The water Deities
This story, more than a myth is a description of the family of the rulers of the seas. How strange it is that Achilles, the hero of the battle of Troy, was related to Neptune, the chief of the water deities and the ruler of the seas. I imagine that whole family, Neptune, Triton, Amphitrite and all of them as Triton was shown in the Little Mermaid so that is why it is so hard for me to assimilate Achilles with a guy who’s half-fish and half-god.
Another thing that I can relate from real life to this story is Neptune’s trident. “The symbol of his power was the trident, or spear with three points, with which he used to shatter rocks” In Christianity, the Devil has been represented with a trident too. This makes me think that Neptune may’ve been evil in some point or maybe the devil has a trident because it symbolizes power.
I’d say that the Greeks and the Romans made us what we are today and that things would’ve been much more different if those cultures wouldn’t succeeded. They were highly influential in every aspect of our lives and they are found in our daily activities. For example, Nike, the most recognized sports merchandise brand was named after a goddess.
The Camenae
I read this short fragment and it briefly talks about Egeria, a fountain nymph and her relationship with Numa, the second king of Rome. She supposedly helped Numa in the building of the rising empire and he was filled with wisdom and lessons. I don’t even know why were these two characters referred in this book because after all, the roman king, wasn’t even in the vocabulary of Microsoft word and Egeria, she didn’t do something of great importance. “After the death of Numa the nymph pined away and was changed into a fountain”. (Pg 141) You could deduce from this sentence that these two were having an affair rather than a relationship in which the share wisdom because from what I know, if I happen to die, teachers will not accompany me in the other side.
The winds
I have to say that today I picked the worse stories because they don’t have much of a plot. These stories are plain descriptions of families, loves and affairs. Actually, this specific story was the one I disliked the most. It talked about the different names that the different winds had. They were personified and even had affairs and fights with other people at the time. I discovered that the best stories are the largest ones, because although they take more time to be read, they develop a stronger story with fully described characters from which you can find interesting thoughts and etc. My conclusion after reading this is related with a saying in Spanish that says, “El peresoso trabaja doble”. This means that lazy people have to do much more work and its funny if you think about these phrase a lot, because there are lots of situations around the day that recall to this phrase.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Fallacies
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/opinion/27havel.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin
Op-Ed Contributor
Our Moral Footprint
By VACLAV HAVEL
Published: September 27, 2007
OVER the past few years the questions have been asked ever more forcefully whether global climate changes occur in natural cycles or not, to what degree we humans contribute to them, what threats stem from them and what can be done to prevent them. Scientific studies demonstrate that any changes in temperature and energy cycles on a planetary scale could mean danger for all people on all continents.
This paragraph doesn’t contain any kind of fallacies. I hope that the other ones do and this one doesn’t because it is an introductive piece but who knows.
It is also obvious from published research that human activity is a cause of change; we just don’t know how big its contribution is. Is it necessary to know that to the last percentage point, though? By waiting for incontrovertible precision, aren’t we simply wasting time when we could be taking measures that are relatively painless compared to those we would have to adopt after further delays?
Rather than fallacy, this paragraph is using blaming as a rhetoric to say that we shouldn’t care much about it. When the author says, “By waiting for incontrovertible precision, aren’t we simply wasting time when we could be taking measures that are relatively painless compared to those we would have to adopt after further delays?” You could say that he intends to make us realize that we are wrong and therefore, you could say that he is using “Argumentum ad Populum” (argument to the people) to prove his point. In this case, it would be a combination of Bandwagon approach, in which he says everybody is doing it but saying that they are all wrong. The fallacy could also be a Snob approach, by making us all believe that smart people, are the ones that think like him and therefore, you could say that that paragraph contains fallacies.
Maybe we should start considering our sojourn on earth as a loan. There can be no doubt that for the past hundred years at least, Europe and the United States have been running up a debt, and now other parts of the world are following their example. Nature is issuing warnings that we must not only stop the debt from growing but start to pay it back. There is little point in asking whether we have borrowed too much or what would happen if we postponed the repayments. Anyone with a mortgage or a bank loan can easily imagine the answer.
In this paragraph, the author blames everyone but Europe and United States in special, according to him, they are responsible for what’s occurring in regards to global warming. I’d say that this paragraph uses Genetic fallacy to attack the people of the U.S. and Europe but there are too many people being attacked by him. I think that with this fallacy he wont win any more votes up on him because it attacks rather than convinces.
The effects of possible climate changes are hard to estimate. Our planet has never been in a state of balance from which it could deviate through human or other influence and then, in time, return to its original state. The climate is not like a pendulum that will return to its original position after a certain period. It has evolved turbulently over billions of years into a gigantic complex of networks, and of networks within networks, where everything is interlinked in diverse ways.
This paragraph doesn’t have any kind of fallacies but the trick I think he used is to try to confuse ordinary readers by using word repetition. If you read this, you wouldn’t understand it unless you were really interested in this subject. He also used metaphors but I think those were to decorate the text.
Its structures will never return to precisely the same state they were in 50 or 5,000 years ago. They will only change into a new state, which, so long as the change is slight, need not mean any threat to life.
I cant find any kind of fallacies in this paragraph. Yet, the author uses rhetoric by logic to prove his point.
Larger changes, however, could have unforeseeable effects within the global ecosystem. In that case, we would have to ask ourselves whether human life would be possible. Because so much uncertainty still reigns, a great deal of humility and circumspection is called for.
The author asks us to re-think about the situation but there arent fallacies in the text.
We can’t endlessly fool ourselves that nothing is wrong and that we can go on cheerfully pursuing our wasteful lifestyles, ignoring the climate threats and postponing a solution. Maybe there will be no major catastrophe in the coming years or decades. Who knows? But that doesn’t relieve us of responsibility toward future generations.
He blames us for fooling ourselves and for avoiding our responsibilities and what I realized is that the author uses inverted fallacies than those stated in the text you gave us in class. He appeals to tradition in saying that we keep making the same mistakes so instead of saying that we should do it because we’ve always done it, he is saying that we should stop from doing it although we’ve been doing it from years. I don’t know it those statements are fallacies but I’m writing them down because I haven’t found fallacies mentioned in the text given in class.
I don’t agree with those whose reaction is to warn against restricting civil freedoms. Were the forecasts of certain climatologists to come true, our freedoms would be tantamount to those of someone hanging from a 20th-story parapet.
In this paragraph, he uses abusive fallacy when he says that people are wrong and compares them with people that hang on to 20th-story parapets. I don’t think that he should attack people just because they think differently to him.
Whenever I reflect on the problems of today’s world, whether they concern the economy, society, culture, security, ecology or civilization in general, I always end up confronting the moral question: what action is responsible or acceptable? The moral order, our conscience and human rights — these are the most important issues at the beginning of the third millennium.
I don’t see any fallacies in this paragraph but I have to say that I like his writing style. I don’t know what how he writes that makes his pieces highly attractive.
We must return again and again to the roots of human existence and consider our prospects in centuries to come. We must analyze everything open-mindedly, soberly, unideologically and unobsessively, and project our knowledge into practical policies. Maybe it is no longer a matter of simply promoting energy-saving technologies, but chiefly of introducing ecologically clean technologies, of diversifying resources and of not relying on just one invention as a panacea.
There aren’t fallacies either in this piece of text but I noticed that he tries to convince us by playing the boss. He supposedly knows what to do and what do we have to do and blames us all for things that he is probably responsible too! Maybe he is right on what he says but I think he is no ones boss to be telling us all what should we do.
I’m sceptical that a problem as complex as climate change can be solved by any single branch of science. Technological measures and regulations are important, but equally important are support for education, ecological training and ethics — a consciousness of the commonality of all living beings and an emphasis on shared responsibility.
The author doesn’t use any fallacies in this paragraph.
Either we will achieve an awareness of our place in the living and life-giving organism of our planet, or we will face the threat that our evolutionary journey may be set back thousands or even millions of years. That is why we must see this issue as a challenge to behave responsibly and not as a harbinger of the end of the world.
He doesn’t present any fallacies but I can clearly see that he uses rhetoric by choice or in future tense.
The end of the world has been anticipated many times and has never come, of course. And it won’t come this time either. We need not fear for our planet. It was here before us and most likely will be here after us. But that doesn’t mean that the human race is not at serious risk. As a result of our endeavours and our irresponsibility our climate might leave no place for us. If we drag our feet, the scope for decision-making — and hence for our individual freedom — could be considerably reduced.
In this last paragraph, he uses fallacy by appealing to emotions when he says that the world isn’t going to end but our lives are in danger. He also blames scientists because of their anticipated “ends of the world” and he concludes that we have to behave in a different, more responsible way if we are planning to survive the occurrences related to global warming.
I think that this author is really talented with his writings. If your plan isn’t to find and evaluate any fallacies used on the text, then you’d be surely convinced by him. He is very persuasive and as I already stated in one of the paragraphs before, he tends to write in a style in which he doesn’t try to convince us but he tries to make us do what he wants us to do by taking a superior position than the readers. I enjoyed this op-ed and I found it interesting to evaluate this kind of writings in a different way.
Vaclav Havel is the former president of the Czech Republic. This article was translated by Gerald Turner from the Czech.
Op-Ed Contributor
Our Moral Footprint
By VACLAV HAVEL
Published: September 27, 2007
OVER the past few years the questions have been asked ever more forcefully whether global climate changes occur in natural cycles or not, to what degree we humans contribute to them, what threats stem from them and what can be done to prevent them. Scientific studies demonstrate that any changes in temperature and energy cycles on a planetary scale could mean danger for all people on all continents.
This paragraph doesn’t contain any kind of fallacies. I hope that the other ones do and this one doesn’t because it is an introductive piece but who knows.
It is also obvious from published research that human activity is a cause of change; we just don’t know how big its contribution is. Is it necessary to know that to the last percentage point, though? By waiting for incontrovertible precision, aren’t we simply wasting time when we could be taking measures that are relatively painless compared to those we would have to adopt after further delays?
Rather than fallacy, this paragraph is using blaming as a rhetoric to say that we shouldn’t care much about it. When the author says, “By waiting for incontrovertible precision, aren’t we simply wasting time when we could be taking measures that are relatively painless compared to those we would have to adopt after further delays?” You could say that he intends to make us realize that we are wrong and therefore, you could say that he is using “Argumentum ad Populum” (argument to the people) to prove his point. In this case, it would be a combination of Bandwagon approach, in which he says everybody is doing it but saying that they are all wrong. The fallacy could also be a Snob approach, by making us all believe that smart people, are the ones that think like him and therefore, you could say that that paragraph contains fallacies.
Maybe we should start considering our sojourn on earth as a loan. There can be no doubt that for the past hundred years at least, Europe and the United States have been running up a debt, and now other parts of the world are following their example. Nature is issuing warnings that we must not only stop the debt from growing but start to pay it back. There is little point in asking whether we have borrowed too much or what would happen if we postponed the repayments. Anyone with a mortgage or a bank loan can easily imagine the answer.
In this paragraph, the author blames everyone but Europe and United States in special, according to him, they are responsible for what’s occurring in regards to global warming. I’d say that this paragraph uses Genetic fallacy to attack the people of the U.S. and Europe but there are too many people being attacked by him. I think that with this fallacy he wont win any more votes up on him because it attacks rather than convinces.
The effects of possible climate changes are hard to estimate. Our planet has never been in a state of balance from which it could deviate through human or other influence and then, in time, return to its original state. The climate is not like a pendulum that will return to its original position after a certain period. It has evolved turbulently over billions of years into a gigantic complex of networks, and of networks within networks, where everything is interlinked in diverse ways.
This paragraph doesn’t have any kind of fallacies but the trick I think he used is to try to confuse ordinary readers by using word repetition. If you read this, you wouldn’t understand it unless you were really interested in this subject. He also used metaphors but I think those were to decorate the text.
Its structures will never return to precisely the same state they were in 50 or 5,000 years ago. They will only change into a new state, which, so long as the change is slight, need not mean any threat to life.
I cant find any kind of fallacies in this paragraph. Yet, the author uses rhetoric by logic to prove his point.
Larger changes, however, could have unforeseeable effects within the global ecosystem. In that case, we would have to ask ourselves whether human life would be possible. Because so much uncertainty still reigns, a great deal of humility and circumspection is called for.
The author asks us to re-think about the situation but there arent fallacies in the text.
We can’t endlessly fool ourselves that nothing is wrong and that we can go on cheerfully pursuing our wasteful lifestyles, ignoring the climate threats and postponing a solution. Maybe there will be no major catastrophe in the coming years or decades. Who knows? But that doesn’t relieve us of responsibility toward future generations.
He blames us for fooling ourselves and for avoiding our responsibilities and what I realized is that the author uses inverted fallacies than those stated in the text you gave us in class. He appeals to tradition in saying that we keep making the same mistakes so instead of saying that we should do it because we’ve always done it, he is saying that we should stop from doing it although we’ve been doing it from years. I don’t know it those statements are fallacies but I’m writing them down because I haven’t found fallacies mentioned in the text given in class.
I don’t agree with those whose reaction is to warn against restricting civil freedoms. Were the forecasts of certain climatologists to come true, our freedoms would be tantamount to those of someone hanging from a 20th-story parapet.
In this paragraph, he uses abusive fallacy when he says that people are wrong and compares them with people that hang on to 20th-story parapets. I don’t think that he should attack people just because they think differently to him.
Whenever I reflect on the problems of today’s world, whether they concern the economy, society, culture, security, ecology or civilization in general, I always end up confronting the moral question: what action is responsible or acceptable? The moral order, our conscience and human rights — these are the most important issues at the beginning of the third millennium.
I don’t see any fallacies in this paragraph but I have to say that I like his writing style. I don’t know what how he writes that makes his pieces highly attractive.
We must return again and again to the roots of human existence and consider our prospects in centuries to come. We must analyze everything open-mindedly, soberly, unideologically and unobsessively, and project our knowledge into practical policies. Maybe it is no longer a matter of simply promoting energy-saving technologies, but chiefly of introducing ecologically clean technologies, of diversifying resources and of not relying on just one invention as a panacea.
There aren’t fallacies either in this piece of text but I noticed that he tries to convince us by playing the boss. He supposedly knows what to do and what do we have to do and blames us all for things that he is probably responsible too! Maybe he is right on what he says but I think he is no ones boss to be telling us all what should we do.
I’m sceptical that a problem as complex as climate change can be solved by any single branch of science. Technological measures and regulations are important, but equally important are support for education, ecological training and ethics — a consciousness of the commonality of all living beings and an emphasis on shared responsibility.
The author doesn’t use any fallacies in this paragraph.
Either we will achieve an awareness of our place in the living and life-giving organism of our planet, or we will face the threat that our evolutionary journey may be set back thousands or even millions of years. That is why we must see this issue as a challenge to behave responsibly and not as a harbinger of the end of the world.
He doesn’t present any fallacies but I can clearly see that he uses rhetoric by choice or in future tense.
The end of the world has been anticipated many times and has never come, of course. And it won’t come this time either. We need not fear for our planet. It was here before us and most likely will be here after us. But that doesn’t mean that the human race is not at serious risk. As a result of our endeavours and our irresponsibility our climate might leave no place for us. If we drag our feet, the scope for decision-making — and hence for our individual freedom — could be considerably reduced.
In this last paragraph, he uses fallacy by appealing to emotions when he says that the world isn’t going to end but our lives are in danger. He also blames scientists because of their anticipated “ends of the world” and he concludes that we have to behave in a different, more responsible way if we are planning to survive the occurrences related to global warming.
I think that this author is really talented with his writings. If your plan isn’t to find and evaluate any fallacies used on the text, then you’d be surely convinced by him. He is very persuasive and as I already stated in one of the paragraphs before, he tends to write in a style in which he doesn’t try to convince us but he tries to make us do what he wants us to do by taking a superior position than the readers. I enjoyed this op-ed and I found it interesting to evaluate this kind of writings in a different way.
Vaclav Havel is the former president of the Czech Republic. This article was translated by Gerald Turner from the Czech.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Mr Tangen
Hy Mr tangen, I am ricardo Moseres and I would like to tell you that i couldnt do tonights homework. nytimes nor nypost worked in my internet and you wouldnt belevie how slow it is today. I tried like for an hour so I decided to do tomorrows homework today, instead of doing it it tomorrow because tomorrow, Ill do todays homework. You wouldnt beleive how hard I try to open these pages and i would like if you understand what occured and accept these changes I had to do. You can see that it was not that i didnt want to do homework but that i wasnt able to do it.
myths 13th entry
The myrmidons
In this story you can see that everything has a happy ending. Would you think that the plague will continue for the rest of eternity? I think that the death of all these people was a symbolical process of purification. The old persons (the ones filled with greed, anger and lure) vanished and new ones came, the better versions. This means that people who were changed into better persons and not necessarily by dying. Maybe they were introduced to a new religion, or they were taught from a great philosopher. What this story deeply means is that people transformed into a better race, which was more attentive, more emotional, and they were fearless and exited about new things.
In this story you can see that everything has a happy ending. Would you think that the plague will continue for the rest of eternity? I think that the death of all these people was a symbolical process of purification. The old persons (the ones filled with greed, anger and lure) vanished and new ones came, the better versions. This means that people who were changed into better persons and not necessarily by dying. Maybe they were introduced to a new religion, or they were taught from a great philosopher. What this story deeply means is that people transformed into a better race, which was more attentive, more emotional, and they were fearless and exited about new things.
Niobe
Niobe dared Latona, by saying that her offspring was better than hers. This caused death amongst them all, 14 in total. Then, his husband was killed and she was turned into rock, representing eternal grieve. I learn from this story that there is no good in bragging because after all, whether you say it or not, it won’t change the fact that you did. it and You don’t need anyone making you feel better about what you did because that means that you aren’t truly confident about your actions and you need someone to tell you that what you did was great.
The Sea-Monster
After I finished this story, I remembered a famous quote that says, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall”. This quotes means that the greater the challenge is, the greater the pleasure you fell after you are done. This story didn’t have a great theme behind it except one I’ve talked about it much in previous blogs. You have to do what you want to do and I don’t mean in a rebel way but in a fight-for-your-rights way. People that don’t suffer much before taking decisions tend to do better in life in every single aspect. For example, I am a soccer goalkeeper and if I doubt a penalty and take more time that necessary to act, the other team will score. That’s why I dive into the air, lead by my instincts and some times I am able to grab the ball, sometimes they score a goal. A 50% chance is way higher than a 0% chance isn’t it?
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
myths 12th entry
Prometheus and Pandora
I liked this story and how the showed the changes in humans until the gods decided to leave them on their own. It very much relates to the story of the bible in which God decides to destroy all the humans because of their actions. Its been stated that the stories on the bible are all metaphorical and invented so I wander if they got the same idea from Greeks, or what happened because that is not the only story that seems similar. This is probably one of the best stories in this book because it explains the creation of man.
Proserpine
Proserpine was queen of the underworld. She was forced to marry and she remained sad. Although she was a good person, she was forced to live with the evil and with the dead. This story teaches us that we aren’t able to choose our families, and parts of our lives. There are simply things that we cannot change but we surely can accept them and enjoy them. Life is what you make out of it.
Vertemnus and Pomona
What I learned form this story is that you shall not hide what you feel. Not only on love but also with your enemies and the people that surround you. You have to be yourself and have the guts to do what you want to because that’s the only thing that will make you happy. I think that love is really strong and although you cant change what others feel for you, you can try and that’s what Vertemnus should’ve done from the start. According to the story he was young and handsome and he shared similar tastes to Pomona so that’s why I think he should’ve presented himself at first. Nevertheless, his plan worked and he lived happily ever after. I strongly believe that you can achieve what you propose and you truly desire. It’s the emotions with the actions that lead to you to the best things in this world.
I liked this story and how the showed the changes in humans until the gods decided to leave them on their own. It very much relates to the story of the bible in which God decides to destroy all the humans because of their actions. Its been stated that the stories on the bible are all metaphorical and invented so I wander if they got the same idea from Greeks, or what happened because that is not the only story that seems similar. This is probably one of the best stories in this book because it explains the creation of man.
Proserpine
Proserpine was queen of the underworld. She was forced to marry and she remained sad. Although she was a good person, she was forced to live with the evil and with the dead. This story teaches us that we aren’t able to choose our families, and parts of our lives. There are simply things that we cannot change but we surely can accept them and enjoy them. Life is what you make out of it.
Vertemnus and Pomona
What I learned form this story is that you shall not hide what you feel. Not only on love but also with your enemies and the people that surround you. You have to be yourself and have the guts to do what you want to because that’s the only thing that will make you happy. I think that love is really strong and although you cant change what others feel for you, you can try and that’s what Vertemnus should’ve done from the start. According to the story he was young and handsome and he shared similar tastes to Pomona so that’s why I think he should’ve presented himself at first. Nevertheless, his plan worked and he lived happily ever after. I strongly believe that you can achieve what you propose and you truly desire. It’s the emotions with the actions that lead to you to the best things in this world.
Monday, September 24, 2007
myths 11th entry
Midas
Its funny, to find this store in the bible too. This makes you think about the origin of the Christian religion, which contains many elements and stories from previous ones. I think that this story represents the greed that we all have but shouldn’t. Humans, represented with Midas want to have it all without thinking on how that will affect everything and everyone around him. When you’ve done everything wrong, its too late to fix the problems you’ve caused. I am seeing this book of myths as one of those books that teaches kids how to behave. I think it worked pretty well, to combine values with religion.
Venus and Adonis
This story once again explains that death cant be avoided nor predicted. As much as we want to live for ever, we have to die. In this story Adonis is honoured after death by the flower called the Anemone and this shows that its worth living and its worth dying and being remembered. This shows that human’s life is too short to misuse it and that we have to take advantage of everything possible to enjoy it and do what we have to do because one day we’ll be all gone and hopefully, we’ve done enough on earth to be remembered for the rest of the eternity.
Minerva
As with Midas, greed and ambition were the plot of this story. Arachne thought that she was the best but I think that she deeply knew that Athena was superior. She got into the problem and ended up becoming a spider. The word in Spanish for spider is “Arnaña” which comes directly form the word of the woman called Arachne. I like the explanation for the creation of the spider and I must say that my favourite myths are those that explain how things came out to be that way (like Ishamel).
Its funny, to find this store in the bible too. This makes you think about the origin of the Christian religion, which contains many elements and stories from previous ones. I think that this story represents the greed that we all have but shouldn’t. Humans, represented with Midas want to have it all without thinking on how that will affect everything and everyone around him. When you’ve done everything wrong, its too late to fix the problems you’ve caused. I am seeing this book of myths as one of those books that teaches kids how to behave. I think it worked pretty well, to combine values with religion.
Venus and Adonis
This story once again explains that death cant be avoided nor predicted. As much as we want to live for ever, we have to die. In this story Adonis is honoured after death by the flower called the Anemone and this shows that its worth living and its worth dying and being remembered. This shows that human’s life is too short to misuse it and that we have to take advantage of everything possible to enjoy it and do what we have to do because one day we’ll be all gone and hopefully, we’ve done enough on earth to be remembered for the rest of the eternity.
Minerva
As with Midas, greed and ambition were the plot of this story. Arachne thought that she was the best but I think that she deeply knew that Athena was superior. She got into the problem and ended up becoming a spider. The word in Spanish for spider is “Arnaña” which comes directly form the word of the woman called Arachne. I like the explanation for the creation of the spider and I must say that my favourite myths are those that explain how things came out to be that way (like Ishamel).
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Myths 10th Entry
Roman Divinities
Most of the names I found here relate to the modern names of things. For example Faunus, the god of fields and shepherds relates to the Spanish word for fields and environment called “Fauna”. It is incredible, to see the amount of influence that this culture has on our lives. Most of the words come from them (or at least in Spanish) and lots of fests and holidays too. Saint valentines day relates to cupid and I think that Christmas relates to saturnalia, an event in which they shared gifts and offered peace amongst each other.
Latona and the Rustics
This is one of the goddess that punished people for being rude at her. This time, they deserved it because they were mean to her and they ignored the superiority she possessed. This story reminds me to Pinocchio because he didn’t behave correctly and he suffered in exchange. (With the increase of his nose size). I think that people should be punished if they act incorrectly and this time I agree with the gods.
Phaeton
I didn’t understand fully this story because it shows the end of the world. Chaos all over the world and gods and people dying. Gods initially were allowing the destruction of the world but I don’t seem to find a reason because after all, their job was to protect the earth, wasn’t it? When I began reading it I thought it was going to explain solar eclipses or something by the sort but I finished it and I couldn’t discover the purpose for this story. This, unless that occurrence lead to a time of suffering and scarcity.
Most of the names I found here relate to the modern names of things. For example Faunus, the god of fields and shepherds relates to the Spanish word for fields and environment called “Fauna”. It is incredible, to see the amount of influence that this culture has on our lives. Most of the words come from them (or at least in Spanish) and lots of fests and holidays too. Saint valentines day relates to cupid and I think that Christmas relates to saturnalia, an event in which they shared gifts and offered peace amongst each other.
Latona and the Rustics
This is one of the goddess that punished people for being rude at her. This time, they deserved it because they were mean to her and they ignored the superiority she possessed. This story reminds me to Pinocchio because he didn’t behave correctly and he suffered in exchange. (With the increase of his nose size). I think that people should be punished if they act incorrectly and this time I agree with the gods.
Phaeton
I didn’t understand fully this story because it shows the end of the world. Chaos all over the world and gods and people dying. Gods initially were allowing the destruction of the world but I don’t seem to find a reason because after all, their job was to protect the earth, wasn’t it? When I began reading it I thought it was going to explain solar eclipses or something by the sort but I finished it and I couldn’t discover the purpose for this story. This, unless that occurrence lead to a time of suffering and scarcity.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
myths 9th entry
The Graee and the Gorgons
The graee and the gorgons weren’t important on mythology except medusa but I think that is the case with all the monsters of mythology. There was only few famous centaurs and even less flying horses. I agree with some modern writers that say that these monsters were all personifications of terror because either they really were personifications, or people didn’t know what they were doing back then.
Perseus and Medusa
I’ve know this story since I was a little kid when I saw it on discovery channel. This story is a good example that teaches us to confront your fears. Something I’ve learned in the past months is that you have to face your deepest fears because if you avoid them, they will come back and haunt you. In my opinion, if you want to succeed in life, you have to attack it, to receive it with positive expectations because things always end up being better if done this way.
Perseus and Atlas
Back then, people believed strongly in the oracle’ sayings and I don’t know if this is good or bad. After I’ve read like 20 myths, I am in the side of the humans. I still think that gods punished humans in an unfair way. Their punishments were based on personal wants rather than on logic or on doing the correct thing. Gods could be compared to the government. They do what they please and they favour some but make the rest suffer. There is one thing that’s been there since the beginning oh humanity and that is corruption and greed.
The graee and the gorgons weren’t important on mythology except medusa but I think that is the case with all the monsters of mythology. There was only few famous centaurs and even less flying horses. I agree with some modern writers that say that these monsters were all personifications of terror because either they really were personifications, or people didn’t know what they were doing back then.
Perseus and Medusa
I’ve know this story since I was a little kid when I saw it on discovery channel. This story is a good example that teaches us to confront your fears. Something I’ve learned in the past months is that you have to face your deepest fears because if you avoid them, they will come back and haunt you. In my opinion, if you want to succeed in life, you have to attack it, to receive it with positive expectations because things always end up being better if done this way.
Perseus and Atlas
Back then, people believed strongly in the oracle’ sayings and I don’t know if this is good or bad. After I’ve read like 20 myths, I am in the side of the humans. I still think that gods punished humans in an unfair way. Their punishments were based on personal wants rather than on logic or on doing the correct thing. Gods could be compared to the government. They do what they please and they favour some but make the rest suffer. There is one thing that’s been there since the beginning oh humanity and that is corruption and greed.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Rhetoric
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/17/opinion/17males.html?n=Top/Opinion/Editorials%20and%20Op-Ed/Op-Ed/Contributors
This Is Your (Father’s) Brain on Drugs
By Mike Males
I really enjoyed this article because it showed a different perspective in regards to drugs and mental abilities. I guess that the article to which he responded too was about teens and how bad they are. It is common to criticize others but to avoid or ignore your own problems and mistakes and that is why I enjoyed it so much, because not only teen have problems, middle-agers do too!
The majority of rhetoric used was logos but since I have to talk about other sub categories of rhetoric, I’ll show different examples.
“youths are being maligned to draw attention from the reality that it’s actually middle-aged adults — the parents — whose behavior has worsened.”
This statement uses blame to parents, who behave worst than their children and if you’ve read the whole article, you’ll know that he is also blaming some scientists for making misleading assumptions about worsened behaviors. In the other category, it uses Ethos to sustain it.
“18,249 deaths from overdoses of illicit drugs in 2004, up 550 percent per capita since 1975, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics.”
This statement uses Logos to create a powerful convincing line and blames middle-aged people, who have been setting an incorrect example to us, the teens. It uses the present to blame them and clearly, the argument is supported by amazing facts.
Basically, the rest of the article uses the same format as the one stated in the previous quotes. It shows facts that prove wrong the writer of the original article.
“Strangely, the experts never mention even more damning new “discoveries” about the middle-aged brain, like the 2004 study of scans by Harvard researchers revealing declines in key memory and learning genes that become significant by age 40.”
This quote evokes values and is found in the present tense. It blames but also wonders why does people don’t do it if they know it. I sincerely think its incredible, to be blaming all the teens without focusing on the adults, which have a stronger impact in cultures.
I came to a conclusion; that the vast majority of things in life contain a slight bit of rhetoric and that’s why its very important. I also found that If you want to say something and convince people, you have to use all the kinds of rhetoric available.
This Is Your (Father’s) Brain on Drugs
By Mike Males
I really enjoyed this article because it showed a different perspective in regards to drugs and mental abilities. I guess that the article to which he responded too was about teens and how bad they are. It is common to criticize others but to avoid or ignore your own problems and mistakes and that is why I enjoyed it so much, because not only teen have problems, middle-agers do too!
The majority of rhetoric used was logos but since I have to talk about other sub categories of rhetoric, I’ll show different examples.
“youths are being maligned to draw attention from the reality that it’s actually middle-aged adults — the parents — whose behavior has worsened.”
This statement uses blame to parents, who behave worst than their children and if you’ve read the whole article, you’ll know that he is also blaming some scientists for making misleading assumptions about worsened behaviors. In the other category, it uses Ethos to sustain it.
“18,249 deaths from overdoses of illicit drugs in 2004, up 550 percent per capita since 1975, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics.”
This statement uses Logos to create a powerful convincing line and blames middle-aged people, who have been setting an incorrect example to us, the teens. It uses the present to blame them and clearly, the argument is supported by amazing facts.
Basically, the rest of the article uses the same format as the one stated in the previous quotes. It shows facts that prove wrong the writer of the original article.
“Strangely, the experts never mention even more damning new “discoveries” about the middle-aged brain, like the 2004 study of scans by Harvard researchers revealing declines in key memory and learning genes that become significant by age 40.”
This quote evokes values and is found in the present tense. It blames but also wonders why does people don’t do it if they know it. I sincerely think its incredible, to be blaming all the teens without focusing on the adults, which have a stronger impact in cultures.
I came to a conclusion; that the vast majority of things in life contain a slight bit of rhetoric and that’s why its very important. I also found that If you want to say something and convince people, you have to use all the kinds of rhetoric available.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
myths 8th entry
The Centaurs
The centaurs are amongst my favorite mythological creatures because they are part human and part horse. They are very strong and quick and were supposed to be loyal to men. It would’ve been great if these animals did exist and that makes me wonder who and why invented all these myths and creatures?
The Pygmies
This story reminds me of people who are born with disabilities, whether they are mental, emotional or physical. They do their best and have their own goals and own life but there is always some one that makes them feel bad about themselves because they think they are better than they are.
The Griffin
I knew this character from the series of Harry Potter and I liked it because it was made from the fiercest animals around. A lion, the king of the jungle and an eagle, the king of the skies ended up creating the strongest animal of them all. I am amused that these animals don’t play such a role in mythology because in my opinion, they could show up from fearless enemies to loyal friends.
The centaurs are amongst my favorite mythological creatures because they are part human and part horse. They are very strong and quick and were supposed to be loyal to men. It would’ve been great if these animals did exist and that makes me wonder who and why invented all these myths and creatures?
The Pygmies
This story reminds me of people who are born with disabilities, whether they are mental, emotional or physical. They do their best and have their own goals and own life but there is always some one that makes them feel bad about themselves because they think they are better than they are.
The Griffin
I knew this character from the series of Harry Potter and I liked it because it was made from the fiercest animals around. A lion, the king of the jungle and an eagle, the king of the skies ended up creating the strongest animal of them all. I am amused that these animals don’t play such a role in mythology because in my opinion, they could show up from fearless enemies to loyal friends.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Myths 7th entry
Nisus and Scylla
This is a story that reminds me of honor and pride. It isn’t the same to win a soccer math when the other team doesn’t presents itself than to win it by playing and giving it all. Maybe Minos didn’t want the territory but the fame and he felt offended by the actions of Scylla.
Echo and Narcissus
This first story is about the creation of the echo. It is funny how the story makes sense. She wasn’t able to speak before and ended up repeating what was said. I haven’t read much but I hope I see more myths containing explanation of natural occurrences.
Hero and Leander
I cant imagine someone in modern days doing the impossible for love although it happens, it isn’t as common. These stories show that love was very important to them. I also read a story similar to Romeo and Juliet but with different characters and situations. This means that love was one of the most important things for them and I think that love was the only feeling that surpassed gods commands.
This is a story that reminds me of honor and pride. It isn’t the same to win a soccer math when the other team doesn’t presents itself than to win it by playing and giving it all. Maybe Minos didn’t want the territory but the fame and he felt offended by the actions of Scylla.
Echo and Narcissus
This first story is about the creation of the echo. It is funny how the story makes sense. She wasn’t able to speak before and ended up repeating what was said. I haven’t read much but I hope I see more myths containing explanation of natural occurrences.
Hero and Leander
I cant imagine someone in modern days doing the impossible for love although it happens, it isn’t as common. These stories show that love was very important to them. I also read a story similar to Romeo and Juliet but with different characters and situations. This means that love was one of the most important things for them and I think that love was the only feeling that surpassed gods commands.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Myths 6th entry
Apollo and Hyacinthus
In this story Hyacinthus dies and Apollo honors him with flowers. I think that his death was meant to be, it was destiny. I say this because not even Apollo, with his medical abilities was able to save him from death. No one can escape from death but I’m sure that we can delay it.
Cadmus
This is the story of the creator of Thebes. In his quest to find his lost sister, he went to the oracle and was told to build a city and name it Thebes. While exploring the territory, he found a cave with a serpent and killed it. The serpent turned out to be sacred to Mars and all his family received a curse. This snake reminds me to a movie I saw, which name I cant recall but was about a hero that killed a giant serpent and although he became wealthy and famous, he ended up suffering a lifetime curse.
Clytie
In this story, a nymph becomes a flower while waiting for the love of Apollo. This story shows that you have to act if you want something. If I want to win a tennis tournament, I have to practice and do my best but if I lay on the floor being sad about not being able to play tennis well, I will never achieve anything. If you want something in life, you have to make it a goal and then reach it. As one of the greatest thinkers once said, “If you don’t try, you don’t do”.
In this story Hyacinthus dies and Apollo honors him with flowers. I think that his death was meant to be, it was destiny. I say this because not even Apollo, with his medical abilities was able to save him from death. No one can escape from death but I’m sure that we can delay it.
Cadmus
This is the story of the creator of Thebes. In his quest to find his lost sister, he went to the oracle and was told to build a city and name it Thebes. While exploring the territory, he found a cave with a serpent and killed it. The serpent turned out to be sacred to Mars and all his family received a curse. This snake reminds me to a movie I saw, which name I cant recall but was about a hero that killed a giant serpent and although he became wealthy and famous, he ended up suffering a lifetime curse.
Clytie
In this story, a nymph becomes a flower while waiting for the love of Apollo. This story shows that you have to act if you want something. If I want to win a tennis tournament, I have to practice and do my best but if I lay on the floor being sad about not being able to play tennis well, I will never achieve anything. If you want something in life, you have to make it a goal and then reach it. As one of the greatest thinkers once said, “If you don’t try, you don’t do”.
Myths 5th entry
Sir, I am late with this entry because I didnt come to school on thursday so I didnt have my book of myths with me.
Glaucus and Scylla
Glaucus became a god when he tasted some herbs. He became half fish; half-human and he fell in love to a nymph called Scylla. She ignored him for his appearance and Circe the goddess punished her. I am definitively sure that their lives back then turned around religion. They did things to please gods and they were either punished, or rewarded. I think that their explanation for everything was the gods’ faith and that’s why they didn’t have as much freedom as we have in modern days.
Pygmalion
This story is about Pygmalion, a sculptor who had so much to blame women for that he came to abhor sex. He created a beautiful sculptor of a women and he fell in love with it. She asked the gods to turn her into a living person and Venus turned this sculpture into the living. This story shows the power of love. I think that love is the strongest feeling and that is why it was able to turn a sculpture into a real woman. Love can do it all.
Dryope
In this story, Dryope is turned into a plant by hurting a nymph without knowing. Once again, I have to say that it is unfair how the punish humans for doing things that they were not actually to be blamed for. In Gilgamesh, Enkidu suffers a similar faith and just because he killed a bull in his personal defense. In my opinion, religion is not as important for Christians as it is for Muslims and for other previous religions. Muslims kill and die for their gods and pageants died because of gods will but Christians, we don’t have as much of a bond with our God as they have with theirs. I am sure that in the future, there will be no more religions because now a days, people become more and more egocentric.
Glaucus and Scylla
Glaucus became a god when he tasted some herbs. He became half fish; half-human and he fell in love to a nymph called Scylla. She ignored him for his appearance and Circe the goddess punished her. I am definitively sure that their lives back then turned around religion. They did things to please gods and they were either punished, or rewarded. I think that their explanation for everything was the gods’ faith and that’s why they didn’t have as much freedom as we have in modern days.
Pygmalion
This story is about Pygmalion, a sculptor who had so much to blame women for that he came to abhor sex. He created a beautiful sculptor of a women and he fell in love with it. She asked the gods to turn her into a living person and Venus turned this sculpture into the living. This story shows the power of love. I think that love is the strongest feeling and that is why it was able to turn a sculpture into a real woman. Love can do it all.
Dryope
In this story, Dryope is turned into a plant by hurting a nymph without knowing. Once again, I have to say that it is unfair how the punish humans for doing things that they were not actually to be blamed for. In Gilgamesh, Enkidu suffers a similar faith and just because he killed a bull in his personal defense. In my opinion, religion is not as important for Christians as it is for Muslims and for other previous religions. Muslims kill and die for their gods and pageants died because of gods will but Christians, we don’t have as much of a bond with our God as they have with theirs. I am sure that in the future, there will be no more religions because now a days, people become more and more egocentric.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
NYT arguments
NYT arguments
1. “I, like you, care deeply about the safety of children,” said the executive, Robert A. Eckert, in testimony before a Senate subcommittee.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/business/12cnd-toys.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
This argumentation is based on Ethos and Pathos. Argumentation by reputation (or Ethos), because he works in a company which depends on credibility and kids’ satisfaction. Another reason why this is Ethos is because of his highly ranked position on this company (Mattel). He also uses Pathos (or feelings) when he talks about how he cares about children safety. The creation of this feeling combined with his reputation creates a powerful argument.
2. “But if he thought -- or even hoped -- that the standing-room crowd of media was there to talk about the Chargers, he failed to prepare in the manner that has made him one of the most successful coaches in the history of the league.”
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-FBN-NFL-Spying.html?hp
This statement uses Logos to argument because it requires common sense to know that he wasn’t being interviewed for his upcoming game but for what he did. This quote uses a bit of humour combined with this common logic or “brain” to state a clear point. I personally think that the strongest arguments come from the use of logic or Logos. Although with Logos alone it is hardly possible to win, I think that Logos is the base for any argument.
3. “The draft, the work of the House Education Committee chairman, George Miller of California, contains some good reforms as well. But those ideas would be wasted if states, schools and teachers were not held accountable for the quality of the education they provide. Not only do America’s businesses need better-educated workers, the country needs better-educated citizens as well. And America’s children all deserve a sound education.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/opinion/12wed3.htm
This paragraph uses Logos because it says logical things. They are smart and intelligent but logical. He says that America deserves better-educated people and that the ideas presented should not be wasted. This is a smart but simple argument with the use of Logos.
4. “My son was a soldier in his heart from the age of 5,”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/washington/12cnd-troops.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1189649155-exzDSmktU4a+VEhE5jXhOQ
This sentence expresses pain and sadness from the death of the soldier and it uses Pathos to support it. By the use of feelings and manipulation of emotions, the mother convinces everyone about the suffering she is having and although it may not be intention. I’d say that people end up knowing her grief and understanding her pain.
5. “But he wasn’t any mindless robot,” said the sergeant’s father, Richard Gray. Sergeant Gray leaves a wife, Jessica, and a daughter, Ava, born in April. He is also survived by a brother and sister.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/washington/12cnd-troops.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1189649155-exzDSmktU4a+VEhE5jXhOQ
I took this quote from the same text and I think it is the same as the other one. Unintentionally, the father uses Pathos to manipulate the audience and to convince them about the problems in Iraq and the danger that all the soldiers face in their everyday life.
1. “I, like you, care deeply about the safety of children,” said the executive, Robert A. Eckert, in testimony before a Senate subcommittee.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/business/12cnd-toys.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
This argumentation is based on Ethos and Pathos. Argumentation by reputation (or Ethos), because he works in a company which depends on credibility and kids’ satisfaction. Another reason why this is Ethos is because of his highly ranked position on this company (Mattel). He also uses Pathos (or feelings) when he talks about how he cares about children safety. The creation of this feeling combined with his reputation creates a powerful argument.
2. “But if he thought -- or even hoped -- that the standing-room crowd of media was there to talk about the Chargers, he failed to prepare in the manner that has made him one of the most successful coaches in the history of the league.”
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-FBN-NFL-Spying.html?hp
This statement uses Logos to argument because it requires common sense to know that he wasn’t being interviewed for his upcoming game but for what he did. This quote uses a bit of humour combined with this common logic or “brain” to state a clear point. I personally think that the strongest arguments come from the use of logic or Logos. Although with Logos alone it is hardly possible to win, I think that Logos is the base for any argument.
3. “The draft, the work of the House Education Committee chairman, George Miller of California, contains some good reforms as well. But those ideas would be wasted if states, schools and teachers were not held accountable for the quality of the education they provide. Not only do America’s businesses need better-educated workers, the country needs better-educated citizens as well. And America’s children all deserve a sound education.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/opinion/12wed3.htm
This paragraph uses Logos because it says logical things. They are smart and intelligent but logical. He says that America deserves better-educated people and that the ideas presented should not be wasted. This is a smart but simple argument with the use of Logos.
4. “My son was a soldier in his heart from the age of 5,”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/washington/12cnd-troops.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1189649155-exzDSmktU4a+VEhE5jXhOQ
This sentence expresses pain and sadness from the death of the soldier and it uses Pathos to support it. By the use of feelings and manipulation of emotions, the mother convinces everyone about the suffering she is having and although it may not be intention. I’d say that people end up knowing her grief and understanding her pain.
5. “But he wasn’t any mindless robot,” said the sergeant’s father, Richard Gray. Sergeant Gray leaves a wife, Jessica, and a daughter, Ava, born in April. He is also survived by a brother and sister.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/washington/12cnd-troops.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1189649155-exzDSmktU4a+VEhE5jXhOQ
I took this quote from the same text and I think it is the same as the other one. Unintentionally, the father uses Pathos to manipulate the audience and to convince them about the problems in Iraq and the danger that all the soldiers face in their everyday life.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Myths 4th Entry
CALLISTO
This story is about a maiden that was turned into a bear because of her appearance and power of attraction. As I have said on previous blogs, I found the gods full of jealousy and corruption. Maybe is because they are just like humans except much more powerful and with the gift of eternal life. It is unfair that a beautiful woman is turned into a bear for her appearance but in the end, she ended up becoming a star constellation. This shows that although there are some bad gods, there are good ones too.
DIANA AND ACTAEON
Once again, a goddess has their cruel revenge. I think that from now on, I’ll se these gods as regular beings because they are very similar. Humans tend to want revenge and that’s what they do. I thing it is a natural feeling and action that is caused for our need for feeling superior. Animals like to show their superiority too. They want to prove that they are better than the rest and that is why if the suffer from an attack, they plan a revenge, because they want to be seen as the best. In some species, only the alpha male gets to sleep with the females.
BAUCIS AND PHILEMON
I know a very similar story that I think appears in the bible. It is about a poor family that hosts God when he comes in the disguise of a weary poor traveler. He who has a lithe shall have the most. I don’t know the relationship between these two stories but I know the message. You have to give as much as you can, ignoring the fact that you have less or more than others do. I personally feel great when I give something, whether its money or a little of time, the personal satisfaction is unexplainable.
This story is about a maiden that was turned into a bear because of her appearance and power of attraction. As I have said on previous blogs, I found the gods full of jealousy and corruption. Maybe is because they are just like humans except much more powerful and with the gift of eternal life. It is unfair that a beautiful woman is turned into a bear for her appearance but in the end, she ended up becoming a star constellation. This shows that although there are some bad gods, there are good ones too.
DIANA AND ACTAEON
Once again, a goddess has their cruel revenge. I think that from now on, I’ll se these gods as regular beings because they are very similar. Humans tend to want revenge and that’s what they do. I thing it is a natural feeling and action that is caused for our need for feeling superior. Animals like to show their superiority too. They want to prove that they are better than the rest and that is why if the suffer from an attack, they plan a revenge, because they want to be seen as the best. In some species, only the alpha male gets to sleep with the females.
BAUCIS AND PHILEMON
I know a very similar story that I think appears in the bible. It is about a poor family that hosts God when he comes in the disguise of a weary poor traveler. He who has a lithe shall have the most. I don’t know the relationship between these two stories but I know the message. You have to give as much as you can, ignoring the fact that you have less or more than others do. I personally feel great when I give something, whether its money or a little of time, the personal satisfaction is unexplainable.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Myths 3rd Entry (Love)
APOLLO
The story of Apollo relates to real life and some movies on love. Love is always there and will always be there. Cupid’s arrow symbolizes how easy you can fall in love and how difficult it is to avoid it. This story tells us that we cant force someone to love us. It is their will to love us and as much as we want to try, if she doesn’t want too, she will try to do anything to avoid it. Love is not in our hands although we can help it flourish but ultimately, love is a feeling that exceeds the power of human nature.
PYRAMUS AND THISBE
This story is the same as Romeo and Juliet. I think that Shakespeare got his idea from this story. Surprisingly enough, both myths I’ve read today have to do with love. This makes me think that love was very important for Greeks at that time but then again, in which culture isn’t love important? Love is very important and it is one of the strongest things in the world. True love even surpasses the fear of death and that is because there isn’t a better feeling than that of being in love.
CEPHALUS AND PROCRIS
Cephalus suffered for his rejection to Aurora. Although this story relates also about love, it focuses more on the darker side, that of jealousy and envy. I find it unfair that a honest, loving husband suffers that destiny just for denying love to someone else than his wife. This story shows that not all the gods are as divine as gods in different religions. The Greek gods punished them if they felt offended or insulted and didn’t do what was right, they choose what felt better for them. This makes me think how our lives would be if we were part of that religion. We’d be totally controlled by gods and our personal happiness and freedom would be denied.
The story of Apollo relates to real life and some movies on love. Love is always there and will always be there. Cupid’s arrow symbolizes how easy you can fall in love and how difficult it is to avoid it. This story tells us that we cant force someone to love us. It is their will to love us and as much as we want to try, if she doesn’t want too, she will try to do anything to avoid it. Love is not in our hands although we can help it flourish but ultimately, love is a feeling that exceeds the power of human nature.
PYRAMUS AND THISBE
This story is the same as Romeo and Juliet. I think that Shakespeare got his idea from this story. Surprisingly enough, both myths I’ve read today have to do with love. This makes me think that love was very important for Greeks at that time but then again, in which culture isn’t love important? Love is very important and it is one of the strongest things in the world. True love even surpasses the fear of death and that is because there isn’t a better feeling than that of being in love.
CEPHALUS AND PROCRIS
Cephalus suffered for his rejection to Aurora. Although this story relates also about love, it focuses more on the darker side, that of jealousy and envy. I find it unfair that a honest, loving husband suffers that destiny just for denying love to someone else than his wife. This story shows that not all the gods are as divine as gods in different religions. The Greek gods punished them if they felt offended or insulted and didn’t do what was right, they choose what felt better for them. This makes me think how our lives would be if we were part of that religion. We’d be totally controlled by gods and our personal happiness and freedom would be denied.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Myths 2nd entry
ARIADNE
I like this myth because it is related to Theseus’ myth from a different point of view. I enjoy things seen in a different perspective and in fact, I truly believe that we should look at everything from different points of view, to take wise decisions in life. This myth proves that there are always happy conclusions. I sincerely don’t know about someone who ends up loosing everything in life because at the end, they turn out to be happy with what they are. For example, you see many poor people on the streets but you also see many poor kids out there playing and having loads of fun.
RHOECUS
This story shows that there are consequences for everything that you do in life. There might be bad if you do wrong but they may turn out to be great if that is what you do. I think this story relates with Karma, which relates to everything in life. Even in Gilgamesh, the law of Karma is in action. When Gilgamesh and Enkidu disobeyed the gods, killed Huwawa, and killed the Bull of Heaven, their actions were returned with death. This is why in personally believe on doing good and receiving good. That is why I personally try to avoid bad thoughts and wrong actions, because they tend to come back to you.
ADMETUS AND ALGESTIS
I can’t stop thinking about how all these stories relate to one another. The hero of this story is Hercules, which has his own story. I haven’t read Hercules but it may be possible that what he did in this myth, may relate to the tasks that he had to do in his own story. I like the idea that the stories relate because that is how everything works in real life. You may have your story written down on a book containing hundreds of different names which may even play an important role in your life. The fact that they are important on your life doesn’t change the fact they have their own life in which they have their own separate events.
I like this myth because it is related to Theseus’ myth from a different point of view. I enjoy things seen in a different perspective and in fact, I truly believe that we should look at everything from different points of view, to take wise decisions in life. This myth proves that there are always happy conclusions. I sincerely don’t know about someone who ends up loosing everything in life because at the end, they turn out to be happy with what they are. For example, you see many poor people on the streets but you also see many poor kids out there playing and having loads of fun.
RHOECUS
This story shows that there are consequences for everything that you do in life. There might be bad if you do wrong but they may turn out to be great if that is what you do. I think this story relates with Karma, which relates to everything in life. Even in Gilgamesh, the law of Karma is in action. When Gilgamesh and Enkidu disobeyed the gods, killed Huwawa, and killed the Bull of Heaven, their actions were returned with death. This is why in personally believe on doing good and receiving good. That is why I personally try to avoid bad thoughts and wrong actions, because they tend to come back to you.
ADMETUS AND ALGESTIS
I can’t stop thinking about how all these stories relate to one another. The hero of this story is Hercules, which has his own story. I haven’t read Hercules but it may be possible that what he did in this myth, may relate to the tasks that he had to do in his own story. I like the idea that the stories relate because that is how everything works in real life. You may have your story written down on a book containing hundreds of different names which may even play an important role in your life. The fact that they are important on your life doesn’t change the fact they have their own life in which they have their own separate events.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Myths !st Entry
THESEUS
The first Myth that I read was that of Theseus. This myth is similar to Gilgamesh in many aspects. For example, in both the main character is a privileged person, superior that the others. Gilgamesh is a king and he is part god and Theseus, he is son of a king and is gifted with bravery and fighting skills. Another reason why these two stories relate is because both characters are looking for pride and glory and they face the strongest opponents in the area, and they manage to defeat them. You could say that the characters were very similar and I am starting to think that most of the heroes of ancient mythology posses the same characteristics.
ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE
I already knew this story from a cartoon of the TV. I found it incredible, how curiosity defeated Orpheus as he turned around to look for her beloved one. Enkidu was overthrown by curiosity as well, at the beginning on the story when the harlot seduced him. This proves once again that curiosity is stronger than most of us. I can also compare the love that Orpheus had to Eurycide with the one of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Orpheus went looking for her to the underworld and according to the last tablet of Gilgamesh (the one that came from the Akkadians), Gilgamesh pled the gods so that Enkidu could live one more time.
ARION
This story was similar to the one of Orpheus because both of them play the lyre. I think that the lyre was a very important instrument back in those days. At the end, Arion ended up winning so I found that part different from Orpheus’ myth in which he fails his task and on The Epic Gilgamesh too, because he failed to find immortality. So far I’ve found this myths very entertaining and I am looking forward to read some more.
The first Myth that I read was that of Theseus. This myth is similar to Gilgamesh in many aspects. For example, in both the main character is a privileged person, superior that the others. Gilgamesh is a king and he is part god and Theseus, he is son of a king and is gifted with bravery and fighting skills. Another reason why these two stories relate is because both characters are looking for pride and glory and they face the strongest opponents in the area, and they manage to defeat them. You could say that the characters were very similar and I am starting to think that most of the heroes of ancient mythology posses the same characteristics.
ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE
I already knew this story from a cartoon of the TV. I found it incredible, how curiosity defeated Orpheus as he turned around to look for her beloved one. Enkidu was overthrown by curiosity as well, at the beginning on the story when the harlot seduced him. This proves once again that curiosity is stronger than most of us. I can also compare the love that Orpheus had to Eurycide with the one of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Orpheus went looking for her to the underworld and according to the last tablet of Gilgamesh (the one that came from the Akkadians), Gilgamesh pled the gods so that Enkidu could live one more time.
ARION
This story was similar to the one of Orpheus because both of them play the lyre. I think that the lyre was a very important instrument back in those days. At the end, Arion ended up winning so I found that part different from Orpheus’ myth in which he fails his task and on The Epic Gilgamesh too, because he failed to find immortality. So far I’ve found this myths very entertaining and I am looking forward to read some more.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
How Much Shall We Bet?
How much shall we be bet?
I really enjoyed this story alltough I found it confusing at moments. It is funny, if you look at creation from their perspective. They are not part of it so they simply observe it and play with it. I think that these two characters are like gods. They were born before everything and they get to know everything that happens. This is the same role of our God in the Christian-Catholic religion. God was simply there and will be there forever and this is how I see "(k)yK" & "Qfwfq".
Probably they arent even human related to humans but from what I understood, they end up living in the Earth as humans. Other than gods, (k)yK & they also coudl be compared with computer programmers, or with movie expectators. They want to know what is next and altough they dont have the authority to alter it, they make assumption.
I think that this story leaves a message. I think that the story asside from explaining the creation of the universe, it somehow says that you have to play with life. You have to make your life worthwile by taking risks (I'm not talking about stupid, unessesary risk but of ocational satisfactory adventures). If we didn't take risks, our lives would be monotums and boring and that is not the reason why we are given these wonderfoul lifes. We should play with them and have fun.
I really enjoyed this story alltough I found it confusing at moments. It is funny, if you look at creation from their perspective. They are not part of it so they simply observe it and play with it. I think that these two characters are like gods. They were born before everything and they get to know everything that happens. This is the same role of our God in the Christian-Catholic religion. God was simply there and will be there forever and this is how I see "(k)yK" & "Qfwfq".
Probably they arent even human related to humans but from what I understood, they end up living in the Earth as humans. Other than gods, (k)yK & they also coudl be compared with computer programmers, or with movie expectators. They want to know what is next and altough they dont have the authority to alter it, they make assumption.
I think that this story leaves a message. I think that the story asside from explaining the creation of the universe, it somehow says that you have to play with life. You have to make your life worthwile by taking risks (I'm not talking about stupid, unessesary risk but of ocational satisfactory adventures). If we didn't take risks, our lives would be monotums and boring and that is not the reason why we are given these wonderfoul lifes. We should play with them and have fun.
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