...Epic Hero: Achilles Story The Trojan War brought out many epic heroes but the best one has to be Achilles. Achilles was brave, strong, and loyal which means he would never betray his friends or pacts. Achilles was mostly immortal because his mother dipped him in the river Styx when he was a baby but he does have one weakness though and that weakness is his Achilles-heel. Achilles is the best epic hero because he has more traits of being an epic hero than anyone else does. Achilles is an epic hero because he is a strong and responsible leader and he goes on a quest with other soldiers to bring back a girl named Helen. Achilles didn't have to go but he wanted to because he was adventurous. He risked his life for glory(Homer, 68). He wanted his...
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...Mothers Role in Mythology In most epics, the hero seems to conquer and prevail by themselves without any external help. Although this may be true for some myths, many others have additional help from either another person or deity that is often overlooked. In the case of the ancient Sumerian epic Gilgamesh and the Greek myth of the Iliad, both Gilgamesh and Achilles receive help or guidance from their mothers, a key component of both myths that can often be missed. In the epics, both mothers have a heavy influence on on their sons’ lives, which in turn affects the outcome of the myth. To fully understand how the mothers affected the myths, it is important to examine both and understand they way both mothers went about helping their sons. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is a demi-god and ruler of Uruk and has seemingly god-like abilities and because of this, the people of Uruk looked at him as a hero. With his god-like abilities, Gilgamesh went on many journeys that tested his strength and physical endurance. Although part god and seemingly invincible, Gilgamesh still sought his mother’s opinion. One example of this is when Gilgamesh seeks counsel with his mother Ninsun to understand two dreams he had about a future opponent named Enkidu. For the first dream, Ninsun interprets: This star of heaven which descended like a meteor from the sky;[sic]which you tried to lift, but found too heavy, when you tried to move it it would not budge, and so you brought it to my feet;...
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...is Achilles i believe he is the hero for three reasons; he has a unusual birth ,his call to adventure, and finial victory. The first reason is because of his unusual birth in the book it does not say a lot about his birth only that his mother,Thesis,was a god and his father, Peleus. The unusual circumstances surrounding his birth are not mentioned a whole lot but what is mentioned is that when he was a child his mother dipped him in the river of styx and held him by his Achilles heel thus it weakness. The second reason is because of his call to adventure. When Achilles was called to fight in the was Agamemnon called upon him to fight, not because he liked Achilles, which he did not, but because he was an amazing fighter. THroughout the Epic Agamemnon is always complaining about Achilles and Achilles is always threatening to kill or hut Agamemnon.Rage is the very first word of the whole poem, setting the theme that will control the actions of the entire poem, the rage of Achilles. We are in the ninth year of the war of the war—another word being fought in Troy, a city in what is now Turkey. Achilles is a young man his enemy commanding general is Agamemnon, but Achilles is the greatest warrior the Greeks have. The third reason is because of the finial victory. In the book in the end. This battle takes place because of the anger inside of Achilles after his cousin is killed. THis anger helps him defeat hector but eventually leads to his downfall. Achilles is the...
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...When you think of heros who do you think of. do you think of football players or wwe wrestlers ,but almost none of you thought of Achilles. Achilles is one of the most brave heroes of all time Achilles is the son of the sea nymph Thetis and king Peleus.But because Thetis feared for Achilles life she went through the process of making him immortal. But there are diffrent story of how she will try to make him immortal. One of the stories says that She burned him over a fire every night, then dressed his wounds with ambrosial ointment(ACHILLES).But the most common story is the one in which his mother dips him in the river styx ,but did not dip the left heel in which she was holding. In the main story Achilles father walks in while his mother...
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...Achilles is an epic hero because he was noble, brave and was admired by the Greeks for his achievements. There are many characteristic traits that make an epic hero; going on a quest/mission, having god-like powers and dying a tragic death are just a few of the many traits. All of which fit Achilles and makes him and epic hero in Greek mythology. Going on a mission is one of the many epic hero traits that fits Achilles. Achilles set out on this mission because Hector had killed his best friend, Patroclus in battle, thinking it was Achilles. " 'I who did not help my comrade in his sore need. I will kill the destroyer of him I loved; then I will accept death when it comes' " (Hamilton 197). The epic hero was determined to kill Hector, and that...
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...Beowulf and Achilles were very famous amongst their people, the fame of Achilles is originated from his mother dipping him into the River of Styx to make him immortal. However, she missed his heel and this ended up being a vulnerable weakness to him. His Heroism during the Trojan war with the Greeks also gained him plenty of fame. Beowulf is just as famous if not more famous in his world because of how safe he made his people feel. They always depended on him and he delivered when he defeated Grendel in his final battle. After he beat Grendel his fame grew because all the people around the world learned of Beowulf when they all came to see proof of the death of Grendel. Beowulf showed a lot of bravery when he stepped up to fight Grendel....
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...Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. In Ancient Greece there were monsters called Titans. Zeus's father was a Titan and his name was Cronus. Cronus is this the father of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. All Titans are the creation of Cronus after he married his sister Rhea. Greece religion has changed over time especially in 300 AD. Later on it started to be a mixer of different religions into one. Throughout Greek myth are many stories of courageous heroes. These heroes were usually men that were said to have fought in wars between Greek city-states. On this page, we will discuss four of them; Achilles, Heracles, Theseus, and Hector. Achilles was a hero that fought in the Trojan war. He was the son of King Peleus of the Myrmidons and a nymph named Thetis. The most commonly known version of the story of Achilles states that his mother, Thetis, wanted to make Achilles immortal, so she took him to the river Styx as a baby and dipped him in. The magical water touched all of his small body except for the heel she held him by, causing his sole weakness. Another version claims that she covered his body...
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...Today’s topic is “Myth in culture and the arts,” we will discuss the 2004 version of Achilles as shown by the movie Troy. Most of you will remember the Hollywood block buster for its start studded cast of Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom, but are you aware that this story is almost three thousand years old? The story of Achilles as a Trojan War hero is chronicled in The Iliad and is estimated to have been written Homer around 700 B.C.E. I’d like to spend the next hour or so discussing what the film version has in common with the ancient story as well as those sections that may have been altered to make the film more exciting. We will discuss this historical timeline behind Achilles’ entrance into the Trojan War, his perceived “invulnerability,” and the two phases of his involvement in the final battles. Much like Homer’s Iliad, the film is focuses on the hero Achilles of the Trojan War, but each story has a slightly different time span. The Trojan War was started over the abduction of Helen (of Sparta) wife to Menelaus, brother of the Mycenaean king, Agamemnon. Paris the youngest prince of Troy visits Sparta, seduces Helen, and sets sail for Troy with Helen at his side. According to the myths of Achilles’ life it wasn’t until the Trojan War started that Achilles’ mother, Thetis, received a prophecy that revealed Achilles would die at Troy and as a result attempted to hide Achilles from the war. The myth portrays him as approximately nine or ten years old when his...
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...the wrath of gods and goddesses, river monsters, beasts and even spirits of the underworld, have been to passed on and told to all the generations. Many of said stories came from pieces of literature that have been translated multiple times over the years. Examples of such works include Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey as well as Virgil’s The Aeneid. While each hero in each stories encounters his own journey, there are common stages that they all go through to reach “heroism.” What defines an epic hero is someone who is wise and noble in counsel action or war. The epic hero has to have a semi-divine spirit and a god as a parent (Barua, Page 1). Achilles was a hero in each and every form of the word. He was extraordinary and is said to be one of the greatest heroes of Greek mythology. He embodied all the great values that made up a superhuman. Achilles was strong, courageous, and loyal but he was also just a man-A man with a grave weakness and without the love, fear and sacrifice of his mother, he would have surely met an earlier end. When he was just a boy, his mother, Thetis, did everything to make sure her son was immortal. She would burn him over a fire every night, then dress his wounds with ambrosial ointment and then finally dunked him in the River Styx (History.comStaff). The river’s waters were said to confer the invulnerability of the gods. This was the only way to ensure her son’s immortality. Thetis was supposed to cover Achilles from head to toe in the water but...
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...gods to having ultimate control in the end over any mortals existence, but not until the final requirements of that particular fate have been fulfilled. To begin with is perhaps the biggest character of the Iliad, being Achilles. This characters fate is to basically win the Trojan War for the Achaeans and make immortal glory for his name dying honorably in battle. Before any of this came about Achilles though, he was built up to acquire this everlasting glory. By fate determining him to be this great warrior, Achilles mother Thetis, takes action to avoid her sons predetermined death. Thetis dips her son Achilles in the river of Styx holding him by the heels. (Achilleid 1.1340). This decision affects Achilles by setting the stage for him to become the greatest of Greek warriors by making him invulnerable. Even though Thetis is just trying to protect her son from the inevitable doom, instead she subconsciously prepares him herself. Despite Thetis’s efforts to keep her son from harm and making him look like a girl to avoid the Greek military, she fails. On one end his mother fails at keeping him out of harm’s way, in the other hand, fate predicts him to be a famous warrior and the actions of his mother ensures him to become the mighty Trojan War winning Achilles. Now to the surprising amount of real control that various heroes...
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...walls impregnable.The top of the walls had ramparts from where it was easy to thwart invasions.Troy was an island approachable by sea only.The stretch of sand between the wall and sea was the only place where invaders could land which made defending Troy from the ramparts easy. Characters: Iris Daughter of Thaumas who helped both sides during the Trojan war equally. Helped Hector find war plans of the Greeks and helped Achilles enter a temple. Ithaca This is home to the mythological hero Odysseus and is located in the Ionian sea in Greece Laocoon In Greek and Roman mythology, he was a seer and priest of the god Apollo in the ancient city of Troy. He played a notable role in the last days of the Trojan War; he and his twin sons, Antiphas and Thymbraeus were killed by a giant sea serpent. Menelaus king of Sparta and husband of Helen, the woman who caused the Trojan War. Mycenae In Greek legend, Agamemnon, leader of the combined Greek forces, was king of this place during the Trojan War. Myrmidons They are very brave and skilled warriors commanded by Achilles Nestor He was an Argonaut, helped fight the centaurs, and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. He and his sons, Antilochus and Thrasymedes, fought on the side of the Achaeans in the Trojan War Odysseus He was one of the most influential Greek champions during the Trojan War. When Agamemnon, to test the morale of the Achaeans, announced his intentions to depart Troy, He restored order to the Greek camp. Palladium...
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...defines a hero as…”A mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)” Looking at the times of Greek mythology, there were many heroes such as Theseus, Perseus, Jason, Achilles, Odysseus, and Hercules who were celebrated for their divine powers and superhuman strengths. When Giglamesh was wandering around and learning what it meant to put his personal egotism aside for the good of others, was he in fact a hero, or was he just simply growing intellectually within himself? All heroes are famous for the extraordinary selfless acts that they perform for the sake of others. The Minotaur that lived in a labyrinth on the island of Crete was defeated by Theseus after the population of Athens was forced to send fourteen children to be eaten by the Minotaur each year to appease him (Infoplease, 2012). Perseus, who was the son of Zeus and Danae, killed the Gorgan Medusa who caused the people who looked directly at her to turn to stone (Infoplease, 2012). In addition, the most fearless and strongest warrior in the Greek war against the Trojans was Achilles, who became invulnerable everywhere in his body except for his heel that his mother held him by when she dipped him in the River Styx (Infoplease, 2012). Odysseus, who is better known as Ulysses, was the King of Ithaca and also a celebrated warrior who assisted the Greeks in the Trojan War. Because of his cleverness and courage, he saved himself and his men from monsters...
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...starting in the first level. The first type of sin is the sin of incontinence. Incontinence is the inability to have control over actions one’s own actions. This level includes the lustful, gluttonous, and the wrathful. The lustful were those who were self-indulgent, therefore denying the light of God. People such as Cleopatra, Achilles, and Helen of Troy are in this level. These souls are constantly blown around uncontrollably by heavy winds and strong rains. This was used as a literal interpretation of the sinner’s emotions. The person was caught in a “whirlwind” of lust and a tempest, or storm, of passion. The next group of sinners is the gluttonous who wasted their money on unnecessary things. Gluttony is considered one of the seven capital sins. They wasted God’s gifts and now they have to suffer for it. They lay, half buried in garbage while more falls on them. Each person “wasted” what they had and now are covered in waste materials. Another group of sinners in the incontinence level is the wrathful. Wrathful beings actively express their wrath, unlike the sullen who passively express it. These people are trapped in the mud of the Styx River while they are punching, kicking, and beating each other. On Earth, these sinners constantly hurt people and beat them up. Now, in Hell, they have to beat each other for eternity. The next level of Hell includes the sin of violence. The three sublevels...
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...The first known writing of Greek mythology was dated back to around the time of the Trojan War. Homer and Hesiod were two of the most well-known writers of Greek mythology and epic poetry. Although a lot of information is debatable about him, Homer was the first known person to write Greek literature. Homer has many claimed birthplaces. Among the most popular are Smyrna and Ionia. His main theme was the Trojan War between the Greek and Trojans. Even though he may have been blind, Homer is considered responsible for two of the most well-known books of Greek myth; Iliad and the Odyssey and Homeric Hymns which were short poems celebrating the various gods. The Iliad is a story of the siege of the city of Troy during the Trojan War. The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus, a warrior, and his ten year journey from Troy to Ithaca after the fall of Troy in the Trojan War (“The Life and Work of Homer”). Hesiod is along the side of Homer when it comes to the creation of the Greek gods. He was said to be born after Homer. He was a shepherd who worked in the mountains of Helicon. He got his inspiration to write epic poetry from an experience he had on the mountain where he met the Muses that appeared before him in a mist after the death of his father. Two of his most famous works were Theogony and Works and Days. Theogony is the story of the creation of the Greek gods and their evolution. His second story, Works and Days, was about the struggle between him and his brother over the property...
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...Aphrodite (Ἀφροδίτη, Aphroditē) Goddess of love, beauty and desire. She was married to Hephaestus, but she had many lovers, including Ares, Adonis and Anchises. She was depicted as a beautiful woman and often naked. Her symbols include roses and other flowers, the scallop shell, and myrtlewreath. Her sacred animals are doves and sparrows. The Roman version of Aphrodite was Venus. Apollo (Ἀπόλλων, Apóllōn) God of light, healing, music, poetry, plague, prophecy, and more. He is the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis. Apollo was associated with the Sun; while Artemis was the Moon. Both use a bow and arrow. In the earliest myths, Apollo fights with his half-brother Hermes. In sculpture, Apollo was depicted as a handsome young man with long hair and a perfect physique. His attributes include the laurel wreath and lyre. He often appears in the company of the Muses. Animals sacred to Apollo include roe deer, swans, cicadas, hawks, ravens, crows, foxes, mice and snakes. Ares (Ἄρης, Árēs) God of war and bloodshed. He was the son of Zeus and Hera. He was depicted as a young man, either naked with a helmet and spear or sword, or as an armed warrior. Ares generally represents the chaos of war in contrast to Athena, who represented strategy and skill. Ares' sacred animals are the vulture, venomous snakes, dogs and boars. The Roman version of Ares is Mars. Artemis (Ἄρτεμις, Ártemis) Goddess of hunting, wilderness, animals and childbirth. In later times she became...
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