The Three Myths 13

The three myths I read today were Echo and Narcissus, Clytie, and Hero and Leander. All of them were about falling in love with someone who will never love you back. In Clytie, a water nymph falls in love with Apollo, who had left and made no return, She awaited him for so long, that eventually she became a flower. In Echo and Narcissus, several nymphs fall in love with a man called Narcissus. He never loves any of them back, which makes a goddess curse him in the same way. So one day, he sees his reflection in the water and falls in love with it. He stares at at it until eventually he too, becomes a flower. In the last myth, Leander falls in love with a hero who lived in an opposite shore. Every night, he took a swim to in company of her, but one day, the sees were rough and the man drowned. The hero became aware of this and also perished into the water.

Love is always a complicated matter, especially if you are in the shoes of one of these people. There is no bigger torture then to see that the person you love does not love you back. If you do have this love, then you put it in front of everything, even your own life, and would absolutely anything for it to be safe. Many people, like the characters in the myths I read, die without ever having their true love. I hope it will never to me because there should nothing sadder or lonelier than to die this way.

Greek Words

Labyrinth: An intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit.

“Pan’s Labyrinth” is a political fable in the guise of a fairy tale.

Palladium: anything believed to provide protection or safety; safeguard.

Palladium Equity Partners of New York has bought Houston’s Castro Cheese, the maker of La Vaquita cheeses and dairy products, the companies announced Monday.

Museum: A building or place where works of art, scientific specimens, or other objects of permanent value are kept and displayed.

The Museum of Television and Radio in a panel discussion examined why murder has been such a compelling ingredient to "The Sopranos."

Narcissism: Inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity.

NARCISSISTS will be pleased to know that they now hold the fascination of psychotherapists more than ever.

Odyssey: A long series of wanderings or adventures .

A Space Odyssey," a film in which infinite care, intelligence, patience, imagination and Cinerama have been devoted to what looks like the apotheosis of the fantasy of a precocious, early nineteen-fifties city boy.

Meander: To wander aimlessly

Economy Meanders, but Gas Prices Stick to Trend.

Protean: Readily assuming different forms or characters.

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - Protean Challenge

Nectos:

Stoical: Impassive; characterized by a calm, austere fortitude befitting the Stoics.

FILM REVIEW; Stoical War Heroes Who Endured

Herculean: Having great strength.

THAT loud, rippling sound heard all over town yesterday was Steve Reeves, the movie strong man, flexing his biceps in "Hercules Unchained" at neighborhood theatres.

Laconic: Using few words.

TELEVISION REVIEW;Laconic Portrait of a Laconic Hero.

Zephyr: A gentle, mild breeze.

Likewise, the Lincoln Zephyr, a midsize sedan that made its debut last year as a 2006 model, lasted in the big leagues barely long enough for the proverbial cup of coffee.

Nemesis: Ones biggest enemy.

A Nemesis of Matsuzaka May Intrigue the Yankees.

Flora: Plant life.

Flora With a Star in Its Corner.

Ambrosia: Something especially delicious to taste or smell.

Ambrosia is one of them, a private compound set on 2 lush acres just a block from Duval Street.

Hermetic: Not affected by outward influence or power; isolated.

The Heroic, the Hermetic and the Honky-Tonk.

Promethean: Creative; boldly original.

Sibylline: Of, resembling, or characteristic of a sibyl; prophetic; oracular.

Tantalize: To tease.

Delphic: Oracular; obscure; ambiguous.

Helicon: Coiled tuba carried over the shoulder and used esp. in military bands.

Platonic: Impossible.

Draconian: Rigorous; unusually severe or cruel.

Calypso: Sea nymph who detained Odysseus on the island of Ogygia for seven years.

Amazon: One of a race of female warriors said to dwell near the Black Sea.

Siren: A seductively beautiful or charming woman.

Mercurial: Changeable; volatile; fickle; flighty; erratic.

Procrustean: Tending to produce conformity by violent or arbitrary means.

Aurora: Dawn

Iridescent: Displaying a play of lustrous colors like those of the rainbow.

Panacea: A remedy for all disease or ills.

Lethargic: Of, pertaining to, or affected with lethargy; drowsy; sluggish.

Gorgons: A mean, ugly, or repulsive woman.

Harpies: A scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman; shrew.

Hydra: A persistent or many-sided problem that presents new obstacles as soon as one aspect is solved.

Lagniappe: a gratuity or tip.

Martial: Inclined to war.

Sophistry: False argument; sophism.

Fauna: Animal life.

Stentorian:Very loud or powerful in sound.

Phrygia: an ancient country in central and NW Asia Minor.

Victory: Having won something.

Gordian Knot: To act quickly and decisively in a difficult situation; solve a problem boldly.

Pandora´s Box: Bringing about many problems.

Cassandra: A person who prophesies doom or disaster.

The Sword of Damocles: Any situation threatening imminent harm or disaster.

Achilles: A great warrior.

Oedipus: Being obsessed with your mother and jealous of your father.

Midas: A person of great wealth or great moneymaking ability.

Hades: The abode or state of the dead.

Spartan: Being strong and brave.

Titanic: Huge in size.

Marathon: A race of 26 miles.

three myths 12

Diana and Acteon

This myth begins when a young man named Acteon, decides to go for a walk in the woods. Meanwhile, Diana the goddess, was being by her nymphs in a beautifully decorated cave. Not knowing this, Acteon walks into the caves a sees Diana unapparelled, making her very angry. She turns him into some type of animal and his own friends hunt man down. With his death, the goddess becomes satisfied. I´d like to compare the Diana in this myth, to celebrities nowadays. It happens all the time, someone young, attractive, and famous is caught exposing her private areas. To some of them, it happens accidentally, but there celebrities that do it on purpose. However, none of them can react the way Diana. Of course, they do feel ashamed, but the person responsible for it is never suffers like Acteon did. There is another difference too, the media nowadays is always in the lookout for something like this to happen, making it their fault. Acteon, on the other hand, accidentally walked into Diana while she was bathing, and he still got a way more severe punishment.

Latona and the Rustics

This myth was about a goddess, Latona, who finds a crystal clear lake in a valley. She had just been on a journey and was very thirsty, and thought of taking a drink of water from the lake. Unfortunately, when she tried to do this, the Rustic people who lived in the area, forbid her from taking water. No matter how much she begged, their answer was no. Enraged, the goddess put a curse on all the Rustics and turned them into frogs. This myth brings us to the argument about how humans waste water. Experts say that in just a few decades, water will become an issue of concern. Each year, humans are wasting gallons and gallons of drinkable water, even though there are millions of people out there dying of thirst each day. Soon, this amount will increase and it will be our children, the next generation, who will have to confront this problem. I´m not sure if the Rustics were trying to conserve water if they just selfish. In any case, they should have shared this resource while the world still had allot it.

Pygmalion-Dryope-Venus-and Adonis-Apollo-and Hyacinthus

Pygmalion was a sculpture. One day, he a create a perfect statue of a woman and immediately fell in love with it. This obsession lead the man to marrying his work of art. One day, he asked the gods to turn her into a real woman. Pygmalion went home to find out that his wish had come true. I believe it´s absolutely normal to be proud of something you made, but this man crossed the line. It´s even more than an obsession that he experiences, he actually falls in love with the statue. By doing this though, he is able to make the gods turn her into a real woman. Although he his act was extremely crazy, Pygamlion ends up having what he wanted.

Fallacies of Relevance

Our Moral Footprint

OVER the past few years the questions have been asked ever more forcefully whether global climate changes occur in natural cycles or not, to what degree we humans contribute to them, what threats stem from them and what can be done to prevent them. Scientific studies demonstrate that any changes in temperature and energy cycles on a planetary scale could mean danger for all people on all continents.

From what I could see, this paragraph uses three types of fallacies. The first, appeal to force. Just because of what the scientists said in the last sentence, then it´s a threat and must make us concerned. The second type is circumstantial. Due to the harm that humans causing to the planet, then author states an argument on climate changes. The last fallacy was appeal to emotion. Obviously, the text is trying to open our eyes to threat which we humans are inflicting on ourselves, giving it emotion.


It is also obvious from published research that human activity is a cause of change; we just don’t know how big its contribution is. Is it necessary to know that to the last percentage point, though? By waiting for incontrovertible precision, aren’t we simply wasting time when we could be taking measures that are relatively painless compared to those we would have to adopt after further delays?

This paragraph was a bit harder to analyze. I think that it´s only fallacy is an appeal to emotion again. I think so because it´s a logical issue which tries to affect our emotion. The text tries to make humans feel bad about what we are doing.

Maybe we should start considering our sojourn on earth as a loan. There can be no doubt that for the past hundred years at least, Europe and the United States have been running up a debt, and now other parts of the world are following their example. Nature is issuing warnings that we must not only stop the debt from growing but start to pay it back. There is little point in asking whether we have borrowed too much or what would happen if we postponed the repayments. Anyone with a mortgage or a bank loan can easily imagine the answer.

This paragraph was also tough. I did though, find an example of a snob approach. When the text states that other countries were following Europe and The U.S.A´s example, it showed that they did it because the ¨best people are doing it¨, even though it´s not doing any good for anyone. This could also be considered appeal to improper authority. Meaning that you follow someone or something superior even though it may not be reliable.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/opinion/27havel.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

The Three Myths 11

Apollo and Daphne

It all started when Apollo found Cupid playing with his arrows and told him to keep them because the boy was too young to have a weapon. Cupid responded by shooting Apollo with an arrow to excite love, and shot Daphne with an arrow that would repel it. This way, Apollo, no matter how hard he tried, would never be able to conquer the woman that cupid made him fall in love with. This story could be a representation of the several times in which a situation like this has occurred between humans. There is nothing worse than to fall deeply in love with someone who will never love you back. This was cupid´s punishment for Apollo, instead of causing him physical pain, which many believe is horrible, the boy made him feel a much deeper inner pain, which in my opinion, is much worse.

Cephalus and Procris

Cephalus was great in wood sports and loved hunting. He was gifted with a dog who could beat any rival, and a javelin which would never miss it´s prey. He loved his wife (Procris) very much, but every time he went out hunting , he would tell the wind that he was in love with the breeze. Procris got jealous and spied on him from behind a bush one day. She began sobbing when she heard her husband saying he loved the wind. When Cephalus heard the sound, he through his javelin at the bushes and killed her. In the story, I´m not quite sure whose fault it was that Procris died. There is nothing really wrong with loving the wind, but if Cephalus weren´t so addicted to hunting, then he never would have killed his wife. In the other hand, Procris should have stayed at home and trusted her husband. I´not sure either, the reason for her sobbing, just because he hoped for a cool breeze. It was both their faults, but a pity really because they loved each other so much.

Callisto

This myth was about a beautiful woman, Callisto, who even captivated Jupiter´ attention. Juno, who became very jealous of her, turned her into a bear. As a bear, she was in constant fear of hunters while other animals feared her. One day, she saw her son in the forest and approached him. The boy became alarmed and was about to shoot the bear down until Jupiter arrived and made constellation of both of them in the heavens. This myth shows the evil side of the gods, turning an innocent woman into a bear for life. There is also another very interesting part, when she was a bear, feared humans. This shows a bit of what the animals feel towards people who are trying to hunt them down. Finally though, she gets rewarded by living in the heavens with her son forever.

The Three Myths 10

Aurora and Tithonus

This myth tells us the story about the goddess of dawn who falls in love with the mortal Tithonus. She steals him away from his home and asks Jupiter to grant him inmortality. The wish was granted only that the goddess had forgot to mention eternal youth. So as the man became older and older, she began punishing him until he finally became a grasshopper. This myth makes me think that inmortality in many ways, is not the best thing you can ask for. Like Tithonus, you might eventually run out of things to do, places to go, and even become as useless as a grasshopper. Everyone has a task to complete in life, and once it´s over, then you die and your life ends.

Acis and Galatea

This myth was a about two beautiful women. One was chased by men all the time but could repel if she wanted to. The other was a goddess who had no escape from the man she married. Although many still do, I´m glad that parents don´t force their children´s marrige as much as they did before. It´s a basic and obviouse right for any human: rich, poor, intelligent,dumb, etc, to choose whom they will spend the rest of their lifes with. If parents just want their kids to be happy, let them make their own choices about their future.

Apollo and Daphne-Pyramus an Thisbe-Cephalus and Procris

This last myth sais that a python came out from the earth´s slime and began terrorizing people. Apollo, who had never used his arrow in such a situation, shot the beast down in one go. Because of this impressive act of skill anb bravery, he instituted the Pythian games. The Pythian Games (Delphic Games) were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games, held every four years at the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythian_Games.) Some of the activities in the tournament were: music, theater, athletic competitions, and chariot racing. The games lasted from 6-8 days, and from the records (which were mostly destroyed) we could tell that they were very glorious and glamerous. Like the Olympic games, the Pythian games also show the Greek´s determination and passion for sports.

The Three Myths 9

Roman Divinities

This myth mentions a basis of the gods in which the greeks and romans believed in. It explains the story of how it all began with the titans who ruled the universe, specially Cronos, and how the rest of the gods came to be. It helped me reflect on the differences between their religion and ours. The one which I believe to be the most important is that the Greeks and Romans completely created their gods, making them have a human aspect. Their probably just trying to show what a human with no fallacies would be like. It´s been proven though, that these gods never existed, and nobody believes in them any more. In the other hand, I´m a catholic, and my whole religion was created centuries before I was born. I believe in one God and scientists are still trying to prove if he really existed or not. Maybe the Greeks felt the same way about their gods in their time, as I feel about my god now. Who knows if there will be another religion centuries from now who will think of me the same way that I think of the Greeks.

Endymion

This myth was about a very attractive man who fed his flock on Mount Latmos. The whole story talks about how the gifts that this man recieved just for his beauty and youth. I have noticed that physical appearance has played a very important role in most myths I´ve read until now, specially among the gods and mythological creautures. These beings were supposed to be superior to humans, but in the end, they demonstrate very humanlike characterstics. Outer beauty is something that average people would pay attention to, but gods, who are not average, should instead look at the inside.

Orion

This myth is about the gian Orion who chooses to marry Diana, Apollo´s sister. Unfortunatley, Apollo doesn´t approve of this and tricks Diana into shooting and killing him while the giant was taking a swim. Once again, the Greeks show another human characteristic in the God Apollo. This characteristic is a mixture of jealousy and stubbornes which is the reason why Orion gets killed. His memory though, is still remembered in the stars witht he constellation that Diana made for him.

The Three Myths 8

Two out of the three myths I read today were about famouse Greek poets. These were Simonides and Sappho. Each poet had an inffluene to ancient Greece, and to all literature lovers today. "Simonides's genius was inclined to the pathetic, and none could touch with truer effect the chords of human sympathy." (P. 162). The "Lamentation of Danae" is his most inportant fragment which remains in poetry today.

"Sappho was a poetess who flourished in a ver early age of greek literature. Of her work, few fragments remain, but there are enough to establish her claim to eminent poetical genius."(P.163). This remarkable woman shows that female, just as much as male, were recognized as geniuses. In most greek stories, men are usually the ones who are act as heroes, or become a person who is remembered through all of history. Sappho though, proved that women also had power.

The writings of these two poets, not only have showed us he mentality of greek men and women, but they also have been the source of inspiration to many writers this century. Humans may never be able tot hink the same way as these people did, because our minds have become way more lazy and unable to view life the way the ancient greeks did. Some people say that we're getting smarter by the generation, but this confidence has also caused us alot of igorance.

The Three Myths 7

Adriadne

This myth was about a woman who was abandoned in an island by Theseus. A god feels sorry for her and sends her an inmortal husband, Bacchus. When Adriadne dies, Bacchus a constellation of his bride. Each of these patterns of stars holds a legend which have passed down through the Greeks. The constellations play an important role in modern astronomy. They bring order to the sky by dividing it into smaller segments, providing a base for naming celestial objects. (http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/const.html). Until this day, the Greek's stellar observations have helped us with our modern science.

The Rural Deities

This myth talks about Pan, the god of the woods and fields. Though he enjoyed exploring valleys, mountains, and other parts of nature, he was also dreaded by those who passed the forests at night. This reflects the fact that although nature has its amazing beauties, it also has its terrors. There are many things dwelling in ocean and land, that human should fear. Uncountable amounts of plants and animals have caused fatalities to people that we never saw coming. Shark attacks, poisonus plants, insects, and even just wilderness itself are examples of threats to us humans. Inspite of all its beauties, nature will always play some dirty trick on us.

Admetus and Algestis

This final myth was basically a fight for love between Ametus and Algestis. This is always the typical story fot humans. When someone falls in love with another, that person will do anything in his/her power to be lovved back. Ony true love will prvail and get you the prize that you faught for so much.

Op-Ed Response

Taxing the Hand That Feeds Us

REPUBLICAN presidential candidates can’t get elected without owning the tax issue. So far, the current crop is giving it away.

A huge reason for Ronald Reagan’s popularity was his cutting of all income-tax rates and ending of “bracket creep,” in which inflation pushed earners into higher tax groups. Congressional Republicans promised a tax credit for children while sweeping the 1994 elections. In 2000, George W. Bush promised to expand that tax credit and to reduce income taxes.

Yes, the top Republican contenders for 2008 are promising to keep all of Mr. Bush’s tax cuts. But the Democrats are not threatening the child tax credit or Mr. Bush’s reductions in the lower-level income-tax rates. Those issues are off the table.

(Taken from: http://www.nytimes.com)

This text was just a piece, taken from an op-ed article on the New York Times website. The very first paragraph, talks about the present. According to the table we made in class, its other characteristics woud be: demonstrative, values, heart, and pathos, but I beleive it's none of those. The paragraph, probably belongs more to the characteristics of Ethos, which are: charater, blame, and gut. This proves that our table doesn't fit all situations.

The second paragraph refers to the decisions of some american presidents in the past. Because of this, I once again think that it doesn't fit the column that it was placed in in class. It belongs more to mind and choice, when talking about Reagans reasons for success and Bush's promises in 2000.

The final paragraph is focused more on the future, when mentioning 2008. It does though, for once, fit the entire clolumn for logos. The facts in this paragraph show mind, and the republicans show choice. This proves that the theory made in class, about wheather the three types of rhetoric should be part of the table or not, coud sometimes fit an entire column, or vary with many different characteristics.

The Three Myths 6

Out of the three myths I read today, I decided to focus more on "The Olympic and Other Games." This caught my atention because I am very interested in the Athletism of the Greeks. "The first and most distinguished game were the Olympic, founded, it was said, by Jupiter himdelf." (P.124, Olympic and Other Games). What fascinates me the most, are the pricipals of sportsmenship that were used in the competition. I investigated an ancient latin quote which is nowadays used as the Olympic Motto:

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." This phrase teaches us that where you end up doesn't matter, it's how you get there that really matters. This idea could probably be considered as a pillar of competition.

There games were so inffluencial that they even exist now, centuries after they were invented. I researched some some of the olympic symbols and their meanings which are used nowadays.
The best known symbol is probably that of the Olympic Rings. These five intertwined rings represent the unity of five inhabited continents (with America regarded as one single continent). The Olympic Torch commemorates the attainment of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, when a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics.

The text states the following: "The excercises in hese games were of five sports: running, leaping, wrestling, throwing the quoit, and hurling the javeline, or boxing. " (P. 125, Olympic and other Games). Currently, the Olympic program consists of 35 different sports, 53 disciplines and more than 400 events. This shows how well the games have progressed and how thankful we should be to the Greeks.

(Information taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games#Olympic_sports)

The Three Myths 5

In this entry I chose to write about nymphs, because my three myths (The Camenae, The Winds, and Rhoecus) were all about these creatures. A nymph is any member of a large class of female nature entities, either bound to a particular location or landform or joining the retinue of a god. Nymphs live in mountains and groves, by springs and rivers, and in valleys and cool grottoes. In all the myths, there was a male character who falls in love with a nymph, probably showing that these are sensual and attractive creatures.

"Boreas loved the nymph Orithyia, and tried to play the lover's part, but met with poor success."(P. 141, The Winds).

"It was said that Numa, the second king of Rome, was favoured by this Nymph with secret interviews, in which she taught him those lessons of wisdom and of law which he embodied in the instructions of his rising nation. After the death of Numa the nymph pinned away and was changed into a fountain." (P. 141, The Camanae).

"Rhoecus , happening to seek an oak just ready to fall, ordered his serevents to prop it up. The Nymph, who had just been at the point of perishing with the tree, cam and expressed her gratitude to him for having saved her life and bade him ask what reward he would. Rhoecus boldly asked her love and the nymph yielded to his desire." (P. 138, Rhoecus).

These three quotes, taken from the myths I read, demonstrate the life, actions, and role of the nymphs in greek mythology. As I stated before, they all belong to nature, and in a way, they reflect it's beauty. Maybe this is exactly what they were intended to show, the hidden beauty of nature, beyond what men could see.

The Three Myths 4

Today, I decided to read three myths about the water deities, Netune, Amphitrite, and Nereus and Doris. Before anyone, Oceanus and Tethys were the two Titans who ruled over the watery elements. Jove and his brothers overthrough these Titans, assuming their power. Neptune and Amphitrite succeeded to the dominion of the waters in place of Oceanus and Tethys.

The first myth was about Neptune, the chief of the water dieties. His symbol of power was his trident, a the three-pronged spear. He used this to shatter rocks, create storms, and to shake the entire ocean. The second myth told us about Amphitrite, the wife of Neptune and the daughter of Nereus and Doris. These were also the parents of Nereides, dthe most celebrated of whom were Amphitrite, Thetis, the mother of Achilles, and Galatea.

The "diagram" above gives a brief description of the water deities family tree, beginning with Nereus and Doris, their children, Neptune getting married with Amphitrite, and the last generation of children.

Rhetoric

This first quote uses logos because it makes a logical statement about the new pilot program.

A new pilot program, however, would require that any Mexican trucks approved for entry into the United States be inspected for safety every three months. http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/opinion/11tue2.html&OQ=_rQ3D1Q26nQ3DTopQ2FOpinionQ2FEditorialsQ2520andQ2520Op-EdQ2FEditorials&OP=352fdfc5Q2FJQ7CLcJ2nDQ3Efnn9IJIeeQ23JeQ5EJQ25Q25Jn8i_in_JQ25Q259Q26LIl@9d(

This next quote uses uses a bit of logos in the first sentence, just proving something logic, but stating the crash made it Pathos.

It is of utmost importance to ensure the safety of Mexican trucks — or any trucks — driving on American highways. This was underscored yesterday by the spectacular crash and explosion of a truck carrying explosives in northern Mexico that killed at least 37 people. http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/opinion/11tue2.html&OQ=_rQ3D1Q26nQ3DTopQ2FOpinionQ2FEditorialsQ2520andQ2520Op-EdQ2FEditorials&OP=352fdfc5Q2FJQ7CLcJ2nDQ3Efnn9IJIeeQ23JeQ5EJQ25Q25Jn8i_in_JQ25Q259Q26LIl@9d(

This next statement falls under the Pathos category because they criticizing the Homeland security.

And there’s no reassurance to hear Homeland Security officials defend their slow progress, arguing that there has been no similar attack since. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/opinion/10mon3.html?n=Top/Opinion/Editorials%20and%20Op-Ed/Editorials

This statement sounds like it's using Ethos, showing the authority and abillity of the agency.

The agency has proved far better at developing security plans than at implementing them. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/opinion/10mon3.html?n=Top/Opinion/Editorials%20and%20Op-Ed/Editorials


This last quote is also Ethos because it shows the character of the experts.

To be fair, experts say the difficult task of consolidating and reshaping the many rival bureaucracies will likely require two to three more years, and there has been moderate progress in some target areas. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/opinion/10mon3.html?n=Top/Opinion/Editorials%20and%20Op-Ed/Editorials

The Three Myths 4

This time, I decided to read three myths about Perseus. These were: Perseus and Medusa, Perseus and Atlas, and The Sea Monster. They go in chronollogical order from the moment he was born, to the moment he finds his bride.

It all begun with Perseus and Medusa, when the young man was destined to kill thse monster who turned any creature that looked her in the eye to stone. Perseus sneaks up to Medusa while she was asleep and cuts her head off. This was his first of many acts of bravery. The hero (son of Jupiter) continues his journey to the western limit of earth where he confronts King Atlas, a wealthy giant. Perseus only asked for food and rest but the king refused. As a result, the giant was turned to stone after being shown the head of Medusa. The last adventure was when Perseus travels to the country of the Aethiopians. The kings daughter was being held as a sacrifice to a sea monster. The hero offers to save her only if he gets the princess as a prize. Perseus ends up killing the serpent of the ocean a taking the kings daughter as his bride.

These three stories could actually be referred to as the epic of Preseus. It fits all the description given by Aristotles, some of which were: Has a character we admire, who would be represented as Preseus, and It has no exact time. The only condition that it doesn't fit is that it is not written in verses.

The Three Myth's 3

This time, I chose to read the myth's of The Centaurs, The Pygmies, and The Griffin. All of them are based on the stories of three different species of mythological creatures. I believe that each one of these species represent a type of person in our nowaday society. The text describes centaurs as "men from head to loins, while the remainder of the body was that of a horse." (P. 102). It also states that some centaurs were rude while others were nice. In the marrige of Prithous with Hippodamia, one centaur gets drunk and sexually harasses the bride, giving an inferiror name to the entire species. There are incredible amounts of humans nowadays who act in the same way. It's the typical routine of going to a party, getting too much to drink, and making an unintelligent move which ruins it for everyone.

The pygmies, in the other hand, were "a nation of dwarfs" (p. 103) who apparently seemed to be agressive and warlike, but facing challenges far beyond what they could handle. "An army of pygmies which finding Hercules asleep, made preparations to attack him, as if they werw about to attack a city. But the hero, awaking, laughed at the little warriors, wrapped some of them up in lion skin, and carried them to Eurystheus." (P. 103) Many people in our society seek fights way out of their league, just to prove how tough they are. This people are represented by the warrior pygmies.

The last species are the Griffin, "a monster with the body of a lion, the head and wings of an eagle, and back covered with feathures. " (P. 103). The griffins were more honorable and respectful creatures, who searched for gold in the mountains and made nests out of them. Griffins would represent the succesful and talented human beings who have superiority over the rest.

The Three Myth's 2

The three myths I chose to read were Amphion, Linus, and Marsyas. Although very short, all of them had a story write about. It was interesating to see how in two out of the three myths, the main character gets punished with death instead of honor and glory. In the story of Linus, it states that "Linus roused the anger of Hercules, who struck him with his lyre and Killed him." (p.155) Marsyas ended up the same way Linus did. He (Marsyas) was tempted to challenge apollo himself to a musical contest. "The god of course triumphed, and punished Marsyas by flaying him alive." (P. 155). There are still though, just as many myths with positive endings as there are with negative. In the story of Amphion, Amphion ends up being king. "Amphion, having become king of Thebes, fortified the city with a wall." (P. 155). This proves that the main character doesn't always come out winning. As you can tell, both Linus and Marsyas were killed by gods, meaning that they had to have done something wrong. Or maybe the myth's were just trying to show us what the fury of a god could cause. Like I said, there has to be meaning to why sometimes these stories show a character prevailing, while others show the character failing.

The Three Myths

Today I read three creation myth's based on the belief's of very different cultures. These were the Koreans, the Greeks, and the Mayas. Each of them had a touch of uniqueness, distinguishing them from one another. The Korean myth was very interesting because in the beginning of the myth, a Heavenly Prince asks his father for the "beautiful" peninsula of Korea. This is surprising to me because out of all the places on earth this prince could have chosen from, he picked the peninsula of Korea, and it had to be for a reason. This brings me to a concept that every culture's creation myth is written or explained as if that culture was the only one in their creator's mind. The same hapens with the Mayan myth, where two all powerfull beings imagine whatever they wanted to create. The story tells us how the gods made the Mayan's earth, mountains, trees, and finally, after several attempts, the actual Mayans. The Greek myth wasn't any different. This culture tells us how the three most powerful gods, divided the earth into three parts, Zues being the god of gods, Poseidon being the god of the oceans, and Hades being the god of the underworld. Again, I state my point that every myth was written with the conscience that they were the perfect, or ideal civilization according to the gods they believed in.

How Much Shall We Bet?

This is a text which shows how the universe, galaxies, the solar system, our earth, and any other type of cellular life couldn't help to be born. The author used the story of two beings, who spent their time betting on the outcome of of several things yet to happen in the universe, the choice was virtually unlimited. At first, their conversations were about what would happen in outer space, until one of them succeeded in suggesting eventualities that had no apparent connection with what they were arguing about, these eventualities were about human's and earth. Strangley the being that would always's win with events having to do with nebulas, supernovas, etc, lost all of his bets when it came to humans. It was as if his calculation's wouldnt't work on people. It is unclear to me why he always lost. Maybe it was just because we couldn't help to be different and unpredicatable. Just one thing is for sure and it's that the natural path the universe was taking, changed when the human race came into existance.

The text states that "According to cybernetics, the universe is formed by a series of feedbacks, positive and negative, at first through the force of gravity that concentrates masses of hydrogen in the primitive cloud, then through nuclear force and centrifugal force which are balanced with the first. From the moment that the process is set in motion, it can only follow the logic of this chain." I'm thinking that this chain eventually lead to human beings, immediatley giving it a feedback. My only guess is that it only affected the chain in a negative way, prooving the reason why Ofwfq (the being that always won the bets) began losing against the Dean.

Final Entry

In class, we were able to conclude that Gilgamesh is an epic. But the question though, still keeps coming up, what exactly is an epic? I've decided to answer this question not only with a definition, but with proof from the text.

First off, an epic should have a hero of imposing status, national or international importance, and of great historical or legendary significance. Obviously, this description is referring to Gilgamesh, a man one third human, and two thirds god. Not only this, but he was also king of the dominant city of Uruk, which brings us straight to our next characteristic: an epic's setting is vast, covering many nations, worlds or even the universe. Uruk is not the only place where the story takes place. For all we know, the Cedar forest, or the sea of death could have been miles away from the city. In the epic, they describe distances in leagues, I honestly don’t know how much that is, but I’m sure its way more than we think.

An epic's action refers to deeds of great valor which require heroic courage to achieve. Supernatural forces such as gods, angels, or demons are the ones who interest themselves in this action. It's easy to say that it would take more than an average being to accomplish what Gilgamesh did. He fought and defeated Huwawa, the demon of the cedar forest, killed the bull from heaven which Ishtar the godess had sent to him as a punishment, was able to reach Utnapishtim after undergoing a terrible journey, and lastly, he even rescued his friend Enkidu from the Nether World.

To finish my analyzation of an epic, I will say that they all have a style of sustained elevation and that the poet retains a measure of objectivity. This means that most epics are not influenced by the author's emotion or personal opinion. Who knows what the author of Gilgamesh was thinking when he wrote it, but he definitely made it fit the genre's conditions.

The Resurrection of Enkidu

The last section of the book had some parts that were quite challenging for me to understand. The following quote explains one of them.

"The Drum and Drumstick I had in the Carpenter's house, where the Carpenter's daughter was, and the carpenter's wife and daughter were like my mother and sister the Drum and Drumstick that I had fallen down through a hole into the Nether World, out of my sight, down through the hole in the floor."

It was hard for me to discover the symbolical reference of the Drum and Drustick. At first, I just thought they reprensented Enkidu, who had had died and gone to the Nether World. It was a good generalization until I read that Enkidu volunteered to bring it back, meaning the drum couldn't be him. My other guess was that idea could be literal, not symbolic. It could always be an option that Gilgamesh had some sort of drum and drumstick that meant alot to him, of course, this idea is very improbable, taking into account the fact that something so important should ahve mentioned or explained before. As for the part where Gilgamesh mentions the carpenter's daughter and wife, I can can only assume it means what he says it does, that they were like his mother and sister. Who know's what connection between the carpenter's family was with the drum and drumstick, the only thing im sure of is that they relate to the resurrection of Enkidu.

(This entry is the one for pages 85-92, not the final one)