...The Gods of Hospitality in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey In Homer’s the Iliad and the Odyssey, much is made of hospitality as a recurring theme. In Ancient Greece the gods demand it. The nature and extent to which society today follows in that tradition has changed in form only, but not in substance. Food, shelter and protection of strangers from cultural norms of today, as the people of Ancient Greece were more inclined to take in strangers worn weary by travel. In the Iliad, the reader sees that in times of war, hospitality is provided to even the enemy. Housing strangers in one’s home was very common then, as many weary travelers trod by foot or sailed by boat to reach far-off destinations, making stops along the way. Moreover, since the Greeks believed the gods walked the earth amongst them, then turning down a travelers request, could mean rejecting a god masked from view. The Greeks took no chances in this regard; and with only a few exceptions, Homer’s literary characters comply with this religious doctrine and cultural norm. Hospitality in Ancient Greece, as portrayed by Homer, accounts, in part, for their longstanding world dominance and aligns itself in many ways with the Christianity enjoyed by many peace-loving nations of today. The guest-host relationship in both The Iliad and The Odyssey remain constant, the differences between the two dependent only on the differing circumstances posed by each tale (Biggs, Joseph, Schrodt & Dustan, n.d.) Today, America’s...
Words: 3496 - Pages: 14
...Introduction How exciting it is to open the bible to the book of Exodus and read the narrative of the fulfillment of God’s promise in the rescue of the Israelites from captivity in Egypt—the call of Moses, the plagues, and the dramatic manifestation of God on Mt. Sinai. Though the book of Exodus is most famous for the revelation of the Ten Commandments contained in Chapter 20, it remains vague in terms of where the biblical account actually occurred, and yet we cannot begin to fully understand the Old Testament if we look at it as merely a piece of great literature, or as some have suggested nothing more than interesting legend, or the elaboration of superior ideals. … The Book of Exodus is a narrative of the sacred history of Israel from the sojourn in Egypt to the completion of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. The term Exodus comes from the Greek terminology and literally means “going out,” an appropriate title for the book that narrates how under the leadership of Moses, the Israelites escaped from Egyptian persecution and began their journey back to the Promised Land. To be certain, all human history is the scope of God’s sovereignty. God became especially involved in the lives of a relatively unknown people, culminating a historical event that changed biblical history and altered the course of their lives and culture. When we seek to understand the meaning of our individual life events, we don’t actually begin with birth or infancy, even though a biographical account...
Words: 2839 - Pages: 12
...practice, of interpretation. 2. What do they say is the aim of a good interpretation? What is not the aim? The aim of good interpretation is not uniqueness; one is not trying to discover what no one else has ever seen before. 3. According to Fee and Stuart, what is the antidote to bad interpretation? Is not no interpretation but good interpretation, based on commonsense guidlelines. 4. They define “The Bible” in part as… The Bible is not a series of… propositions and imperatives; it is not simply a collection of “sayings from chairman God,” as though he looked down on us from heaven and said: “hey you down there, learn these truths. Number 1, there is no God but One, and I am he. Number 2, I am the Creator of all things, including humankind” – and so on, all the way through proposition number 7,777 and imperative number 7777. 5. Know the kinds of “communication” mentioned that God uses to convey his Word. Narrative history, genealogies, chronicles, laws of all kinds, poetry of all kinds, proverbs, prophetic oracles, riddles, drama, biographical sketches, parables, letters, sermons, and apocalypses. 6. “To interpret properly the “then and there” of the biblical texts, you must…” not only know some general rules that apply to all the words of the Bible, but you also need to learn the special rules that apply to each of these literary forms (genres). 7. Know and be able to discuss the two types of ‘context’ mentioned in the reading. Why are these...
Words: 3801 - Pages: 16
...basis of Mythical Thinking 4 Chapter 4. Transcendence: Basis of Biblical Thinking 5 Chapter 5. The Bible Versus Myth 6 PART II. The Bible and History Chapter 6. The Bible and History: A Problem of Defition 7 Chapter 7. Is the Bible Truly Historical? The Problem of History (1) 8 Chapter 8. Does It Matter Whether the Bible is Historical? The Problem of History (2) 9 Chapter 9. Origins of the Biblical Worldview: Alternatives 10 Conclusions 11 Introduction Oswalt starts with a concise and well-written introduction that is compelling reading. He shares some very revealing personal information dating back to the 1960s, when he attended Asbury Theological Seminary. Oswalt quickly points out that one of the main points the book will focus on is determining if “the religion of the Old Testament [is] essentially similar to, or essentially different from, the religions of its neighbors.” In the introduction, he provides a brief overview of scholarly thought regarding the Old Testament literature and Ancient Near East literature and how perspectives have changed over the last 50 years. Oswalt states at the time he was introduced to the subject, scholars believed the Old Testament and its theology stood alone from other Ancient Near East religions. He now contends...
Words: 3230 - Pages: 13
...Atheism and postmodernism wider reading The term atheism derives from two Greek words: 'a' meaning 'without' and 'theos' meaning God. Atheism therefore describes a person being without belief in God. Agnostisim, also has a lack of belief, however, does not actively deny Gods existence, so could be interpreted differently. Positive atheism: Like negative atheism there is an absence of God however, positive atheism goes one step further. It is the firm denial of religion, the person has thought about the possibility of religion and has consciously denied it. For example, Prof Brian Cox has suggested that religion is a 'fairy story' which shows positive atheism as he has consciously made the decision to reject religion. We can assume God does not exist. Gavin Nyman 'Definitive metaphysical claim about the non-existence of God' Negative atheism: Absence of God: does not actively deny God. An example of this would by a baby who has not had time to make a conscious decision about the existence of God. We cannot assume anything, so we must assume he does not exist. Agnosticism: From the Latin 'without knowledge.' Like Negative atheism there is an absence of belief, however, unlike Negative atheism it does not deny the existence. Postmodernism One of the key ideas of a postmodernist view of religion, unlike traditional views, is that there is no objective knowledge or absolute representation of reality. It is culture or society that dictates our concepts and the way we categorise...
Words: 619 - Pages: 3
...Introduction The Gospel of John is portrayed as a very theological book. It is written from a historical and narrative perspective. The Christology in the Gospel of John is high even though I question some of the things Jesus does. One thing I question is Jesus turning water into wine. The Scripture I will be discussing will be John 2:1-11. Is there Christology in giving wine that can make one that drunk especially when drunkenness can cause one to do dangerous things? However, the Christology is not in the drunkenness. My objective is to prove that there is humanistic side to making the water into wine and a Christological side of turning the water into wine. My rationale in accomplishing this objective is if Jesus does something, does it make it right for us to do the same thing. My plan on addressing this is to research wine physically and spiritually. Social Location I am a married African American southeastern United States of American, Pentecostal female. I also consider myself reasonably educated. I look at things also based on a small town and small city background. My social location causes me to question things and not accept everything at face value. Methodology The Methodology to argue my thesis statement is Reader Response Method and the method of Reader Response Criticism I will use is individualistic criticism. Background/History/Theological Foundation The Gospel of John has 21 chapters in the state it is in now. According to An Introduction to The New...
Words: 6278 - Pages: 26
...block; this is very characteristic of the period style. As for the form, it is also characteristic in the manner that bilateral symmetry prevails, there are harmonious proportions, and how the lines work to keep the human figure compact. It is also characteristic of the Egyptian Old Kingdom style in the manner of how the portrait establishes a standard representation of Kingship and Queenship. They carry themselves as royalty, are wearing distinctive high status clothing (Headdresses, false beard), and the female’s “womanhood” is very apparent (swollen belly, full breasts, pubic triangle). 2. The Apoxyomenos (“The Scraper”) • Materials The Greek original of this piece was a bronze. Unfortunately, like many other pieces of the time, it was melted down. What we are seeing is the Roman marble copy. • Style-period and personal (Lysippus) The Apoxyomenos follows the Late Classical Style. Lysippus employed a new set of proportions and a heightened sense of realism. His point was to engage others in the piece and make use of real space. 3. The Augustus from Primaporta • Style-period The portrait of Augustus from Primaporta...
Words: 2346 - Pages: 10
...Summary of the books of the Old Testament Exodus The book of Exodus is of the narrative genre initially and then switches to law. This book covers the development of Israel into a real nation, and falls into seven distinct sections. First there is the birth and education of Moses who was born an Israelite, but raised as an Egyptian. During the suffering of Israel, God used a burning bush to show Moses that he was the one to deliver the Israelites out of bondage. Second was Moses confronting the Pharaoh with the ten plagues, which included the observance of the first Passover. Next we read of the parting of the Red Sea and narrative of the journey of Moses guiding the people to Sinai. The fourth section covers the delivery of the Ten Commandments or laws by God on Mt. Sinai. Then we have the section on the building of the tabernacle. The six section covers the renewing of the covenant with God after the sinful actions of the Israelites in worshiping the golden calf. The last section covers the building and dedication of the Tabernacle. Deuteronomy This book’s genre is law, which is actually taken from the Greek word for “the second law.” Before being delivered to the promised land of the Canaan, Moses spoke to the people with forceful presentations of the essential parts of God’s revelation including emphasis on the spiritual principles of the law and its fulfillment. He also sought to teach application of the law to circumstances the Israelites would face in their new...
Words: 830 - Pages: 4
...such journals as Novum Testamentum, New Testament Studies, Bible Translator, Journal of Biblical Literature, and many others. He also serves as Professor of New Testament and Greek and the Dr. M. O. Owens Jr. Chair in New Testament Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. SUMMARY The book starts by bringing up a description of the development of the gospels, and a not very known basic historical fact is that the Gospels were written through a not so brief period of time. The “Gospel according to Mathew” was published in 42 AD, and there was a 20-25 years gap between its publication and the publication of “Luke’s Gospel” and “The gospel according to Mark”. And than, another huge gap between the publication of those and finally “The Gospel of John” being published in 96 AD, so there was a 54 years interval between the publication of the 4 Gospels, and that fact shows that sometimes God likes to act in a way that takes time, seems unusual to human eyes, but in the end everything fits and make complete sense, because “The Gospels” are the foundation and most important books on the Bible until today. In the first part Black exposes that the Gospels are the most important part of the written tradition handed on by the twelve apostles by virtue of their personal knowledge of Jesus acquired during their instruction by Him in the course of His earthly...
Words: 3283 - Pages: 14
...| The Evolution of Historiography in Greek Society | American Public University August 3, 2014 Rena Reynolds HIST501 Summer 2014 Although at first Greek historians had difficulties grasping the concepts of time and that ideas of the past could influence those of the present, through trial and error the development of Greek chronology help achieve the documentation of the Greek experience. Greek historians grew from works of fiction with some historical significance to the systematic study of people and culture as their society progressed through wars and cultural change. War is a universal experience which has occurred since the birth of the human race. It is also the muse of historians around the world. In early Greek society war provided a gateway to heroes, glory, and gods. The famous Trojan War described in Homer’s Iliad epic gave descriptions of Achilles, Hector, Paris and Helen of Troy which were intertwined with the gods Athena, Apollo and Hephaestus. Homer entertained the populace with the “actions of gods and the deed, passions, glories, and defeats of a few heroes,” but also cataloged a few historical significant items. Subsequent the Great Persian War (in 490 and 480/79 BC) inspired Herodotus in writing his Histories migrating from heroes and gods to a more common cultural history. His descriptions still held a dramatic flair which was pleasing to the populace but held a more chronological account of events. Following the Great Persian War was the Peloponnesian...
Words: 1781 - Pages: 8
...understanding of creation and how the spiritual and natural realms interact and exist. There is not a continuous existence that just repeats itself over and over, but rather a series of single events that lead to a greater purpose. It is Oswalt’s position that the Bible is an accurate historical account of a people who received their relevance of belief from a single living transcendent God. The historical basis is important as God reveals himself through humans, in non-recurring human-historical events, to impose God’s will and direction to affect the will of humans. Chapter 1: The Bible In Its World In this chapter Oswalt addresses different beliefs on the existence of the world. Specifically how the Israelites and Greeks viewed the world in relation to their neighboring cultures. The Bible is the most important source of all contributing factors in today’s Western culture, especially when combined with Israelite monotheism and Greek philosophy. The Hebrew transcendent living God along with Greek thought helped to organize the reality found in the Bible. Greek Thought: Between 700 and 300 BC Greek philosophers founded...
Words: 10327 - Pages: 42
...The Egyptian love poems are generally lighter while Sappho’s poems are more serious. The Egyptian poem “I passed close by his house” contains the lines,” How joyfully does my heart rejoice, my beloved, since I first saw you... My heart leaps up to go forth that I may gaze on my beloved “(p.80 lines11-12, 22-23). This passage is an explanation of the internal feelings of the speaker. This, compared to Sappho’s illustrates a stark difference on a similar subject, from the Poem 31(He seems to me equal to gods that man),”…no speaking is left in me no: tongue breaks and thin fire is racing under skin and in eyes no sight and drumming fills ears and cold sweat hold me and shaking grips me all, greener than grass I am and dead- or almost I seem to me (p.639 lines 7-18) These lines by Sappho give the impression almost of pain, speechless, the thin fire that racing under skin, the blindness, the deafness from drumming. This is quite an image of being struck forcefully by the emotion of love. Compared to the Egyptian love poems which invokes a rejoicing heart and the impulse to leap up invokes quite a different...
Words: 1563 - Pages: 7
...and he places this message soon after Jesus' baptism and calling of the disciples. The Beatitudes are the opening section of the Sermon on the Mount, the longest recorded teaching during Christ's lifetime. We will begin by looking at this section as it lays within the book of Matthew and then go to a more in-depth exegetical study. Literary Context The most popular approach to Matthew's structure is the presentation of five major discourses, each ending with a formula statement that is foreign to other Biblical discourses, placed in a framework of narrative[1] (Talbert 15). In fact, "the five discourses are so clearly marked, from a literary point of view, that it is well-nigh impossible to believe that Matthew did not plan them" (Carson 63). Each of these discourses brings forth a topic of central importance for both the gospel rendition of the historical Jesus and the later experience of the church (Batdorf 26). The narrative section leading to the first discourse, from Matthew 3:1 to 4:25, chronicles not simply the biography of a man preparing for ministry, but the establishment of Messianic history and authority. We come to an understanding of Matthew's first and foremost discourse, the Sermon on the Mount, only on the basis of chapters 1-4 (Batdorf 24). This sermon, which immediately follows the choosing of the twelve, marks the beginning of Jesus' training of His disciples and a change in His method of teaching. It is His first systematic delineation of the kind of people...
Words: 4325 - Pages: 18
...In the contemporary century where the world is metamorphosed to a global village, the concept of national culture and national literature is certainly belied. The World literature, today, simultaneously represents an important multicultural perspective within individual national literatures as well as more global perspective taking in the phenomena of transculturalism and diaspora confluence. Centripetal and centrifugal forces can be discerned as both antagonistic and complementary forces in cultural development. Raymond Williams develops a theory of relation between culture at large and cultural products like literature. Culture is manifested in human artifacts and activities such as music, literature, life-style, food, painting, sculpture, theatre and film. It can be said that arts and the world of science with their moral systems come to form culture. These are constantly in a spatio-temporal flux that renders an inexhaustible range of meanings and a catalogue of the elements. In this process of evolution a particular aspect dominates or fades off at some space-time coordinate. The pattern of human activity and the symbolic structures give such activities significance and importance. Rushdie, like other postcolonial writers not only reflects upon the political aspects of history but also deconstructs the interrelationships between history and individual to delve into the moral and psychological tensions of the native homeland. His novels are the fine example where ethics of...
Words: 6746 - Pages: 27
...Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.[1] The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, as well as a subject of philosophical and religious interest, throughout recorded history. The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology.[2] Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep—when brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake. REM sleep is revealed by continuous movements of the eyes during sleep. At times, dreams may occur during other stages of sleep. However, these dreams tend to be much less vivid or memorable.[3] The length of a dream can vary; they may last for a few seconds, or approximately 20–30 minutes.[3] People are more likely to remember the dream if they are awakened during the REM phase. The average person has three to five dreams per night, but some may have up to seven dreams in one night.[4] The dreams tend to last longer as the night progresses. During a full eight-hour night sleep, most dreams occur in the typical two hours of REM.[5] In modern times, dreams have been seen as a connection to the unconscious mind. They range from normal and ordinary to overly surreal and bizarre. Dreams can have varying natures, such as frightening, exciting, magical, melancholic, adventurous, or sexual. The events in dreams are generally outside the control of the...
Words: 6296 - Pages: 26
