Myths-Period 2
At the end of the movie Troy, Achilles captures the essence of humanity when he says, "The Gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again."
The themes of life and death have come up quite a bit during the presentations. Why were these themes so important to the Greeks? Why do you think the Gods envy mortals? Provide an example from one of the myths taught by your classmates to discuss in detail why the Greeks wrote about such themes. In what way do these myths stand the test of time?
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ReplyDeleteThe themes of life and death were clearly very important to the Greeks. These two things were what dictated their future. If a person lived, then they were considered great heroes because they evaded death. If they died or met a tragic end, then the person could’ve become a god or become a legend in Hades. Many people believe that once life is over, there is nothing left for you. For the Greeks, death was a whole other adventure they had yet to conquer. I think that the gods envy the mortals because of their quick inclination to death. The immortal gods had an eternity of “living” in their future. When mortals died, they could either become a god or just rest peacefully. The gods had a seemingly unending time span of arguments between each other and conflict to help settle in the mortal world. An example of this theory can be found in the Greek myth Cupid and Psyche. The main goddess of this story is Venus. She is extremely jealous of Psyche’s inhuman beauty. She also plans the demise and death of Psyche throughout the story. We can assume that she is angry of the happiness in Psyche’s life and wants her to suffer the pain that Venus thinks she felt. Venus hopes that taking the life of this mortal beauty will restore to her the reverence she believed she deserved in her death. These myths stand the test of time because we can see the eternal themes of jealousy in these stories and we can connect life and death to them.
ReplyDelete-Victoria Klein
The themes of life and death were important to the Greeks. They were important to the Greeks because life and death was the one thing that they had that their own gods did not have. Mortality, being able to die, having every moment of your living life be a thrill because you have no idea when your last act will be your last, was something that these gods envied and the Greeks had considered as their most precious attribute. The gods meanwhile are living in an eternal state. They cannot die. They are immortal. What is the point of existence when you know that nothing bad can ever happen to you? Even if you make a mistake, you can always fix it later because you will have a chance later in life. They can't leave the mark because they will always have the chance to change their mistakes. Humans had to race against time only to find their sanctuary after death. Because we know that at some point we will die, life is just that much more important to not only the ancient Greeks but also the rest of the world. Once they had died, they would have found peace. For example, in the myth about the Cyclops and Odysseus, Odysseus and his men had been captured in Polyphemus's cave. Polyphemus was eating Odysseus's men, and Odysseus had to create an elaborate plan of escape. So why would he go to so much trouble? Because he valued his life. He was a hero in that he was able to survive through hardships and pure torture for 10 years until he was able to return home. It was a true test of endurance. Myths like these were used to explain the mystery of life and death. In the ancient times these myths were used to explain the phenomenon to which we still don't even know the answer. Why do we exist? What is our purpose? These questions have been asked over and over and over again, and though we have come up with many different theories, none of them have ever been proven correct. This belief of gods based on myths was their way to explain how we were created and our purposes in life. These myths stand the true test of time because like I said previously, we still don't know the answers to these questions about life. These questions do not have a proven answer, and you can find many stories today which try to explain the same things. Life and death is still one of the biggest mysteries of mankind and our world today.
ReplyDeleteThe themes, life and death, played an important role to the Greeks. These themes were important because death meant that a person can turn into a god or die peacefully, but life meant that a person conquered their obstacles and lived. The Greeks envied this because they knew that nothing could kill them where as mortals could die at any point of their lives. A mortal cares for their life everyday and fulfills it to fullest, but immortal like Hercules doesn't care and makes mistakes everyday hoping to fix them later on. In the myth Hercules, Hercules knew that no one can kill him unless he did it himself. He went to his life killing people for the smallest reasons, such as one of his men spilling a drop of water on him which resulted in death for one of his men. Also, he killed his wife and kids because of the goddess, Hera, who purposely made him go insane. In the end, Hercules couldn't deal with what he had done in his life and lived with guilt. He want his life to be better and there was no going back for him to try to fix things. Once he did something, there was nothing he could do to change it. Hercules kill himself in the end with bows of fire to make all the guilt and pain go away which resulted in the wrong of immortality over powering mortality.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading several Greek myths, the theme of life and death come up often. To the Greeks, there were two lives, the one you lived on Earth and the other when you are dead in Hades. When you were alive you could interact with the world and become a great hero through life and death battles. To the Greeks, life is where you could be a hero, change the world, and have the thrill of putting your life on the line. Just like Achilles who fought Hector to the death even though he was mortal and could die, he still fought all those battles. The gods envied this because they were immortal and could not have that experience of fighting to the death like all Greek heros did. In death, you were a great story of heroism, a great stroy that would get preserved through time. A story that generations from then would read. A god could not have this. They could be in them, but not be one of the most important fighters. Just like in the Battle of Troy, the gods take sides while on Mount Olympus, but were not one of the noble, brave soldiers putting their life on the line. The gods in this situation would not be preserved as a great hero that went down with their army. This theme was evident in many of the stories because it was the one thing the gods envied about the mortals, that they could die.
ReplyDelete-Joey J.
The theme of life and death was important to the Greeks in many ways. Life to the Greeks was a period of time in which a mortal could show their potential and achieve merits. Being alive and knowing the limited amount of time given to live allows mortals to adventure, become a hero, clear up corruption, so on and so forth. Gods, on the other hand, cannot die and therefore have no ability to experience all the flavors of life. In Greek literature, Gods served as symbols of the people, existing as long as time passed. There isn’t really any chance for a God to explore all the aspects of life. Nor can they feel how colorful yet risky life can be in a mortal body. Not only that, Gods cannot experience death either. A mortal, once finished with life, has access to a whole new world in which they can be further recognized for their achievements. Gods, on the other hand, are only simply in control of these events however having no gateway to these themselves. The story of Achilles has a strong connection to this theme. Achilles was very much aware of his impending death. However, he fought with his life and only ceased doing so when Paris’ arrow struck his only weak spot- the ankle. Despite the great risk of dying anytime during life (for fate cannot be controlled), Achilles knew that his efforts for the preservation of the Greeks would be worth it; therefore he fought as bravely as he could. Athena, on the other hand, could only watch all the events occur and hold responsible for guiding the arrow into Achilles’ heel. However, she can never be able to taste the pride, glory, and sacrifice that Achilles felt during his lifetime.
ReplyDeleteGreek myths such as the Trojan War were created as a question to the people; what is the true purpose of life? Life is short, but is death truly that of a terrible thing? As portrayed in Greek myths, death for heroes may actually be something to look forward to. The theme of life and death mythology may be controversial, and existentialism can be debatable, however, Greek mythology was ultimately created to set people on the right path.
~Harrison Lee
The mortal themes are important in Greek mythology because the Gods feel the need to be jealous of the mortals. In a God's life, everything is a cycle. But in a mortal's life, it's unpredictable, something the Gods crave and want. The Gods envy mortals for a lot of reasons. Not only because every moment could be their last, but because the Gods never know what it's like to not know what's coming next. When you're immortal, you live forever. Sure, you can look death in the eye and say "Ha." But, the Gods will never know what it's like to feel the rush of death before they die. Immortal simply means not liable or subject to death. The Gods are jealous because the mortals have their own time to make a name out of themselves. The mortals have a short life, one life that they can do anything with...something that the Gods will never be able to do. In Cupid and Psyche, we see that Venus (or Aphrodite) is jealous of Psyche because her son, Cupid, has fallen in love with a mortal. Venus is susceptible to jealously because Psyche is considered the most beautiful mortal. Whereas herself, Venus, is supposed to be the most beautiful woman regardless of immortality. Venus, being a God, starts to realize that she will never feel as happy as Psyche, so she plans to kill Psyche with fail. Soon Psyche and Cupid are happily married and we see a change in Venus' opinion. She supports the change from mortal to immortal for Psyche. The myths stand the test of time because ever since the ancient times of when the Gods roamed the Earth and controlled it, immortality was a big deal. Everyone wanted to be immortal, but the immortal ones secretly didn't want this gift. So they planned jealously and war to make the mortals realize immortality wasn't a gift, but a curse.
ReplyDelete-Kelsie Benko
In Greek Mythology, it is evident that life and death are major themes. These themes are important to them because life is love, risks, happiness, excitement, sadness, pain, etc. And death is not necessarily the ending, but maybe a new beginning and impetus behind living every day as if it their last. The Gods are jealous of the human beings' mortality because as Achilles said, "Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed." The Gods don't really know their purpose in life and procrastinate finding it because to them, they feel like they have forever to discover who they really are. The Gods do not have the thrill of taking risks because they know the outcome. They are invulnerable, yet this is what makes them the most vulnerable. Every day to them has no meaning because it is just another day in an endless supply of days. Hercules is a perfect example of immortality and unhappiness. He seemed like he had everything others yearned for- Strength. Power. Others either wanted to be him, or feared him. But only he would realize how empty his life was. In a fit of insanity, Hercules had once killed his own wife and children. But as Mitali said, he felt like he had forever to regret his misdeeds, so why worry now? Eventually, all regret dwindled to nothing. Also, despite his long endless life ahead of him, Hercules eventually killed himself out of guilt and pain. Many of the immortal Gods realized how destitute they were by being immortal, and resorted to suicide. These myths stand the test of time because even today, we don't always make the best of the present, but who knows the fate of tomorrow? It is this thought that keeps us going, to take every chance there is, and to live each and every day to the fullest. The Gods as immortals do not understand this, but as mortals we know that you only live life once, but if you live it right, once is enough.
ReplyDeleteThe themes of life and death were very reoccureing in these myths because they valued their lives so much and they cherished every moment they had. From a young age everyone in Greek is taught to worship the goda and the ideals and values of life. Also, the gods could envy the mortals because the mortals live every day of their life to the fullest since they never know when it will be the end for them. In addition, the gods could envy the deaths of the immortals because they wern't so tragic. They died fighting for a country, figthing a demon who threatened their kigdom, or figthing for a loved one. In the Trojan War, Hector had an oppurtunity to avoid death and run away from battle with his wife and son. However. Hector knew he would die and fought for his side, Troy, in the war courageously. Then death came to him when he dueled Achilles. As Hector died, he knew he would and fought for his side do greatly that every god would envy. That is what the gods must envy, the gut and courage of the mortals to live their lives with no care, but to just not wait cower from death. The immortality of the gods clearly has it own dilemmas as the gods do not have as much joy. They suffered from many problems such as Hercules, who had killed his own wife and child. Though the ideal of immortaltiy was the most noteworthy talk of the mortals, it did not satisfy the gods as the mortals still lived as they would live forever.
ReplyDeleteRohan Suwarna
The themes of life and death have been constantly repeated in Greek mythology to show how vital it was to value life. As a member of the Greek society, all of life was controlled by the supernatural and nothing was certain, except for death and an acknowledgment of death that came from the Greek’s deep connection to their deity. In the Greek myths, life was never uneventful with a war here, a curse placed on one there, and danger at seemingly every turn. It is because of these obstacles that the Greeks were able to fulfill such great lives, knowing not to take every day as granted. The Greek gods might have envied the Greeks for the very reasons that Achilles said they did, “They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again." The gods envy the mortals because humans know that they must ultimately meet their end, and so try to savor everyday as if it is their last. When Achilles said that everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed, it means that the gods are jealous of the Greeks because they can find beauty in the life they have been given and the small things that come with it while the gods take their own eternal lives for granted. Because the gods live forever, they live for nothing and have no purpose or goal in what they do. Throughout the entire myth of the Trojan War, the characters are faced with this same common conflict between life and death. Many of the warriors in the Trojan War did not have to fight, for it was not their war. However, because of the wisdom bestowed upon them from being a mortal, they realize they must fight and they could either live in shame or die in glory. Hector, one of the most famous warriors of the Trojan War, though extremely skilled and a prudent leader, too was aware that he might meet his end in the fight for his kingdom’s honor. However, because of the Greek’s deep connection to their gods and purpose in life, he fought until the end, fulfilling his fate.
ReplyDeleteThe themes of life and death were very important to the Greeks. In Greek mythology, life is portrayed as something that should be valued and cherished. The time you have living is a time where your actions control your fate- something also very important to the Greeks. Because you only have a limited time living, the world seems "more beautiful", as Achilles said, because there is so much to experience in such a short time. The Gods are jealous of that. Although the Gods are powerful and are praised by many, their lives seem less worthwhile because they have all of eternity to accomplish their goals. If they make a major mistake in their life, they have to live with that error forever. For example, Hercules was so powerful that it was almost impossible to kill him. When he killed his wife and children, he felt so guilty that he forced himself to perform twelve labors to "cleanse" his soul. But even after that, he was so disgusting with his actions that he committed suicide to escape his guilt. The Gods cannot do that because they have no way to break free from their sins. These myths stand a test in time because of the lessons that are taught. From the myths, we learn that you have to live your life the best way you can because your actions will always impact your life.
ReplyDeleteLife and death were extremely evident themes in Greek mythology. Most people believe that death is the end, but for the Greeks, death was another lifeline. Life and death completely controlled their past, present, and future. These themes are really important to the geeks because, they believe that death is another chance, at life. How you have behaved during your life, and what kind of deeds you have done, all impact how and where you die. For example, in the myth of Theseus, the bandits have done bad deeds, so they are killed by a brave hero, Theseus, on his way to Athens. I think that the gods envy the mortals, because as Achilles said, “everything is more beautiful because were doomed.” It is easier for humans to enjoy something because they know that they will be losing it one day. A mortal’s life is spent more fruitfully because they have less time finding themselves, and once they do they know exactly what they have to do and where they want to end up. Gods spend their lives in confusion, because they have forever to figure out who they are. Also, while many mortals approach the end of their lives peacefully, gods end up killing themselves, because they lose their purpose in life, and literally become tired of living. This is evident when Hercules ended his life, out of the guilt and shame of killing his wife and children. He left the phase of the earth, with immorality and injustice. The myths really do stand to the test of time, because we don’t realize what life means, even today. It is the most valuable gift given to us, so if we don’t use it wisely, there is no point of living it.
ReplyDeleteThe themes of life and death were very important to Greeks. These themes were very important to them because they knew their lives were limited on Earth. The Greeks knew they should deal with their lives to the best of their abilities and daring to take on challenges because they can only enjoy the excitements of life until they meet death. The Greeks were able to clearly identify the idea that people should spend their lives as joyously as if they were to die anytime soon. I believe the Gods envy mortals because mortals can strive in exhilaration to a certain point of time, taking on adventures day by day, while immortal Gods must endure the importance of dealing with the similar events repetitively on forever. The Greek Gods went through complications such as the Trojan War, choosing to support different sides of the battle. However, the Gods never died, while many mortals fought to their deaths. Many of those warriors resulted in well-known heroes, such as Achilles, because of their duties well done during their time. Those people knew that they would die soon, so they died fighting for what they believed in. The Gods wanted that excitement and passion for such a task they knew they could possibly die fighting for, wanting to know that their lives only lasted for some time. The excitement of accomplishing worthy actions while mortals are alive is what the Gods must envy and find pleasure in having. The myths of Greece stand the test of time because they tell others to take mind upon how they are spending their lives because mortals only live on Earth once. These myths say to take action now before the time when it is too late to do anything.
ReplyDeleteThere are many themes that are important to the Greeks but life and death are the most important. Life and death are important to the Greeks because many heroes' fate in the myths face life or death. Death can be another or new adventure for many because it is another chance to "live" if you did not live to the fullest when you were alive. This is the reason for the Gods' envy. While many mortals died, they could not. The mortals knew their fate was life or death but the Gods' fate was just life and not death. In the Trojan war, Hector was the hero for the Trojans even though he had died. Before Hector went to fight Achilles, he knew his fate would be life or death. He even kissed his wife and son goodbye because he knew he would not survive. Although he died, he fought his heart out and fought bravely for the people of Troy. This is what made him a hero to his people. This can be the reason Gods envy mortals because they really don't have a reason why they may be a hero. The mortals face death many times and they are capable of dying but the Gods can face death but they cannot die. The Gods are not happy because all mortals live once but the Gods do not, they live forever.
ReplyDeleteI think that the themes of life and death were very important to the Greeks because each Greek believed that his life was his single chance to accomplish something for himself. The fact that there was so little time for a person to do what he wanted in life added excitement and suspense, because a mortal never knew when his life would end and learned to treasure it more and more with each passing day. We value the things that are limited or short, therefore a human's life is beautiful because it has to come to an end at some point. The Gods' lives would never end so they had less value. The Gods envied the mortals because mortals lived unpredictable lives of thrills, while most Gods controlled their own fate and lived somewhat monotonous lives. The only things the Gods really did was helping or punishing mortals. Throughout the Trojan War, for example, all the Gods did was take sides and help the humans on their sides."Aphrodite, of course, was on the side of Paris. Equally, of course, Hera and Athena were against him..." (191). This shows how all the Gods of Olympus chose sides. Their only purpose wass to help one side win, but they didn't really gain much out of it themselves. The humans fighting the war, on the other hand, risked their lives and faced danger and possible death. Achilles went into the war knowing he was going to die, but it never stopped him because death just added excitement, and he could die knowing he did something for himself and his fellow Greeks. The Gods however, would never feel the adrenaline of war and would never face any danger, because they knew they would live on. The Greek myths stand the test of time because they show us the truths in our lives. We, as humans, are aware of our mortality. No one really wants to live forever. We are content with dying, once we have accomplished what we wanted for ourselves. This is how Greek myths stand the test of time, because they show us the truths of life, death, and mortality.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of life and death goes hand in hand with Greek mythology. This theme is important to the Greeks because they are very aware of their mortality and the fact that they don’t have an unlimited amount of time on Earth. In a sense, the Greeks lived like existentialists because they lived life to the best of their ability and tried to make their existence worthwhile. I believe that the Gods envied the Greeks because they couldn’t truly experience life’s cycle due to their immortality. The Greeks can actually live their life to the fullest because they knew that their time was finite. Gods let their immortality affect their judgment so they had no urgency to accomplish anything. An example of this life and death theme in the book was Hector’s conversation with his wife and child before he went to fight Achilles. Hector accepted the fact that death was a high possibility for him, so he gave his last words to his family before his departure. This explains the theme because by giving his last words to his family, it shows his mental acceptance of death.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of life and death is depicted throughout many myths. This theme is important because the gods never die, so something that a mortal, aka someone who does die, might find miraculous, a god may not be soo impressed by, because they have and will outlive everything. I think that the gods envy the mortals because they want that sporadic, exciting feeling, they want things to seem radiant with beauty, but nothing appears that way too them. In the myth of Cupid and Pysche, Venus wanted herself to appear gorgeous and the most beautiful, but the Pysches mortal beauty was greater, enough to drive everyone from Venus. Venus then wanted to get rid of Pysche, and it was possible because Pysche was a mortal. So it's obvious Venus wants to kill her, and so the theme of death occurs here. This stands the test of time along with everything else because the themes of life and death are reoccurring today and can be connected to modern day culture and situations and you can learn from it all.
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