Gods

Plautus, A Haunted House In the play, â€Å"Plautus, A Haunted House† starts off with a young man, Philolaches, whose his father has been away from town, has been partying and has been wasting his family fortune on his mistress. While the son is in no condition to talk to his father due to being intoxicated, his slave, Tranio comes up with a scheme to deceive the old man from catching his son from partying. Tranio, redefined his role as a trickster in the play and along with all his charisma made this into a countless comedy play.In the final scene of The Haunted House, Plautus demonstrate the identity is destiny by representing the character types and personality and having them maintain their identity while everyone else goes back to status quos. Plautus, start of the play by introducing the characters types and their personality to the audience. He demonstrates how identity is destiny and how it relates to the characters in the play. To define identity is destiny it means t hat each character is given a role, and at the end of the play, the character keeps their identity and remains the same.What this mean is Philolaches plays the irresponsible guy and Tranio plays the smart clever slave. Even though this was their identity in the beginning, at the end of the play their identity didn’t change at all. In the scene where Philolaches had his friend Callidamates come up to his father so that he doesn’t have to face him and beg for his forgiveness. Callidamates said, â€Å" You know well that I'm the very closest friend your son has got. Since he's too ashamed to set a single foot in sight of you, knowing that you know all that's been done, he came and asked my help.Now I beg of you, forgive his youth and folly-he's your son. † This scene shows that even though Philolaches is a spoiled wealthy kid, it shows that his identity will remain the same. He’s always going to be the irresponsible young man who asked Tranio and CALLIDAMATE S to talked to his father because he was scared to get punished by his father. At the end of the scene, Plautus had the characters returned to their status quo. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are.After all the tragedy that happened, at the end of the scene everyone went back to normal. In the beginning of the scene it talks about the identity of the characters and that no matter what the situation was, the character would still maintain their own identity. The phase Identity is destiny and status quos demonstrate that no matter what the character did in the play, their personality and their role will remain the same. Plautus did a great job of defining the characters traits and imputed comedian material to his play.

Georgiana Cavendish background

During the 18th century, gender roles in England were resonated against high levels of chastity, compliance, delicacy as well as modesty that defined a truly virtuous female. It was believed that the greatest female achievement lay in total obedience and not in intellectual pursuits. This was mostly contributed by the nature and delineation of power that was largely vested in men during this period and earlier on. However, this was very wrong as women could contribute positively to the societal development. It was also wrong as it disregarded their integrity and underestimated their capacity to effectively participate to important decisions.Besides, they formed a key pillar in the development and growth of the children in the society which demanded high level wisdom and clear wits. This book gives a clear outlay of the gender roles in England during the 18th century in the highly autocratic setting system. With reference to Georgiana Cavendish there is a clear outlook of how the soci ety started to defy the widely defined and accepted norms for the women in the society. This report gives the changing realities during this period and acted as a major pillar that would define later considerations of both genders in the society.A clear comparison of that moment and present day women's roles in the society is given with a view of outlining proper recommendations that should be used in determining the roles for both genders. Georgiana Cavendish background. Georgiana Cavendish was born of John Spencer in 1757 and married to the 5th Duke of Devonshire at the age of 17 years. However, lovers had started admiring her at an early age of 11 years but resisted from getting married by her parents. She was a celebrated beauty and an active political campaigner in the country (Brian, 11-17).To add to that, she liked gambling and was involved in sexual promiscuity later in her marital life. The author portrays her as a totally defiant icon that defied the odds of major societal expectations of the time. Societal expectations of Georgiana and other women in aristocratic England. Brian (12-16) indicates that women in England were less regarded and required to take a low profile on major issues like political and family matters. Georgiana was therefore expected to be obedient and submissive to her husband from the time of marriage throughout their lives.All the women in England were required to take care of their husbands and follow their demands in terms of their physical and sexual desires. Therefore, they were expected to remain in their homes to serve their husbands and children. Being the wife of a Duke, of great importance from her was to bear children for her husband and the monarch. The author insists that the wife specifically supposed to bear sons who would later be heirs of the monarch to continue the autocratic regime. With women's position and roles being at the home setting, they were not supposed to be involved in active politics of the countr y.During this period, women’s suffrage was unheard of and it was required that they remained silent with their main contribution being to give the Duke an heir of the system. To add to that, the society expected them to remain faithful to their husbands at all times. This was strongly emphasized for Georgiana as she was expected to set the pace for other women to emulate in their lives and depict the king’s pride. Challenges by Georgiana to these conventions. As the book continues to unfold, it is clear that Georgiana challenged majority of these society demands strongly and with great courage.Though success was not immediate, the challenges acted as main center points in liberation of women in the entire England and other regions during the subsequent years. To begin with, the author puts it very clear that Georgiana was a strong political campaigner and was always found in gatherings of political an literally figures. Prior to 1784 general elections she campaigned fo r the Whigs particularly Charles James Fox. Major icons emerged later in the country's leadership improving the involvement of women in core decision making processes (Brian, 51-56).Most remarkable was Britain first prime minister and the leader of conservative party Margaret Thatcher. Unlike the societal expectations, Georgiana never brought happiness to the Duke of Devonshire. The marriage was an unhappy one with high levels of temperaments. Making it even more sorrowful to the people in the society and the Duke himself, in their initial years she never bore any children as she was rocked by vast miscarriages. Later, when she managed to give birth, she bore girls until the much awaited third born son. Besides, she introduced her husband to a mistress who was her friend leading to later marriage to her as a second wife.This was a major challenge as women were expected to strongly insulate the monarch from external genes that would interfere with the overall ‘integrity' of the ruling family. Openly defying major demands in the monarch and the society, Georgiana was promiscuous and had an affair with Charles Grey with whom she had a daughter. She was also reported to have traded kisses for votes during the 1784 general elections. To add to that, Georgiana was never home tied like other women as she went out to meet with other people of different classes.She was always involved in major places that women were prohibited from getting to. Being addicted to gabling, the book indicates that she died with major debts despite being from a very rich background. Mistresses and involvement of women in major activities that brought them out to meet with others later increased drastically in the whole country with open and hidden affairs characterizing majority of the young people and married couples. Conclusion. Women roles in England during late 18th century were highly oppressive and segregative in the aristocratically defined England.As indicated by the book, bre aking these considerations was hard and required courage as well as major sacrifice. As depicted by Georgiana Duchess, women were strongly valued for their fertility that was largely used by their ruling husbands as a major source of pride due to guaranteed heredity and therefore increased ability to sustain the monarch in their lineages. Though her defiance was met with resistance, it formed a clear icon that marked later liberation for the women in their social-political and economic delineations in all dimensions.With the current women contribution in the society being of vital essence it is clear that this oppression was a deterrent to fast growth and development in the region during that period. Women roles should therefore be fully appreciated and their participation is equal to those of men as they are equally capable of initiating and contributing to societal growth. Reference list. Brian, M. (1981). Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire: Duchess of Devonshire. London: Routledge.

Adventure Travel In India Market Study Tourism Essay

Adventure Travel In India Market Study Tourism Essay Adventure sports have seen a tremendous growth is the last six to seven years and the future looks very bright. The government is also doing its bit in order to promote adventure tourism in India. The Indian tourism industry has a lot of myriad players who want to latch on the opportunities that beckon in this field of the industry. But the industry and its players continue to be a house of disorder. This paper looks into the clear and present opportunity that lies ahead of the Indian Tourism Industry in the form of Adventure Travel, and analysis the various aspects that need to be kept in mind as the investors go out in search for the suitable customers to cash in on this multimillion dollar cheque. INTRODUCTION â€Å"A man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore†, were the words of the famous French noble laureate Andre Gide and the increasing demand for the adventure sports indicates that people have entered the 21st century with ren ewed courage to find enjoyment in the thrills of the adventure filled outdoor activities. Thus, it can be seen like leisure tourism, adventure sports is becoming an integral determinant behind the tourism dynamics. As a subject for academic analysis, tourism can be said has reached a stage of relative maturity. A casual review of journals serving the subject area reveals a number that have been in existence for over 25 years (e.g., Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research), with the Journal of Travel Research publishing its 45th annual volume in 2007. Similarly, the range of journals reveals the diversity of issues considered (e.g., Tourism Geographies, Tourism Economics, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, and Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing). With the evident relative lack of research in the area of Adventure Sports Tourism, it would be sensible to turn to research in the area of promoting the various disciplines of adventure sports by integrating it with operations of t ourism management. This research will look into the increasing demand for the adventure sports, breaking with the cultural and geographical conformism of conventional holidays and trips, and will analyse the potential for it to tap effectively. OBJECTIVE Research in the field of sports tourism has burgeoned over the last decade. In a study conducted by a renowned publication, unsurprisingly, the most studied activity was major event sports tourism like Olympics, World Cups, etc.(40% of articles), with outdoor and adventure sports tourism (29%) and skiing and winter sports (15%) being the other two significant areas.1 This being a clear indication of the increasing demand for the adventure sports, the objective of this paper will be to study the feasibility of marketing, conducting and benefitting from such events specifically in India. This market study will broadly consist of two parts which will help the readers decide the readiness and the viability of the adventure sports market . Part-1 discusses the concepts and approaches that might inform an analysis of adventure sports in Indian market. And part-2 will conduct a critical evaluation and the determining factors of investing in this area of business.

Explain the Benefits of Gaining International Business Experience and Essay

Explain the Benefits of Gaining International Business Experience and Working as an Expat - Essay Example It will help in understanding cross cultural situations and will eventually contribute to the native country’s cultural competence by making it more competitive and booming in the global marketplace. Benefits are offered to a worker depending upon the region in which a person is operating. A person working in some parts of Europe might not get the same benefits which would be offered in Middle East. Some of the most common benefits which are offered in most of the countries include the following. Many employers offer their employees a 30 day paid vacation. Individuals working at some senior status positions often get 40 days paid vacation. The benefits of vacation vary depending upon the size and status of family i.e., married, single or family. Most positions outside the native country offer a â€Å"Yearly Contract Completion Bonus†. Employers held this type of bonus in escrow and paid to their employee when they re-patriate to their home country. Most of the positions offer transportation allowance to facilitate their employees. Others also furnish the automobiles. Generally, furnishing a car is primarily for those employees who are at sales positions or senior level. While working as an expatriate, some companies offer other benefits which include incentive bonuses, child education, perks, performance increases etc. All benefits are explicated by the recruiting staff of the relevant company. Richard Fearon. "Financial director."  Why getting international experience matters  . 28th November 2010. Web. 10th September 2012.

'the best way to improve personality tests is to dump them'. Can the Essay

'the best way to improve personality tests is to dump them'. Can the use of such tests in business be made free from faking, distortion and less of an intrusion into personal liberty - Essay Example Would it be possible to rely upon him/her? Would s/he get along well with the existing team members? It has been proved that â€Å"declarative knowledge is predicted primarily by cognitive ability, whereas the motivational element of performance (indexed by ratings) is linked to personality†.1 Moreover, unless there are strict criteria of selection, some good candidates can be overlooked, while some irrelevant ones go to the second tour of recruitment process. Testing candidates is traditionally considered a good way out of the situation. However, a question arises whether or not the use of personality tests can be completely free from faking, distortion and less of an intrusion into personal liberty. A professional HR specialist can dig out a lot of information concerning the candidate’s personality from personal interview; however it cannot give a full account of a potential employee – in fact, it will only give the first impression of him or her. Besides, during an interview, there can be certain circumstances which would affect the objectiveness of HR manager’s judgements (personal bias towards or against a candidate, tiredness, headache, bad mood, intrusion of the third parties, etc.). On the other hand, same is valid for a candidate: s/he can feel bad, or come to the interview after a sleepless night, or after having a conflict, etc. All these would make testing results very far from reality. That is why, many professional HR-specialists are very prejudiced against using personality tests, as they think that the use of these tests can prevent them from understanding a real potential of every candidate. They prefer individual interview with candidates saying that it allows to determine the real motives of each of them, and simply have a good look at the potential employee. Nowadays, there are many

Environmental Studies - Consumer Products Research Paper

Environmental Studies - Consumer Products - Research Paper Example Since the industrial revolution in Europe, mass production came in to place to satiate the demand for consumer products, which was passed on to the European colonies, with particular emphasis on the United States of America. Greater economic strength has led to the developed world becoming the focus of increased consumerism (Stearns, 2006, p.40). This paper evaluates some consumer products in terms of their environmental footprint, to provide awareness on the impact of consumer products on the environment. Bottled Water Tap water fit for human consumption is quite freely available, yet there is increasing use of bottled water, due to the lack of faith in tap water (Gelt 1996, np). For the production of bottled water consumed worldwide more than 1.5 million ton of plastic is needed for the plastic bottles in which the water is bottled. This plastic comes from the non-renewable resources of oil and natural gas. The manufacturing processes involved in the production of the plastic can b e polluting to the environment and cause risk to human health. There are several ways in which Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is the plastic resin used most commonly to produce plastic bottles can be recycled, to reduce environmental degradation (Chong & Kim, 2007, np). Yet, recycling of plastic is not often done, and so plastic bottles are disposed off, causing serious landfill issues. Plastics are chosen for several applications because of their stability to degradation. This in turn causes plastics to have a very slow rate of degradation, thus constituting a long duration waste problem (Harper, 2002, p.14). In addition to the pollution issues with bottled water, there is concern on depletion of the water resources at the production sites of bottled water. Large quantities of water are required at the bottled water production sites, which is drawn from ground water aquifers and local streams, raising concerns on the sustainability of the water resources in the face of thi s large scale depletion of water resources. In the USA protests against the depletion of water resources for the production bottled water have occurred, like at Nestle’s Perrier plant at Wisconsin, which led to its relocation to Michigan (Gleick, 2004, p.41). Dishwashing or Washing Machine Detergents In the production of dishwashing and washing machine detergents the factors that are important from an environmental perspective are the energy used in the impact of the raw material extraction, energy consumption, and release of waste products and effluent from manufacturing sites. Raw material extraction issues include the impact of mining for phosphates, silicates, and carbonates, used as builders in detergents, on the environment. Waste effluents from the production of detergents pertain to the ingredients in the detergents. There are more than 30 ingredients in modern detergent, with surfactants, builders, and solvents that can be toxic to the surrounding environment (Risk & Policy Analysts, 2006. p.i). However, it is the usage stage of dishwashing or washing machine detergents that is the most critical to environmental degradation. Life cycle assessments on detergents have shown that it is the usage stage that is responsible for approximately 95% of environmental degradation with detergents. This critical factor becomes even more significant, when the increasing number of different dishwashing and washing machine detergents entering the market and increasing consumption is taken

Women in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Women in the Workplace - Essay Example The essay "Women in the Workplace" talks the issue of gender parity that has been widely discussed throughout the planet. Women still face the situation when even being skilled go-getters, they simply cannot dream of the promotions for precise companies’ positions, while male employees make their way almost without effort.There are plenty of proofs for the absence of gender equality in the workplace. For instance, in the USA an average female earns about 80 cents for every dollar that male employee might earn. Another poor fact about the US: this country is in the list among Oman and Papua New Guinea that do not guarantee the support of maternity leave. The things are far from being positive not only in the US. In Canada, only about 14% of companies think of possibilities of female workers’ promotions, while only 7% have precise plans for that issue. In Japan about 18 months ago the government’s program for supporting the promotions of women was implemented. Howe ver, hitherto known among the Japanese business companies joined that issue.Definitely, the situation about women in the workplace is negative. The key reason for that fact has always been the issue of maternity leave. It was needless to promote a female because she would leave sooner or later. However, if there is an issue of gender equality, it should be kept, but not just spoken about. Females are more creative and opened towards various novelties, and this trait is assured of great consequence in the modern world of rapid changes.

Marketing research and information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Marketing research and information - Essay Example This study is concerned about how customers, and even the public feel about J.Sainsbury, as a premier consumer enterprise, considering the fact that often traditional firms may find it difficult, or unwise, to evolve new stratagems to suit contemporaneous business, and unwilling to institute radical changes for better prospects. In the case of JS, this has assumed more significance since the years 1993 onwards has proved tumultuous in its sedate history. However, it is seen that as a consequence of change in top leadership during 1993, the fortunes of JS declined and it lost its long standing market supremacy and has now been relegated into the third position after Tesco and Asda. It is quite possible that it could not institute aggressive competitive strategies and market driven techniques to retain its stronghold in the midst of strong rivalry from Asda and Tesco. "Leadership positions are maintained not only by responding to changing demand but by steering the market using innovative products and consumer education." (Gehlhar et al 2009). 2. It is seen that the main aspects that would impact customers would be in term so what added advantages and price cuts could be gained from purchasing from JS and it is seen that "Sainsbury benefited from strong in-store offers and prices cuts, drawing new shoppers and once again increasing its share to just under 15 percent." (Retail sales start to bloom in UK 2009). Objectives: The purpose of this brief are as follows: 1. To assess present attitudes of customers towards JS and how they perceive its current market position, vis--vis rivals and competitors in the retail food business. 2. The attitudes of non-customers towards JS and the basis for their reasoning. It could be seen in terms of creditors, government agencies or other third parties, including the general public, who may be shopping with JS's rival firms. 3. What differential advantages or benefits are possessed by JS, in the perspective of customers that rate them higher than others in the field 4. What the future prospects of JS are as rated in terms of its past and present performances 5. What are the implications of attitudinal issues in determining the future success of JS Outline of possible method: The methodology for his study could be in terms of group discussions, personal interviews and questionnaires with regard to the proposed study. The aspects of group discussions have been detailed in Task 2. The group discussions would be held with major customers of JS in order to assess their views on serviceability and operational aspects of JS. It is seen that the supply chain management system followed in JS is quite robust and close links have been developed with the vendors in order to ensure that replenishments are received in time and stores are filled with choicest food and non-food items demanded by customers. It could also be seen that aspects regarding individual choices and

Buddhism Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Buddhism - Term Paper Example Some Archeologists discovered pottery comparable to the ones found in Turkmenistan. They uncovered remnants of a mud-brick monument along with a terrace and a columned hall, surrounded by thick walls. The people of Tillya-tepe were nomads. It was found that by the ways of their living and burial sites. The Tillya-tepe moved from the Black Sea to Mongolia and as they moved they adapted to the local traditions of the new areas but modified them to suit themselves. After reaching Bactria, the artist of Tillya-tepe were greatly influenced by the diversity of objects they found in the Silk Road (Museo). This can be seen in the art of their jewelry, weapons and adornments designs. Features of Pazyryk site The Pazyryk Kurgan is situated in the Altai Mountains of Southern Siberia. It is yielded with artifacts including the belongings of well preserved bodies and their clothing. This culture flourished between the 3rd and the 7th century BC in the area of Sacae and is famous for the burial mo unds. The burial mounds that were found by archeologists were explored in the year 1925 to 1949. Some ordinary graves only consisted of utensils and some had their famous Pazyryk Carpet mounded over them (Scott, Alekseev and Zaitseva). Some mounds even had objects like knives, daggers, mirrors and various bone articles. The embalmed bodies found under these mounds are still considered a world sensation (Altai Discovery Team). The people of the Pazyryk area held more respect for their horses than their people. The horses were viewed as functional objects and the people treated them more humanly than actual humans. Special outfits were designed for their horses. This site was defined by common geographical and ecological conditions. Hunting, fishing, gathering and horse breeding was the main part of the economy (Cosmo). The Kurgan Burials Nomadic tradition of burial is to bury the dead within a mound, as a mark of respect. The The female burials of the Scythian traditions consisted of objects of purely feminine nature to be buried along with. Weapons like bronze arrows and spearheads, pottery and jewelry were dominant in the burials of female (Guliaev). They were dressed with conical caps of gold. The burials of females were of principle nature in the kurgan traditions. In cases of males, they were encircled with a special ritual moat and in some cases funeral food was placed near the graves. Tillya-tepe lie in close margin to the Indo-Iranian tradition. Gold was of symbolic value in the burials. The burials as like many kurgan traditions went hastily at night without the knowledge of the people of neighboring cities (Schiltz). The grave was covered with a mound of objects like beautiful stone to even objects like daggers, bones and textiles. They found it important that the dead were buried under the traditions of their forefathers even though they didn’t have access to their ancestral burial grounds. The position was slightly elevated of the coffin. The manner of burial was hierarchical, with five females surrounding one solitary male. Their garments were sewn by a gold thread. Gold was pretty much abundant in this area as the entire gold of the deceased was buried with that individual. Male bodies were dressed in layers and layers of clothing. A kaftan coupled with a short jacket along with a pair of trousers. A four dagger sheath was wrapped around the thigh. A long sword, numerous daggers and knives and two bows were present too. These men were classified as warlords

E market paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

E market paper - Essay Example This paper focuses on the online fashion shoppers as the target market, and www.net-a-porter.com and http://www.shopstyle.com as the key websites that can meet the needs of the chosen target market. ShopStyle Website has a better communication strategy while Net-A-Porter website has a better structure and appeal to viewers. The Net-A-Porter Group Limited considers itself as the world’s premier online luxury fashion retailer. The market segment in this case is the luxury online fashion shoppers. The Net-A-Porter Group Limited was launched in 2000 and has successfully established itself in market using its luxury brand. The company prides itself in its exceptional pricing and highly effective customer care that has enabled them to remain strong and favoured in the highly competitive fashion market. Their website www.net-a-porter.com is an award winning website presented in a unique way – as a fashion magazine. The luxury fashion company targets online savvy luxury customers, and offers them what they want – customized fashion clothes designed to meet the specific needs of each customer. It focuses on bringing out the best looks of customer. The Net-A-Porter Group Limited provides cutting-edge labels and delivers its products through the worldwide express delivery. Customers find clothes of their choice from the company’s online store, and order whatever they want. The company then delivers them to wherever the customer prefers it to be delivered. The online luxury fashion market segment is a large market because most people who demand luxury products use the internet, and prefer their products to be delivered to their convenient places. The visitors of the company’s website per month are about 2.5 million. That shows that about 83,000 people frequent the website daily. This indicates that the online luxury market

The School of Sociology and Anthropology Essay Example for Free

The School of Sociology and Anthropology Essay Joel S. Kahn is Professor of Anthropology at the School of Sociology and Anthropology, La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus, Victoria, Australia. He has authored several books, including Constituting the Minangkabau: Peasants, Culture and Modernity in Colonial Indonesia, Minangkabau Social Formations: Indonesian Peasants in the World Economy, and edited, with Francis Loh Kok Wah, Fragmented Vision: Culture and Politics in Contemporary Malaysia For some time we have lagged behind Indonesian stratificatory realities under the impression, once quite true, that the middle classes (or whatever we choose for the moment to call them) were too minute to make a difference. Now, suddenly, when they appear to be making some difference, or anyway are substantial enough to compel notice, we are at a loss to figure out who exactly they are, why they are important, and what difference they actually make. Daniel Levs remarks about Indonesia are doubly true in the Malay-sian context, for in spite of the well-documented growth of, if anything, a relatively larger middle class, as yet there has been remarkably little interest among social scientists in the phenomenon. With a handful of exceptions, very few Malaysianists in Malaysia or overseas have done more than mention the middle class in passing; and there have been even fewer attempts to clarify the use of the concept in Malaysian conditions, or to assess its impact on the taken-for-granted contours of Malaysian society. In the scholarly literature on the Malays, with which I am most familiar and which for better or worse tends to predominate, we   This paper is based on research carried out on the emergence of an indigenous middle class. I am grateful to the Australian Research Council which has provided funds for my ongoing research in Malaysia for the last several years. I would also like to acknowledge my debt to Maila Stivens, my co-worker in this study with whom I have discussed many of the ideas in this paper, and who has given me many suggestions based on her research. I would also like to thank Pat Young and Lucy Healey for their bibilographical work which proved very useful in putting this article together, and Gaynor Thornell for help with the typing.   instead continue to witness an outpouring of studies of peasants, factory girls, ethnicity, and Islam not unimportant in themselves, but in their distribution far from fully representative of current trends in the Malay community. As for studies of Malaysias other main ethnic groups, lamentably fewer in number, the growth of the middle class is similarly largely ignored. But consider the following. According to one observer: In Malaysia, where the non-Malay component of the middle class had continued to grow as a result of economic development since independence, in the 1970s Malay representation in the middle class rose sharply following the introduction of the New Economic Policy. And depending on the interpretation of census data, the size of that substantial and prosperous middle class was as high as 24 per cent of the work force in 1980 (ibid, 31-32). The class grew in significance in the 1980s, so that, using the same calculation, Saravanamuttu estimates that by 1986, 37.2 per cent of workers were in middle class occupations. And doubtless the 1990 census will show continued growth in both the absolute and relative size of the Malaysian middle class.

Critical thinking Essay Example for Free

Critical thinking Essay Author suggests that all students must learn to respect others and tolerate the differences between them. One important thing she stressed is that all students must cooperate with each other in various tasks instead of being competitive. Keeping positive and cooperative attitude can resolve several problems. There are many benefits when learning in cooperation with each other. Group learning can have many advantages. Students can help each other in various tasks and they can learn from each other. Her school is full of fun, extracurricular activities, learning classes and other training activities. Students take part in different extra curricular activities. The school has different sports clubs, broadcasting clubs, speech clubs, contests, and other clubs of different cultural background. Teachers and all students participate in different sports like volleyball, basketball, tennis, hockey, soccer, baseball. It is not only the place where students are trained, but many other programs are also used to well-balance their creative activities. In addition, school also includes many tripping activities to different countries. In addition, she suggests that on weekly basis different scholarly lectures must be conducted by various scholars in order to expand the knowledge of students. Big libraries are there and each student is encouraged to participate in reading stuff. Regular reading and writing is an important part of student’s learning process. These practices can sharpen their creativity and critical thinking. The aim of the school is to impart knowledge at equal level. The educational objective is to make students practical in their lives, who can help out their nation and work to be a useful candidate. Educational policies are designed very carefully to provide students with standard education and training. Each student after studying from here must understand and develop their own individuality and strengthen their aesthetic believes. Environment is open and firm relationship can be developed between classmates and teachers. Every week tests are conducted to evaluate performance of each student. Many other test taking skills programs are used to improve performance of students. In addition, other behavioral tests are done to improve student’s personality. All lessons and tests are highly competent and prepare the student for future studies. Training and teaching in 3rd grade also prepares them for senior high school. Students have the facility to exercise and participate in the daily activities either in the morning or after school. Students are also encouraged to fully take part in social life to become a useful individual. Every student is advised for good health practice and hygiene to lead a healthy life. Other activities in school education must include fine arts, painting, tea party, flower arrangement, broadcasting etc. There are many other group activities to encourage students for friendly attitude, social behavior and group working. By performing various creative works they know how to work independently and responsible for various jobs. Every month there is meeting with parents to let them know their children’s performance at school. The environment of the school is very beautiful and attractive. All facilities are comfortable and fully air conditioned. The overall environment for learning is very good. Every classroom is very spacious with wide windows through which air and light can pass easily. Every student enjoys the learning environment and school life. Positive attitude among students can greatly improve learning environment. Her advice to students is exclusive and practical.

Gregorian Chant

Gregorian Chant The Development and Evolution of Gregorian Chant For centuries, Gregorian chant was considered the official music of the Catholic Church. Naturally, this degree of importance placed on the genre gives it considerable significance, both religious and cultural. Its exact beginnings, however, are not absolutely known. Also, chant has changed over time due to it being based on practices of the Church, which have also changed over time due to decrees by various popes, agendas of monastic orders, and the influences of and intermingling of cultures, such as the Franks, Romans, and Byzantines. Although the name of Gregorian chant is derived from Pope Gregory I â€Å"The Great†, it has its roots much earlier in history, predating Christianity. In fact, Christian chant is believed to have been originally derived from Judaism, as there was a considerable amount of common ground between Jewish and early Christian liturgies (Werner 20). This is seen through writings of the early church which show that the early Christian church was heavily influenced by Hebrew worship (Barton). However, there is little information available from chants of early centuries compared to Gregorian chant and other chants of later centuries (Hiley 478). One reason for this is that musical notation for chants of this time did not exist, for at this time chants were an entirely oral rather than written tradition. Also contributing to this lack of information is that early Christians were persecuted, forcing private worship until the Edict of Milan of 313, which gave Christians the right of freed om of worship in Rome (484). Due to this freedom, Christianity could afford to become more formalized and organized, its music included. There is further ambiguity surrounding the specific origins of Gregorian chant in considering Pope Gregory himself. What Gregorys influence was on Gregorian chant is debatable, as there is limited evidence supporting that he either had a great deal of influence on the genre, such as directly composing chants, or virtually none (513). However, two pieces of evidence support a common theory of his involvement in the creation of Gregorian chant that was known throughout the Middle Ages, which are two books written by Pope Gregory. These two books, entitled Antiphonarium and Graduale Romanum, are compilations of already existing chants that Pope Gregory designated for specific parts of Catholic mass which supports the theory that his involvement was limited to such compilations (D‘Silva). An example of Gregorys ordering to use specific music in liturgy is him mandating that the Allelulia be used during mass for an entire year (Apel 41). Despite the lack of specific information concerning the beginnings of chant that would later evolve to become Gregorian chant, the origins of Gregorian chant as it was known throughout the Middle Ages are more clear, as music books, although they still were not musically notated, of the genre were created by the Franks at around the 9th century, making the genre easier to trace through history to that point (Hiley 514). Note that it was not until the 10th century that sources were created containing musical notation, namely being musically annotated Graduals and Antiphonals from the Codex 359 (Apel 52). Also, it was not until the 11th century that music was annotated in a way so that tunes could be read (53). In addition to these musical books, various manuscripts were written that outlined liturgical proceedings, allowing for further clarification of the specifics of Gregorian chant (53). The peoples who ruled the area that is roughly present-day France played a large role in forming Gregorian chant to what it is, from the Franks to the Carolingians (Hiley 512). This started under the rule of the Frank king Pepin, who lead the Franks to control much of Europe through military conquest, spreading the culture of chant to the Franks, and also causing reforms to Gregorian chant by the Franks and their successors (513). In addition to causing chant to be more widespread, the intervention of the Franks also caused Gregorian chant to evolve from further influences (513). Not only did the influence of the Franks allow the beginnings of Gregorian chant to be seen more easily, as was described previously, but their musical texts also show the original motives behind its development, the main motive being to help control how the liturgy was run by assigning specific chants to certain parts of the liturgy, as was done by Pope Gregory (515). In the case of the Franks (namely Pepin and also Charlemagne), the reasoning behind trying to control the specifics of the liturgy was so that it would become standardized since many members of the church were influenced by their own local traditions in structuring the liturgy, which Frank leadership was trying to suppress (Barbon). Of course, due to the amount of time between Pope Gregorys writings and the adoption of chant by the Frankish church (300 years), it can be safely assumed that the liturgical assignments of the Franks were different than those of Pope Gregory. More changes were made as well in Gregorian chant, including the style of singing, such as the combining of both Roman and Frankish singers, although eventually a return to a more Roman styled liturgy and type of singing occurred among the Franks (Hiley 517). Since writing texts for the chants was still not common practice and musical notation for them did not yet exist, it follows that the Franks had to learn Roman liturgy and chants by memory when this shift back to strictly Roman liturgy occurred. This also denotes that the number of chants that were used and popular were not too numerous at this point in time, as they could still be all memorized. Despite the shift back to a Roman style liturgy, over the years and into the 9th century to the start of the rule of the Carolingians, who succeeded the Franks, Gregorian chant continued to evolve as new musical elements were added to the genre by the Franks and more compositions were created (Hiley 517). Some of these changes were brought on by outside influences on Gregorian chant, such as by the Byzantines, who developed the eight mode system (529). The fact that the amount of compositions of Gregorian chant were increasing can be tied in with the development of written musical texts around this time period, causing Gregorian chant to shift away from a strictly oral tradition, for it would no longer be possible to memorize all of the chants necessary as their numbers grew. As the popularity of Gregorian chant grew, it underwent several more reforms and evolutions, mostly during the 12th and 13th centuries (Hiley 608). An example of such a reform was more specific notation being used in writing chant, which included specifying pitch, among other specific musical elements (608). Another reform was the tendency to drift away from previous melodies of the Middle Ages, creating a type of chant called â€Å"Neo-Gallican† chant (609). Many of these changes made to Gregorian chant were initiated by various orders, two major ones being the Cistercians, who believed in performing the liturgy as it was done originally, and the Dominicans, whose reforms, like the efforts of many before it, were aimed at standardizing the liturgy (612). Gregorian chant did not enjoy constant growth and popularity, however. After the 12th century, the popularity and growth of Gregorian chant started to wane, presumably due to a period of reduced popularity of the Catholic Church (DSilva). Also, around the 16th century the Catholic Church was threatened by Protestantism, which also played a part in decreasing the popularity of the church, thus affecting the popularity of traditional monastic liturgies and music (Hiley 615). Another such period of decadence for the church and for Gregorian chant was during the age of Enlightenment, as less emphasis was placed on the church and God and instead more on the individual and reason. As a result of this new ideology, the power and influence of the church began to decline. In addition to the general ideology of the time, another reason for the decline of the Church was the political struggle caused by the French Revolution, which caused a reform in the French church so that it no longer observed previous monastic traditions (Bergeron xii). Due to Gregorian chants close association with the church, its popularity began to decline as well (Barton). This causes yet another obstacle in acquiring information about Gregorian chant and thus makes it more difficult to interpret today as the knowledge of how to interpret various medieval musical notations was lost (Barton). A large factor of why Gregorian chant did not die out completely is the involvement of monks at the French monastery at Solesmes, and other such monasteries, who during the 19th century were commissioned by Pope St. Pius X to modernize Gregorian chant (DSilva). They achieved this by removing the strict association that Gregorian chant had with the church, secularizing it and adding a meditative, â€Å"trancelike appeal† (DSilva). In the end, Gregorian chant was changed to be more akin to classical Roman chant than the Gregorian chant of the Middle Ages. As a result, the chant that is known today as Gregorian chant is more similar to early plainchant rather than what was originally dubbed as â€Å"Gregorian chant† (DSilva). As a result of this change of the style of Gregorian chant, along with the declining power of the Catholic Church and thus the popularity of Gregorian chant, it is difficult to know what Gregorian chant of the Middle Ages exactly sounded like (Barton). Another factor that contributes to this is the lack of musical notation with text in the Middle Ages, and that some of the notation that does exist from the time period cannot be interpreted due to these periods of decrease in popularity. Overall, the fact that chant was originally a purely oral tradition that consisted of few enough chants that could be memorized, along with Gregorian chants affiliation with a religion that was originally persecuted and later declining in popularity, contributes to the murkiness of the origins of Gregorian chant. Also, the fact that Christianity underwent significant changes from the time of its conception to modern times results in equally significant changes occurring in the style of music that was so closely affiliated with its prominent church, even causing Gregorian chant to nearly die out on several occasions in history. However, despite the several bouts of decrease in popularity that Gregorian chant experienced, it is currently one of the oldest forms of music that is actively listened to today (DSilva). Also, the many changes that Gregorian chant underwent throughout history makes it very unique, as it cannot be entirely attributed to any specific event, person, or even nation or empire. Instead, as David Hiley states, â€Å"†¦Gregorian chant is neither of one specific time, nor wholly Roman, nor wholly anything else† (Hiley 513). Works Cited Apel, Willi. Gregorian Chant. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. Print. Barton, Louis W. G.. The Culture of Medieval Music Calligraphy: Historical Background of Neume Notation / The Neume Notation Project.. scribeserver.com. N.p., 8 Dec. 2003. Web. 19 Nov. 2009. . Bergeron, Katherine. Decadent Enchantments: The Revival of Gregorian Chant at Solesmes (California Studies in 19th Century Music). Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. Print. DSilva, Neil Valentine. The History Of Gregorian Chant. Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2009. . Hiley, David. Western Plainchant: A Handbook. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 1995. Print. Werner, Eric. The Sacred Bridge: The Interdependence of Liturgy Music in Synagogue and Church During the First Millenium. Columbia: Columbia University Press, 1960. Print.

Bill Gates: A Global Leader Essay -- Leadership, My Inspiring Global L

Table of Contents Page Introduction 2 My Inspiring Global Leader 3-5 Conclusion 5 References 6 Appendixes A Microsoft 8 B Philanthropic Work10 Introduction A leader is someone that you can look up to, someone who has a conglomerate of attributes that motivate people to follow them. There are many reasons why you can find someone amusing, intriguing or interesting but the conglomerate of actions performed by them is what makes them stand over others. A global leader is someone who has transcends the geographical limits with their contributions not only to their field but to humanity as well. In this essay I will briefly discussed the attributes of the global leader I selected, his visions and his contributions to mankind. The global leader I have selected has so many qualities that words are not enough to describe his success and his effect in the way we live and see life. His name is William Henry Gate III or as we all know him as Bill Gates. William Henry Gate III was born in Seattle on 1955 and was raised in a wealthy family. His father was a successful attorney and his mother was a top executive at a national bank. This upbringing gave him the opportunity to study in the most prestige school on his state where he discovered his love for computers. The beginning While Bill Gates was at junior high a group of parents raise money to purchase the first computerized terminal in the school. When that happened he decided to take all his time to work on that system teaming with other students to learn about different operating systems. He excelled in his learning of systems and he started developing ideas to make business with companies in order to learn how they make their terminals. His mind for busi... ...verance and discipline. References (2006). Bill Gates: Biography. Microsoft. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www. microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/bio.mspx. (2007). Bill Gates. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates. Global Development Program. Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/GlobalDevelopment/. Global Health Program. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/GlobalHealth/. United States Program. Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/UnitedStates/. Mirick, J. (1996). William H. Gates III: before Microsoft. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Gates.Mirick.html#computing.

Free Essays - Alices Adventures in Wonderland Essays :: Alices Adventures in Wonderland Essays

In Lewis Carroll's novel Alice in Wonderland, Alice is curious, well-mannered, and confused while she tries to find her way out of Wonderland. Alice meets many unique and weird creatures which eventually help her escape wonderland. Alice shows that she is curious through her actions. At the beginning of the book Alice gets distracted from her "boring" work, and chases a white rabbit down a hole. This excerpt describes Alices curiosity, "Alice started to her feet, for it flashed in her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket". When Alice is at the bottom of the hole she find a bottle labeled "Drink Me", she wants to see what it tastes like, this excerpt describes the event "...this bottle was not marked `poison', so Alice ventured to taste it, finding it very nice". Another instant that shows her curiosity when she looks for the white rabbits fan and gloves, she finds a bottle, this time there was no table, "There was no label this time with the words `Drink Me' ... `I know something interesting is going to happen' ... ` I'll just see what it does',". Alice is like a little girl that is still exploring the world around her, but she finds that she is more mature than the creatures in Wonderland. Alice is very well mannered in Victorian ways to the creatures of Wonderland. Alice shows her good manners when she enters the white rabbits house and the rabbit tells Alice to go fetch his gloves and fan, "I'd better take his fan and gloves- that is if I can find them", since Alice is a guest, uninvited, she follows the owners orders. When Alice runs into caterpillar she calls him "Sir", here is an excerpt from the book , " I can't explain myself myself, I'm afraid, Sir", this shows that she respects the creatures of Wonderland. When Alice enters the Duchesses house and the Duchess throws the baby to Alice, Alice starts to take care of it, " `Here! You may nurse it a bit, if you like!' Alice caught the baby with some difficulty ...", this shows her maternal side. Wonderland is an illogical land, nothing seems to make sense to Alice. She starts to become very frustrated and confused. When Alice meets the caterpillar the following conversation takes place, " `Who are you!' the caterpillar asked ... `I - I hardly know, Sir, just at present - at least I know who I was when I got up this morning' ... ", Alice is so confused she does not even know who she is.

alcoholism :: essays research papers

For most people who drink, alcohol is a pleasant accompaniment to social activities. Moderate alcohol use—up to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women and older people—is not harmful for most adults. (A standard drink is one 12-ounce bottle or can of either beer or wine cooler, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.) Nonetheless, a large number of people get into serious trouble because of their drinking. Currently, nearly 14 million Americans—1 in every 13 adults—abuse alcohol or are alcoholic. Several million more adults engage in risky drinking that could lead to alcohol problems. These patterns include binge drinking and heavy drinking on a regular basis. In addition, 53 percent of men and women in the United States report that one or more of their close relatives have a drinking problem. The consequences of alcohol misuse are serious—in many cases, life threatening. Heavy drinking can increase the risk for certain cancers, especially those of the liver, esophagus, throat, and larynx (voice box). Heavy drinking can also cause liver cirrhosis, immune system problems, brain damage, and harm to the fetus during pregnancy. In addition, drinking increases the risk of death from automobile crashes as well as recreational and on-the-job injuries. Furthermore, both homicides and suicides are more likely to be committed by persons who have been drinking. In purely economic terms, alcohol-related problems cost society approximately $185 billion per year. In human terms, the costs cannot be calculated. Many people wonder why some individuals can use alcohol without problems but others cannot. One important reason has to do with genetics. Scientists have found that having an alcoholic family member makes it more likely that if you choose to drink you too may develop alcoholism. Genes, however, are not the whole story. In fact, scientists now believe that certain factors in a person’s environment influence whether a person with a genetic risk for alcoholism ever develops the disease. A person’s risk for developing alcoholism can increase based on the person’s environment, including where and how he or she lives; family, friends, and culture; peer pressure; and even how easy it is to get alcohol. Any concerns you may have about discussing drinking-related problems with your health care provider may stem from common misconceptions about alcoholism and alcoholic people.

Greek Mythology

Greek mythology in western art and literature With the rediscovery of classical antiquity in Renaissance, the poetry of Ovid became a major influence on the imagination of poets and artists and remained a fundamental influence on the diffusion and perception of Greek mythology through subsequent centuries. [2] From the early years of Renaissance, artists portrayed subjects from Greek mythology alongside more conventional Christian themes.Among the best-known subjects of Italian artists are Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Pallas and the Centaur, the Ledas of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and Raphael's Galatea. 2] Through the medium of Latin and the works of Ovid, Greek myth influenced medieval and Renaissance poets such as Petrarch, Boccaccio and Dante in Italy. [1] In northern Europe, Greek mythology never took the same hold of the visual arts, but its effect was very obvious on literature. Both Latin and Greek classical texts were translated, so that stories of mythology becam e available. In England, Chaucer, the Elizabethans and John Milton were among those influenced by Greek myths; nearly all the major English poets from Shakespeare to Robert Bridges turned for inspiration to Greek mythology.Jean Racine in France and Goethe in Germany revived Greek drama. [2] Racine reworked the ancient myths — including those of Phaidra, Andromache, Oedipus and Iphigeneia — to new purpose. [3] The 18th century saw the philosophical revolution of the Enlightenment spread throughout Europe and accompanied by a certain reaction against Greek myth; there was a tendency to insist on the scientific and philosophical achievements of Greece and Rome.The myths, however, continued to provide an important source of raw material for dramatists, including those who wrote the libretti for Handel's operas Admeto and Semele, Mozart's Idomeneo and Gluck's Iphigenie en Aulide. [3] By the end of the century, Romanticism initiated a surge of enthusiam for all things Greek, including Greek mythology. In Britain, it was a great period for new translations of Greek tragedies and Homer, and these in turn inspired contemporary poets, such as Keats, Byron and Shelley. 4] The Hellenism of Queen's Victoria poet laureate, Alfred Lord Tennyson, was such that even his portraits of the quintessentially English court of King Arthrur are suffused with echoes of the Homeric epics.The visual arts kept pace, stimulated by the purchase of the Parthenon marbles in 1816; many of the â€Å"Greek† paintings of Lord Leighton and Lawrence Alma-Tadema were seriously accepted as part of the transmission of the Hellenic ideal. [5] The German composer of the 18th century Christoph Gluck was also influenced by Greek mythology. 1] American authors of the 19th century, such as Thomas Bulfinch and Nathaniel Hawthorne, believed that myths should provide pleasure, and held that the study of the classical myths was essential to the understanding of English and Americal literatu re. [6] According to Bulfinch, â€Å"the so-called divinities of Olympus have not a single worshipper among living men; they belong now not to the department of theology, but to those of literature and taste†. [7] In more recent times, classical themes have been reinterpreted by such major dramatists as Jean Anouilh, Jean Cocteau, and Jean Giraudoux in France, Eugene O'Neill in America, and T.S. Eliot in England and by great novelists such as the Irish James Joyce and the French Andre Gide. Richard Strauss, Jacques Offenbach and many others have set Greek mythological themes to music. [1]References 1. ^ a b c d â€Å"Greek Mythology†. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2002. 2. ^ a b c â€Å"Greek mythology†. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2002. * L. Burn, Greek Myths, 75 3. ^ a b l. Burn, Greek Myths, 75 4. ^ l. Burn, Greek Myths, 75-76 5. ^ l. Burn, Greek Myths, 76 6. ^ Klatt-Brazouski, Ancient Greek and Roman Mythology, 4 7. ^ T. Bulfinch, Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythol ogy, 1 Greek Mythology Greek Mythology,  set  of  diverse  traditional tales told by the ancient Greeks about the exploits of gods and heroes and their relations with ordinary mortals. The  ancient  Greeks  worshiped many gods within a culture that tolerated diversity. Unlike other belief systems, Greek culture recognized no single truth or code and produced no sacred, written text like the Bible or the Qur’an. Stories about the origins and actions of Greek divinities varied widely, depending, for example, on whether the tale appeared in a comedy, tragedy, or epic poem.Greek mythology was like a complex and rich language, in which the Greeks could express a vast range of perceptions about the world. A  Greek  city-state  devoted itself to a particular god or group of gods in whose honor it built temples. The temple generally housed a statue of the god or gods. The Greeks honored the city’s gods in festivals and also offered sacrifices to the gods, usually a domestic animal such as a goat. Stories about the gods varied by geographic location: A god might have one set of characteristics in one city or region and quite different characteristics elsewhere. II A A1PRINCIPAL FIGURES IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY Greek  mythology  has  several distinguishing characteristics, in addition to its multiple versions. The Greek gods resembled human beings in their form and in their emotions, and they lived in a society that resembled human society in its levels of authority and power. However, a crucial difference existed between gods and human beings: Humans died, and gods were immortal. Heroes also played an important role in Greek mythology, and stories about them conveyed serious themes. The Greeks considered human heroes from the past closer to themselves than were the immortal gods. GodsGiven  the  multiplicity of myths that circulated in Greece, it is difficult to present a single version of the genealogy (family history) of the gods. However, two accounts together provide a genealogy that most ancient Greeks would have recognized. One is the account given by Greek poet Hesiod in his Theogony (Genealogy of the Gods), written in the 8th century BC. The other account, The Library, is attributed to a mythographer (compiler of myths) named Apollodorus, who lived during the 2nd century BC. The Creation of the Gods According  to  Greek  myths about creation, the god Chaos (Greek for â€Å"Gaping Void†) was the foundation of all things.From Chaos came Gaea (â€Å"Earth†); the bottomless depth of the underworld, known as Tartarus; and Eros (â€Å"Love†). Eros, the god of love, was needed to draw divinities together so they Greek Mythology might produce offspring. Chaos produced Night, while Gaea first bore Uranus, the god of the heavens, and after him produced the mountains, sea, and gods known as Titans. The Titans were strong and large, and they committed arrogant deeds. The youngest and most important Titan was C ronus. Uranus and Gaea, who came to personify Heaven and Earth, also gave birth to the Cyclopes, one-eyed giants who made thunderbolts.See also Creation Stories. A2 A3 A4 Cronus and Rhea Uranus  tried  to  block any successors from taking over his supreme position by forcing back into Gaea the children she bore. But the youngest child, Cronus, thwarted his father, cutting off his genitals and tossing them into the sea. From the bloody foam in the sea Aphrodite, goddess of sexual love, was born. After  wounding  his  father and taking away his power, Cronus became ruler of the universe. But Cronus, in turn, feared that his own son would supplant him. When his sister and wife Rhea gave birth to offspring—Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon—Cronus swallowed them.Only the youngest, Zeus, escaped this fate, because Rhea tricked Cronus. She gave him a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow in place of the baby. Zeus and the Olympian Gods When  ful ly  grown,  Zeus forced his father, Cronus, to disgorge the children he had swallowed. With their help and armed with the thunderbolt, Zeus made war on Cronus and the Titans, and overcame them. He established a new regime, based on Mount Olympus in northern Greece. Zeus ruled the sky. His brother Poseidon ruled the sea, and his brother Hades, the underworld.Their sister Hestia ruled the hearth, and Demeter took charge of the harvest. Zeus married his sister Hera, who became queen of the heavens and guardian of marriage and childbirth. Among their children was Ares, whose sphere of influence was war. Twelve  major  gods  and goddesses had their homes on Mount Olympus and were known as the Olympians. Four children of Zeus and one child of Hera joined the Olympian gods Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and Ares. Zeus’s Olympian offspring were Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, and Athena. Hera gave birth to Hephaestus. The Offspring of ZeusZeus  had  numerous   children by both mortal and immortal women. By the mortal Semele he had Dionysus, a god associated with wine and with other forms of intoxication and ecstasy. By Leto, a Titan, Zeus fathered the twins Apollo and Artemis, who became two of the most important Olympian divinities. Artemis remained a virgin and took hunting as her special province. Apollo became associated with music and prophecy. People visited his oracle (shrine) at Delphi to seek his prophetic advice. By the nymph Maia, Zeus became father of Hermes, the Olympian trickster god who had the power to cross all kinds of boundaries.Hermes guided the souls of the dead down to the underworld, Greek Mythology carried messages between gods and mortals, and wafted a magical sleep upon the wakeful. Two  other  Olympian  divinities, Hephaestus and Athena, had unusual births. Hera conceived Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, without a male partner. Subsequently he suffered the wrath of Zeus, who once hurled him from Olympus for coming to the aid of his mother; this fall down onto the island of Lemnos crippled Hephaestus. The birth of Athena was even stranger. Zeus and Metis, daughter of the Titan Oceanus, were the parents of Athena.But Gaea had warned Zeus that, after giving birth to the girl with whom she was pregnant, Metis would bear a son destined to rule heaven. To avoid losing his throne to a son, Zeus swallowed Metis, just as Cronus had previously swallowed his own children to thwart succession. Metis’s child Athena was born from the head of Zeus, which Hephaestus split open with an axe. Athena, another virgin goddess, embodied the power of practical intelligence in warfare and crafts work. She also served as the protector of the city of Athens. Another  of  Zeus’s  children was Persephone; her mother was Demeter, goddess of grain, vegetation, and the harvest.Once when Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow, Hades, god of the underworld, saw and abducted her, taking her do wn to the kingdom of the dead to be his bride. Her grief-stricken mother wandered the world in search of her; as a result, fertility left the earth. Zeus commanded Hades to release Persephone, but Hades had cunningly given her a pomegranate seed to eat. Having consumed food from the underworld, Persephone was obliged to return below the earth for part of each year. Her return from the underworld each year meant the revival of nature and the beginning of spring.This myth was told especially in connection with the Eleusinian Mysteries, sacred rituals observed in the Greek town of Elevsis near Athens. The rituals offered initiates in the mysteries the hope of rebirth, just as Persephone had been reborn after her journey to the underworld. Many  Greek  myths  report the exploits of the principal Olympians, but Greek myths also refer to a variety of other divinities, each with their particular sphere of influence. Many of these divinities were children of Zeus, symbolizing the fact that they belonged to the new Olympian order of Zeus’s regime.The Muses, nine daughters of Zeus and the goddess of memory, Mnemosyne, presided over song, dance, and music. The Fates, three goddesses who controlled human life and destiny, and the Horae, goddesses who controlled the seasons, were appropriately the children of Zeus and Themis, the goddess of divine justice and law. Far different in temperament were the Erinyes (Furies), ancient and repellent goddesses who had sprung from the earth after it had been impregnated with the blood of Uranus’s severed genitals. Terrible though they were, the Erinyes also had a legitimate role in the world: to pursue those who had murdered their own kin.A5 Disruptive Deities Human  existence  is  characterized by disorder as well as order, and many of the most characteristic figures in Greek mythology exert a powerfully disruptive effect. Satyrs, whom the Greeks imagined as part human and part horse (or part goat), led liv es dominated by wine and lust. Myths depicted them as companions of Dionysus who drunkenly pursued nymphs, spirits of nature represented as young and beautiful maidens. Many of the jugs used at Greek symposia (drinking parties) carry images of satyrs. Equally  wild,  but  more threatening than the satyrs, were the savage centaurs.These monsters, Greek Mythology depicted as half-man and half-horse, tended toward uncontrolled aggression. The centaurs are known for combat with their neighbors, the Lapiths, which resulted from an attempt to carry off the Lapith women at a wedding feast. This combat was depicted in sculpture on the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena in Athens. The  Sirens,  usually  portrayed as birds with women’s heads, posed a different sort of threat. These island-dwelling enchantresses lured mariners to their deaths by the irresistible beauty of their song.The seafaring Greek hero Odysseus alone survived this temptation by ordering his compani ons to block their own ears, to bind him to the mast of his ship, and to ignore all his entreaties to be allowed to follow the lure of the Sirens’ song. B B1 B2 Mortals The  Greeks  had  several myths to account for the origins of humanity. According to one version, human beings sprang from the ground, and this origin explained their devotion to the land. According to another myth, a Titan molded the first human beings from clay. The Greeks also had a story about the destruction of humanity, similar to the biblical deluge.The Creation of Human Beings Conflicting  Greek  myths tell about the creation of humanity. Some myths recount how the populations of particular localities sprang directly from the earth. The Arcadians, residents of a region of Greece known as Arcadia, claimed this distinction for their original inhabitant, Pelasgus (see Pelasgians). The Thebans boasted descent from earthborn men who had sprung from the spot where Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, had sown the ground with the teeth of a sacred dragon. According to another tale, one of the Titans, Prometheus, fashioned the first human being from water and earth.In the more usual version of the story Prometheus did not actually create humanity but simply lent it assistance through the gift of fire. Another  tale  dealt  with humanity’s re-creation. When Zeus planned to destroy an ancient race living on Earth, he sent a deluge. However, Deucalion, a son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha—the Greek equivalents of the biblical Noah and his wife—put provisions into a chest and climbed into it. Carried across the waters of the flood, they landed on Mount Parnassus. After the waters receded, the couple gratefully made sacrifices to Zeus.His response was to send Hermes to instruct them how to repopulate the world. They should cast stones behind them. Stones thrown by Deucalion became men; those thrown by Pyrrha, women. The Greek People According  to  myth,à ‚  the various peoples of Greece descended from Hellen, son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. One genealogy related that the Dorian and the Aeolian Greeks sprang from Hellen’s sons Dorus and Aeolus. The Achaeans and Ionians descended from Achaeos and Ion, sons of Hellen’s other son, Xuthus. These figures, in their turn, produced offspring who, along with children born of unionsGreek Mythology between divinities and mortals, made up the collection of heroes and heroines whose exploits constitute a central part of Greek mythology. C C1 C2 C3 Heroes Myths  about  heroes  are particularly characteristic of Greek mythology. Many of these heroes were the sons of gods, and a number of myths involved expeditions by these heroes. The expeditions generally related to quests or combats. Scholars consider some of these myths partly historical in nature—that is, they explained events in the distant past and were handed down orally from one generation to the next.Two of the most important of the semihistorical myths involve the search for the Golden Fleece and the quest that led to the Trojan War. In other myths heroes such as Heracles and Theseus had to overcome fearsome monsters. Jason and the Golden Fleece Jason  was  a  hero  who  sailed in the ship Argo, with a band of heroes called the Argonauts, on a dangerous quest for the Golden Fleece at the eastern end of the Black Sea in the land of Colchis. Jason had to fetch this family property, a fleece made of gold from a winged ram, in order to regain his throne.A dragon that never slept guarded the fleece and made the mission nearly impossible. Thanks to the magical powers of Medea, daughter of the ruler of Colchis, Jason performed the impossible tasks necessary to win the fleece and to take it from the dragon. Afterward Medea took horrible revenge on Pelias, who had killed Jason’s parents, stolen Jason’s throne, and sent Jason on the quest for the fleece. She tricked Peliasâ€⠄¢s daughters into cutting him up and boiling him in a cauldron. Medea’s story continued to involve horrific violence.When Jason rejected her for another woman, Medea once more used her magic to avenge herself with extreme cruelty. Meleager Jason  and  the  same  generation of heroes took part in another adventure, with Meleager, the son of King Oeneus of Calydon and his wife Althea. At Meleager’s birth the Fates predicted that he would die when a log burning on the hearth was completely consumed. His mother snatched the log and hid it in a chest. Meleager grew to manhood. One day, his father accidentally omitted Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, from a sacrifice. In revenge Artemis sent a mighty boar to ravage the country.Meleager set out to destroy it, accompanied by some of the greatest heroes of the day, including Peleus, Telamon, Theseus, Jason, and Castor and Polydeuces. The boar was killed. However, Meleager killed his mother’s brothers in a quarr el about who should receive the boar skin. In her anger Althea threw the log on to the fire, so ending her son’s life; she then hanged herself. Heroes of the Trojan War The  greatest  expedition of all was that which resulted in the Trojan War. The object of this quest was Helen, a beautiful Greek woman who had been abducted by Paris, son of King Priam of Troy.Helen’s husband Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon led an army of Greeks to besiege Troy. After ten Greek Mythology years, with many heroes dead on both sides, the city fell to the trick of the Trojan Horse—a giant wooden horse that the Greeks built and left outside the gates of Troy while their army pretended to withdraw. Not knowing that Greek heroes were hiding inside the horse, the Trojans took the horse into the city. The hidden Greeks then slipped out, opened the city gates and let their army in, thus defeating Troy. The Iliad, an epic poem attributed to Greek poet Homer, tells the story of the T rojan War.The story continued with the Odyssey, another long poem attributed to Homer, in which the Greek hero Odysseus made his way home after the Trojan War. Odysseus returned to his faithful wife, Penelope, whereas Agamemnon returned to be murdered by his faithless wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover. Historians  considered the Trojan War entirely mythical until excavations in Turkey showed that there had been cities on the site of Troy and that fire had destroyed one of these cities at about the time of the Trojan War, sometime from 1230 BC to 1180 BC. C4 C5 Heracles and TheseusThe  deeds  of  the  heroes Heracles (see Hercules) and Theseus exemplify a central theme in Greek mythology: the conflict between civilization and wild savagery. Each hero confronted and overcame monstrous opponents, yet neither enjoyed unclouded happiness. Heracles  had  been  an  Argonaut but left the expedition after being plunged into grief at the loss of his companion Hylas. In anoth er story, a fit of madness led Heracles to kill his own wife and children. But he is best known for his feats of prowess against beasts and monsters, which began soon after his birth.The most difficult of these feats are known as the 12 labors, which are believed to represent efforts to conquer death and achieve immortality. Although Heracles died, his father, Zeus, gave him a place on Mount Olympus. Theseus  successfully  slew the Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull. On his voyage home to Athens, however, he forgot to hoist the white sails that would have signified the success of his adventure. According to one tale, Theseus’s heartbroken father Aegeus, seeing black sails, believed his son had died, and committed suicide. The Aegean Sea in which he drowned is presumably named after Aegeus.Oedipus No  hero  of  Greek  mythology has proved more fascinating than Oedipus. He destroyed a monster, the Sphinx, by answering its riddle. Yet his ultimate do wnfall served as a terrifying warning of the instability of human fortune. As a baby, Oedipus had been abandoned on a mountainside by his parents, King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes, because of a prophecy that the child would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Saved by the pity of a shepherd, the child—its identity unknown—was reared by the king and queen of the neighboring city of Corinth.In due course, Oedipus unwittingly fulfilled the prophecy, matching the horrific crimes he had committed with the equally ghastly self-punishment of piercing his own eyes with Jocasta’s brooch-pins. Greek Mythology III A Gods and Goddesses B THE NATURE OF GREEK GODS AND HEROES In  many  respects  the  gods and goddesses of Greek mythology resembled extraordinarily powerful human beings. They experienced emotions such as jealousy, love, and grief, and they shared with humans a desire to assert their own authority and to punish anyone who flouted it.How ever, these emotions and desires took supernaturally intense form in gods and goddesses. As numerous literary descriptions and artistic representations testify, the Greeks imagined their gods to have human shape, although this form was strongly idealized. The  Greeks,  moreover, modeled relationships between divinities on those between human beings. Apollo and Artemis were brother and sister, Zeus and Hera were husband and wife, and the society of the gods on Mount Olympus resembled that of an unruly family, with Zeus at its head. The gods could temporarily enter the human world.They might, for example, fall in love with a mortal, as Aphrodite did with Adonis; Apollo with Daphne; and Zeus with Leda, Alcmene, and Danae. Or they might destroy a mortal who displeased them, as Dionysus destroyed King Pentheus of Thebes for mocking his rites. Not  all  Greek  divinities resembled human beings. They could also be uncanny, strange, and alien, a quality made visible in artistic re presentations of monsters. For example, the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa had a stare that turned her victims to stone. The Graeae, sisters of the Gorgons, were gray-haired old crones from birth.They possessed but a single tooth and a single eye between them. Typhoeus was a hideous monster from whose shoulders grew a hundred snakeheads with dark, flickering tongues. Even  the  major  deities of Olympus showed alien characteristics at times. A recurrent sign of divine power is the ability to change shape, either one’s own or that of others. Athena once transformed herself into a vulture; Poseidon once took the form of a stallion. This ability could prove convenient such as when Zeus assumed the form of a swan to woo Leda. Zeus turned Lycaon, a disrespectful king, into a wolf to punish him for his wickedness.The ability to exercise power over the crossing of boundaries is a crucial feature of divine power among the Greeks. Heroes Greek  mythology  also  told how divini ties interacted with heroes, a category of mortals who, though dead, were believed to retain power to influence the lives of the living. In myths heroes represented a kind of bridge between gods and mortals. Heroes such as Achilles, Perseus, and Aeneas were the products of a union between a deity and a mortal. The fact that the gods often intervened to help heroes—for example, during combat—indicated not the heroes’ weakness but their special importance.Yet heroes were not the equals of the gods. With  a  logic  characteristic of Greek myth, heroes typically possessed a defect to balance out their exceptional power. For example, the warrior Achilles, hero of the Trojan War, was invulnerable except in the heel. The prophet Cassandra, who warned the Trojans of dangers such as the Trojan Horse, Greek Mythology always prophesied the truth but was never believed. Heracles constituted an extreme example of this paradox: His awesome strength was balanced by his t endency to become a victim of his own excessive violence.Nevertheless, the gods allowed Heracles to cross the ultimate boundary by gaining admission to Olympus. IV A B THE FUNCTIONS OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY Like  most  other  mythological traditions, Greek myths served several purposes. First, Greek myths explained the world. Second, they acted as a means of exploration. Third, they provided authority and legitimacy. Finally, they provided entertainment. Explanation Greek  myths  lent  structure and order to the world and explained how the current state of things had originated. Hesiod’s Theogony narrated the development of the present order of the universe by relating it to Chaos, the origin of all things.By a complex process of violence, struggle, and sexual attraction, the regime led by Zeus had eventually taken over. Another poem by Hesiod, Works and Days, explained why the world is full of trouble. According to the poem the first woman, Pandora, opened a jar whose lid she had been forbidden to lift. As a result of her disobedience all the diseases and miseries previously confined in the jar escaped into the world. Such a myth also makes a statement about relationships between the sexes in Hesiod’s own world.Scholars assume that he composed the poem for a largely male audience that was receptive to a tale that put women at the root of all evil. One  of  the  commonest  types of explanation given in myths relates to ritual. Myths helped worshipers make sense of a religious practice by telling how the practice originated. A prime example is sacrifice, a ritual that involved killing a domesticated animal as an offering to the gods. The ceremony culminated in the butchering, cooking, and sharing of the meat of the victim. Hesiod recounts the myth associated with this rite.According to this myth, the tricky Titan Prometheus tried to outwit Zeus by offering him a cunningly devised choice of meals. Zeus could have either an apparently unappetizing dish—an ox paunch, which had tasty meat concealed within—or a seemingly delicious one, gleaming fat on the outside, which had nothing but bones hidden beneath. Zeus chose the second dish, and ever since human beings have kept the tastiest part of every sacrifice for themselves, leaving the gods nothing but the savor of the rising smoke. Exploration Myths  charted  paths  through difficult territory, examining contradictions and ambiguities.For instance, Homer’s Iliad explores the consequences during the Trojan War of the Greek leader Agamemnon’s decision to deprive the warrior Achilles of his allotted prize, a female slave. Achilles feels that Agamemnon has assailed his honor or worth but wonders how far he should go in reaction. Is he right to refuse to fight, if that means the destruction of the Greek army? Is he justified in rejecting Agamemnon’s offer of compensation? One of this poem’s themes explores the limits of ho nor. Greek Mythology The  dramatic  genre  of tragedy provides the clearest example of mythical exploration (see see Greek Literature; Drama and Dramatic Arts).The great Athenian playwrights of the 5th century BC— Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides—wrote tragedies that explored social questions by placing them, in extreme and exaggerated form, in a mythical context. Sophocles’s tragic play Antigone concerns just such an extreme situation. Two brothers have killed each other in battle: Eteocles defending his homeland, and Polynices attacking it. Their sister Antigone, in defiance of an edict by the city’s ruler, attempts to bury her ostensibly traitorous brother Polynices. Sophocles raises several moral issues. Is Antigone justified in seeking to bury her brother?Which should prevail, a religious obligation to tend and bury a corpse, or a city’s well-being? The answers to these moral issues are far from clear-cut, as we might expect from a wo rk whose subtlety and profundity have so often been admired. C D V A Legitimation Myths  also  had  the  function of legitimation. A claim, an action, or a relationship acquired extra authority if it had a precedent in myth. Aristocratic Greek families liked to trace their ancestry back to the heroes or gods of mythology. The Greek poet Pindar, who wrote in the early 5th century BC, offers ample evidence for this preference. In his songs Pindar raised the exploits of current victors in the Olympian Games by linking them with the deeds of their mythical ancestors. In addition, two Greek city-states could cement bonds between them by showing that they had an alliance in the mythological past. Entertainment Finally,  myth  telling was a source of enjoyment and entertainment. Homer’s epics contain several descriptions of audiences held spellbound by the songs of bards (poets), and recitations of Homer’s poems also captivated audiences. Public performances of tr agic drama were also hugely popular, regularly drawing some 15,000 spectators. ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF GREEK MYTHOLOGYOur  knowledge  of  Greek mythology begins with the epic poems attributed to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, which date from about the 8th century BC even though the stories they relate probably have their origins in events that occurred several centuries earlier. Scholars, however, know that the origins of Greek mythology reach even farther back than that. Origins of Greek Mythology Linguists  (people  who study languages) have concluded that some names of Greek deities, including Zeus, can be traced back to gods worshiped by speakers of Proto-Indo-European, the common ancestor of the Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit languages.But it would be misleading to regard the people who may have spoken this language as originators of Greek mythology because many other elements contributed. Greek Mythology Archaeologists  have  shown that many of the places where mythical events presumably took place correspond to sites that had historical importance during the Mycenaean period of Greek history (second half of the 2nd millennium BC). Scholars thus consider it likely that the Mycenaeans made a major contribution to the development of the stories, even if this contribution is hard to demonstrate in detail.Some scholars have argued that the Minoan civilization of Crete also had a formative influence on Greek myths. The myth of the Minotaur confined in a labyrinth in the palace of King Minos, for example, might be a memory of historical bull-worship in the labyrinthine palace at Knossos on Crete. However, there is little evidence that Cretan religion survived in Greece. Nor have any ancient inscriptions confirmed that Minos ever existed outside of myth. Scholars  can  demonstrate influence on Greek mythology from the Middle East much more reliably than influence from Crete.Greek mythology owed much to cultures in Mesopotamia and Anatolia, e specially in the realm of cosmogony (origin of the universe) and theogony (origin of the gods). To take one example, a clear parallel exists in an early Middle Eastern myth for Greek poet Hesiod’s story about the castration of Uranus by his son Cronus and the subsequent overthrow of Cronus by his son Zeus. The Middle Eastern myth tells of the sky god Anu who was castrated by Kumarbi, father of the gods. The weather and storm god Teshub, in turn, displaced Anu. Scholars continue to bring to light more and more similarities between Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies.B Development of Greek Mythology Our  knowledge  of  Greek myths comes from a mixture of written texts, sculpture, and decorated pottery. Scholars have reconstructed stories that circulated orally by inference and guesswork. Homer’s  epics,  the  Iliad and the Odyssey, stand at the beginning of Greek literary tradition (see Greek literature), even though they almost certainly depended on a lengt hy previous tradition of oral poetry. The Iliad is set during the Trojan War; it focuses on the consequences of a quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, two of the leading Greek warriors.The Odyssey is about the aftermath of the Trojan War, when the Greek hero Odysseus at last returns to his home on the island of Ithaca following years of wandering in wild and magical lands. The Trojan War later provided subject matter for many tragic dramas and for imagery on countless painted vases. Hesiod’s  Theogony,  composed in the 8th century BC at about the same time as the Homeric epics, gave an authoritative account of how things began. The creation of the world, described by Hesiod in terms of passions and crimes of the gods, is a theme that later Greek philosophers such as Empedocles and Plato developed but took in new directions.This connection serves as a reminder that mythology was not a separate aspect of Greek culture, but one that interacted with many other fields of ex perience, particularly the writing of history. For example, in the 5th century BC Greek historian Herodotus employed numerous themes and story patterns from Greek epics and tragedies in writing his historical account of the war between Greeks and Persians (see Persian Wars). Although  the  authority of Homer and Hesiod remained dominant, the poetic retelling of myths continued throughout antiquity.Myths were constantly remade in the light of new social and political circumstances. The Hellenistic period of Greek history (4th century to 1st century BC) saw many new trends in the treatment of myths. One of the most important was the development of mythography, Greek Mythology the compilation and organization of myths on the basis of particular themes (for example, myths about metamorphosis). Such organization corresponded to a wish of newly established Hellenistic rulers to lend legitimacy to their regimes by claiming that they continued a cultural tradition reaching back into a g reat past.Artists,  too,  portrayed myths. Statues of gods stood inside Greek temples, and relief sculptures of scenes from mythology adorned pediments and friezes on the outside of these temples (see Greek Art and Architecture). Among the best-known examples are the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens. These reliefs include depictions of combat between centaurs and Lapiths. Other  visual  representations of mythology were more modest in size and scope. The best evidence for the use of mythology in Greek painting comes from painted ceramic vases.The Greeks used these vases in a variety of contexts, from cookery to funerary ritual to athletic games. (Vases filled with oil were awarded as prizes in games. ) In most cases scholars can securely identify the imagery on Greek vases as mythological, but sometimes they have no way of telling whether the artist intended an allusion to mythology because myth became fused with everyday life. For example, does a representation of a woman weaving signify Penelope, wife of Odysseus who spent her days at a loom, or does it portray someone engaged in an everyday activity?The  Greeks  retold  myths orally, as well as preserving them in literary and artistic works. The Greeks transmitted to children tales of monsters and myths of gods and heroes. Old men gathered to exchange tales in leschai (clubs or conversation places). Storytelling, whether in writing, art, or speech, was at the heart of Greek civilization. VI A THE LEGACY OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY Mythology  formed  a  central reference point in Greek society because it was interwoven with ritual and other aspects of social existence.Yet the question of how far people believed the myths is a difficult and probably unanswerable one. Some intellectuals, such as Greek writer Palaephatus, tried to interpret the myths as having figurative (nonliteral) meanings. Writing in the 4th century BC, Palaephatus interpreted the stories of Diomedes, a king devoured by his own mares, and of Actaeon, a hunter torn apart by his own hounds, as concealing perfectly credible accounts of young men who had spent too much money on their animals and so been figuratively eaten alive by debt.Other  thinkers,  such  as the 4th-century-BC philosopher Plato, objected to some myths on moral grounds, particularly to myths that told of crimes committed by the gods. Yet such skepticism seems hardly to have altered the imaginative power and persistence of Greek myths. As late as the 2nd century AD, the Greek traveler and historian Pausanias described the myths and cults in the places he visited as if they constituted a still-living complex of religious discourse and behavior. Ancient Rome and Early ChristianityThe  ancient  Romans  eventually took over Greek civilization and conquered Greece. In the process, they adapted Greek mythology, and myths remained a vehicle for reflecting on and coping with the Greek Mythology world. In his poem the Aeneid, wri tten in the 1st century BC, Roman poet Virgil used the theme of the wandering Trojan hero Aeneas and his eventual foundation of a settlement that became Rome. The Aeneid not only continues story patterns developed in Homer’s epics, but it also makes frequent and detailed allusions to the texts of Homer and other Greek writers.The long poem Metamorphoses by Roman poet Ovid embraces an enormous number of Greek myths, reworked into a composition that later had unparalleled influence on European culture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Greek  mythology  survived during Christian antiquity by its interpretation as allegory (expressive of a deeper or hidden meaning). Early Christians incorporated pagan stories into their own worldview if they could reinterpret the story to express a concealed, uplifting meaning.In the 5th century AD, for example, Latin mythographer Fulgentius gave an allegorical reading of the Judgment of Paris. The Greek myth told of a young Trojan shepherd faced with a choice between the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Each goddess tried to bribe Paris to name her the most beautiful: Hera offering power, Athena offering success in battle, and Aphrodite offering a beautiful woman. Fulgentius explained that the choice was actually a moral one, between a life of action, a life of contemplation, and a life dominated by love.The allegorical approach to the myths has never died out; we find it today in the writings of those who regard myths as expressions of basic, universal psychological truths. For example, Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, borrowed from Greek mythology in developing his ideas of human psychosexual development, which he described in terms of an Oedipus complex and an Electra complex. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung believed that certain psychic structures he called archetypes were common to all people in all times and gave rise to recurring ideas such as mythological themes. BEuropean Art, Music, and Lite rature The  influence  of  Greek mythology on Western art, music, and literature can hardly be exaggerated. Many of the greatest works of painting and sculpture have taken myths as their subject. Examples include the Birth of Venus (after 1482) by Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli, a marble sculpture of Apollo and Daphne (1622-1625) by Italian baroque sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini, a terrifying Cronus Devouring One of His Children (1820-1823) by Spanish painter Francisco de Goya, and Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (about 1558) by Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel.In the Bruegel painting peasants continue with their daily toil oblivious of the mythological drama being played out in the sky above. Musicians  too,  especially composers of opera and oratorio, have found inspiration in ancient myths. Operatic dramatizations of these stories begin with Orfeo (Orpheus, 1607) and Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (The Return of Ulysses to His Homeland, 1641) by Italian comp oser Claudio Monteverdi.They continue into the 20th century with Elektra (1909) by German composer Richard Strauss and Oedipus Rex (1927) by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. The  impact  of  Greek  mythology on literature has been incalculably great. In the 20th century the story of the murderous revenge of Orestes on his mother Clytemnestra (for killing his father, Agamemnon) has inspired writers as diverse as American dramatist Eugene O’Neill (in Mourning Becomes Electra, 1931), American-born poet and playwright T. S.Eliot (in The Family Reunion, 1939), and French philosopher and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre (in Les Mouches [1943; The Flies, 1946]). Among the Greek Mythology most notable of all literary works inspired by Greek mythology is Ulysses by Irish writer James Joyce. In this intricate novel, Ulysses (Odysseus) becomes Dublin resident Leopold Bloom, while Bloom’s wife, Molly, combines characteristics of faithful Penelope (wife of Odysseus) and seducti ve Calypso (a sea nymph who holds Odysseus captive on his journey home).The  influence  of  Greek mythology shows no sign of diminishing. Computer games (see Electronic Games) and science fiction frequently use combat- or quest-oriented story patterns that have clear parallels in classical mythology. Greek myths developed in a specific ancient society, but the emotional and intellectual content of the stories has proved adaptable to a broad range of cultural contexts.