Compare and contrast the portrayal of the Gods in Virgil's Aeneid and Ovid's metamorphoses.
SONJA CHEUNG COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE PORTRAYAL OF THE GODS IN VIRGIL'S AENEID AND OVID'S METAMORPHOSES. There is a significant difference in the treatment of the gods in the Aeneid and the Metamorphoses, even though both authors were writing in the epic tradition. Virgil wrote his Aeneid in the last ten years of his life, between 29BC and 19BC, after the Battle of Actium, in 31BC, which was significant, as it established Octavian as the sole emperor, Augustus, of Rome. The Aeneid is a celebration of Augustus' achievements and rejoices in the development of Rome. There is a great sense of political propaganda, as well as an historical element, as it illustrates the origins of the Roman people. In contrast, Ovid conceived a different purpose for his epic. He wrote fifteen books, compared to Virgil's twelve, with many of his stories originating from Greek and Roman myth, concerned with the transformations of shapes, from the creation of the world to Julius Caesar's death and deification. He focuses on entertaining the reader in a humorous fashion, and rather than establishing Rome's origins in history, he is more concerned with establishing his own fame, for the future ages. These different backgrounds of the two authors illustrate that they each had contrasting agendas for their books. Thus, the portrayal of the gods differs greatly-Virgil's are austere and purposeful,
Beowulf - Main Ideas and Themes
Beowulf In-Depth Study Mark Tiberio English 10 PIB January 10, 2003 Main Ideas and Themes; Good and Evil- The entire poem of Beowulf deals with the battle of good verses evil, good being Beowulf, his followers, Hrothgar, and Hrothgar's people, and evil being Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon. In this poem the power of good overcomes all the evils, but not without the lose of life. These lives include that of Beowulf, Aeschere, and many of Hrothgar's people. The clashing of good and evil forces was the main method of creating interest and suspense in the poem. The fact that good always overcame evil shows that despite all the perils on the earth good will always prevail. God and Fate- In the poem Beowulf there are many references to God despite the fact that the people, at the time the poem was composed, were of pagan belief. A few of these references include when Beowulf's spirit departs and when Beowulf says that God must decide who dies, referring to himself or Grendel. The later of these two examples also deals with fate, a general belief in the time that the poem was developed. Another example of fate is when Beowulf says "Fate will unwind as it must!" In the day of Beowulf people believed that the future could not be prevented or changed. They believed that the outcome was not effected by the present. That is the reason that Beowulf faced Grendel without a
The republic under Augustus
How true do you consider Augustus, claim that in 28-27 BC he transferred the republic from his power to the dominion of the senate and people? After the battle of Actium at 31 BC, Augustus was put into a dilemma. Originally, the Second Triumvirate had the mission to restore the republic but now after the death of Mark Antony only one man was left in charge, a position in disagreement with the Roman tradition. The hatred of kings was painfully fresh in all minds, ever since Caesar's assassination. Thus, Augustus had to find a way to prevent any future civil wars but without usurping the leadership. In 28 BC he symbolically retired, knowing that the senate and people of Rome would beg for his return, and all this with the aim to differentiate him from the previous tyrants. In Suetonius 28 we read that Augustus was afraid that dividing the power would jeopardize the national security. Truly, with 500 000 soldiers Rome had too many ambitious generals with too little wars to fight and each of them could become the next Sulla or Marius. Hence is the decision of Augustus to reduce the troops to 300,000 (Res Gestae 3) and therefore get rid of people with ambiguous loyalty. The First Settlement from 27 BC gave Augustus more powers than he was supposed to hold - proconsular power in an extended province and 10 years of consulship. This did not mean that he had the power or
An examination of why lines 370- 447 form a key passage in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
Candidate Name: Nele Maria Palipea Candidate Number: 001408- 023 IB English A1 HL World Literature Assignment 2 An examination of why lines 370- 447 form a key passage in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex Word count: 1511 The passage is significant to the play as a whole because it enables the audience to have an insight to its central themes relatively close to the beginning. In particular, it portrays the protagonist's ignorance of his fate which characterizes him for the large part of the play. It's important to note that the myth behind this play was well known amongst Ancient Greeks. Therefore, Oedipus' ignorance was constantly accompanied with dramatic irony in that time. Moreover, this passage reveals the King's difficult and hubris filled nature to which some critics accredit his demise. Interestingly, Sophocles used a very unconventional but original style in this play where he concentrated on character development rather than action. By applying this different approach, Sophocles solved the issue of captivating his audience who had repeatedly seen the myth of Oedipus Rex produced as a play. This originality was and still is the reason behind the success of this play. This essay examines the character development of the protagonist, and the motif of ignorance and dramatic irony that it surfaces. This passage is a turning point in the audience's view of Oedipus'
Homer’s choice in narratorhelps in revealing the purpose of The Odyssey, to describe the Greekculture - Homer changes narrators at the beginning of books 5, 6, and 7 - He does this to show the different sides of the “story” and po
Amanda Rosen December 15, 2002 English 3 Homer's choice in narrator helps in revealing the purpose of The Odyssey, to describe the Greek culture. Homer changes narrators at the beginning of books 5, 6, and 7. He does this to show the different sides of the "story" and point of views in The Odyssey. Book 5 begins with Athena as the narrator. She is advocating for Odysseus' case one more time to her father, Zeus. Although she herself is a god, she is asking permission to help Odysseus from her father before she actually goes and helps him. Father Zeus - you other happy gods who never die - never let any sceptered king be kind and gentle now, not with all his heart, or set his mind on justice - no, let him be cruel and always practice outrage. Think: not one of the people whom he ruled remembers Odysseus now, that godlike man, and kindly as a father to his children. he's left to pine on an island, racked with grief in the nymph Calypso's house - he hold him there by force. He has no way to voyage home to his own native land, no trim ships in reach, no crew to ply the oars and send him scudding over the sea's broad back. And now his dear son... they plot to kill the boy on his way back home. Yes, he has sailed off for news of his father, to holy Pylos first, then out to the sunny hills of Lacedaemon. (V, 8-23) She retold of what Odysseus has gone though being away
Was Julius Caesar an effective leader?
Was Julius Caesar an Effective Leader? When considering whether Julius Caesar was an effective leader two main areas must be taken into account; his generalship and his political positions of power within the Roman Republic. Effectiveness is the degree to which something is successful in producing a desired result of success. This question depends on both his lifetime and the state in which he left Rome on his death. By approaching his entire political career, including his first consulship prior to his military career in Gaul, as well as his dictatorship and in terms of his military exploits, concentrating on the Gallic wars. Also using certain criteria of effective leaders and judge whether he stands up to them, such criteria include: decision making without compromising personal integrity, an ability to fit unforeseen circumstances within an ultimate design, persuasion and the skill to win people over, acceptance of criticism to maintain morale and the choice of competent subordinates.1 By challenging Caesar's personality, as seen through writings on his life, it will discern qualities which stand him as an effective leader and those that do not. It is important to keep in mind that he was a man who was overshadowed by his past and that of his relatives; a weak man suffering from epilepsy and a frail body and coming from a damaged noble family, a relative of Marius who had
Discuss the themes of identity explored in "King Oedipus" and "Waiting for Godot".
Victoria Ulett World Literature Paper 1 Discuss the themes of identity explored in "King Oedipus" and "Waiting for Godot". Identity is made up of individual characteristics by which a person is recognized individually, as a member of a group, and of a wider society. We can draw this identity from our environment and setting, other individuals, memory, and also by contrast and similarities. Identity is needed to give people the ability to know who they are and to exude their individuality, as a form of existence, upon others. The forms of identity explored in these two plays are; the confirmation of identity and the sense of self. We can then maintain our identity by having physical identification and keeping personal relationships. The search for identity is a theme in Sophocles' Ancient Greek tragedy, "King Oedipus". Oedipus lacks sense of self because of a curse set upon him from birth. Before he was born, a curse stated that he would fulfill the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. The play focuses on the gradual and delayed revelation of this oracle that he has already fulfilled. Moreover, it specifically focuses on Oedipus' quest for his inner identity. In "King Oedipus", Oedipus has drawn his identity from his surroundings. The setting of the palace, the riches, and the status define Oedipus, which is one reason as to why he is
Determining Freezing Point Depression Constant for Acetic Acid
Noelle Carpenter -01736014 chem 132-3 July 27 2009 Project #1- Freezing Point Depression Constant for Acetic Acid Introduction: The purpose of this lab was to experimentally determine the colligative property; freezing point depression constant, for acetic acid. Colligative properties are properties of solutions that depend on the number of molecules in a given amount of solvent and not on properties such as size or mass of the molecules. Colligative properties include: vapor pressure; boiling point; depression of freezing point and osmotic pressure. Freezing point is the equilibrium between a liquid and solid phase and is lowered by the presence of a solute compared to a pure solvent. The solute particles cannot enter the solid phase, hence, less molecules participate in the equilibrium so equilibrium is achieved at a lower temperature at which the rate of freezing becomes equal at the rate of solidifying. Because an impurity is being added the freezing temperature of the pure acetic acid would be higher than when acetylsalicylic acid is added to the solution, when the molecules of the solvent freeze they form crystals of pure solvent. At the freezing point of pure solution there was a equilibrium of molecules joining and detaching from the solid but when a solute is added to the solution in the crystals remain as pure solvent so the solute cannot join. The solute
Classical studies
TMA 03 PART 3 CLASSICAL STUDIES PART ONE, Short answer. The Colosseum was the first permanent amphitheatre to be built in Rome. Its huge size, as well as the practical and efficient way it dealt with organising of events and ways of controlling large crowds in a safe manner makes it one of the greatest architectural buildings ever constructed in the Roman Empire and was a gift from Emperor Vespasian and finished under Emperor Titus. The building itself is a vast ellipse with tiers of seating for about 50,000 spectators around a central elliptical arena. There are 76 entrances into the amphitheatre to allow crowds to arrive and leave safely and quickly. The architects had recognised the need for more permanent seating in the Colosseum as opposed temporary wooden benches or the piles of earth used in previous amphitheatres located in other cities. This was after all the centre of the known world and home to the Emperor and so had to be built on a grand scale never seen before. Firstly it had to be a safe place for people to visit and stay for periods of time. Many revolutionary safety devices were designed and attached to the Colosseum, such as the podiums that were built with top rollers that prevented the wild animals and convicts from climbing on top and into the crowd. There is also the design of the exterior to consider. Despite the main activity going on inside the
Dramatic irony in Oedipus Rex.
DRAMATIC IRONY IN OEDIPUS REX Oedipus Rex is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles in the early days of antiquity and is based upon an even more ancient story in Greek mythology. Sophocles, knowing that his audience is aware of the outcome of the play, utilizes that knowledge to create various situations in which dramatic irony play key roles. To begin with, dramatic irony is when the audience knows the tragic truth before the characters do. Through Sophocles's use of irony he manages to avoid retelling an old tale, even though the audience is aware of the story's ending, they are intrigued by the irony present in the story. From the beginning of the play, Oedipus is ignorant of the dreadful acts he has committed: the murder of his father and marrying his mother. But the audience, watching the play, is already well aware of these facts. Therefore, every word and every reaction of Oedipus' with regard to the murder leads itself to dramatic irony. The story revolves around two different attempts to change the course of fate: Jocasta and Laius' killing of Oedipus at birth and Oedipus's flight from Corinth later on. In both cases, an oracle's prophecy comes true regardless of the characters' action. Jocasta kills her son only to find him restored to life and married to her and Oedipus leaves Corinth only to find that in doing so, he has found his real parents and carried out