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Good Vs. Evil In Roman Mythology, By Edith Hamilton

677 Words3 Pages

Mythology is the basis of culture and religion in early civilizations. These stories can tell people what places like Greece, Rome, and other early civilizations were like. Mythology has revealed the society of the Greeks, the infallible Romans, and the superstitious Norse, but do these cultures have a darker side? It appears not. In Mythology the author, Edith Hamilton, illustrates the theme of good more than evil.
Firstly, Roman mythology seems to have a good balance of both good and evil, judging by a description of a god, Dionysus: "The God of Wine could be kind and beneficent. He could also be cruel and drive men on to frightful deeds (Hamilton 67)." Dionysus, or Bacchus as he is also called, is the god of grapes, theatre, and wine. This …show more content…

Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom, but she is also known for her prowess in battle. On the Roman end of the spectrum is Minerva, but she lacks a warlike personality: "In the earliest account of her (Pallas Athena), the Iliad, she is a fierce and ruthless battle-goddess, but elsewhere, she is warlike only to defend the State and the home from outside enemies... In later [Roman] poetry she is the embodiment of wisdom, reason, purity (Hamilton 29)." This is less of an example, though, as it doesn't directly show Athena as having a good or evil side, and more of a reminder to be open-minded, …show more content…

"The concept of yin-yang involves two complementary forces or principles. When they merge, these forces form a complete whole... According to early Chinese sources, the complementary forces of yin-yang show up in various binary (two-part) forms in the world—dark and light, Earth and Heaven, water and fire, night and day, winter and summer, female and male, passive and active, receiving and giving, below and above, death and life, and many others (Zuern)." This principle suggests that it is pointless to measure good and evil because they are balanced forces, one might even go as far as to say that one side could not exist without the other. This can be related back to the Greek and Roman depiction of Dionysus and Athena, as well as the writing styles of Aeschylus and

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One such, Pallas Athena, seems to contradict the above entirely at first glance. As the goddess of war and wisdom, her beauty goes hand in hand with a strong, sharp mind and an independent air. However, throughout the text, she only exists to serve and uplift men. For example, Telemachus is stuck, defeated, and unsure in his first appearance, shown daydreaming while the suitors mingle, with no idea what to do about his predicament. A short while after, though, the narrator says, “Poised Telemachus answered, / filled with heart, the heart Athena herself inspired” (3.83-84).

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