...The hero, Perseus, was a compelling story to the ancient Greeks. His legend heavily influenced later ideas of heroic characters. In many ways, he was the ideal hero for the Greeks to look upon. sharing many of the same traits and mental patterns as the people, he became a way for people the people of Greece to glorify their own lives. Following Gilgamesh, and followed by the famous Heracles and Jason, the story of Perseus built a template for later stories. Perseus was seen as a hero to ancient Greeks because of how he followed the path of a hero, showed the traits of a hero, and created a hero’s legacy. The story of Perseus follows the same order as many parallel stories of heroic greatness, but with different names, goals and locations. His experience was universal given that he was not only made a hero by ancestry, but by his actions. A recurring topic in Greek mythology was people sending their opponents on impossible journeys that they are not expected to complete, but instead die from. Odysseus was sent into the Underworld on his journey, Jason was sent far east to steal the Golden Fleece from a cyclops in...
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...Ashoka The Well Appreciated Buddhist and King Ashoka was one of the greatest rulers of ancient India. He was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya of Magadha who established the first Indian empire. Chandragupta wore the crown for twenty-four years before surrendering his throne in favor of his son, Bundusara (Ashoka’s father), who left no noticeable mark upon the empire. Ashoka was born in 304 B.C. and was known in his younger teen years as Canda Ashoka (the fierce Ashoka) because of his very aggressive nature. Ashoka came to the throne in 270 B.C. after a power struggle that ended in the death of one of his brothers. He was at first disposed to follow the example of his father and grandfather and complete the conquest of the Indian peninsula. In about 256 B.C. Ashoka attacked Kalinga, a country on the east coast of Madras, in order to expand his empire, which he ruled as a tyrant at the time. The plan he pursued about Kalinga was forceful and all standing in his way of the throne were killed. Ashoka succeeded in conquering Kalinga in the fatal war in which 100,000 men were killed, 150,000 injured, and thousands were captured and retained as slaves. The sight of the massacre involved in his conquest deeply distressed Ashoka and deeply affected his mind. Overwhelmed by the carnage, he changed his way of life. Brahmanism was the practiced religion of Ashoka, as he abstained from war forever and sought peace in Buddha’s preaching of love and ahimsa...
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...The Renaissance in Italy and Europe The French word Renaissance means “rebirth” and is the period in European civilization immediately following the Middle Ages. It relates mostly to the growth of artistic and intellectual creativity which is also used by artists and thinkers to recover and apply the ancient learning and standards of Greece and Rome. The Renaissance was basically an intellectual and also cultural movement that imparted some sort of intellectual quality which made it one of the most important events in universal history. This movement was carried on between the fourteenth century and the sixteenth century. The Renaissance was believed to be restricted to Italy somewhere during the late 15th century. This great movement made a huge and advance difference in the world today and also back in the days. It brought major contrasts with civilization in Europe during this time period. This has become of my interest not only because it is one of the world’s most known events, but also because it is a movement that benefited and contributed intellectual developments in most parts of the world today. It is most commonly known that one of the reasons the Renaissance period took place was because theology was rejected by the Middle Ages and was taken over by science. The outlook and institutions of the Middle Ages disintegrated and conspicuous modern forms, like science, emerged. Because of the different levels in society during the time of this intellectual movement, all...
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...Our idea of a “hero” today is very different from the ancient Greeks’ concept of what a “hero” is. The Greeks believed that a hero was a human, who had superhuman abilities by virtue. Many of the heroes resulted from an illicit relationship between a human and a deity. While a human and deity creating a child would be considered fictional today, the ancient Greeks believed that these heroes were mortals, but were worthy of worship despite their mortality. They were subjects of local religious worship and served as models for the ancient citizens. The heroic myths functioned as a method for recording history and providing precedent for political programs. The ancient Greeks valued loyalty, intelligence, family, and glory amongst many other...
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...to be the climax of ‘peace and quiet’ on Earth as there were no warfare or negative qualities in human emotions. With the overruling of Saturn by Jupiter, his ascension was the beginning of The Silver Age as Ovid asserts. It was in this age that crops were planted and humans emerged from their cave homes to built homes of wood and bark (Ovid, Metamorphoses 1:121-124). Additionally, Ovid provides an aetiological explanation of the four seasons through the actions of Jupiter. The Bronze and Iron Age succeeded the Silver age, existing quite simultaneously. Cruelty in humanity influenced their submission to warfare, while by the time the Iron Age came, this worsened with ‘malicious evil’ roaming the land and the disappearance of ‘restraint, piety and truth’ (Ovid, Metamorphoses 1: 125-141). Hesiod’s influence over Ovid is clear, with the exception of a fifth race in Hesiod’s account. Both authors account for the evolution of humanity and the transformation of the social and psychological structure with the use of metals as a metaphor (Kegan, 1982 pp.1). Ovid’s reflects spiritual and moral characteristics of humanity, as did Hesiod; common qualities present in both...
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...Art and CultureArt in ancient GreeceThe Charioteer of Delphi, Delphi Archaeological Museum. One of the greatest surviving works of Greek sculpture, dating from about 470 B.C. Source:WikipediaThe art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models. In the East, Alexander the Great's conquests initiated several centuries of exchange between Greek, Central Asian and Indian cultures, resulting in Greco-Buddhist art, with ramifications as far as Japan. Following the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards of Greek art inspired generations of European artists. Well into the 19th century, the classical tradition derived from Greece dominated the art of the western world.PeriodsThe art of Ancient Greece is usually divided stylistically into four periods: the Geometric, the Archaic, the Classical and the Hellenistic.As noted above, the Geometric age is usually dated from about 1000 BC, although in reality little is known about art in Greece during the preceding 200 years (traditionally known as the Dark Ages), the period of the 7th century BC witnessed the slow development of the Archaic style as exemplified by the black-figure style of vase painting. The onset of the Persian Wars (480 BC to 448 BC) is usually taken as the dividing line...
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... 2013 Comparison and Contrast Paper: Medieval Characteristics Heroes The early epic poem may have served to reinforce shared cultural values within a nation and provide a mythic history for a people. Ancient classical epics contain references to gods and magic and often feature a hero beset by mystical forces. Many later epics imitate these earlier works and may use similar literary conventions, depending on the culture. Early poems based on oral traditions are often called primary epics, while the later works are called secondary or literary epics. (The longman anthology of world literature: Compact edition, 2008). The ancient peoples of Mesopotamia, Greece and India produced several important epics that have continued to influence the development and study of literature for thousands of years. The ancient epic poem first emerged as an oral tradition to be re-told by storytellers throughout a culture. The development of writing in these areas allowed these stories to be written down and preserved for later generations. The Iliad and The Odyssey are early examples of the epic poem. Later Roman and other civilizations continued this literary tradition through the rest of the classical era. (http://ancienthistory.about.com) Pre-classical or ancient period hero; “The Aeneid is epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans under whose name Aeneas...
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...Study Guide for Exam #2 Religion!!!! 1. Canaanite Religion is the name of people who lived in the land before the Israelites got there. Prophecy; 1. Prophets are social critics they critique the flaws they see in society they also lay forth an alternative and they lay out a vision of what could be Navi means English prophet and prophet means messenger or spokesperson for god 2. Classical prophets are prophets that books that bear in their very own name and there are 15 classical prophets major and minor and they differ only in the size of books 3. They did not predict events of 100 or 1000 yrs more ahead of time. They envisioned the impact that it would have on them and the society. 4. H 5. H Hebrew poetry and wisdom literature 1. Cult refers to the outward ritual expressions of inner religious attitudes. Passover – annual holy day spring on the calendar –commemorated the deliberation of the slaves under mosses. Yom Kippur – most solemn day of the entire year national day of forgiveness (Day of Atonement) took place 10 days after New Year’s Day. 2. Parallelism – each line of the Hebrew poetry is divided in half and the first half and the second half operate in parallel with each other. Synonymous meaning that the two halves express the same idea; or they can be antithetical, meaning they express opposite ideas. Synonymous; the heavens are telling the glory of god; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Psalms (19; 1) Antithetical...
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...Confucian Humanism Magdalena A. Villaba If one word could characterize Chinese civilization, it would be Humanisn. Humanism is taken to generally mean- that man and his activities are given great importance. Thus, it is said that one of the characteristics of Chinese thought is this- worldliness- in other words, greater attention to life in this world. Humanism’s emphasis is on man’s self- dependence rather than dependence in heaven or the ancestors. In fact, it was a humanism that professes the utility of man and heaven. It is in this sense that humanism has dominated Chinese thought from the dawn of history. Humanism is an outgrowth of historical and social change. To understand Confucius, it is necessary to realize what sort of a world he lived in. He is criticized as having been too much interested in the orderly arrangement of affairs, but it must be remembered that he was trying to bring order out of something close to chaos. To hold his revolutionary ideas and to talk to them as he freely did in a world where these were extremely dangerous gave life adventure enough. Chinese history starts with the Shang dynasty. This civilization suffered a setback when in 1122 B.C., according to traditional chronology, the Shang were conquered by a coalition of relatively rude tribesmen. The conquerors were led by the Chou people who established the Chou dynasty. The invaders pushed their conquest to cover a considerable portion of North China, but it was impossible for them to administer...
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...Ancient India and G HUM 111 World C May 2, 2014 Comparing Sculptures of Ancient India and Greece were Ancient Greeks had sculptures depicting gods and goddesses, royalty, animals, and sports, like Olympic events. Greek pottery depicted stories, myths, everyday life, and sports as well. III Classical Notes on India [10] The name of India, so far as is known, first appears in Greek literature in the 5th century B.C. in the works of Hekataios and Herodotos. The word is derived from the Indus river (Sanskrit sindhumeans "river"), and in the Greek as well as the Persian language 'India" originally meant only the Indus region, which then belonged to the Persian Empire. Herodotos, however, already used the term in a wider sense to denote the whole country; and classical Greek usage followed his example. Prior to the time of Alexander, Greek knowledge of India was acquired on the whole by wav of Persia. King Cyrus, founder of the Persian empire and of the Achaemenid dynasty (reigned 559-530 B.C.), added to his territories the region called Gandhara, directly south of the Hindu Kush mountains. About 518-515 B.C. Dareios I extended this conquest southward as far as the Indus river. Thereby the Indus became the easternmost boundary of the vast Persian colossus, which sprawled across all of western Asia to include, after 546 B.C., most of the Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor. Communications between the extremities of this huge polity were now unimpeded by political frontiers...
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...The Death of Socrates vs. The Death of Perpetua Civil disobedience has been a common element in human behavior. From the time of antiquity to the present, people lash out in various ways against standards that society has placed upon citizens. Two ancient examples of disobedient actions come from different ages revered for standards that hold today and provide a basis for modern law; the Greek and ancient Roman empires. From the Greeks, we have come to know the story of Socrates as memorialized by Plato, and the Roman age was the time of Perpetua, an early Christian woman. The fate of those individuals is the same – a death sentence handed down by the society they lived in. Although the conclusion of their respective lives is the same, the differences that lie in the reasoning of their death run deeper, with several key factors impacting their individual destiny. As we will see, these factors affect their relationship to the states and time periods they existed. Understanding the differences between Socrates and Perpetua rests in two major elements. The first one is the role of religion and understanding of deities. Their respective beliefs affected their relationship with the state that decided their deaths. Beginning with Socrates, we must first remember that Greek society was polytheistic. Standards such as monotheism in Catholic terms did not exist. There were Gods that ruled over emotions, the land, sea, and even realms outside of human reach, such as Zeus in heaven and...
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...Ancient Greece The Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena, located on the Acropolis in Athens, is one of the most representative symbols of the culture and sophistication of the ancient Greeks. Part of a series on the | Modern Greece.Septinsular Republic.War of Independence.First Hellenic Republic.Kingdom of Greece.National Schism.Second Hellenic Republic.4th of August Regime.Axis occupation (collaborationist regime).Civil War.Military Junta.Third Hellenic Republic | History by topic.Art.Constitution.Economy.Military.Names | History of Greece | | Neolithic Greece.Neolithic Greece | Greek Bronze Age.Helladic.Cycladic.Minoan.Mycenaean | Ancient Greece.Homeric Greece.Archaic Greece.Classical Greece.Hellenistic Greece.Roman Greece | Medieval Greece.Byzantine Greece.Frankish and Latin states.Ottoman Greece | | Ancient Greece was a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BCto the end ofantiquity (c. 600 AD). Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in ancient Greece is the period ofClassical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Classical Greece began with the repelling of a Persian invasion by Athenian leadership. Because of conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic civilization flourished fromCentral Asia to the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. Classical Greek culture...
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...The Fundamental causes of the Crusades Derek A. Shuman The ancient World had the territorial Peleponesian war between Athens and Sparta. After that, the Persian swept in and conquered much of Greece, along with the rest of the Mediterranean area. Alexander retook possession of Greece, (along with much of the Mediterranean). Then came the Romans, who also conquered Greece, (along with much of the Mediterranean). But after the fall of the Roman Empire, the Eastern Mediterranean fell into the hands of the Muslims. So, since 638 AD, Jerusalem had been governed by Muslims. The Muslim Caliphs were, at heart, capitalists, and they tolerated Christian pilgrims because the tourist money helped the economy. But then, in the 1070s, Turks (who were recent Muslim converts) conquered these Holy Lands and mistreated the Jews and Christians, not realizing how useful their good will (and money) could be. The Byzantine Empire was also threatened by the Turks. Emperor Alexius asked the pope for assistance. Pope Urban II, a skillful orator, seeing an outlet for the violent energy of Christian knights, made an urgent speech calling for them to take back Jerusalem. Thousands responded, resulting in the First Crusade. Dates and Leaders of the Crusades: Urban II made his speech calling for Crusade at the Council of Clermont in November, 1095. He combined the idea of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with waging a war against the infidels. When he also promised complete absolution past present and future...
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...1 ANCIENT CHINA 1 Introduction and General Remarks for Ancient China Ancient civilizations of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians have long disappeared, but Ancient Chinese civilization and its transformation to modern times has lasted as the largest and most enduring one in human history. This is even more remarkable when observing the numerous leitmotifs of the Chinese society that were inaugurated so long ago, and many of these themes still resonate today. Ancestral worship, the Mandate of Heaven, and the numerous philosophical ideas, especially of Confucius, have been practiced or used for thousands of years. Remote and mysterious are two adjectives that Western Society has applied to China until recently. China is the only civilization where western thought had no influence until modern times, and also practically the only large region in the world where western men never ruled. For westerners, Chinese customs seem reversed to theirs. White is the color of mourning for the Chinese not black, and for them the left side is one of honor not the right side. Writing is read vertically from the top right-hand corner downward. These few differences reveal that Chinese culture evolved independently of western influences. One can only marvel at the longevity of Chinese civilization. Influence of Geography 2 Geography has played an important role in Chinese History as in most ancient, medieval, and modern cultures. While 85% of China is arid or inaccessible steppes...
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...Modern Performance and Adaptation of Greek Tragedy Helene P. Foley Barnard College, Columbia University “Leave it to a playwright who has been dead for 2,400 years to jolt Broadway out of its dramatic doldrums” begins a recent New York Times review (December 4, 1998) of a British Electra by Sophocles starring Zoe Wanamaker and Claire Bloom. This fall the Times has repeatedly remarked on the “deluge” of Greek tragedy in the 1998-99 theater season: the National Theater of Greece’s Medea, Joanne Akalaitis’ The Iphigeneia Cycle (a double bill that combines Euripides’ two Iphigeneia plays), a revival of Andrei Serban’s famous Fragments of a Greek Trilogy, and a four-and-a-half-hour adaptation of the Oedipus Rex were announced at the start of the season. Off-off Broadway versions will inevitably follow. The Brooklyn Academy of Music even hosted a dance/theatre piece based on the Eleusinian Mysteries. 1 The Classic Stage Company, an off-Broadway theater group devoted to performance and adaptation of Western classics, currently receives more scripts that re-work Greek tragedy than any other category of drama. 2 From a global perspective, New York is simply reflecting a trend set by important modern playwrights and directors worldwide. Greek drama now occupies a regular place in the London theater season. In the past twenty years, acclaimed productions have been mounted not only in Europe but also in Japan, India, and Africa. Translations are even beginning to proliferate in China, occasionally...
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