...Research Essay Topic 1 Moshe Carroll Many religions mean many myths. Every religion has unique teachings that it will almost never share with another religion. The creation of man is taught in numerous ways and commonly the foundation of every religion. Greek mythology teaching say that man was created out of dirt and life was breathed into the man. Taoism states that two natural forces create man. Hinduism believes that man was created from Brahman. These three myths about the creation of man all share some similarities, but many differences. The Greek mythology myth of the creation of man has many versions to it. The most common version begins by saying that Prometheus and Epimetheus, two Titans, created man. Prometheus...
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...Pandora from the legendary myth, Pandoras Box, is a great example of a few greek values. Pandora means "all gifted." Pan means all and dora means gift. Pandora was gifted in everything, due to the gifts from the gods. Pandoras tale varies in detail. Each person interrupts it a different way, like art. This shows how beautiful the story really is. It has many valuable lessons to be learned. Pandoras story starts thousands of years ago, in the home of all the lovely gods. Prometheus was a kind god, some say he was too kind. One day, Zeus bitterly hid fire from the humans; fire was the key to their survival. Prometheus saw this, and felt sympathy for the terrified mortals. He decided to steal the fire back from Zeus and entrust it back...
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...learn from the sublime achievements and terrible errors of their Gods. And to our great intrigue, it appears that even almighty Zeus, the “king of the gods” (3), “the god of gods, who rules according to law” (118), is capable of committing nefarious acts such as brutal torture, deception, violence, rape, and infidelity against his fellow Olympians. His immoral actions are often done in response to other deity’s attempts to defy his will or usurp his power, as seen in Zeus’ harshly unbridled retribution towards Prometheus—the Titan who stole the sacred flame from Olympus for humanity, and as punishment, was chained to a mountain peak and mutilated (95-96). While Theogony presents Zeus’ response as just, a tension arises from the Prometheus myth, as we cannot help but view the rebellious Titan as our “savior figure” (121), who rescued humanity from eternal darkness and the wrath of Zeus. Prometheus’ crime does not warrant the agony Zeus forces upon him, which casts the wise ruler of the cosmos in an unethical and rather ungodly...
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...Compare and contrast the Biblical creation myths with other creation myths from Greece and the Ancient Near East. This essay will compare and contrast the Biblical creation myths with other creation myths from Greece and the Ancient Near East. It will first discuss the initial creation of the universe followed by the creation of mankind and finally the recreation of man whilst drawing parallels to Sumerian and Babylonian texts, The Old Testament and Hesiods Theogony. In paying particular attention to the chronology of each myth it will be shown that the creation myths regarding the universe and mankind evolved from as far back as the Sumerian stories. From the fragmented Sumerian tablets discovered throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries , (that date back as far as the third millenium B.C.) Sumerologists, such as Samuel Noah Kramer, have deciphered the oldest cosmogonic concepts ever found . Kramer explains that because the Sumerians lacked "scientific methods of definition and generalization " to make sense of the origins and the working of the universe they attempted to provide explanation through the use of poetry, epic tales and hymns . The only scientific information they had access to was what could be seen around them, that being Earth, Air, Heaven and Water , and according to the Ancient Sumerians it was through these essential elements that the universe came to be and it begins with Nammu, the primeval sea. From the primeval sea was born...
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...Stories of Pandora and Eve The Greek myth of Pandora and the Hebrew story of Eve both relate the creation of the first woman, but the woman was created for different reasons. The story of Pandora is about the betrayal of a titan, named Prometheus, who stole fire from Zeus and the gods and gave it to man. As a punishment, a woman was created to bring misfortunes to mankind. In the story of Eve, a woman was created by God as a companion for man, but she also brought misfortunes to man. Although both stories are about the creation of the first woman and how their disobedience is the source of despair for mankind, the story of Eve has a more positive view of women. In the Greek myth of Pandora, the creation of the first woman was ordered by Zeus as a gift to punish man for stealing fire. Zeus ordered the other gods to create Pandora. She was given several traits by different gods such as beauty, musical talents, healing, manual dexterity, and gardening. Pandora was lovable, talented and was the ideal female. In addition, Pandora was also given a box and told never to open it. Yet, given the traits of foolishness and curiosity, she opened the box and released the misfortunes that afflict mankind. In the story of Eve, the creation of the first woman was by God, who decided that Adam should not be alone : “It is not good that the man should be alone. I shall make him a helper meet for him” Gen Ch2; 18. Therefore, God caused a deep sleep on Adam and He took one of his ribs and...
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...to explain the creation of ourselves, and of the entire universe. These stories, known as myths, help characterize the culture from which they derive, and in essence are part of every human being who is part of a culture or group. Myths are diverse and intricate, with completely different outcomes and views. However, taking a closer look at these stories there are countless similarities between each explanation of how humanity came to be. Though the cultural groups that make up humanity are vastly different, their myths have similar aspects to them that cannot be considered just a mere coincidence. The Greek myth “Pandora’s Box”, the Iroquois myth “the Diver” and the Judeo Christian myth Genesis all have similar “universal” characteristics....
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...mythology, the image of woman is always accompanied by the image of slave. Slavery connotations reflect the basic norms of patriarchy that dominated Greek and Roman societies. Like slaves, women were often excluded from the public life and were destined to carry the burden of male discrimination on their shoulders. It would be fair to say, that in Greco-Roman mythology, women (both mortal and immortal) reflect and exemplify the two radical sides of femininity – female subordination and submissiveness to male power, and female rage and monstrousness as a rebel against the existing power and social order in their society. Greco-Roman mythology is an excellent source of knowledge about power relations between men and women. Greek and Roman myths provide abundant information about the place women occupied in their society and the methods they used to rebel against their social inferiority. In Greco-Roman mythology, the image of woman is always accompanied by the image of slave. A woman (either mortal or immortal) is often depicted in her utmost submissiveness to a man. Greco-Roman mythology depicts a woman in situations that make it difficult for her to change the existing social...
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...method for clarifying the world from their own particular perspective. Along these lines, there is to be perceived a separation in each society's perspective of the world and, as Joseph Campbell expressed in his book Myths to Live By, a sure "solidarity of our species." The characterizing contrasts and similarities between most societies can particularly be found in every society's close to home story of creation. The story of Genesis in the Bible, for instance, could give a lot of knowledge into the comprehension of the world in the brains of a noteworthy part of the United States today. As talked about in Genesis: A Living Conversation, the maker, God, in this section of the book of scriptures, is seen regularly by numerous Americans as a parental figure, and in contrasting this creation story with others, for example, the Greek story of creation by Hesiod and the Zuni myth of rise, one would be connecting the myths of three human advancements as well as the most essential thoughts of these three civic establishments. In this article, I will thoroughly analyze the creation stories of the Bible, the Zuni, and Hesiod through their topics of the primordial void before creation, the fall of mankind into what we now know, and the female central. In numerous myths of creation, there is the real trick of a period before time and/or space and/or request – a thought of nothingness before something goes along to set things in movement. The primary sentence of Genesis states "At the...
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...Short essay on Avatar Myths are supernatural or religious tales with cultural and historical backgrounds, often containing moral lessons that are valued by the culture they originated from. The movie Avatar is a modern myth, its popularity stemming from the inspiration it draws from familiar and widespread themes found in classical myths. Avatar reuses and refreshes these themes for current audiences. Ancient stories such as those of Icarus, Prometheus, Gilgamesh, and Hercules, as well as contemporary issues, represent many of the same themes that are revealed in Avatar. Avatar is the title of the high grossing film produced by James Cameron and released in 2009. the movie stars Sam Worthington, Stephen Lang, Zoe Saldana, Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver. It is set in the year 2154 on the moon Pandora found in the Alpha Centauri system. The moon is inhabited by a blue-colored humanoid tribe known as the Na’vi. Humans have discovered a mineral, unobtainium, on Pandora. The mining activities by humans have led to conflicts between then and the native Na’vi tribe. The title of the film is taken from the genetically altered human-Na’vi hybrids created by a team of researchers from earth. The avatars are used by the researchers to help in interacting with the Na’vi. Though the movie is about the Na’vi-human conflict on Pandora, it is also mainly about the love relationship that develops between the avatar Jake (played by Sam Worthington) and a native Na’vi, Neytiri (Zoe...
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...Mythology Name Institution Mythology Ancient Greeks were a highly religious people. They believed in many gods who had superhuman powers and strength and appeared in human form. Prometheus was an ancient Greek god, son of Lapetis and Themis. He was brother to Atlas, Menoetius and Epimetheus. He became considered as the god of wily intelligence, craftsmanship and forethought. His main work was to create mankind out of clay (earth and water). It is from this work that Prometheus developed his fond liking for mankind (Jone, 2009). He strived to make mankind have more power than the liking of Zeus who was the supreme ruler of the gods. Ancient Greek viewed Prometheus as the god who championed mankind’s interest. Prometheus is famous for a couple of incidences discussed below. THE STORY OF FIRE According to classic Greek mythology; at some point in the reign of Zeus, mankind and gods were disputing and to settle the dispute, Zeus and Prometheus devised a ceremonial party in the form of animal sacrifice. Once slaughtered, Prometheus divided the animal parts into two. In one part, he wrapped up ox-bones in fat of the slaughtered animal while the other part he wrapped up the main ox-meat using its stomach lining. To rival Zeus judgment ability, he presented both parts of the sacrifice to Zeus while wrapped and proceeded to ask Zeus to choose from the two. Zeus proceeded to choose the part covered in fat not knowing it only contained bones in it...
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...People love listening to stories. One of the most fascinating are the Greek myths. These stories are based on gods and goddesses and their heroic tales. It was a part of the Ancient Greece religion, but not many people know how they originated. The earliest Greek myths were a part of an oral tradition that began in the Bronze Age. In 700 B.C. a poet named Hesiod wrote the Theogony, which was the first written origin story of greek mythology. This story was about the creation of the universe and the family tree for the gods and goddesses. After that, other writers expanded on this story. One of the most commonly known things about Greek mythology is the gods and goddesses who live on Mount Olympus which is the highest mountain in Greece. The gods and goddesses ruled every aspect of human life from there. Some of the main ones are Zeus, king of all gods, Hera, queen of all gods, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Poseidon. Some of these stories teach life lessons and heroic attributes of some of the characters. The birth of these gods was quite the story. At the beginning of the story the god of earth, Gaia, and her son, Uranus, mated and had a child named Cronus. When Cronus got powerful, he overthrew his father's...
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...Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Houle, Michelle M. Gods and Goddesses in Greek Mythology / Michelle M. Houle. p. cm. — (Mythology) Includes bibliographical references and index. Summary: Discusses various Greek myths, including creation stories and tales of principal gods and goddesses. ISBN 0-7660-1408-8 1. Mythology, Greek—Juvenile literature. [1. Mythology, Greek.] I. Title. II. Mythology (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) BL782 .H68 2000 398.2’0938’01—dc21 00-028782 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Our Readers: All Internet Addresses in this book were active and appropriate when we went to press. Any comments or suggestions can be sent by e-mail to Comments@enslow.com or to the address on the back cover. Cover and illustrations by William Sauts Bock CONTENTS Chart of Major Gods and Goddesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The War Between the Titans and the Olympians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Prometheus and Earth’s First Inhabitants . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Pandora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Demeter and Persephone . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Dionysus and His Followers . . . . . . . . . 75 Baucis and Philemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Echo and Narcissus . . . ....
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...close companionship with nature; and the real interest of the myths is that they lead us back to a time when the world was young and people had a connection with the earth, with trees and seas and of flowers and hills, unlike anything we ourselves can feel. Section 1: Honestly to begin with The Greeks did not believe that the gods created the universe it was thought the other way around that The Greeks thought the universe created the gods. Before there was god's heaven...
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...and New Testament, is the basic scripture for Christians, and although Christianity and Greek Mythology are very distinct, they are similar in many interesting ways. Statement of Purpose I am a Christian, and in writing this piece I am in no way saying that Christianity is a myth. It is my intention to point out how Greek mythology and Christianity are similar, and nothing more. It is interesting to learn how ancient people lived and worshiped, and psychology finds mythology useful in classifying modern modes of action. Three Major Ways Greek Mythology and Christianity are Similar Although the gods and heroes of Ancient Greece are not worshiped today, this ancient religion is still comparable to modern Christianity. Greek mythology and Christianity are similar in that they: (1) teach a moral way of life; (2) teach that a woman (Pandora or Eve) caused the downfall of mankind; (3) and both have a savior figure. Although Greek mythology and Christianity are similar, they differ in their concept of sacrifice, punishment, and doctrine, and I will discuss this in a separate piece. A Moral Way of Life To begin, Greek mythology and Christianity are similar in that they both teach a moral way of life. Every myth in the ancient Greek culture was comprised to teach some sort of lesson. The story of Arachne illustrates how Christianity and the stories of Greek mythology are similar. 123 Arachne expressed extreme hubris or pride in her weaving abilities; excessive hubris was considered...
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...Krystal Jones Mrs. Labouchere 10th lit/ comp February 18, 2012 Zeus from Pandora’s Box is classified as the trickster because he tricked man and doomed the world with evil things. The Greek myth, “Pandora’s Box”, the author uses Zeus as a trickster to portray a theme that we should never trust our enemies no matter how good they pretend to be. Zeus’ precise will to punish early mankind for having any benefit through the tricks that Prometheus, the divine benefactor of human beings, played at Zeus’ expense. In the beginning of the story, Zeus thought that since he was the chief god, anything he wanted went his way. Back then, at any meal, gods and goddesses were allowed to pick out what they desired before any other person. So Zeus , being the chief god, “took the largest portion he could see” thinking it was covered with the most meat. When he found out that Prometheus replaced the actual meat with bones, his anger level rose very quickly and that’s when he decided to seek revenge. Zeus thought that just because he was the chief god, every best thing would be made just for him and him alone to devour( in this case). Even though he is chief god, he should at least be considerate of others and not get mad because his expectations were not met. After finding out what Prometheus had done to him, Zeus “declared that men would never have the luxury of fire on earth”. If anybody knew what...
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