People from all worldviews have tried to understand and display their ideas of the divine by means of art, philosophy, architecture, and literature. These mediums serve as outlets to express their beliefs concerning a higher power. Although they show variance and development as time progresses, each culture’s works connect to the ideas and techniques of the cultures preceding them. Each culture built upon the foundation laid before them in these regards. The Mesopotamians are the oldest known…
There is a difference between religion and mythology. Religion is a set of practices based on the belief of non-human beings monitoring actions and myths are stories that matter within a specific community or communities. There are two kinds of religion, evolutionary and revealed. The Greeks had an evolutionary religion where the totality of things were feared by a social group and had no specific origin. Myth can be divided into three categories, the first being divine, which explains the…
traditions to have their righteous agenda subsumed into popular culture, such as Christmas or December 25th - which, to Christians, is the birth of Jesus Christ, but historically was the celebrated day of the birth of the pagan god, Mithra, the Greek god, Dionysus, and the Phrygo-Roman god, Attis, who was, like Jesus, described as being born of a virgin. Enlisting syncretism - the combining of religious and cultural characteristics - to appeal to minorities of pagans, enticing them to convert…
Socrates and Phaedrus discuss love and erotic love throughout the dialogue of Plato’s Phaedrus. The dialogue also discusses rhetoric itself and the ways in which it is and should be practiced, as well as subjects such as metempsychosis. The dialogue in Phaedrus does not allow for any introductions to explain the story. This is somewhat unusual as it comes as a first-hand dialogue, uninterrupted by nobody and nothing. It plays out almost as if we are witnessing the events ourselves. Socrates’…
She stereotypes her own women by saying maybe they would care about the war if she had called for a festival for the god of Dionysus, a celebration with wine and drunkenness. Calling together a party for dancing, drinking, and sexual desires would immediately draw the women in, but an important topic about peace for their country would be near impossible. Like men, Lysistrata…
The Statue of Bacchus and a Faun The National Gallery of Arts, at the center of the United States capital, is home to different paintings and sculptures from around the world; one of them is the statue of Bacchus and a faun. This 16th century sculpture was purchased by the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust and given to the national gallery of arts as a gift in 1937. The exact sculptor who made this statue is not known, however, it is believed to have been a Milanese artist. The…
For an assortment of reasons, the Delphi Oracle started diminishing by the first century A.D. and the last recorded Oracle occurred in A.D. 362. Accordingly, due to the oracle ceasing to give utterances, Delphi, along with various other local caverns, eventually became deserted and gradually fell into ruin. The Christian emperor Theodosius formally closed the vast temple in A.D. 391; whereby indicating the end of the ancient ritual of Greek Oracles and the ushering in of Christianity. Still,…
In 1984 the legal drinking age in the United States was raised to 21. The United States should lower the drinking age to 18 because the law may not be protecting teens and others. Although the drinking age was raised to protect teens, “it may have made drinking even more appealing to teens, whose brains naturally seek out risk more than adult brains do without considering what the consequences might be”. Some people argue that teens brain aren't developed enough to handle drinking, but…
The balance between the law of the state and natural, or divine law is a topic that has been scrutinized for thousands of years. Antigone by Sophocles and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. share similar standpoints on the controversial matter that has baffled philosophers. Sophocles uses Antigone to assert his opinion, as she disobeys Creon’s law and buries her brother, Polyneices. Similarly, King structures his plan of nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience…
Percy Jackson is the the main character and the narrator of the novel. He is the demigod the son of Poseidon, the ruler of the sea an done of the big three gods. He is diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Dyslexia. While he lacks his friend's intelligence, he has the loyalty and bravery. He has never been normal in his life. He attended 6 different schools in 6 years. He is a trouble magnet, no matter how hard he tries to avoid it. Growing up, he never knew his real father…