phenomena: Hibernation Artemis often roamed the forest with her sacred bear in search of prey, amusing herself as she shot her golden arrows at the tranquil wildlife. One day, during her ritual hunt, she approached and shot a stag, instantly bringing about its demise; however as she observed its corpse, she also observed the leaves of the laurels above the prey to have been transformed from its usual vibrant green to the sickly hues of amber and orange. Several months past, and
This poem was written in 1958, after Sylvia Plath left her job at Smith College to write for a living. It was during this time she found writing extremely difficult and resorted to set themes and deliberate exercises in style, in her efforts to find a release. The poem is based on a drawing "The Virgin in a Tree" by Paul Klee. Sylvia Plath expresses her feelings about the concept of virginity, virgins etc. She holds their morals and values accountable, for what they believe to be right and what they
Religious and Funerary Practices were thought of as extremely important by the citizens of the city-state of Sparta, in fact, their beliefs reached such an extreme that the other city-states mocked the Spartans. The three principal sub-elements that affected religious and funerary practices in Sparta are, the Gods/Goddesses worshipped, the festivals celebrated and solemnized, and the myths and legends passed through the generations. Religion was important to the populace of Sparta as it helped support
ceremonies were held in the temples of their deities; sacred rituals involved animal sacrifice and stories were told to explain the creation of the earth and mankind. It would be remiss not to mention, after Rome conquered Greece, it adopted Greece’s religious beliefs, including Greece’s creation myth. Willis confirms, “It is not coincidence that the major gods and goddesses of the Roman pantheon were similar in character to Greek deities. Some of them were imported directly from the Greek world
Troy (or Ilium), situated on the west coast of modern day Turkey, was a city-kingdom with, at the time of the events described in the Iliad (an epic poem attributed to Homer), Priam as its king. Homer was a blind, Greek poet who lived around the 8th century B.C. He is very famous as he wrote two of the most famous poems of all times. These poems were called the Iliad and the Odyssey. Homer never mentioned himself in any of his writings, though scholars suspect that he was a farmer or artisan because