Myths - Period 12
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?
Life and death come up numerous times in Greek mythology. It seems that to the Greeks, if someone lived, he or she was considered to have conquered death. If someone died, he was either not strong enough to live, or died as a hero. The Gods had several reasons to envy mortals. As Achilles stated, “…any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed.” As depicted, everything is different when you are mortal. You have limited time to leave an impact around you, something that people will always remember you by. However, the immortal gods have an interminable life ahead of them. In a way, the gods do not have a purpose to life, because their existence is not life. To live does not necessarily mean you are not dead. Life can be the state where one exists through the desire to fulfill something, whether it is a dream, a purpose, or for the benefit of someone else. The gods have an eternal life ahead of them, whereas humans have a finite life with clear goals. An example portraying the envy gods felt can be found in the myth “Hercules.” Hera was angered that Hercules was Zeus’ son, and contributed to Hercules’ insanity. Hercules’ goal was always clear in his mind: to finish the twelve labors to “pay tribute” to his family, while Hera did not have to face life or death. Hera acted out of pure jealousy, and that was the only thing that drove her. Moving on, these myths have all withstood the test of time. The living face time every minute, never knowing when that time will end. Time determines life or death, the reappearing themes that come up again and again in Greek mythology.
ReplyDeleteThe themes of life and death come up many times in the “Harry Potter” series. In the fifth book, “The Order of the Phoenix,” Harry expected his godfather to come back as a ghost after he died. He believed that his godfather would have wanted to talk to Harry and not fully disappear from the world. However, talking to the school ghost, Sir Nicholas, made him realize that his godfather would have wanted to “move on” and not come back. His godfather had no other purpose to fulfill, thus he would not have truly “lived” if he had come back in ghost form. As illustrated, Harry’s godfather did not test the idea of time, which he chose to end by moving on, leaving the world completely. It was time that ended his death, a recurring theme in Greek mythology.
Themes relating to life and death are apparent in all the Greek myths. This is because there is no meaning to life when you are a god, because you are immortal. I believe the gods envy mortals, because each moment means something. Mortals are always running out of time, so they must appreciate the life they have now. Once deaths comes into play they're over, and because of that, they must live their lives to the fullest. In Cupid and Psyche, Venus was jealous of Psyche because she was more beautiful than her, even though she was a mortal. Psyche was only accepted when she was turned immortal, because Venus was jealous of her partly because she was mortal. Immortals can do anything they want and be anything they can, except mortal, making that the one thing they do want.
ReplyDeleteThis relates to Tuck everlasting, were the characters are immortal. After a while, people tend to get tired of living forever, and just wish they could die. Ironically they can't, and it often drives characters crazy. When you have all the time in the world, there's no driving force causing you to do anything, and often, your biggest dreams and goals will seem trivial with time. Therefore, life and death play important roles in Greek mythology because Gods are immortal, and because of that life and death have no meaning to them, only to the mortals they prey on.
There are a lot of reoccurring themes that come up when reading Greek myths. Especially love, life, and death. I feel as though the God's envy the mortals because they cannot live their lives to a full extent because of the fact that they are immortal. The mortals life could have been taken at any moment so they had to live their lives like it was their last moment. And also everything is sweeter at its last. For example the last slice of cake or the finale of a great series of books. I feel like this relates to the myth of the Trojan War a lot because the Gods took in favor of the sides. The Gods could not fight in the war and take part in fighting so they just chose sides, this kind of shows how they longingly wanted to be humans and fight for their homeland, but their alternative was to just "help" them out.
ReplyDeleteThe gods are envious of mortals because mortals have a reason to life. The gods know they have forever ahead of them to be dealing with each other. Problems cannot be forgotten between them. As mortals, we try to have an impact on someone or something before we die. With infinite time ahead of them, the gods had no peaceful life to look ahead to. The Greeks wrote about themes of life and death because they were uncertain about it. People are easily convinced when there is no background information to base the belief on. The Greeks wanted the people to feel satisfied with death, and not be tremendously afraid of it. The mortals wished to live forever, and through these myths the Greeks show that the wish for immortality would be a wish wasted. In the myth “Perseus”, Acrius was afraid of the gods and death. He lived his life trying to avoid death, when he should have enjoyed his last moments. If he was not obsessed with avoiding death, he would have died happily; but instead he died paranoid that his grandson would kill him. The Greeks are trying to teach the audience that life should be cherished. Although death is not favorable, it is not something to ignore or stress about. If everyone was immortal, there would be less reason to resolve problems, causing chaos on Earth.
ReplyDeleteThis issue of immortality being a curse, not a pleasure is also referenced in Twilight. Rosalie, an immortal, constantly tries to deter Bella from become a vampire. She tries to persuade Bella by telling her that she has no reason to live anymore. All of her problems torture her everyday, and the ones she wishes to apologize to are long dead, and it kills her emotionally. Through both of these stories, the audience can begin to understand that living forever is not as immaculate as it first sounds.
The themes of life and death were so important to the Greeks because they're everyday things—life and death is what makes the world go round. Without life, there's nothing. Without death, there's really not much meaning. In my opinion, the meaning of life is to give life a meaning before it's too late. There will always be a time limit on life and without that time limit, we may never find out why life is the way it is. We may never find out why we're here and what we're supposed to do here. Without that time limit, we won’t have the motivation to explore the wonders of life as much as we can—to conquer our dreams and to face our fears.
ReplyDeleteI think the gods envy the mortals because as stated before, without that time limit on life, they never really have the motivation to get out and do something. They don’t think to themselves, “I have to do this, this, and this sometime in my life before I die” unlike human beings. In a way, the gods are similar to students who procrastinate a lot. If a student is given a project that won’t have to be handed in until a month later, he/she will typically put it off until the last minute. The gods may have their own “List of things to do,” but they probably put everything off as well—only they have all the time in the world to conquer them. If there’s no “last minute,” then there’s nothing to be done. The gods can’t really place a meaning upon their life—or rather, existence.
An example of the gods envying the mortals was in the story of “Hercules.” Hera was filled with rage after discovering Zeus’ affair with a mortal who bore Hercules—to make matters worse, Hercules turned out to be a super-being what with Zeus as his father. She took vengeance upon him and did whatever it took to make Hercules’ life as miserable as possible. In the long run however, Hercules became a hero and he died with several knowing his great deeds and proclaiming him with honor. Hercules lived a life full of meaning and he made a lasting impact on the Greeks for not only his generation, but for future generations as well.
The myths stand the test of time because they’re not only a piece of ancient history, but they also grab the attention of people of all ages. They’re interesting fables of how the world began and they send out morals.
Achilles said to Briseis in the end of Troy, “I'll tell you a secret, something they don't teach you in your temple. 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, and we will never be here again.”Time means nothing to the Gods because they will never die.But for humans time is limited. We appreciate everything more since it will end. Everything is so much easier for us. In the other hand, the Gods take everything for granted since their time is everlasting. After few centuries, they have seen and done everything they ever wanted to, so existence becomes boring afterwards. Humans can cherish every moment because nothing will last forever. For Gods, they do. They cannot appreciate the aesthetic of time. Everyone around them disappears, while we experience things for the first time. The God envy mortals because, “…any moment might be our last.”
ReplyDeleteThe themes life and death appeared throughout all of the myths. In the myth, Hercules, the themes are both life and death. Hercules had to face twelve tasks in order to retrieve his forgiveness since he killed his family. All his tasks were extreme for example, ‘the killng of the Lernaean Hydra.” Hercules could have given up and die, but he chose to stay alive and contine on his tasks. In the end, Hercules fell in love with Deianira, his second wife. She gave him a homecoming gift on his last adventure which is a cloak. When Hercules put on the cloak, his body started to burn. He tried to pull the clock off but the pain was too tremendous. Hercules figured out that death was the best alternative than pain. This demonstrates how the themes life and death plays a huge role in mythology. These myths stand in the test in time because Hercules was really a hero.
Life and death are both one of the most prominent and reoccurring themes found in Greek myths. I think the themes of life and death are so important to the Greeks because they are the biggest discrepancies which cause conflicts between the two main types of figures found in Greek mythology, the mortals and immortals, or in this case the Greeks and Gods. A mortal's life will eventually come to an end, while the existence of a God is be infinite, and eternal. There will always be a limit on time of the life of a mortal which makes it only more fascinating to fulfill everything that life has to offer, the life of a God is nothing more than an existence, and everything has been seen and done, so the purpose of life will never be found.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Gods envy the mortals because of the different "lives" each carries on; there is meaning to the lives of mortals whereas the lives of Gods is nothing more than an existence. The mortals have a purpose for living; their motivation drives them to experience life to the fullest. The Gods lack this motivation and purpose, like stated before their life is nothing more than an existence. In class, we once interpreted a quote that relates to the existences of Gods, "being undead does not mean to be alive." This quote is relevant to the discrepancy between Gods and mortals and in what the Gods envy. Mortals live to seek something in life; every day is a new adventure and it is comprised of learning a new lesson, making new discoveries, chasing after dreams/goals and experiencing every little detail life has to offer. Life is finite for mortals, every moment counts and it's only more meaningful or beautiful as Achilles says because there is an end to life. With Gods, everything has been said and done, so there are no discoveries, lessons, and experiences to seek...there is no purpose since their lives are everlasting, and therefore it does not seem that Gods are even living life. I would like to reiterate that the Gods envy the lives of mortals because there is purpose, and meaning to the lives of mortals whereas the "lives" of Gods is nothing more than an existence.
Examples of life and death are illustrated in many Greek myths studied, specifically in "Cupid and Psyche" and "Hercules." In "Cupid and Psyche," Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, thought her purpose in life was to be the most beautiful alive. Afterwards, Aphrodite saw how all the men worshipped Psyche's beauty, she was only a mortal and she was getting praised. All the townspeople stopped attending Aphrodite's temple, and had stopped paying attention to her. This had angered Aphrodite, she envied Psyche, and she was a beauty and just a mere mortal. Aphrodite was determined to destroy Psyche, and through the obstacles and tasks she had given Psyche shows how she wanted Psyche to eventually experience death. Aphrodite wanted to bring another to death because she wanted to feel better about herself; the discrepancy in the different lives is what had instigated the conflict. Another example of life and death is found in "Hercules," Hera had been filled with rage knowing that Hercules was the offspring of Zeus and another. Knowing this, Hera tried to take vengeance on Hercules, she had contributed to his insanity, and had troubled him while he was trying to perform the twelve labors, Hercules was doing something meaningful by paying tribute to his family and she tried to bring him closer to death each time. In each of the myths mentioned above, the discrepancy amongst the "lives" of the Gods and mortals is what caused envy and/or jealousy which lead to vengeance and the desire of death toward others.
ReplyDeleteThese myths stand the test of time because of the information that can be received from the myths which can be used to connect to real life situations. The themes and end results from each story can be used to teach morals, ethics, and life lessons. For example, from "Theseus" we can understand that carelessness can have its consequences, and in "Cupid and Psyche" we can understand that in order for a relationship to work trust and faith must be present. Overall, these myths stand the test of time because they address lessons, morals, and ethics that can relate to real-life situations.
-Phanirekha Chandra
Life and death play a significant role in mythology because it was often the sign of a true hero. How many big, well-known heroes died of old age? Not many....whether they died heroically or not, they died relatively young, because death always added to how they were viewed by the gods and other people.
ReplyDeleteHercules could have grown old with his new life, but he chose death as a better alternative because of his past.
Achilles was known to be invincible and heroic and there was so much hype about him..there was no way he could have been allowed to live a full life. He had to die young to keep his legacy on everyone's tongues longer.
I think the gods envied this. These men were able to die and be remembered, while so many people forgot to live by the Gods rules even though they were alive, and always would be. People start listening when you die, and the gods could never accomplish this, of course.
I think being mortal seemed something to envy to the gods in the name of love. When they fell in love with mortals, they couldn't fully love them and be with them, and the mortals would die and leave them to fall in love with another mortal. The mortals who fell in love with eachother got to die together and have many happy moments together and have children and not have to leave said children....they got to have pinnacles of their life and die happy surrounded by family. The God's couldn't have that. The God's would have trouble thinking of the best day of their life because it never ends.
In the end, I think part of the reasons the God's were so emotional and punished the mortals and chose sides in the mortals' arguments (like in the Trojan War) and such, was because sometimes they wanted to be mortals themselves.
The themes of life and death are very important to Greeks because in my opinion without life and death there is no humanity. There is no such creatures as humans, humans were are born to live, experience different feelings, endure different situations, and one day die. Because of this, the Greeks show lots of importance to life and death. Every hero that the Greeks praised had died. Achilles, the invinsible hero died of being shot by an arrow at his ankle. Hercules died because he was poisoned. So many hero's dead but remembered for their deeds and acomplishments.
ReplyDeleteThis is also one of the reasons why I think the gods envy mortals especially heros. The fact that a mortal is born into his or her life for a purpose a reason. Hercules lived to fight in the Trojan war and return home to his wife Penelope and their son. Theseus' father lived to see his son. Every mortal has a purpose for living. But, what purpose do gods have? They are immortal, they don't have a purpose to live, they have to find a hobby to entertain them for the rest of eternity. They cannot love, when they fall in love with a mortal, they know that they can't stay with the mortal. Meanwhile the mortal gives birth to a hero that possesses a tragic fate. For example, when Hercules was born, Hera, zeus' wife, made Hercules life tratic. Why? Just because Zeus had an affair and even though it wasn't Hercules ' fault, he was driven insane by Hera and I cost him the life of his wife and two sons.
To sum it all up, mortals, have a reason for their existence. Gods have no purpose to for their existence, they are simply just there because they have to be, sort of like bystanders. Going back to why Greeks value life and death so much, they know the importance, which is why these myths are very important to us, they teach us the value of life, the value of sacrifice, and how jealously and anger can twist minds to make wrong choices and how jealously can overpower love and life in general.
It is important to know about these myths to make the correct decisions in life and simply just to know how different minded people react to different situations.
The themes of life and death frequently appear in Greek mythology because life and death are the two factors that everyone has in common. We all are given life and then we die. Life and death signify such crucial parts in everyone's life because we never know when the end will come, which is why how we spend our time "living" is so important. It is clear throughout the myths that the God's are envious of the mortals.The God's envy us mortals because we live out our lives each day as if it was our last, we learn to appreciate the little things in life because one day it will all be gone. Unlike mortals, the Gods have all of eternity to explore the world, however eventually there will be nothing left and the world will become like an overplayed song stuck on repeat. They envy the mortals innocence and curiosity towards new things in life because they themselves lost the ability appreciate things. The God's "live out" their lives practically in a an endless rut. Their envious attitudes are especially present in the myth Cupid and Psyche when Venus grows extremely jealous of Psyche's beauty. When all the men flocked to admire young Psyche, Venus' temples became unkempt and neglected. That is when she became jealous and made her son,Cupid, use his power to curse Psyche into loving a monster. Obviously, Psyche was adored because beautiful things like her only came around once in a lifetime, while Venus, an immortal God, would "be there when they got back". This is the factor that angered Venus because she knew since she was immortal her beauty will last forever, but will never be as unique as something that eventually will be gone.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of immortality being a disadvantage is also present in The Vampire Diaries because the vampires had to "live" on with their lives as they watched everyone they loved and ever cared about slowly die off, leaving them alone with no one. They had to live with the pain of so many loved one's deaths knowing that one day they will never meet again. Which is why the one thing they crave the most-other than blood- is to finally be put to rest.
I feel as if these themes were important to the Greeks because they were things that happened every day and to put surreal situations, such as myths, to them made them feel even more real. The themes made them feel alive and human, moreso than anything else did, really.
ReplyDeleteIn a way, it seems that the Gods were envious to mortals because mortals could actually live their lives without the stress of Godly duties and Godly responsibilities. Sure, the mortals had their own responsibilities, but the Gods most likely wanted something that mortals had: freedom.
Or, as in Cupid&Psyche, Venus wished to regain her beauty and her followers in the mortal world, and she was jealous that Psyche had taken that from her, how dare she, a mere human girl!
Like in the myths, everyone feels less than someone else at some point in time, and everyone wants what someone else has. The myths spoke the truth and demonstrated the negative aspects of humanity, while providing entertaining stories coated with morals and lessons.
The themes of life and death are important to the Greeks because they loved war and they loved to fight and kill. Almost evry myth we learned about had to do something with death. Life and death also came into play because the Greeks believed so much in fate. It was Perseus' fate to destroy his grandfather. Along the way he had to KILL Medusa. In the Trojan War it was Achilles' fate to DIE in Troy. The themes of life and death were so concurrent because fighting and bloodshed were part of the Greek culture.
ReplyDeleteThe gods envied mortals because mortals had the opportunity to live fuller lives and to live for a purpose. Mortals understood the importance of life and they valued their days on Earth. Mortals did something with their lives because they knew that they would die one day. Gods, on the other hand, are immortal. They were jealous because they were stuck in Olympus forever. Unlike the mortals, the gods did not really have a purpose unless it was to help or harm a mortal.
These myths stand the test of time because they provide their audience with morals that anyone can relate to. The myths themselves consist of war, fighting, arguments, trials, and love. People in every era and in all times can relate to one of these myths. Also, the myths are very interesting and grab the reader's attention. Who doesn't want to read about a Minotaur, cyclops,Medusa, war,gods,love,extremely strong people, and people hiding under sheep?
The themes of life and death go hand in hand in most if not all Greek myths. Both mortals and immortals have life, but the difference between them is death. Since mortals must face death at some point in their lives, they show a significance to every moment that they live. However, since immortals are able to escape death, they do not express any importance towards their life. They take it for granted as though it is nothing special. This causes them to envy the mortals because of the meaningful life that they possess. Without a meaning for life, immortals do not feel the need to make the most of every opportunity, but yet to waste their time doing unproductive things. The fact that the mortals knew that they had a limited amount of time to live, caused them to make the most of everything and try to live life to the fullest to make sure they have a good life. It is because of this that the immortals are envious of them. since there is no end to them, there is no need to try and make the most of everything. An example of this difference is present in Hercules. Hercules showed no significance for life when he killed people for the most minute reasons. Even after he completed the twelve labors, he committed suicide because he couldn't handle the guilt of what all he had done.
ReplyDeleteThese Greek myths stand the test of time because they all contain valuable morals that can be used by anyone and since they grab the attention of many readers. It warns the readers (mortals) to make the most of life and to live life to the fullest .
The themes of life and death are extremely important to the Greeks because after you were gone, your life decides how you are to be remembered. One example is Theseus. Due to his good deeds and heroic actions he’s going to always be remembered fondly and in a positive light. Another myth that brings exemplifies the way the Greeks is The Fall of Troy. The death of Achilles is viewed as the demise of a hero and he was buried properly and near to his good friend. However, when the dishonored Ajax took his own life, the Greeks still viewed this as disgraceful, so he was never really mourned for nor reverenced in a positive light. The Gods however looked at the fragile mortals with distain due to their ability to die. The Gods and Goddesses are always boasting of their immortality and don’t really regret any lost human lives. Yet, there are also moments where the Gods are quite envious of the mortals they once mocked. For example, when Aphrodite was upset by the effortless beauty of Psyche, she does everything in her power to dispose of the distraction. She is so upset by the fact that she doesn’t get all the attention anymore and that the mortal girl can attract so many men without even trying. The way this idea has been used so many times also illustrates the way that although the stories haven’t been told the same way, their lessons and ideals still hold true, therefore making them timeless.
ReplyDeleteThe themes of life and death were really important to Greeks because being alive meant that you still had a purpose in life and that you were able to fight off death till now; and death meant that every soldier never lost courage till their last breathe. Life and death has pretty much everything to do with fate. According to Greeks, in your fate, it is written that one day you will die and you can never change that fact! So it is important that you live life to the fullest. This idea of life and death relates to Achilles’ fate of how he was destined to die after he murdered Hector. Throughout his life, Achilles was extremely famous for his heroic and strategic acts. These skills gave him a purpose in life. Every soldier after him would look up to him and be proud that he died with honor. The Gods envy the mortal because they could not live life with a purpose if they can never die. For example, when a person discovers that he or she has cancer, he or she tends to do everything that he or she ever wanted to do in life such as sky diving or travelling to Paris. All these events would be the sweetest moment of his or her life. These Greek myths stand the test of time because they express important morals to the audience that will help us understand the significance of life and death.
ReplyDeleteThe themes were so important to the Greeks because like what Mariana said Once you die your life decides how you ear going to be remembered. For example, in Cupid and Psyches, Psyches made herself a slave of Aphrodite so that she could show her worthiness to cupid. That was important because she made it known that she wanted to be with Cupid for forever and that she would live her life in hell to made that known.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if the Gods envy the mortals to a degree. The mortals can live their lives the way they want where to Gods and Goddesses could only live one way for eternity. They were role models. People prayed to them for help in life. But also The gods and goddesses loved being immortal because they were able to live forever. Something mortals could only dream about. Being able to gloat mad them happy. They were able to watch down below and laugh at the struggling mortals as they wore out their lives.People looked up to them which i feel made the Gods and Goddesses feel superior. So they might have envied the mortals but in all honesty they were the ones being envied.
The themes of life and death appear quite often throughout Greek mythology. These themes were so important to the Greeks because, due to the treacherous situations and tasks set before them, they were always caught between life and death. In the myths, the characters typically embark on a dangerous quest or are given an almost impossible task by the Gods. For example, Perseus was given the challenge of obtaining the head of Medusa. Such a task was expected to bring about the death of Perseus, however he managed to prevail and succeed, surprising the king.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Gods envy the mortals because the mortals are able to experience a "normal" life unlike the Gods. Mortals are able to live life to its fullest out of the fear of the ubringing of their eventual death. Gods do not have this, their immortality and extraordinary powers leave them, for the most part, constantly satisfied. As one can see, there is not much excitement in such an existence.
The myth "Hercules" provides a good example of why the Greeks wrote about such themes. After Hercules murders his entire family, he is given the challenge of the twelve labors in order to seek their vengeance, in the hopes of eventually obtaining forgiveness for his sinful wrong doings. Such difficult and dangerous tasks lead to incredible adventures which only made the Greek's writing that much more enjoyable and intriguing. It is because of that very quality to the myths written by the Greeks that make them stand the test of time.
The theme life and death show up in many Greek myths because they cherished and valued life more than I think we do now. They had certain morals that caused them to treat life as if it were sacred, and that everyone was destined for greatness. Fate, along with life and death is a reoccurring theme that is mentioned in Myths such as Hercules and Cupid and Psyche because both destinies were foreseen. By having foreseen greatness the Gods become jealous and do everything in their power to stop fate, but fate never can be stopped.
ReplyDeleteAchilles said in the movie “Troy”, “The Gods envy us. They envy us because we are mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we are doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.” This clearly depicts the theme mortality because he is saying that the gods are jealous of the capability to die. Gods have the ability to live eternally and because of that there is no thrill in life. There is neither end nor death of a god because they are immortal. Nothing is treated as a heroic act because it is their job to be…well heroic! They are also expected to show greatness for eternity so there is no end for their high expectations. Humans have to earn others’ gratitude and reputations and when they do and finally die, they are remembered as great. Gods have the tendency of being forgotten at times just because they still do live.
These myths will always be remember because they show morals that should always be kept in mind. They also have interesting creatures and stories that can be memorized easily.
- Breanne Martin
Life and death in the days of ancient Greece were when a person seeked glory through righteous action. People believed that when they die they want something done. They knew death loomed on their doorstep and wished to do what they wanted before it. This would give them a satisfaction the Gods could never have. They could die with honor, on the battlefield or die a good man, because they are mortal. There is a beauty in death, Hades believes. Not that of the death itself, but the person that makes the death great. The Greatness of a man is much easier to evaluate then that of a god. Gods live eternally so they are judged based on everything they've done. Man has a small life span, he could murder all his life, but one good deed could make him great.
ReplyDeletethe Gods envy us because we have easier ways of worshiping ourselves. That is what I believe the root of all envy towards humans.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThe themes of life and death have come up several times in Greek mythology. These themes are so important to the Greeks because they believe that living is more than just existing. They wanted to teach people that a life lived without doing anything worthy of remembrance is a life gone waste. Life and death are two themes everyone can relate to and teaching everyone how to appreciate their time lived and the meaning of life was significant to the Greeks. At the end of the movie "Troy", Achilles demonstrates the importance of life by saying, "Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again". The Greeks emphasize the idea that everyone has only one chance in life and everyone should use it meaningfully. Using life meaningfully makes a person appreciate his/her life more and makes it more special because he/she is doomed. However, as an immortal, who is doomed to never die, performing acts worthy of remembrance is not as special as doing the same acts as a mortal. As Achilles mentioned,"The Gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment might be our last." Because Gods have no last moments, anything they do is not considered as special as when a mortal does anything. Life as an immortal is infinite which makes any action they perform non-lasting because they always have time to do more actions considered great. A mortal has limited time in life which makes any action they perform a first time and also a last.Also, as a mortal, a person always has the burden of knowing they will and/or could die which causes fear of performing acts deemed dangerous. However an immortal does not need to worry about the burden of knowing that he/she could die if he/she performed an act considered daring or dangerous hindering them from doing things they want to do in life. IN the myth "Perseus",King Acrisius, because he was a mortal and had only one chance in life, was afraid of his grandson killing him before he could do anything. He worried so much about being killed that he spent a lot of time from his life trying to prevent it than enjoying the time he had. If KIng Acrisius were to be an immortal, he would not need to worry about dying. Also, in the same myth, Perseus' duty to kill Medusa was made more difficult because of the aspect of death. Also, as Achilles mentioned,"Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again." In the myth "Cupid and Psyche", Venus was jealous of Psyche's beauty because she thought Psyche was more beautiful because of her mortality. She thought Psyche was more special because she was doomed to die someday and she would always be remembered for her beauty because she was the firs and the last and she would not be there again after her death.As for herself, she knew she would always be there forever and that her beauty would be known forever.
ReplyDeleteSimilar themes have come up in "Harry Potter" when Harry wants to bring back his parents and realized that there is a spell for everything except bringing the dead back alive. Harry learns to remember them by the time he spent with them because there is no use expecting them to come back after death.The themes of life and death have also come up in the book "Fahrenheit 451". People depicted in the book did not have a purpose to life and thought they were happy although they truly were not.They did not appreciate life and were ignorant of the things around him. Guy Montag, who understood the value of life, pitied the type of people who did not and regretted the time of his life he wasted living without purpose.
These myths stand the test of time because they teach everyone morals essential for life in an easy and understandable way. People can relate to the themes that come up over and over throughout the myths and are more interested doing so in the form of creative, out-of-the-world stories.