...In mythology, one of the main reasons that the trickster character holds an archetypical position is because they don’t simply symbolize trickery or deceit, they also exhibit intellect and secret knowledge. Specifically in Greek mythology, Prometheus is an excellent examples of a trickster who uses typically frowned upon means to achieve positive ends. “When gods and mortal men divided up an ox; Prometheus audaciously set out the portions, trying to deceive the mind of Zeus” (Devinney/Thury 486). When Zeus demands a sacrifice from humans, Prometheus presents him two different bundles of animal parts. Tricking him by making the bundle with the useful and edible animal parts look unappealing with bones on the top, encouraging Zeus to leave the...
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...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 type of person Zeus was, then getting him angry would not...
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...knowledge is represented in the Prometheus myth. The punishment of Prometheus is a reflection of the double nature of knowledge: it can be used for the benefit or the destruction of humanity. The influence and legacy of the Promethean myth can be traced through history. It has been reused and recycled until it holds a distinctly familiar, yet strangely obscure grip on the imagination. There is no doubt that the Promethean tradition has become an everyday aspect of literary and artistic society: Shakespearean lines such as “Women’s eyes are the source of true Promethean fire” to “And faster bound to Aaron’s charming eyes, than is Prometheus tied to the Caucaus” illustrate this. The great Romantic Poets offered their interpretations of the myth in Byron’s “Prometheus” and Shelley’s sequel “Prometheus Unbound”. Milton used the Promethean myth to shape his characterisation of Satan in Paradise Lost; indeed The Book of Genesis can be seen as an example of the complete Promethean myth: Adam’s temptation with forbidden knowledge and subsequent fall from grace completely encapsulates the Prometheus myth. In this case it is an example of a Greek myth being appropriated and assimilated into Christian, Jewish and Islamic dogma. A more contemporary example is Hitler’s description of Napoleon : “He is the Prometheus of Mankind.” The myth also poses the motif of one man toiling against the odds, the example of a defiant hero or rebel risking all for the many. Prometheus is up against Zeus, leader...
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...intimation why Frankenstein is called the modern Prometheus? See after reading voluminous kinds of the monster/book named Frankenstein, I believe that sundry people essentially believe Victor is and why called the modern Prometheus, because the enchanting what should be solitary the veracious of God, to give supplementary creatures or human beings life. It’s like a sequence second in mandate, you must remember, when studying Frankenstein’s creation that he was not unfluctuating close to being evil when he was first created he became motivated very hastily even towards his dark ends by the rejection and torments at the hands of human beings. He was not evil by nature but he was made to. A lot of people look down on Frankenstein but doesn’t realize what he has gone though they should look down on the creator of the monster, why Frankenstein rejected the...
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...CULTURAL EVENT REPORT Submitted by Juliet Barnett Professor D. Amore Humanities 112 September 6, 2012 As a result of the Norton Museum of Art being closed, I had no choice but to do this project on line. The Museum I chose to visit was the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I have always wanted to visit this particular museum and I hope that I will. On September 4th 2012 I visited the Online Museum of the Philadelphia Museum of Art After navigating through the site looking at different works of art and sculptures, I felt so lost in all that I saw it was as if I was transported back in time, I could visualize the painters at work, and it was as if I could feel their passion radiating from these canvases, the vibrant colors, the elaborate brush strokes and attention to minute details all brought across the message of these paintings I spent close to two hours looking at paintings dating from the Baroque period all the way into the modern age but the paintings that really caught my eyes were those from the 17th century. Of these the ones that made an impression on me were: 1. “Virgin and child with Angel” painted in 1642 by Simon Vouet in France. This portrays a virgin half sitting, half crouching with a cherubic infant on her hips while her focus was on the basket of fruits that she was eating from, oblivious of the angel to her right that was playing with the infant in her arms. The scenery is painted overshadowed by a large tree, possibly an Oak; in the distance...
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...“Prometheus” Gustave Moreau’s painting “Prometheus” (1868) depicts the ancient myth of the struggle between Prometheus and Zeus, and Prometheus’ resulting punishment. Moreau uses vivid imagery and fine detail to convey the dark relationship between the Titan and the Leader of the Gods. According to Hesiod’s Theogony, Prometheus was a Titan who advised Zeus to take control and obtain absolute power in the Olympian world. The two ended up having a fall out over the issue of the welfare of mankind. Prometheus aided Man with the arts and science of civilization in order to help them progress while Zeus wanted to destroy Man, and create a new race. At a feast between mortals and gods, Prometheus tricked Zeus into eating the less desirable portion of the meal and giving the most desirable parts to those who Prometheus favored. Angered, Zeus revoked Man’s privilege of using fire, and Prometheus, in turn, stole fire back for them. This did not sit well with Zeus, so he banished Prometheus to Mount Caucasus, where he was essentially doomed to having an eagle feast at his liver every day. Despite enduring this pain over and over again, Prometheus defiantly withheld a secret that Zeus dearly wanted. This secret was the identity of Zeus’ future mate, with whom he would have a child who would end up committing patricide. Several generations later, the hero Hercules appeared to save Prometheus by slaying the eagle. Eventually, Prometheus and Zeus reconciled, but Prometheus continued to...
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...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! Here, Prometheus had tricked Zeus into believing that the part covered in fat would contain the best meat. In so doing...
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...Pieces of literature including Prometheus, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the Inferno, the Bible and Paradise Lost are often referred to throughout the book, especially Prometheus, the sub title of the book is The Modern Prometheus, Shelley is obviously alluding to the myth of Prometheus. Shelley would have never put the subtitle of the book as The Modern Prometheus if she didn’t want her audience to consider it while reading Frankenstein. In the myth Prometheus, Prometheus created man out of clay, as well stole fire from the sun, and gave to man. The actions of Prometheus made Zeus very angry, and he was condemned for his said actions, his punishment was to be bound to a rock for eternity while an eagle pecked at his liver. In Frankenstein, no one was condemned to have their liver pecked at, but Frankenstein was condemned by having his whole family murdered by the monster. He wanted to play God, and create something, and just like in Prometheus, a new creation was made, and because someone else wanted to play God, they were punished. On page 45, Shelley clearly alludes to Prometheus with the creation of man by clay, “Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil as I dabbed among the unhallowed damps of the grave or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay?”. Frankenstein created the monster out of parts of other humans, he literally dug people up, and took their body parts, from the dirt, he created something new, and in Prometheus, from the clay, he created...
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...Deities and Lesser Spirits Worksheet Choose one myth from each of the following myth categories: the Supreme Being, the Great Mother, the dying god, and the trickster. Answer the questions that follow. ------------------------------------------------- Supreme Being Myth Myth: Prometheus | Religion or culture of origin: Greco-Roman | What are the characteristics of the Supreme Being? Prometheus helps all mankind and is also a helper God How did the Supreme Being create humanity? They made man stand upright like their God’s and gave them fire ------------------------------------------------- Great Mother Myth Myth: Nut | Religion or culture of origin: Egypt | What are the characteristics of the Great Mother? Nut was a source of life, she produced nourishment from her body to feed people How did the Great Mother protect or look after humanity? She was the goddess of the sky and all the heavenly bodies. Also, she protects the dead once they die, and is a barrier between the forces of chaos from the order in the world. ------------------------------------------------- Dying God Myth Myth: Attis | Religion or culture of origin: Phrygian | How did the god die? He does not die but does castrate himself, I believe How did the god come back to life? He was reborn as the evergreen pine tree ------------------------------------------------- Trickster Myth Myth: Old Man Coyote | Religion or culture of origin:...
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...Elvis Dizdarevic Interpretation of Lit 11/17/2011 Frankenstein: The Pursuit of Dangerous Knowledge By: Elvis Dizdarevic Aristotle once said, “All men by nature desire knowledge” and I tend to agree with him. Every human being strives to be more knowledgeable. It is something we all want. In society, it puts people above one another and gives a certain power to the ones who are intelligent. It is revered to be only a good thing to have and to seek but in some situations pursuing more knowledge is, in fact, dangerous. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, two main characters have this obsessive pursuit of knowledge; Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein. Walton, an Englishman, is on a quest to be the first to reach the North Pole. His story is the frame for Frankenstein and the monster’s stories. He is a determined man who wants to possess a knowledge that no one else has. Walton desires to explore uncharted lands and to discover new particulars unbeknownst to the average man. Victor Frankenstein parallels Walton in his obsessive pursuit of knowledge. Most would say Frankenstein is even more obsessive. Frankenstein is a man who is purely driven to learn more. While attending the University of Ingolstadt, Frankenstein learns all that his professors have to teach him. After mastering the sciences he becomes fascinated with life and its creation. So much that he neglects his family and stays in his apartment for months at a time to research. He believes that there is...
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...curiosity. Parents: One account has Pandora made by Hephaistos at the request of Zeus and adorned byAthena and Aphrodite. But another story says she was the creation of Prometheus and Epimetheus. Pandora's Spouse: She was given as a gift to Epimetheus. Children: None known; symbolically she is known as the releaser or "mother" of troubles. Associated Sites: Mount Olympus, where she was created. Basic Story: Zeus, upset with the brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus for having successfully brought fire to humankind, making for all those annoying sparkling lights on the ground at night, decides to even things up by introducing disease, death, and sorrow to humankind. In the original tale these things are held in a jar, not a box. He orders Pandora to be created and gives her as a gift to Epimetheus, brother of Prometheus. She is told to never open her jar, but the gods and goddesses have also made her curious. Eventually, she opens the jar, which in some versions was not given to her by Zeus, but was instead kept locked up by Epimetheus, who did not want humankind to suffer. But in either case, the vessel is opened. Pandora realizes what she has done, but cannot slam the lid back on fast enough. The only thing left in the jar is Elpis, or Hope. There are several variants to Pandora's tale, more than the usual for Greek myths. In one, Zeus actually sends her with great gifts for mankind rather than evils. In most tales, she is...
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...Polytheistic Greek myths explain religion and ritual worship. Polytheistic myths allowed the Greeks to explain the origins of the universe and allow for elaboration by introducing new gods, to stress the importance of ritual and sacrifice, and to give moral standards by showing that even gods can make the same mistakes as humans. Myth first and foremost explains the origins of the universe, the gods, and humankind. Polytheistic gods were necessary because they allowed for new gods to be introduced in order to answer questions that could not be answered. Chaos produced Gaea, Tartarus, and Eros, as well as darkness/night and radiance/day (Lecture 4). From these gods, there are still many others needed to explain why the earth is the way it is. Thus the mountains, the sky, the sea, and love, among many others, are introduced to show how the earth became the way it is. Because of polytheism, these new gods are able to be accepted into the origin story. Polytheism also taught the Greeks the importance of ritual and sacrifice. Since Prometheus stole fire from the gods and brought it to humankind, he had to sacrifice an ox to appease Zeus (Morford 2014, 93). This story tells both how the humans received fire and how the practice of animal sacrifice came to be. This practice of proper sacrifice became arguably the most important ritual in Greek life. Humans believed that sacrifice would encourage the gods to bring them good fortune and help them avoid reprisal. If this ritual...
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...Hesiod evidently didn't value being born during the Iron Age. The Iron age is shown as a time of hardship where a man contently has some kind of trouble to deal with. The Iron Age is a period of pain and labor. A man's principles are non existent and these men are often opposing each other. "No, they'll keep all their praise for the wrongdoer, the man who is violence incarnate and shame and injustice will lie in their hands." This period is also a time where men age quickly and throughout they're life they are presented with problems and pressures to overcome. Hesiod evidently views the Iron Age negatively as this time is described in Hesiod's Works & Days as being ripe with conflict and hardship especially when compared to the previous generations....
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...Prometheus' creation of the human race during the creation of the universe was for the sake of humanity, Victor's creation of the creature was for his sole knowledge to only better his curiosity. Some may say Victor Frankenstein does not portray a modern Prometheus. Although he may not be a god, he is to the creature. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is the modern Prometheus. Victor seeks for enlightenment and power, in which, Prometheus does as well.Victor does something forbidden; creating human life. Prometheus also does something forbidden; giving fire to humans. Victor, in return, serves a torturous death, as does Prometheus, although Prometheus cannot die. For these reasons this novel, Frankenstein, shows how Victor is the modern Prometheus. Undoubtedly both Victor Frankenstein and Prometheus seek for enlightenment and power. In the beginning of this novel Victor starts his childhood yearning for knowledge and reading books of science. The quote, “...eager desire to learn,..., secrets of heaven and earth that i desired to learn,..., my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical,…, the physical secrets of the world” (Shelley, 23). It shows how ambitious Victor was to learn as a child and how the start of his seeking for enlightenment and power came to be. Victor also foreshadows how misfortune had tainted his mind, “...misfortune had tainted my mind and changed its bright visions of extensive usefulness into gloomy and narrow reflections…”(Shelley...
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...The characters that are chosen in Anthem to represent Gaea and Prometheus are Liberty 5-3000 and Equality 7-2521. These names were given to these characters because of their role in the story. Gaea and Prometheus were Titans not Gods. Titans were like giants. They had much more power than the Humans. Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000 had forbidden knowledge and knew more than the World Council of Scholars. In Greek mythology Gaea is the mother of earth and cares for almost everything. Gaea is the continuation of life. Liberty 5-3000 worked in the fields growing crops which helped the Earth. Liberty 5-3000 is Equality 7-2521’s continuation for a new society. Liberty 5-300 becomes pregnant with Equality 7-2521’s Child which is a new...
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