Alcestis

The Symposium is a dialog by Plato that depicts a drinking party that Socrates attended where the subject of love and what it really is was discussed. All the people who attended took turns giving speeches of what they thought about love and what its meaning really is. The first one to speak was Phaedrus who is known as the beloved and his speech details how he thinks love instills in us a feeling of being virtuous and honorable. This in turn makes us happy and good men following the path of…

Phaedrus and he speaks about the virtue and bravery of love. He states that love is the oldest, thus love being the wisest, will lead men towards love that will lead them to good lives above everything else. He gives accounts of Achilles and Alcestis in which Alcestis self-sacrifices herself for her lover which exemplifies the bravery of love. He associates the idea of love behind wise men who are able to choose the right lovers. The second speech is spoken by Pausanias who splits his definition…

The Rash and Regret of Hercules When people know nothing they are easily scared. The early Greeks were unaware of many things in their lives so, they made stories to cope with the inability to comprehend the world around them. The Greeks were a mischievous people who made many mistakes and one man in the strange Greek stories is the perfect embodiment of this quality. One of these stories was about a very strong man named Hercules, Edith Hamilton wrote about his story in her book Mythology.…

not think about what will happen once there are people on Mars, however, and what they will do then. Survival and living a sufficient life away from the civilization on Earth are common things one might think of. “The Coming Schism” by James E. and Alcestis R. Oberg explores what will happen when people finally colonize Mars. The Obergs make assumptions according to what they believe will be the future for not only the people on Mars but also for the people on Earth. The Obergs persuade their…

Plato’s speeches in the Symposium surprised me, because at first it seemed that he was presenting multiple viewpoints on Eros, and leaving the reader to interpret the writings as they pleased. Besides Socrates’ dialogue with Agathon, he only offers witty banter, and a story he overheard from the mysterious Diotima. The Phaedrus also speaks about love, but it returns to the traditional question/answer method of dialogue that Plato and Socrates are so fond of. The two pieces, when read separately,…

As a child growing up, Alycia never experienced the fatherly and motherly love that the children around her age had. Her parents would always yell at her and criticize her for everything she did. She was physically and mentally abused, but despite all this, she still yearned for her parents’ love. However, her love for her parents started to disintegrate when they abandoned at the age of 8. From there on, she roamed the streets of Greece everyday and learned how to grow up independently. Despite…

again, the stasis has changed and their lives can go back to normal. Philinte walks in and is filled with excitement immediately after he sees Alceste has returned. Basque reveals that he had found his twin and a sack of money, enough to pay off Alcestis debt to Oronte. And Eliante finally sees Philinte for who he is and agrees to marry him after all. The play has now answered all possible…

truth about who the funeral was truly for. After learning the truth, the great hero was mortified by his behavior as a guest of someone who was beyond hospitable during a time of great sadness. Without hesitation, Hercules was determined to bring Alcestis (Admetus’ wife) back from the dead. His elaborate plan to wrestle Death to retrieve the poor maiden proved to be successful and he…

Many of us today have people we look up to. Someone you consider to be your hero. It may be because of their courageous traits or their admirable characteristics, like a fireman or maybe even your dad. Similar to our current reality, greek mythology also presents us with many heroes that can win your affections, or leave you with animosity. Although the Greeks often valued different traits in heros than we do today. They often just saw someone for their family background or affiliations with the…