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How Has Greek Mythology Changed Over Time

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Greek Mythology Over the Years Greek Mythological beliefs first began in 1200 b.c.e. It has helped shape our world to be the way it is today. Being around for a millenium, greek mythology has greatly affected the past, and will continue to be relevant in the future. The history of Greek mythology traces back to Ancient Greece. The Greeks worshipped The Big 12: Ares, Dionysus, Hera, Zeus, Poseidon, Hephaestus, Hermes, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, and Demeter. Three of the gods they worshipped, also known as “The Three Big Brothers,” were known throughout the lands. Zeus was “the god of all gods,” he married several women, and had multiple children, such as Aphrodite, Ares, and Athena. He was the god of the sky and weather. …show more content…

Earlier, the after-life had several myths surrounding it, but when Greek mythology came around, that all changed. The Greeks believed in Hades, god of the “Underworld,” where someone went when he/she died. Apparently, good people went to Elysium, and if someone was to be punished, they were sent to Tartarus. But, like most things, change came about, with a new belief trailing behind it. Heroes, like Hercules, Perseus, and Jason changed the history of Greek mythology. The defeated more and more monsters, day by day, saving those around them. Sadly, several heroes had flaws, leading the people around them, or even themselves, to death. For example, Jason broke a vow, and lost the favor and Hera, therefore killing him. Regardless of their leave, they all changed the Greek mythology world in some …show more content…

In the past, Greek mythology showed how things came to be. It was said that earthquakes and volcanic eruptions were because of titans imprisoned in mountains. Back then, the cause of “wailing” wind was Hera hanging in the sky. It was also believed that the seasons were a result of Demeter. Camels, hippos, giraffes, donkeys, and zebras were Poseidon’s horse rejects, and spiders were the effect of what Athena did to Arachne. Greek mythology also teaches lessons. The story of Hercules teaches one to control their anger: Hercules had violent anger, and because of this he killed his family. The story of Icarus teaches people to listen to their elders: Daedalus told Icarus (his son) not to fly close to the Sun with the wings he (Daedalus) built, but he disobeyed, and died. Back then, if someone claimed a Greek hero, god, or goddess as their ancestor, they could have a high position in Greek cities and societies. Greek mythology created customs, like sacrificing meat wrapped in bones to the gods. Greek mythology was also used for stories. There are many purposes served by Greek

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In Greece the Greeks looked up to the gods and goddesses of the Greek culture. The gods and goddesses were the rulers of Greece and had the most power. They over saw everything the humans would do whether it being barbaric or civilized. There were a number of Greek gods and goddesses, but some over powered others. They fought in many wars and helped humans accomplish many different activities in order for them to survive.

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People passed down the myths through generation by word of mouth. Later, famous poets, Homer and Hesiod, wrote them down. Today these myths give us a unique look at what life was like in ancient Greece more than 2,000 years ago. (Zeus King of The Gods, God of Sky and Storms) Many of these tales involved Zeus as the God who ruled over the whole earth.

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Imagine living in ancient times when science did not explain the way the universe works, rather myths filled with death and destruction, and glory and Gods were all you had to turn to. According to Bulfinch, "The myths of the ancients were allegorical and symbolical, and contained some moral, religious, or philosophical truth or historical fact, under the form of an allegory", but came in process of time to be understood literally. The ancient Greeks took what was originally meant to be fiction and made it fact. Although scientific advancements have taken the place of the myths for most people today, the ancient Greeks devoutly believed in Gods and goddesses like Athena who in their minds influenced everything around them. In Greek Mythology,

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We are also exposed to Greek Mythology from a young age. Before developing a more logic based system for natural phenomenons, these myths were how they explained things such as love, nature, and war. Most importantly, the greek culture is why we have the Olympic games every four years. The greek held this game in honor of their thunder god, zeus. Now a days Almost every country plays a part in the olympic games, which is a huge deal.

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As Armstrong explains, “mythology was therefore designed to help us to cope with the problematic human predicament. It helped people to find their place in the world and their true orientation” (6). The idea of myths was created to teach humans proper behavior that fit with their ideal society, as well as help people live in peace with one another. They also taught valuable lessons on how not to live since people didn 't know where they come from and where they belong. We invented stories by using gods, humans and magical creatures to explain something that happens in nature.

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In this analysis my main focus would be: why Hercules was famous in Greek Myth? , how did he impact the world and its society? and what lessons can be learnt from him? Hercules, the son of Zeus, was very famous in Greek mythology because he slayed the unbeatable nine headed hydra and the famous Nemean lion. When he was a kid he strangled and killed two venomous snakes with his bare hands and also he was the only warrior in Greek myth who was half god and half human.

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USE OF DELIBERATIVE AND EPIDEICTIC RHETORIC IN CRISIS RHETORIC In his article, Bonnie J Dow does well to describe the role of deliberative and epideictic rhetoric in speeches delivered by presidents (President Reagan in his case). According to Dow, the two types of rhetoric are dependent on the situation or type of crisis which is usually determined by what or who causes it- “In this essay I attempt to describe the different functions performed by instances of crisis rhetoric that are products of different situations.” While Dow’s article holds water for most of the speeches delivered through time, for this concept, I believe that in a crisis speech, both epideictic and deliberative rhetoric can be used in such a manner that they complement each other to deliver an effective speech at a troubling time. As such, this short article Presidents George Bush’s address to a joint session of congress on the 9/11 attacks that left Americans terrified to the marrow sparking a crisis.

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Greek myths of gods, heroes and monsters are told and retold around the world because even though the earliest known versions of these myths date back more than 2,700 years ago in the works of the Greek poets Homer, Plato and Hesiod, there are lessons to be learned and taught in the myths, such as the story of Oedipus, where the lesson is that you can’t run from your fate, or the story of Orpheus and Eurydice that shows that you can’t change the past. These stories and many others are the base for Greek mythology, or the body of myths and teachings that belong to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of their world, and the origins and significance of their religion. Most people don’t realize that the Greeks and their myths are relevant to modern life. Parts of these myths have been used to name constellations, companies, even parts of science! Some examples of Greek myths today are the constellation Orion named after the great hunter in the stories or the company Nike named after the Greek goddess of victory, and the element Titanium named after the race of beings that came before the gods called the Titans, who were locked deep in the Underworld in a place called Tartarus.

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The tales also help us in modern day, in the fact that we can reflect and view the choices and mistakes that a character chose and using that we can think about how we would make that choice. On top of that, we can use the scenarios to help us make a better decision in a future incident that might be similar. Hidden intellectualism in Greek/Roman Mythology is sweeping, but what we must truly look at is the larger and more obvious themes and lessons that have been shown in the stories. If we observe and critique them with an intellectual mindset we can discover ways to solve a problem we might experience later, or we may even gain knowledge and insight that can help us later in

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Greek mythology can be viewed as a mirror to the ancient Greek civilization. Ancient Greek myths and legends often reflected how the Greeks saw themselves. Myths were used by Greeks to make justifications of every existing aspect of earth as well as their own society. In myths, Greek gods & heroes often represented key aspects of the human civilization. From Greek mythology, we can learn about the favorable characteristics of humans, such as their behavior and valuable skills that were approved of by the ancient Greek society.

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The Greeks also created these myths as a way to explain the natural phenomena that surrounded them. They had explanations for everything from the rising sun to the changing seasons.

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