Literature review on Japan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Literature review on Japan - Essay Example The various aspects of contemporary Japan that include geographical, political, economic, cultural, educational and religious phenomenon are discussed in detail (Japan, 2005). The role and constitution of families in Japan has undergone changes in the twentieth century with respect to their tradition. But the concept of continuing family keeps their dear ones close. The people of Japan believe that even if a family does not live together with grandparents and parent, the proximity of separated family should be so close that they can share a bowl of hot soup on a day. This reveals that the concept of family and values has much significance in Japan. The educational system of Japan and workplace culture has grabbed much attention for its severity. This may be recognized with the huge economic success and technological progress of the country. Japanese believe in working hard from a very young age to survive in highly competitive settings. Japanese consider themselves of belonging to a homogenous society. They have a strong sense of national identity and there are no much racial or ethnic divisions. Though they have a feeling of oneness of being Japanese, Jap an is most influenced by popular culture. The culture of young people in Japan is dominated by media with sitcoms like Pokemon, manga and Hello Kitty (Bestor, T. & Hardacre, H 2004). Japanese economy is second only to the United States in terms of having a high GNP. Major industries in Japan include automobile, real estate, manufacturing, communication, construction, services and distribution.

Microwave Power Transmission Essay Example for Free

Microwave Power Transmission Essay Microwave power transmission (MPT) is one of the applications of microwaves to transmit power from one place to another place without the need for wires. It is the type of the Electromagnetic Radiations, one of the wireless energy transfer methods. Introduction: Firstly, we will talk about the term Microwaves, Microwaves can also be termed as Radio waves having wavelengths ranging from one millimeter to one meter and the frequencies from 300MHz to 300GHz. These are also known as millimeter waves. These waves can also be used for power transmission in such a way, by converting DC power to microwaves and then by using antenna, these are transmitted, and after that rectenna receive those waves and converts them into DC again which can be further inverted into AC. The basic components include microwave source, an antenna for transmission, and a rectenna as a receiver. It has many applications such as it is used for power supply purpose in orbital lift space ships. Discussion: After the World War II, we saw the development in high-power microwave emitters, also known as Cavity magnetrons, and this lead to the idea of using microwaves for power transmission. In 1964, William C. Brown demonstrated the working of rectenna in helicopter as it converts microwave power into electricity, and is capable of achieving high efficiencies – over 90%. Now it is commonly used for transferring energy to the surface of earth from solar power satellites. Numbers of researches are made. In 2008, an experiment of long range power transmission was performed and successfully transmitted 20 watts up-to 92 miles. Conclusion: Microwave Power Transmission is very efficient way of transferring power from one place to another, wirelessly. With the passage of time, its applications in daily life are increasing because of its efficiency. It is also perceived by the people that microwaves are very dangerous as they are used in microwave ovens but, it would be safe enough as the power level would be equal to the leakage but slightly more than the leakage from the cell phones. It has been also researched on multiple generations of animals by exposing them to microwave radiations of high intensity but no health issue was found.

They Can Feel It Too Essay -- Animal Rights

Did you know that domestic violence against an animal as a first offence is only a class B misdemeanor and domestic battery against a human is a Class A misdemeanor? Did you also know that a Class A misdemeanor is about 2 times more severe than a Class B misdemeanor? What makes us humans so special and superior to animals? Why do animals have fewer rights and less protection than us? Animals have feelings too and need to be treated as such so I say it’s time for a change. All this abuse and neglect towards animals needs to stop. Animals can feel pain even though they may not express it the same way that us humans do. Animals need our voices to help close the loopholes in our laws. Someone has to speak up for them since they can’t speak for themselves. In media-reported animal cruelty cases, dogs, pit bulls, in particular, are the most common victims of animal cruelty. In 2007 64.5% of media-reported cases involved dogs, 18% involved cats, and 25% involved other types of animals. The HSUS (The Humane Society of the United States) estimates that nearly 1 million animals a year are abused or killed in connection with domestic violence. About 2,168,000 women and men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner in the U.S. every year. 63% of U.S. households own a pet, and 71% of domestic violence victims report that their abuser also targeted their animals. These statistics are very alarming. So is the fact that many convicted murderers and serial killers tortured animals when they were younger and progressed to killing humans. The other two red-flag behaviors are setting fires and wetting ones bed. Now I’m not saying every child that wets themselves should be put under a microscopic eye but all three of these behaviors together ... ...2383--.html Pristin, Terry. "New Jersey Daily Briefing;Tougher Animal Cruelty Law." New York Times 16 July 1996: 1. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=108&sid=58dd2e2a-f77d-4363-99b4-a8f9371ab8ab%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=29578437 VanKavage, Ledy. â€Å"Humane Law Enforcement in Illinois†, Petfinder.com. Spring 2002. Web. March 18, 2012. http://www.petfinder.com/how-to-help-pets/humane-law-enforcement-illinois.html Whitcomb, Rachel. "Veterinarian Recounts Zanesville's Tragic Killing Of 49 Exotic, Wild Animals." DVM: The Newsmagazine Of Veterinary Medicine 42.12 (2011): 7. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=108&sid=58dd2e2a-f77d-4363-99b4-a8f9371ab8ab%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=69711284

Hamptonshire Express: Problems 1-3 Essay

Problem #1 A. How many newspapers should Sheen stock? Use the simulation in the spreadsheet â€Å"Hamptonshire Express: Problem #1† to identify the optimal stocking quantity. What is the profit at this stocking quantity? Optimal Stocking Quantity: 584 Expected profit at Optimal Stocking Quantity: $331.43 B. Verify that the value derived in part (a) is consistent with the optimal stocking quantity in the Newsvendor model = mean = 500 = Standard Deviation = 100 = Overage Cost = $0.20†$0 = $0.20 = Shortage Cost = $0.20†$1.00 = †$0.80 = 1†.8 = .2 ïÆ'   corresponding z†value = .84 . âˆâ€" Problem #2 A. How many hours should Sheen invest daily in the creation of the profile section? The optimal amount of hours Sheen should invest results in optimal profit/day at: 4 hours With optimal stocking quantity: 685 And expected profit/day: $371.33 B. What explains Sheen’s choice of effort level h? Since the marginal cost of her effort is $10/hour and the marginal benefit of her effort is equal to: 8 * 50 = 10 ïÆ'   h = 4 2√ The hours invested will be optimized when marginal cost = marginal benefit, in this case h = 4. C. Compare the optimal profit under this scenario with the optimal profit derived in Problem #1. Optimal Profit in #1 = $331.43 @ 584 units = $0.5675/unit Optimal Profit in #2 = $371.33 @ 685 units = $0.5421/unit Although the optimal profit is increased from scenario 1 to scenario 2 by $39.90 the per unit profit is down by 0.0254/unit produced, however since overall profit is up, the added hours invested is still optimal. Problem #3 A. Assuming h=4 what would Armentrout’s stocking quantity be? Armentrout’s optimal stocking quantity is 516 B. Why does the optimal stocking quantity differ from the optimal stocking quantity identify in Problem #2? Is the result here consistent with the newsvendor formula? The optimal stocking quantities differ because there is a new player involved and new costs associated with overages and shortages. These results are still consistent with the newsvendor formula since the new model looks like: = mean = 600 = Standard Deviation = 100 = Overage Cost = $0.80 = Shortage Cost = $1.00†$0.80 = $0.20 = 1†.8 = .2 ïÆ'   corresponding z†value = †.85 . âˆâ€" C. Now try varying h†¦ How does her optimal effort in this question differ from the answer in question 2? Why? In Question 2, Sheen’s profit is maximized at optimal effort = 4. In Question 3, Sheen’s profit is optimal when h = 2 because her profits are being shared with Armentrout and the amount of hours Sheen invests determines the amount of copies that Armentrout will purchase depending on his demand. D. How would changing the transfer price from the current value of $0.80 per newspaper impact Sheen’s effort level and Armentrout’s stocking decision? Transfer Price Increase from $0.80 to $0.90 = Sheen’s Effort = 2.25 to 3.063 Armentrout’s Stocking Decision = 491 to 459 Sheen’s incentivized to put in more effort and therefore reap more profit but Armentrout’s stock will decline and make less profit if transfer price is increased. Transfer Price Decrease from $0.80 to $0.70 = Sheen’s Effort = 2.25 to 1.563 Armentrout’s Stocking Decision = 491 to 510 If the transfer price is decreased, Sheen’s incentivized to put in less effort because she is making less profit and Armentrout’s stock will increase since his costs are lower allowing him to make a higher profit. E. What conclusion can you draw about stocking and effort levels in a differentiated channel vis†Ãƒ  Ã¢â‚¬  vis an integrated firm that manufactures and retails its product? Stocking and effort levels are optimized throughout the chain in an integrated firm that manufactures and retails it’s products because there is a direct benefit and because incentives are aligned between manufacturing and retailing. They want to put forth the optimal effort to produce the maximum amount of units that will optimize profits. Optimal Profit in Problem #2 @ h=4: $371.33 @ 685 Units with fill rate 98% In a differentiated firm when there is an added level, in this case a level to retail, the manufacturing and retailing parties do not share the same goals, therefore stocking and effort levels are not optimized. Supplier only wants to produce as much as retail will buy at the minimum effort level and retail only wants to buy as much as will make them an optimal profit, I because stocking excess will incur losses. Optimal Profit in Problem #3 @ h=4 @ 516 Units with fill rate of only 86%

Age and sex discrimination Essay

The terms ageism and sexism were coined about the same time (1969 and 1970, respectively), but sexism has become more widely used than ageism (Schick, 2006:7). Almost everyone has heard of sexism. Until recently, few people had heard of ageism. Both concepts refer to prejudice or discrimination against a category of people: sexism is usually directed against women, and ageism is usually directed against the aged. However, sometimes sexism is directed against men (by some extreme feminists), and ageism is sometimes directed against younger people (â€Å"positive ageism,† Palmore, 1990: 44). Prejudice is a negative attitude toward a category of people that is inaccurate and resistant to change. Discrimination is an inappropriate treatment of a category of people, usually based on prejudice (Atchley, 2001:17). Sexism and ageism combine in all possible ways: a few areas show neither one, more areas are affected by one but not the other, but most areas are affected by both. There may be some areas with neither ageism nor sexism, although it is hard to think of any area completely free of such prejudice. In some areas there is sexism with little or no ageism. For example, it is generally believed that women of any age should not marry men younger than themselves, but it is all right for men to marry women younger than themselves. This is a main reason why there are over five times as many widows as widowers over 65. On the other hand, in some areas there is ageism but little or no sexism. For example, many people believe that most old people are feeble or senile, regardless of gender. The fact is that the majority of people over 65 are neither feeble nor senile. In most areas both ageism and sexism combine to intensify the problems of older women. For example, women of all ages tend to have lower incomes than men (sexism), but older women also tend to have even lower incomes than younger women (ageism). This situation is often called â€Å"double jeopardy† because of the combined effects (Schick, 2006: 99). Sontag (1972) coined the term â€Å"double standard of aging. † This refers to the combination of sexism and ageism that multiplies the effects of both, more than would be expected on the basis of simply adding the two effects. For example, being physically attractive is more important in most women’s lives than in men’s (sexism); and there is a common belief that older persons are generally not as attractive as young people (ageism). However, women’s grey hair, wrinkles, bulges, and stooped bodies receive harsher judgment than those of men. For many women, aging means a â€Å"humiliating process of gradual sexual disqualification† (Sontag, 1972: 30-35), while many men enjoy more romantic success later in life because they have more status, money, and power than they had earlier. As a result, being a â€Å"spinster† or â€Å"old maid† is considered a pitiful status, while being an older bachelor is not so bad. Notice that there is no male equivalent of â€Å"old maid. † It may be objected that many older women do not mind this â€Å"sexual disqualification† and adjust to it by renouncing all interest in sexual activities or by becoming lesbians. This is true, but beside the point. The point is that sexism combined with ageism tends to enforce this â€Å"sexual disqualification† whether or not the woman likes it (Levin and Levin, 2000:210). There are many sources of ageism: individual, social, and cultural (Palmore, 1990:51). The individual sources include authoritarian personalities, frustration and aggression, selective perception, rationalization, and death anxiety. The social sources include modernization, competition, obsolescence, segregation, and selffulfilling prophecies. The cultural sources include the process of blaming the victim, differing value orientations, language, humor, songs, art, literature, television, and cultural lag. There are probably just as many sources of sexism that have been documented and analyzed elsewhere (Friedan, 1963: 107). The most popular sources of sexism that seem to increase in old age are humor and language. Negative jokes about women of all ages are common. However, jokes about old women seem to be relatively more frequent and more negative than those about younger women (Palmore, 1990:53). As any student of racism or sexism knows, negative humor is one of the most common and effective ways to perpetuate negative stereotypes about a minority group. One reason negative humor about a group is so common and effective is that it is passed off as â€Å"just a joke† or â€Å"harmless humor. † In fact, negative humor is rarely harmless and is especially insidious because its viciousness is masked by its overt â€Å"funniness. † Thus the age-concealment jokes reinforce the stereotype that all older women are ashamed of their age, while older men are not. It may well be that somewhat more old women are ashamed of their age than are old men (because of the â€Å"double standard of aging†), but that is beside the point. Similarly, the status of old maid is generally considered more negative than that of old bachelor, but that too is beside the point. The point is that such negative humor reinforces prejudice against older women. One of the most subtle but pervasive influences of culture on our attitudes is our language: the words we use to identify or describe a person or group; the derivations, definitions, and connotations of the words; their synonyms and antonyms; and the context in which they are used. Our language often supports ageism in all of these ways (Palmore, 1990:57). In addition, two analyses of words for elders have found that many of them also reflect sexism. Covey (1998) found that terms for old women have a much longer history of negative connotations than those for old men, because women not only faced a long history of ageism, but also sexism and religious persecution (as in witch hunts) (Covey, 1998:291). How can this malevolent combination of sexism and ageism be combatted? In general, most of the strategies that have been successful in reducing racism and sexism in general could be used to reduce the combination of sexism and ageism. Individuals can take the following actions to reduce prejudice and discrimination against older women: 1. Inform yourself so you have the facts to combat the misconceptions and stereotypes. 2. Examine your own attitudes and actions and try to eliminate those that reflect sexism and ageism. 3. Inform your relatives, friends, and colleagues about the facts, especially when some prejudice is expressed or implied. 4. Do not tell ageist or sexist jokes and refuse to laugh when you hear one. (Try converting the joke to an age- and sex-neutral joke by not specifying age or sex. ) References Atchley R. 2001. Social forces and aging. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Covey H. 1998. â€Å"Historical terminology used to represent older people†. Gerontologist, 28. Friedan B. 1963. The feminine mystique. New York: Norton. Levin J. , & Levin W. 2000. Ageism: Prejudice and discrimination against the elderly. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Palmore E. 1990. Ageism: Negative and positive. New York: Springer. Schick F. (Ed. ) 2006. Statistical handbook on aging Americans. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press. Sontag S. 1972. â€Å"The double standard of aging†. Saturday Review, 55 (39).

Youll Need This Trait to Find Professional Success

Youll Need This Trait to Find Professional Success Ever wonder what the secret to career success is? The unifying factor common to all of the most successful people? That special extra thing? You probably have it or you don’t. Sound ominous? At least it’s not some fancy education or hard-to-acquire skill. It turns out you can make up for a lot that you don’t have along the way, but there’s one thing that, if you have it, you’ll be in the best position to succeed.What is that thing? It isn’t supernatural intelligence. It isn’t pedigree.It’s grit. Can you focus in on a passion and not stop until you achieve success? Then you’ve got it, the number one indicator of high performance and long-term success- with an even greater predictability for success than high IQ.Freaking out wondering whether or not you possess this trait? Don’t worry. Here are a few building blocks of ‘grit’ as a thing you might be able to better cultivate in yourself while you’r e still early on in your career.A clear goalDetermination- no matter how much others doubt youConfidence in yourself  while you’re figuring out your trajectoryHumbleness- enough to be prepared for things to not come easilyPersistence in the face of fearPatience and flexibility- enough to navigate obstacles and hindrances without getting frustrated or giving upA code- a moral compass, and the integrity to follow it at all costsOpenness- being able to connect and collaborate with other people, and recognizing that accepting help does not equal weakness, but strengthGratitude- enough to appreciate the journey, not just keep your crazy eyes on the destinationAppreciation of othersLoyaltyInner strengthThese things might not be easily taught, but they can be honed. There’s even a measurable Grit Scale with a test developed by University of Pennsylvania researchers. Take their questionnaire and remember: you don’t have to be a trust-fund baby or a brainiac or a super charismatic magnetic personality to succeed wildly. You might just need grit.

Free Essays on Utilitarian

Mill's Utilitarianism: Sacrifice the innocent for the common good? When faced with a moral dilemma, utilitarianism identifies the appropriate considerations, but offers no realistic way to gather the necessary information to make the required calculations. This lack of information is a problem both in evaluating the welfare issues and in evaluating the consequentialist issues which utilitarianism requires be weighed when making moral decisions. Utilitarianism attempts to solve both of these difficulties by appealing to experience; however, no method of reconciling an individual decision with the rules of experience is suggested, and no relative weights are assigned to the various considerations. In deciding whether or not to torture a terrorist who has planted a bomb in New York City, a utilitarian must evaluate both the overall welfare of the people involved or effected by the action taken, and the consequences of the action taken. To calculate the welfare of the people involved in or effected by an action, utilitarianism requires that all individuals be considered equally. Quantitative utilitarians would weigh the pleasure and pain which would be caused by the bomb exploding against the pleasure and pain that would be caused by torturing the terrorist. Then, the amounts would be summed and compared. The problem with this method is that it is impossible to know beforehand how much pain would be caused by the bomb exploding or how much pain would be caused by the torture. Utilitarianism offers no practical way to make the interpersonal comparison of utility necessary to compare the pains. In the case of the bomb exploding, it at least seems highly probable that a greater amount of pain would be caused, at least in the present, by the bomb exploding. This probability suffices for a quantitative utilitarian, but it does not account for the consequences, which create an entirely di... Free Essays on Utilitarian Free Essays on Utilitarian Mill's Utilitarianism: Sacrifice the innocent for the common good? When faced with a moral dilemma, utilitarianism identifies the appropriate considerations, but offers no realistic way to gather the necessary information to make the required calculations. This lack of information is a problem both in evaluating the welfare issues and in evaluating the consequentialist issues which utilitarianism requires be weighed when making moral decisions. Utilitarianism attempts to solve both of these difficulties by appealing to experience; however, no method of reconciling an individual decision with the rules of experience is suggested, and no relative weights are assigned to the various considerations. In deciding whether or not to torture a terrorist who has planted a bomb in New York City, a utilitarian must evaluate both the overall welfare of the people involved or effected by the action taken, and the consequences of the action taken. To calculate the welfare of the people involved in or effected by an action, utilitarianism requires that all individuals be considered equally. Quantitative utilitarians would weigh the pleasure and pain which would be caused by the bomb exploding against the pleasure and pain that would be caused by torturing the terrorist. Then, the amounts would be summed and compared. The problem with this method is that it is impossible to know beforehand how much pain would be caused by the bomb exploding or how much pain would be caused by the torture. Utilitarianism offers no practical way to make the interpersonal comparison of utility necessary to compare the pains. In the case of the bomb exploding, it at least seems highly probable that a greater amount of pain would be caused, at least in the present, by the bomb exploding. This probability suffices for a quantitative utilitarian, but it does not account for the consequences, which create an entirely di...

Pros and Cons of Massive Open Online Courses

Pros and Cons of Massive Open Online Courses Post-secondary schools of all kinds- expensive, elite colleges, state universities, and community colleges- are flirting with the idea of MOOCs, massive open online courses, where tens of thousands of students can take the same class simultaneously. Is this the future of college? Nathan Heller wrote about the phenomenon in the May 20, 2013, issue of The New Yorker in Laptop U. I recommend you find a copy or subscribe online for the full article, but Ill share with you here what I gleaned as the pros and cons of MOOCs from Hellers article. What Is a MOOC? The short answer is that a MOOC is an online video of a college lecture. The M stands for massive because there is no limit to the number of students who can enroll from anywhere in the world. Anant Agarwal is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, and president of edX, a non-profit MOOC company owned jointly MIT and Harvard. In 2011, he launched a forerunner called MITx (Open Courseware), hoping to get 10 times the usual number of classroom students in his spring-semester circuits-and-electronics course, about 1,500. In the first few hours of posting the course, he told Heller, he had 10,000 students sign up from all over the world. The ultimate enrollment was 150,000. Massive. The Pros MOOCs are controversial. Some say they are the future of higher education. Others see them as the eventual downfall of it. Here are the pros Heller found in his research. MOOCs: Are free. Right now, most MOOCs are free or nearly free, a definite plus for the student. This is likely to change as universities look for ways to defray the high cost of creating MOOCs.Provide a solution to overcrowding. According to Heller, 85% of Californias community colleges have course waiting lists. A bill in the California Senate seeks to require the state’s public colleges to give credit for approved online courses.Force professors to improve lectures. Because the best MOOCs are short, usually an hour at the most, addressing a single topic, professors are forced to examine every bit of material as well as their teaching methods.Create a dynamic archive. Thats what Gregory Nagy, professor of classical Greek literature at Harvard, calls it. Actors, musicians, and standup comedians record their best performances for broadcast and posterity, Heller writes; why shouldnt college teachers do the same? He cites Vladimir Nabokov as once suggesting that his lessons at Cornell be recorded and played each term, freeing him for other activities. Are designed to ensure that students keep up. MOOCs are real college courses, complete with tests and grades. They are filled with multiple choice questions and discussions that test comprehension. Nagy sees these questions as almost as good as essays because, as Heller writes, the online testing mechanism explains the right response when students miss an answer, and it lets them see the reasoning behind the correct choice when theyre right.The online testing process helped Nagy redesign his classroom course. He told Heller, Our ambition is actually to make the Harvard experience now closer to the MOOC experience.Bring people together from all over the world. Heller quotes Drew Gilpin Faust, Harvard president, regarding her thoughts on a new MOOC, Science Cooking, that teaches chemistry and physics in the kitchen, I just have the vision in my mind of people cooking all over the globe together. It’s kind of nice.Allow teachers to make the most of classroom time in blended clas ses. In what is called a flipped classroom, teachers send students home with assignments to listen to or watch a recorded lecture, or read it, and return to the classroom for more valuable discussion time or other interactive learning. Offer interesting business opportunities. Several new MOOC companies launched in 2012: edX  by Harvard and MIT; Coursera, a Standford company; and Udacity, which focuses on science and tech. The Cons The controversy surrounding MOOCs includes some pretty strong concerns about how they will shape the future of higher education. Here are some of the cons from Hellers research. MOOCs: Could cause teachers to become nothing more than glorified teaching assistants. Heller writes that Michael J. Sandel, a Harvard justice professor, wrote in a letter of protest, The thought of the exact same social justice course being taught in various philosophy departments across the country is downright scary.Make discussion a challenge. It’s impossible to facilitate meaningful conversation in a classroom with 150,000 students. There are electronic alternatives: message boards, forums, chat rooms, etc., but the intimacy of face-to-face communication is lost, emotions often misunderstood. This is a particular challenge for humanities courses. Heller writes, When three great scholars teach a poem in three ways, it isnt inefficiency. It is the premise on which all humanistic inquiry is based.Grading papers is impossible. Even with the help of graduate students, grading tens of thousands of essays or research papers is daunting, to say the least. Heller reports that edX is deve loping software to grade papers, software that gives students immediate feedback, allowing them to make revisions. Harvards Faust isnt completely on board. Heller quotes her as saying, I think they are ill-equipped to consider irony, elegance, and†¦I don’t know how you get a computer to decide if there’s something there it hasn’t been programmed to see. Make it easier for students to drop out. Heller reports that when MOOCs are strictly online, not a blended experience with some classroom time, dropout rates are typically more than 90%.Intellectual property and financial details are issues. Who owns an online course when the professor who creates it moves to another university? Who gets paid for teaching and/or creating online courses? These are issues that MOOC companies will need to work out in the upcoming years.Miss the magic. Peter J. Burgard is a professor of German at Harvard. He has decided not to participate in online courses because he believes the college experience comes from sitting in preferably small groups having genuine human interactions, really digging into and exploring a knotty topic- a difficult image, a fascinating text, whatever. Thats exciting. There’s a chemistry to it that simply cannot be replicated online.Will shrink faculties, eventually eliminating them. Heller writes that Burgard sees MOOCs as destroyers of traditional higher education. Who needs professors when a school can hire an adjunct to manage a MOOC class? Fewer professors will mean fewer Ph.D.s granted, smaller graduate programs, fewer fields, and subfields taught, the eventual death of entire bodies of knowledge. David W. Wills, professor of religious history at Amherst, agrees with Burgard. Heller writes that Wills worries about academia falling under hierarchical thrall to a few star professors. He quotes Wills, Its like higher education has discovered the megachurch. MOOCs will most definitely be the source of many conversations and debates in the near future. Watch for related articles coming soon.

Hate speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hate speech - Essay Example Hate speech has far-reaching impacts on the dignity, sense of security and social status for victims which are the main reasons for developing laws. Examples of hate speech include pictures published in newspapers showing the lynching of an African child and intimate gay men. Both incidences had underlying intimidation on the two groups of people. Hate speech is a real issue experienced in the society today and there is the need to control it due to the undesirable consequences on the victims. The modern world comprises of wide interactions of people from different backgrounds due to globalization and development of the internet, news media and other social interaction networks. Moreover, there are increased gadgets used by people to interact with others worldwide such as computers and mobile phones. Through these media, people express their freedom of speech provided for in many countries and share their views on issues in life (Weber, 2014). Some views are interesting, well intended and promote peace as well as people’s happiness. However, other views expressed could be undesirable for a group of people or individuals. As a result, these views may trigger harsh responses and action of law. Undesirable views expressed towards an individual or a group of people that could potentially cause harm would be regarded as hat ed speech. This essay will describe the concept of hate speech and then illustrate it using an example from the news media. According to Weber (2014) there is no a common definition of hate speech acceptable in all societies and different countries have varying description for the content regarded as hate speech. Nevertheless, almost all countries recognize the presence of hate speech among the residents and have formulated laws to curb the practice. One of the used definitions used was developed by the

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 15

Art - Essay Example It would have been more natural if he had drawn soft boundaries with light pencil. Warhol has very nicely painted the nose giving shades of gray and white color very nicely. It is where he has kept his hand very light giving this feature a very original feel. The sketch is cool overall and the painter has no doubt drawn it with keen observation. I like the way the hair has been drawn and painted giving the man a sober look. The hair is not parted and is very cleverly hiding half of the ear. The collar covering the neck has also been nicely drawn giving a brief description of the man’s satire. Although, the picture is not colorful, yet the sketch is complete in itself and the color tones the painter has used seem enough for this piece of art. It is his great success that he has been able to show what age the man was, how he looked like, and his personality, using a few shades of two to three colors. In this picture, Raymond Johnson has put into abstract the sky and landscape of New Mexico and the picture tells more of his experience with the scene. Johnson was of the view that a masterpiece results from actual experience depicted in the form of painting and what counts is the internal significance of things which is an abstract quality. Something painted in abstract gives it the real life and soul. Johnson has always used two approaches to paint land. First, he would give a deep insight into his mood and experience that he had, and second, he would paint out in abstract everything giving special consideration to their forms and the manner in which they receive and emit light. The picture is a beautiful abstract form of landscape with black clouds hovering over it giving the feel of gloominess and pleasure at the same time. I like the green patches the painter has shown on the landscape and the shades of orange, pink, green and yellow give a very soothing look. The place the pai nter had in his mind must have been a piece of calm and cozy piece of land which

Hypothetical Company and Industry Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hypothetical Company and Industry - Term Paper Example The rent on the building for this business stands at $18,000 per month. While that figure might seem quite high, it is actually quite low given that rent is 3-4 times that in the downtown area. Because the manufacturing center needs no showroom, there is no reason to have it located in a high traffic area. Other fixed costs include the monthly payment on machinery at $8,000 total per month and labor at $12,000 per month Depending on the volume of demand for the product, there are certain costs that are variable and fluctuate from the month. As such, it is certainly quite difficult to put a dollar figure on such variable costs. These expenses include supply costs, utilities (based upon how many units are being produced determines electricity usage, for example), and transportation and delivery costs. This product is best marketed to household consumers. The business itself is catered to families with children or working professionals. By focusing on the domestic market, the business can tailor its marketing plan to reach the very people that the product is designed for. The automated robotic chef is for people who desire to eat a healthy nutritious meal at home, but the demands of their lifestyle preclude this from easily happening. By focusing on these specific individuals, the business can better capitalize on market potential. By its definition, this business will not form a monopoly. While the product design will certainly be proprietary in nature and will be patented, there is nothing to preclude competitors from developing their own version of the product. The possibility does exist, however, to reach distributorship agreements with various household department stores to make this product the only automated chef that they offer.

Project Management 7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project Management 7 - Essay Example This may leave the organization trying to look for different consumers, which may not be an easy task. The severity of such changes might be tremendous. Information about poor products might spill over to the target market as consumers choose to voice their concerns about products from that organization. The project’s parameters may be affected negatively in the sense that the scope may be reduced as the changes take time to reach the target market. The schedule for release and sale of the products may have to be moved forward as the changes cannot be mended overnight. If there was the option of making these changes, the quality of the product may be affected as willingness and focus may be missing factors in the final production of the products (Dodds, 2003). In such a case, there are at least three possible courses of action. One might be to ignore the problems relayed by the product engineer while hoping for the best in terms of customer satisfaction. The second action might be to delay or re-schedule the shipping of the product to a later date. This might give the company time to make the needed changes and save face in the midst of all the adversity. The third action might be to inform consumers of the changes in the product. This is to avoid any confusion that may arise upon opening of the package. Each course of action mentioned may have its ramifications. Delaying shipping may result in the cancelling of subscriptions for the product. Announcing the changes in the package may result in a few disgruntled consumers who might have loved the product because of the initial look it had. Ignoring the problem might result in loss of a tremendous amount of consumers, and a recovery might seem unlikely. I would recommend having a delay in shipment to allow the changes to take place. Even though, a few consumers might be annoyed, it will still give the organization room to retain some of the loyal

Summary of Articles Concerning Semiotic Pedagogy Annotated Bibliography

Summary of Articles Concerning Semiotic Pedagogy - Annotated Bibliography Example In the past, learning art only entailed being taught the history of art, art aesthetics, and art criticism. This approach relied on the concept of art being a disciplinary subject where signs and codes were disregarded. However, involving semiotics enables the development of this approach in order to perceive art as interdisciplinary. In other words, Smith argues that art also involves the coding and decoding of visual culture. This approach has largely depended on the current technological innovations, especially in the IT sector. Charles Pierce, in the nineteenth century, predicted this development in the literature by saying that further instructions in the process of teaching and learning will need to be included n the future as the world evolved. For instance, art teachers base their ideas on their own reflections, experiences, and interests. Understanding, thinking, and making connections between these factors enable their ideas to make sense. Moreover, Pierce argues that these factors describe the goals of contemporary semiotic pedagogy. The author tries to aid the location of the exact intersection points of semiotics and art education. Furthermore, other than find this point of intersection, Smith-Shank (2003), seeks to identify the signs backed by symbols in different cultures that contribute to the formation of art education. Therefore, this research aims at discovering the fine art and artifacts, inclusive of cultures that contributed to their formation and pinpointing their relevance in art education. On attainment of this relevance supported by the surrounding values, then it can be incorporated in art education for purposes of instilling knowledge or such. Moreover, for decades now, art serves the purpose of bridging the transmission of diverse cultures in different communities.

Outcast Theme in American Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Outcast Theme in American Literature - Essay Example The leader was well aware of how much supportive press leaders who were behind him, such as John F. Kennedy, has gotten for their political support of arts, as well as how much goodwill the support of arts has generated home and internationally (Mihalache 34). He anticipated that through establishing a federal art agency that he might gunner more endorsement from the East Coast liberal development, which opposed most of his policies. The endorsement of arts is what constituted to the American outcast. Americas, prior to the â€Å"arts act,† were not always kind to the artists or people who basically opted to pull out of the traditional way of life so as to arrive at some knowledge and some individual integrity. The scientists, on the other hand, always seemed to receive all the praise whereas arts and humanities received mostly negatively reviews (Mihalache 34). The American outcast theme is also portrayed infamous American literature such as Rye, Huckleberry Finn, The Great G atsby, Scarlet Letter, Star Wars and Finding Nemo (Mihalache 35). All these works have the major theme of the main protagonist breaking away from the traditional way of life to living by trying to fulfil way the society has set for them but instead fulfil what they have set for themselves. Historically, the outcast arose from the mystique concerning frontier life (Mihalache 35). The Frontier Life, also referred to as the Turner Thesis, was an argument developed by historian Frederick Turner back in 1893, which held that American democracy was developed by the country’s frontier. As the 1774 to 1778 Governor of Virginia argued, Americans, at all times, think of a land that is far off even though they seem content with the one that they are already settled. The governor went on to say that if Americans attained paradise, they would still move on with the slightest chance of being promised an advanced place (Mihalache 35).

Summary of Articles Concerning Semiotic Pedagogy Annotated Bibliography

Summary of Articles Concerning Semiotic Pedagogy - Annotated Bibliography Example In the past, learning art only entailed being taught the history of art, art aesthetics, and art criticism. This approach relied on the concept of art being a disciplinary subject where signs and codes were disregarded. However, involving semiotics enables the development of this approach in order to perceive art as interdisciplinary. In other words, Smith argues that art also involves the coding and decoding of visual culture. This approach has largely depended on the current technological innovations, especially in the IT sector. Charles Pierce, in the nineteenth century, predicted this development in the literature by saying that further instructions in the process of teaching and learning will need to be included n the future as the world evolved. For instance, art teachers base their ideas on their own reflections, experiences, and interests. Understanding, thinking, and making connections between these factors enable their ideas to make sense. Moreover, Pierce argues that these factors describe the goals of contemporary semiotic pedagogy. The author tries to aid the location of the exact intersection points of semiotics and art education. Furthermore, other than find this point of intersection, Smith-Shank (2003), seeks to identify the signs backed by symbols in different cultures that contribute to the formation of art education. Therefore, this research aims at discovering the fine art and artifacts, inclusive of cultures that contributed to their formation and pinpointing their relevance in art education. On attainment of this relevance supported by the surrounding values, then it can be incorporated in art education for purposes of instilling knowledge or such. Moreover, for decades now, art serves the purpose of bridging the transmission of diverse cultures in different communities.

The dangers of BPA (Bisphenol A) in Plastic bottles or containers Speech Presentation

The dangers of BPA (Bisphenol A) in Plastic bottles containers - Speech or Presentation Example I. Introduction How many of you have taken drinks or food products packed in plastic bottles? How many times do you stay for a day without using a plastic bottle or container? How many plastic containers do you use in your kitchen every day to warm food and store left over’s? Most of us in college always pack their sandwiches in plastic containers because it is the most convenient packaging material. Plastic bottles or containers are cheap and easy to carry around because they are light. Plastic containers and bottles are used world wide. Take a walk into a supermarket one day and you will be amazed at just how many food products are packaged in plastic bottles or containers. Just take a look in your refrigerator and count how many food products are packaged in plastic cans or bottles. Today we are going to look at a component known as Bisphenol A (BPA) found in plastic bottles and containers, specifically the effects of Bisphenol A. We are also going to look at samples of pla stic bottles that are safe or unsafe to use. We always use plastics because they fit our convenience. Plastic containers are most convenient when it comes to packing our drinks or food. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a toxic material found in the hard plastic containers or bottles. Usually, Bisphenol is used to harden plastic bottles or containers. Bisphenol A is located in the lining of plastic beverage and food plastic cans. The most disturbing issue is that plastic bottles used to feed children have been found to have Bisphenol A. II. Body. Bisphenol A is a chemical material found in polycarbonate resins and plastic materials or bottles; it possesses a health hazard to animals. A. Chemical compound of Bisphenol A. 1. Bisphenol contains phenol chemical components known as acetone 2. When acetone is highly ingested, it causes irritations that will depress the central nervous system. 3. Acetone can cause irritations in the eyes when it comes into contact with the eyes and the respiratory syst em. B. Health hazards of Bisphenol A. 1. Bisphenol may be dissolved in foods and drinks that we take. 2. Although Bisphenol is highly digestible, high exposures of low plastic levels of Bisphenol in the plastics can lead to several health complications in animals. 3. According to the National Institutes of Health, Bisphenol can cause interference with the body’s estrogen production (endocrine Disruption). 4. Many studies conducted by scientists have shown that rodents exposed to high levels of Bisphenol show change behaviors and brain structure. 5. Rodents exposed to Bisphenol exhibit cancer, difficulty in breathing and diabetes. 6. Although effects of Bisphenol on human beings is inconsistent, recent studies have shown that exposure of human beings t to low levels of Bisphenol can inhibit the production of a hormone known as Adiponectin. 7. Adiponectin is used to regulate levels of insulin 8. Studies have also shown that Bisphenol A can cause obesity in human beings. 9. Bisp henol A can also cause negative effects on the pregnancy. C. Research Studies 1. The Food and Drugs Administration in United States has come under fire for claiming that BPA is not harmful by the Natural Resources Defense Council in 2008. 2. The National Institute of Health in 2008, raised concerns about the safety of BPA on plastics used in storing beverage and food products as allowed by the Food and Drugs Administration in United States. III. Conclusion. Since it is impossible not to use plastic containers and bottles, it would be advisable to

King of the castle tension Essay Example for Free

King of the castle tension Essay ?â€Å"I’m the King of the Castle†: Literature Coursework Investigate the ways in which Susan Hill uses language to create tension and a sense of foreboding in â€Å"I’m the King of the Castle† Susan Hill implements several writing techniques to create tension in the novel. Tension in this sense simply means mental strain or excitement in the readers. One of the techniques used is shown when she uses a third-person narration to narrate the story. This narrator is omniscient and implies that he/ she is not one of the characters in the novel, and yet at the same time knows everything that is running through the characters minds. Hill uses this technique to bring the readers on a journey of moving freely in time and space to allow them to know what any character is doing or thinking at any one point of time. This is only possible because the narrator is not a character in the novel and is allowed to be anywhere, anytime. Susan Hill uses many different techniques to put a point across, the most important being her use of imagery. However her writing also has many other qualities such as good structure and her ability to think like her characters. In addition she manages to build up tension and uses different ways of emphasising words or phrases. All of these factors contribute to her unique evocative style and add to her reputation of being a very talented writer. In chapter eleven, she describes vividly how Kingshaw feels sick with fright when Hooper locks him in the shed. He retched, and then began to vomit, all over the sacks, the sick coming down his nose and choking him. It tasted bitter. He bent forwards, holding his stomach. When it finished he wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his shirt. He was shivering again. This passage is an example of her excellent use of imagery. She conjures up a picture of the scene as well as expressing Kingshaws fears and senses in an evocative style by using a scene that we can all relate to and understand. An example of Susan Hills good structure is at the very beginning of the novel, when Hooper and Kingshaw first meet, Hooper sends Kingshaw a note saying I didnt want you to come here. This sets up the story line from the beginning, leading us to expect events to come. Then at the very end of the novel before Kingshaw commits suicide, Hopper sends him a final note saying Something will happen to you Kingshaw. She shows the ability to be able to think like a child, which adds to the overall affect of the book because the main character is Kingshaw who is a child. This process of her thoughts gives us a wider understanding of Kingshaws character and his thoughts. Examples of her thinking like a child appear in many forms in the novel. One of them is her use of childish language and grammar. Now, he thought, I know what Hooper is really like. Hes a baby. And stupid. And a bully. Notice in this particular phrase that she uses childish words like baby, stupid and bully. The use of short abrupt sentences emphasise the words and adds to the childish theme, because it is grammatically incorrect to start a sentence with a conjunction, which is what a child may do). Another form of her childish thinking is how she shows an understanding of childrens fears and their reactions. An example of this is Kingshaws fear of moths. There are a lot of moths, Hooper said softly, there always are, in woods. Pretty big ones, as well. Kingshaws stomach clenched. In his nostrils, he could smell the mustiness of the Red Room. This passage shows how Hooper taunts Kingshaw with his fear (childishly). She shows Kingshaws reaction to his fear by saying his stomach clenched. She then continues with his memory of the Red Room, where he had been scared by the death moths, using her evocative style to describe how he associates moths with the musty smell of the Red Room. She uses the example of moths throughout the book, along with Kingshaws other fears such as birds. To keep the reader alert Susan Hill tended to change from one scene to another very abruptly. A Classic example is in chapter sixteen, when every one was in the Breakfast room on the day of Mrs. Helena Kingshaw and Mr. Hoopers wedding announcement. Suddenly the scene changes to them being in a muddy field. This can be quite confusing for the reader but it does keep them alert. It was also in this scene where Susan Hill showed her ability to build up tension. This was done by Kingshaw expressing his fears about something that we do not know about, and Mrs. Helena Kingshaw talking about how he was scared by this thing when he was little. As the passage continues the writer gives us a clue that the unknown fear is of a certain place and finally (after a page of writing) she tells us that the place in question is a circus. Susan Hill uses many different techniques to build up an atmosphere. In my opinion the most effective atmosphere that she created was in chapters twelve and thirteen, when Hooper falls off the castle wall. When Kingshaw reaches the top of the castle (without Hooper) he feels a sense of power. He shouts out â€Å"Im the King of the castle† which relates to the title of the book. To make us understand how Kingshaw really does feel King, she repeats the phrase I am the King thrice. He felt so powerful that he thought he could kill Hooper. When Kingshaw is in a rage with Hopper, telling him to come down, he swears at him, this shocks the reader, as he is only a child. When Hooper is falling off the castle wall Kingshaw commands TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF THE WALL, HOOPER. The use of capital letter creates the effect that what he is saying is important. When Hooper falls and is carried off on a stretcher, thunder rumbles in the back ground which gives the ironic affect that it is not going to be a good thing for Kingshaw. Kingshaw is then made to get down from the castle, which can be classed as an example of his life. Every time he reaches the top he is always forced to go back down which is, once again, ironic. The whole book gives an immense sense of tension to the reader. The atmosphere is one of suspense and danger. The overall use of abrupt, simple dialogue accentuates the feeling of incoming peril. Susan Hill writes the novel in a way which causes the reader to constantly be alert, and to expect the sinister and foreboding to occur. Arsalan Abdullah

People and Food Essay examples -- essays research papers

"PEOPLE AND FOOD People are for the most part clueless when it comes to food. God forbid you might actually cook something at home. Have you ever noticed the size of the frozen food sections at grocery stores? They are fucking huge! Throwing a pizza pocket in the microwave is NOT cooking. I constantly see people with their shopping carts overflowing with yummy frozen goodness. LAZY FUCKS!! Included in that demographic are those who rely on the food delivery industry. Ther isn’t much you can’t have brought right to your front door these days. I have a neighbor who I would bet has food delivered at least four days a week. How lazy can you get?! I guess it has a lot to do with how you are brought up. If your parents sucked at cooking oe pumped you full of frozen dinners I guess you would probably do the same as an adult. I find it interesting what people believe to be â€Å"fine dining†. Outback, Olive Garden, RED FUCKING LOBSTER??!! â€Å"We are taking mom out for her birthday, someplace nice, how about Red Lobster?† Are you fucking kidding me?! That place has some of the worst food I have ever had the displeasure of consuming! I am NOT a picky eater and the only thing I can manage to eat there are the little cheasy bisquit thingys. What is the draw of that place?! I don’t get it. Anyone who thinks that place is good was raised in a bubble and never given the chance to have any real food. At least the menu at Outback and the â€Å"OG† are somewhat edible. The problem is people actually perceive these places as â€Å"fine dining† FUCK THAT!! It’s overpriced mediocre crap that you can get by pulling off of any friggin off ramp in the country. I think that’s part of the draw, it’s a safety net of sorts. People don’t want to risk trying some place new so they go with what they already know. Come on people get some balls! In the City I live in we have a small hole in the wall steak house that has been around forever. It has received awards from Sunset magazine for the quality of their steaks. One day I’m in line at a local grocery store. The people in front of me ask the checker to recommend a place to get a good steak in town. She says â€Å"go to Outback they are great† I was thinking to myself â€Å"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT LADY!!!!† So I say â€Å"what about Jack’s?† she says â€Å"well I’ve lived here for twenty years and have never been able to get into Jacks because the wait is... ...siness anytime soon. My wife and I lived in Missouri (misery) for a couple years. We moved there due to a job opportunity. There are many things different about the mid west. The list is too large for me to really go into. There is one thing I find interesting though. They have an appetizer they call â€Å"toasted ravioli†. Don’t get me wrong, they are tasty little buggers but there is nothing â€Å"toasted† about them. They are DEEP FRIED you jackasses!! Deep fried cheese filled raviolis served with marinara sauce on the side. Just call them what they are you freaky mid west bastards!! Here is something I have never understood. People who absolutely have to have the crust removed from their bread before they eat it. What the?!!!†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.is there some poison in crust I’m not aware of? How much of a wussy freak do you have to be? These are just people who we’re brought up by fucked up parents. How in the hell does someone suddenly decide that they will drop dead from eating a little crust? It’s the same fucking shit as the rest of the bread just a little darker. Now they actually produce crust-less bread for these fucking morons. I bet Jeffery Dahmer removed his crusts." lol thanks Rich

Children With Autism Essay -- Papers Health Disorders Essays

Children With Autism Children with autism have the possibility to improve greatly, and some even overcome the effects of autism if appropriate therapies are begun early enough. A multifaceted disorder, autism has long baffled professionals and parents alike. At a point in time, doctors gave parents absolutely no hope for the recovery of their children. But recently, new treatments and therapies have shown that improvement is possible. With early intervention, intensive care, some children have if not fully recovered, improved, and have been integrated into schools, indistinguishable from their peers. Sandra L. Harris, PhD; Topics in Autism Siblings of children with autism, A Guide for Families â€Å"Children learn from children†. Siblings of children with autism focus on the often overlooked resource of brothers and sisters as effective playmates and teachers. Dr Harris offers a practical, easy-to-use plan; families can create to ensure possible positive interaction with autistic children and their families. This book focuses on the recurrent behavioral patterns characterized by autistic children. The book deals with the challenges and obstacles the families have to get through, but most importantly how to deal with this obstacles and how to overcome the challenges. Sandra L. Harris, Ph.D. & Mary Jane Weiss, Ph.D. Right from the start; Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism A Guide for Parents and professionals Right from the start explains how the teaching method known as intensive behavioral interventions can benefit young children whose diagnosis fall within the broad spectrum of pervasive Devel... ...enior executives were concerned that infants under 6months were been exposed to mercury levels that were higher than the maximum levels approved by the FDA for mercury in the diet gotten by the consumption of fish. They said these infants were getting elevated doses of vaccines containing a high level of a widely used sterilizing agent. This memo was prepared at a time when U.S health authorities were aggressively expanding their immunization schedules by adding five new shots for children in their fist six months. Many of these shots along with some previously added to the schedule included thimerosal an antibacterial compound that is nearly 50% ethyl mercury, a neurotoxin. Bibliography Lynn M. Hamilton. Facing Autism; Giving Parents Reasons for Hope and Guidance For Help.1st ed. Waterbrook Press, Colorado, U.S; 2000

Greek Mythology

Greek mythology in western art and literature With the rediscovery of classical antiquity in Renaissance, the poetry of Ovid became a major influence on the imagination of poets and artists and remained a fundamental influence on the diffusion and perception of Greek mythology through subsequent centuries. [2] From the early years of Renaissance, artists portrayed subjects from Greek mythology alongside more conventional Christian themes.Among the best-known subjects of Italian artists are Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Pallas and the Centaur, the Ledas of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and Raphael's Galatea. 2] Through the medium of Latin and the works of Ovid, Greek myth influenced medieval and Renaissance poets such as Petrarch, Boccaccio and Dante in Italy. [1] In northern Europe, Greek mythology never took the same hold of the visual arts, but its effect was very obvious on literature. Both Latin and Greek classical texts were translated, so that stories of mythology becam e available. In England, Chaucer, the Elizabethans and John Milton were among those influenced by Greek myths; nearly all the major English poets from Shakespeare to Robert Bridges turned for inspiration to Greek mythology.Jean Racine in France and Goethe in Germany revived Greek drama. [2] Racine reworked the ancient myths — including those of Phaidra, Andromache, Oedipus and Iphigeneia — to new purpose. [3] The 18th century saw the philosophical revolution of the Enlightenment spread throughout Europe and accompanied by a certain reaction against Greek myth; there was a tendency to insist on the scientific and philosophical achievements of Greece and Rome.The myths, however, continued to provide an important source of raw material for dramatists, including those who wrote the libretti for Handel's operas Admeto and Semele, Mozart's Idomeneo and Gluck's Iphigenie en Aulide. [3] By the end of the century, Romanticism initiated a surge of enthusiam for all things Greek, including Greek mythology. In Britain, it was a great period for new translations of Greek tragedies and Homer, and these in turn inspired contemporary poets, such as Keats, Byron and Shelley. 4] The Hellenism of Queen's Victoria poet laureate, Alfred Lord Tennyson, was such that even his portraits of the quintessentially English court of King Arthrur are suffused with echoes of the Homeric epics.The visual arts kept pace, stimulated by the purchase of the Parthenon marbles in 1816; many of the â€Å"Greek† paintings of Lord Leighton and Lawrence Alma-Tadema were seriously accepted as part of the transmission of the Hellenic ideal. [5] The German composer of the 18th century Christoph Gluck was also influenced by Greek mythology. 1] American authors of the 19th century, such as Thomas Bulfinch and Nathaniel Hawthorne, believed that myths should provide pleasure, and held that the study of the classical myths was essential to the understanding of English and Americal literatu re. [6] According to Bulfinch, â€Å"the so-called divinities of Olympus have not a single worshipper among living men; they belong now not to the department of theology, but to those of literature and taste†. [7] In more recent times, classical themes have been reinterpreted by such major dramatists as Jean Anouilh, Jean Cocteau, and Jean Giraudoux in France, Eugene O'Neill in America, and T.S. Eliot in England and by great novelists such as the Irish James Joyce and the French Andre Gide. Richard Strauss, Jacques Offenbach and many others have set Greek mythological themes to music. [1]References 1. ^ a b c d â€Å"Greek Mythology†. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2002. 2. ^ a b c â€Å"Greek mythology†. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2002. * L. Burn, Greek Myths, 75 3. ^ a b l. Burn, Greek Myths, 75 4. ^ l. Burn, Greek Myths, 75-76 5. ^ l. Burn, Greek Myths, 76 6. ^ Klatt-Brazouski, Ancient Greek and Roman Mythology, 4 7. ^ T. Bulfinch, Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythol ogy, 1 Greek Mythology Greek Mythology,  set  of  diverse  traditional tales told by the ancient Greeks about the exploits of gods and heroes and their relations with ordinary mortals. The  ancient  Greeks  worshiped many gods within a culture that tolerated diversity. Unlike other belief systems, Greek culture recognized no single truth or code and produced no sacred, written text like the Bible or the Qur’an. Stories about the origins and actions of Greek divinities varied widely, depending, for example, on whether the tale appeared in a comedy, tragedy, or epic poem.Greek mythology was like a complex and rich language, in which the Greeks could express a vast range of perceptions about the world. A  Greek  city-state  devoted itself to a particular god or group of gods in whose honor it built temples. The temple generally housed a statue of the god or gods. The Greeks honored the city’s gods in festivals and also offered sacrifices to the gods, usually a domestic animal such as a goat. Stories about the gods varied by geographic location: A god might have one set of characteristics in one city or region and quite different characteristics elsewhere. II A A1PRINCIPAL FIGURES IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY Greek  mythology  has  several distinguishing characteristics, in addition to its multiple versions. The Greek gods resembled human beings in their form and in their emotions, and they lived in a society that resembled human society in its levels of authority and power. However, a crucial difference existed between gods and human beings: Humans died, and gods were immortal. Heroes also played an important role in Greek mythology, and stories about them conveyed serious themes. The Greeks considered human heroes from the past closer to themselves than were the immortal gods. GodsGiven  the  multiplicity of myths that circulated in Greece, it is difficult to present a single version of the genealogy (family history) of the gods. However, two accounts together provide a genealogy that most ancient Greeks would have recognized. One is the account given by Greek poet Hesiod in his Theogony (Genealogy of the Gods), written in the 8th century BC. The other account, The Library, is attributed to a mythographer (compiler of myths) named Apollodorus, who lived during the 2nd century BC. The Creation of the Gods According  to  Greek  myths about creation, the god Chaos (Greek for â€Å"Gaping Void†) was the foundation of all things.From Chaos came Gaea (â€Å"Earth†); the bottomless depth of the underworld, known as Tartarus; and Eros (â€Å"Love†). Eros, the god of love, was needed to draw divinities together so they Greek Mythology might produce offspring. Chaos produced Night, while Gaea first bore Uranus, the god of the heavens, and after him produced the mountains, sea, and gods known as Titans. The Titans were strong and large, and they committed arrogant deeds. The youngest and most important Titan was C ronus. Uranus and Gaea, who came to personify Heaven and Earth, also gave birth to the Cyclopes, one-eyed giants who made thunderbolts.See also Creation Stories. A2 A3 A4 Cronus and Rhea Uranus  tried  to  block any successors from taking over his supreme position by forcing back into Gaea the children she bore. But the youngest child, Cronus, thwarted his father, cutting off his genitals and tossing them into the sea. From the bloody foam in the sea Aphrodite, goddess of sexual love, was born. After  wounding  his  father and taking away his power, Cronus became ruler of the universe. But Cronus, in turn, feared that his own son would supplant him. When his sister and wife Rhea gave birth to offspring—Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon—Cronus swallowed them.Only the youngest, Zeus, escaped this fate, because Rhea tricked Cronus. She gave him a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow in place of the baby. Zeus and the Olympian Gods When  ful ly  grown,  Zeus forced his father, Cronus, to disgorge the children he had swallowed. With their help and armed with the thunderbolt, Zeus made war on Cronus and the Titans, and overcame them. He established a new regime, based on Mount Olympus in northern Greece. Zeus ruled the sky. His brother Poseidon ruled the sea, and his brother Hades, the underworld.Their sister Hestia ruled the hearth, and Demeter took charge of the harvest. Zeus married his sister Hera, who became queen of the heavens and guardian of marriage and childbirth. Among their children was Ares, whose sphere of influence was war. Twelve  major  gods  and goddesses had their homes on Mount Olympus and were known as the Olympians. Four children of Zeus and one child of Hera joined the Olympian gods Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and Ares. Zeus’s Olympian offspring were Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, and Athena. Hera gave birth to Hephaestus. The Offspring of ZeusZeus  had  numerous   children by both mortal and immortal women. By the mortal Semele he had Dionysus, a god associated with wine and with other forms of intoxication and ecstasy. By Leto, a Titan, Zeus fathered the twins Apollo and Artemis, who became two of the most important Olympian divinities. Artemis remained a virgin and took hunting as her special province. Apollo became associated with music and prophecy. People visited his oracle (shrine) at Delphi to seek his prophetic advice. By the nymph Maia, Zeus became father of Hermes, the Olympian trickster god who had the power to cross all kinds of boundaries.Hermes guided the souls of the dead down to the underworld, Greek Mythology carried messages between gods and mortals, and wafted a magical sleep upon the wakeful. Two  other  Olympian  divinities, Hephaestus and Athena, had unusual births. Hera conceived Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, without a male partner. Subsequently he suffered the wrath of Zeus, who once hurled him from Olympus for coming to the aid of his mother; this fall down onto the island of Lemnos crippled Hephaestus. The birth of Athena was even stranger. Zeus and Metis, daughter of the Titan Oceanus, were the parents of Athena.But Gaea had warned Zeus that, after giving birth to the girl with whom she was pregnant, Metis would bear a son destined to rule heaven. To avoid losing his throne to a son, Zeus swallowed Metis, just as Cronus had previously swallowed his own children to thwart succession. Metis’s child Athena was born from the head of Zeus, which Hephaestus split open with an axe. Athena, another virgin goddess, embodied the power of practical intelligence in warfare and crafts work. She also served as the protector of the city of Athens. Another  of  Zeus’s  children was Persephone; her mother was Demeter, goddess of grain, vegetation, and the harvest.Once when Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow, Hades, god of the underworld, saw and abducted her, taking her do wn to the kingdom of the dead to be his bride. Her grief-stricken mother wandered the world in search of her; as a result, fertility left the earth. Zeus commanded Hades to release Persephone, but Hades had cunningly given her a pomegranate seed to eat. Having consumed food from the underworld, Persephone was obliged to return below the earth for part of each year. Her return from the underworld each year meant the revival of nature and the beginning of spring.This myth was told especially in connection with the Eleusinian Mysteries, sacred rituals observed in the Greek town of Elevsis near Athens. The rituals offered initiates in the mysteries the hope of rebirth, just as Persephone had been reborn after her journey to the underworld. Many  Greek  myths  report the exploits of the principal Olympians, but Greek myths also refer to a variety of other divinities, each with their particular sphere of influence. Many of these divinities were children of Zeus, symbolizing the fact that they belonged to the new Olympian order of Zeus’s regime.The Muses, nine daughters of Zeus and the goddess of memory, Mnemosyne, presided over song, dance, and music. The Fates, three goddesses who controlled human life and destiny, and the Horae, goddesses who controlled the seasons, were appropriately the children of Zeus and Themis, the goddess of divine justice and law. Far different in temperament were the Erinyes (Furies), ancient and repellent goddesses who had sprung from the earth after it had been impregnated with the blood of Uranus’s severed genitals. Terrible though they were, the Erinyes also had a legitimate role in the world: to pursue those who had murdered their own kin.A5 Disruptive Deities Human  existence  is  characterized by disorder as well as order, and many of the most characteristic figures in Greek mythology exert a powerfully disruptive effect. Satyrs, whom the Greeks imagined as part human and part horse (or part goat), led liv es dominated by wine and lust. Myths depicted them as companions of Dionysus who drunkenly pursued nymphs, spirits of nature represented as young and beautiful maidens. Many of the jugs used at Greek symposia (drinking parties) carry images of satyrs. Equally  wild,  but  more threatening than the satyrs, were the savage centaurs.These monsters, Greek Mythology depicted as half-man and half-horse, tended toward uncontrolled aggression. The centaurs are known for combat with their neighbors, the Lapiths, which resulted from an attempt to carry off the Lapith women at a wedding feast. This combat was depicted in sculpture on the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena in Athens. The  Sirens,  usually  portrayed as birds with women’s heads, posed a different sort of threat. These island-dwelling enchantresses lured mariners to their deaths by the irresistible beauty of their song.The seafaring Greek hero Odysseus alone survived this temptation by ordering his compani ons to block their own ears, to bind him to the mast of his ship, and to ignore all his entreaties to be allowed to follow the lure of the Sirens’ song. B B1 B2 Mortals The  Greeks  had  several myths to account for the origins of humanity. According to one version, human beings sprang from the ground, and this origin explained their devotion to the land. According to another myth, a Titan molded the first human beings from clay. The Greeks also had a story about the destruction of humanity, similar to the biblical deluge.The Creation of Human Beings Conflicting  Greek  myths tell about the creation of humanity. Some myths recount how the populations of particular localities sprang directly from the earth. The Arcadians, residents of a region of Greece known as Arcadia, claimed this distinction for their original inhabitant, Pelasgus (see Pelasgians). The Thebans boasted descent from earthborn men who had sprung from the spot where Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, had sown the ground with the teeth of a sacred dragon. According to another tale, one of the Titans, Prometheus, fashioned the first human being from water and earth.In the more usual version of the story Prometheus did not actually create humanity but simply lent it assistance through the gift of fire. Another  tale  dealt  with humanity’s re-creation. When Zeus planned to destroy an ancient race living on Earth, he sent a deluge. However, Deucalion, a son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha—the Greek equivalents of the biblical Noah and his wife—put provisions into a chest and climbed into it. Carried across the waters of the flood, they landed on Mount Parnassus. After the waters receded, the couple gratefully made sacrifices to Zeus.His response was to send Hermes to instruct them how to repopulate the world. They should cast stones behind them. Stones thrown by Deucalion became men; those thrown by Pyrrha, women. The Greek People According  to  myth,à ‚  the various peoples of Greece descended from Hellen, son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. One genealogy related that the Dorian and the Aeolian Greeks sprang from Hellen’s sons Dorus and Aeolus. The Achaeans and Ionians descended from Achaeos and Ion, sons of Hellen’s other son, Xuthus. These figures, in their turn, produced offspring who, along with children born of unionsGreek Mythology between divinities and mortals, made up the collection of heroes and heroines whose exploits constitute a central part of Greek mythology. C C1 C2 C3 Heroes Myths  about  heroes  are particularly characteristic of Greek mythology. Many of these heroes were the sons of gods, and a number of myths involved expeditions by these heroes. The expeditions generally related to quests or combats. Scholars consider some of these myths partly historical in nature—that is, they explained events in the distant past and were handed down orally from one generation to the next.Two of the most important of the semihistorical myths involve the search for the Golden Fleece and the quest that led to the Trojan War. In other myths heroes such as Heracles and Theseus had to overcome fearsome monsters. Jason and the Golden Fleece Jason  was  a  hero  who  sailed in the ship Argo, with a band of heroes called the Argonauts, on a dangerous quest for the Golden Fleece at the eastern end of the Black Sea in the land of Colchis. Jason had to fetch this family property, a fleece made of gold from a winged ram, in order to regain his throne.A dragon that never slept guarded the fleece and made the mission nearly impossible. Thanks to the magical powers of Medea, daughter of the ruler of Colchis, Jason performed the impossible tasks necessary to win the fleece and to take it from the dragon. Afterward Medea took horrible revenge on Pelias, who had killed Jason’s parents, stolen Jason’s throne, and sent Jason on the quest for the fleece. She tricked Peliasâ€⠄¢s daughters into cutting him up and boiling him in a cauldron. Medea’s story continued to involve horrific violence.When Jason rejected her for another woman, Medea once more used her magic to avenge herself with extreme cruelty. Meleager Jason  and  the  same  generation of heroes took part in another adventure, with Meleager, the son of King Oeneus of Calydon and his wife Althea. At Meleager’s birth the Fates predicted that he would die when a log burning on the hearth was completely consumed. His mother snatched the log and hid it in a chest. Meleager grew to manhood. One day, his father accidentally omitted Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, from a sacrifice. In revenge Artemis sent a mighty boar to ravage the country.Meleager set out to destroy it, accompanied by some of the greatest heroes of the day, including Peleus, Telamon, Theseus, Jason, and Castor and Polydeuces. The boar was killed. However, Meleager killed his mother’s brothers in a quarr el about who should receive the boar skin. In her anger Althea threw the log on to the fire, so ending her son’s life; she then hanged herself. Heroes of the Trojan War The  greatest  expedition of all was that which resulted in the Trojan War. The object of this quest was Helen, a beautiful Greek woman who had been abducted by Paris, son of King Priam of Troy.Helen’s husband Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon led an army of Greeks to besiege Troy. After ten Greek Mythology years, with many heroes dead on both sides, the city fell to the trick of the Trojan Horse—a giant wooden horse that the Greeks built and left outside the gates of Troy while their army pretended to withdraw. Not knowing that Greek heroes were hiding inside the horse, the Trojans took the horse into the city. The hidden Greeks then slipped out, opened the city gates and let their army in, thus defeating Troy. The Iliad, an epic poem attributed to Greek poet Homer, tells the story of the T rojan War.The story continued with the Odyssey, another long poem attributed to Homer, in which the Greek hero Odysseus made his way home after the Trojan War. Odysseus returned to his faithful wife, Penelope, whereas Agamemnon returned to be murdered by his faithless wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover. Historians  considered the Trojan War entirely mythical until excavations in Turkey showed that there had been cities on the site of Troy and that fire had destroyed one of these cities at about the time of the Trojan War, sometime from 1230 BC to 1180 BC. C4 C5 Heracles and TheseusThe  deeds  of  the  heroes Heracles (see Hercules) and Theseus exemplify a central theme in Greek mythology: the conflict between civilization and wild savagery. Each hero confronted and overcame monstrous opponents, yet neither enjoyed unclouded happiness. Heracles  had  been  an  Argonaut but left the expedition after being plunged into grief at the loss of his companion Hylas. In anoth er story, a fit of madness led Heracles to kill his own wife and children. But he is best known for his feats of prowess against beasts and monsters, which began soon after his birth.The most difficult of these feats are known as the 12 labors, which are believed to represent efforts to conquer death and achieve immortality. Although Heracles died, his father, Zeus, gave him a place on Mount Olympus. Theseus  successfully  slew the Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull. On his voyage home to Athens, however, he forgot to hoist the white sails that would have signified the success of his adventure. According to one tale, Theseus’s heartbroken father Aegeus, seeing black sails, believed his son had died, and committed suicide. The Aegean Sea in which he drowned is presumably named after Aegeus.Oedipus No  hero  of  Greek  mythology has proved more fascinating than Oedipus. He destroyed a monster, the Sphinx, by answering its riddle. Yet his ultimate do wnfall served as a terrifying warning of the instability of human fortune. As a baby, Oedipus had been abandoned on a mountainside by his parents, King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes, because of a prophecy that the child would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Saved by the pity of a shepherd, the child—its identity unknown—was reared by the king and queen of the neighboring city of Corinth.In due course, Oedipus unwittingly fulfilled the prophecy, matching the horrific crimes he had committed with the equally ghastly self-punishment of piercing his own eyes with Jocasta’s brooch-pins. Greek Mythology III A Gods and Goddesses B THE NATURE OF GREEK GODS AND HEROES In  many  respects  the  gods and goddesses of Greek mythology resembled extraordinarily powerful human beings. They experienced emotions such as jealousy, love, and grief, and they shared with humans a desire to assert their own authority and to punish anyone who flouted it.How ever, these emotions and desires took supernaturally intense form in gods and goddesses. As numerous literary descriptions and artistic representations testify, the Greeks imagined their gods to have human shape, although this form was strongly idealized. The  Greeks,  moreover, modeled relationships between divinities on those between human beings. Apollo and Artemis were brother and sister, Zeus and Hera were husband and wife, and the society of the gods on Mount Olympus resembled that of an unruly family, with Zeus at its head. The gods could temporarily enter the human world.They might, for example, fall in love with a mortal, as Aphrodite did with Adonis; Apollo with Daphne; and Zeus with Leda, Alcmene, and Danae. Or they might destroy a mortal who displeased them, as Dionysus destroyed King Pentheus of Thebes for mocking his rites. Not  all  Greek  divinities resembled human beings. They could also be uncanny, strange, and alien, a quality made visible in artistic re presentations of monsters. For example, the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa had a stare that turned her victims to stone. The Graeae, sisters of the Gorgons, were gray-haired old crones from birth.They possessed but a single tooth and a single eye between them. Typhoeus was a hideous monster from whose shoulders grew a hundred snakeheads with dark, flickering tongues. Even  the  major  deities of Olympus showed alien characteristics at times. A recurrent sign of divine power is the ability to change shape, either one’s own or that of others. Athena once transformed herself into a vulture; Poseidon once took the form of a stallion. This ability could prove convenient such as when Zeus assumed the form of a swan to woo Leda. Zeus turned Lycaon, a disrespectful king, into a wolf to punish him for his wickedness.The ability to exercise power over the crossing of boundaries is a crucial feature of divine power among the Greeks. Heroes Greek  mythology  also  told how divini ties interacted with heroes, a category of mortals who, though dead, were believed to retain power to influence the lives of the living. In myths heroes represented a kind of bridge between gods and mortals. Heroes such as Achilles, Perseus, and Aeneas were the products of a union between a deity and a mortal. The fact that the gods often intervened to help heroes—for example, during combat—indicated not the heroes’ weakness but their special importance.Yet heroes were not the equals of the gods. With  a  logic  characteristic of Greek myth, heroes typically possessed a defect to balance out their exceptional power. For example, the warrior Achilles, hero of the Trojan War, was invulnerable except in the heel. The prophet Cassandra, who warned the Trojans of dangers such as the Trojan Horse, Greek Mythology always prophesied the truth but was never believed. Heracles constituted an extreme example of this paradox: His awesome strength was balanced by his t endency to become a victim of his own excessive violence.Nevertheless, the gods allowed Heracles to cross the ultimate boundary by gaining admission to Olympus. IV A B THE FUNCTIONS OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY Like  most  other  mythological traditions, Greek myths served several purposes. First, Greek myths explained the world. Second, they acted as a means of exploration. Third, they provided authority and legitimacy. Finally, they provided entertainment. Explanation Greek  myths  lent  structure and order to the world and explained how the current state of things had originated. Hesiod’s Theogony narrated the development of the present order of the universe by relating it to Chaos, the origin of all things.By a complex process of violence, struggle, and sexual attraction, the regime led by Zeus had eventually taken over. Another poem by Hesiod, Works and Days, explained why the world is full of trouble. According to the poem the first woman, Pandora, opened a jar whose lid she had been forbidden to lift. As a result of her disobedience all the diseases and miseries previously confined in the jar escaped into the world. Such a myth also makes a statement about relationships between the sexes in Hesiod’s own world.Scholars assume that he composed the poem for a largely male audience that was receptive to a tale that put women at the root of all evil. One  of  the  commonest  types of explanation given in myths relates to ritual. Myths helped worshipers make sense of a religious practice by telling how the practice originated. A prime example is sacrifice, a ritual that involved killing a domesticated animal as an offering to the gods. The ceremony culminated in the butchering, cooking, and sharing of the meat of the victim. Hesiod recounts the myth associated with this rite.According to this myth, the tricky Titan Prometheus tried to outwit Zeus by offering him a cunningly devised choice of meals. Zeus could have either an apparently unappetizing dish—an ox paunch, which had tasty meat concealed within—or a seemingly delicious one, gleaming fat on the outside, which had nothing but bones hidden beneath. Zeus chose the second dish, and ever since human beings have kept the tastiest part of every sacrifice for themselves, leaving the gods nothing but the savor of the rising smoke. Exploration Myths  charted  paths  through difficult territory, examining contradictions and ambiguities.For instance, Homer’s Iliad explores the consequences during the Trojan War of the Greek leader Agamemnon’s decision to deprive the warrior Achilles of his allotted prize, a female slave. Achilles feels that Agamemnon has assailed his honor or worth but wonders how far he should go in reaction. Is he right to refuse to fight, if that means the destruction of the Greek army? Is he justified in rejecting Agamemnon’s offer of compensation? One of this poem’s themes explores the limits of ho nor. Greek Mythology The  dramatic  genre  of tragedy provides the clearest example of mythical exploration (see see Greek Literature; Drama and Dramatic Arts).The great Athenian playwrights of the 5th century BC— Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides—wrote tragedies that explored social questions by placing them, in extreme and exaggerated form, in a mythical context. Sophocles’s tragic play Antigone concerns just such an extreme situation. Two brothers have killed each other in battle: Eteocles defending his homeland, and Polynices attacking it. Their sister Antigone, in defiance of an edict by the city’s ruler, attempts to bury her ostensibly traitorous brother Polynices. Sophocles raises several moral issues. Is Antigone justified in seeking to bury her brother?Which should prevail, a religious obligation to tend and bury a corpse, or a city’s well-being? The answers to these moral issues are far from clear-cut, as we might expect from a wo rk whose subtlety and profundity have so often been admired. C D V A Legitimation Myths  also  had  the  function of legitimation. A claim, an action, or a relationship acquired extra authority if it had a precedent in myth. Aristocratic Greek families liked to trace their ancestry back to the heroes or gods of mythology. The Greek poet Pindar, who wrote in the early 5th century BC, offers ample evidence for this preference. In his songs Pindar raised the exploits of current victors in the Olympian Games by linking them with the deeds of their mythical ancestors. In addition, two Greek city-states could cement bonds between them by showing that they had an alliance in the mythological past. Entertainment Finally,  myth  telling was a source of enjoyment and entertainment. Homer’s epics contain several descriptions of audiences held spellbound by the songs of bards (poets), and recitations of Homer’s poems also captivated audiences. Public performances of tr agic drama were also hugely popular, regularly drawing some 15,000 spectators. ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF GREEK MYTHOLOGYOur  knowledge  of  Greek mythology begins with the epic poems attributed to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, which date from about the 8th century BC even though the stories they relate probably have their origins in events that occurred several centuries earlier. Scholars, however, know that the origins of Greek mythology reach even farther back than that. Origins of Greek Mythology Linguists  (people  who study languages) have concluded that some names of Greek deities, including Zeus, can be traced back to gods worshiped by speakers of Proto-Indo-European, the common ancestor of the Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit languages.But it would be misleading to regard the people who may have spoken this language as originators of Greek mythology because many other elements contributed. Greek Mythology Archaeologists  have  shown that many of the places where mythical events presumably took place correspond to sites that had historical importance during the Mycenaean period of Greek history (second half of the 2nd millennium BC). Scholars thus consider it likely that the Mycenaeans made a major contribution to the development of the stories, even if this contribution is hard to demonstrate in detail.Some scholars have argued that the Minoan civilization of Crete also had a formative influence on Greek myths. The myth of the Minotaur confined in a labyrinth in the palace of King Minos, for example, might be a memory of historical bull-worship in the labyrinthine palace at Knossos on Crete. However, there is little evidence that Cretan religion survived in Greece. Nor have any ancient inscriptions confirmed that Minos ever existed outside of myth. Scholars  can  demonstrate influence on Greek mythology from the Middle East much more reliably than influence from Crete.Greek mythology owed much to cultures in Mesopotamia and Anatolia, e specially in the realm of cosmogony (origin of the universe) and theogony (origin of the gods). To take one example, a clear parallel exists in an early Middle Eastern myth for Greek poet Hesiod’s story about the castration of Uranus by his son Cronus and the subsequent overthrow of Cronus by his son Zeus. The Middle Eastern myth tells of the sky god Anu who was castrated by Kumarbi, father of the gods. The weather and storm god Teshub, in turn, displaced Anu. Scholars continue to bring to light more and more similarities between Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies.B Development of Greek Mythology Our  knowledge  of  Greek myths comes from a mixture of written texts, sculpture, and decorated pottery. Scholars have reconstructed stories that circulated orally by inference and guesswork. Homer’s  epics,  the  Iliad and the Odyssey, stand at the beginning of Greek literary tradition (see Greek literature), even though they almost certainly depended on a lengt hy previous tradition of oral poetry. The Iliad is set during the Trojan War; it focuses on the consequences of a quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, two of the leading Greek warriors.The Odyssey is about the aftermath of the Trojan War, when the Greek hero Odysseus at last returns to his home on the island of Ithaca following years of wandering in wild and magical lands. The Trojan War later provided subject matter for many tragic dramas and for imagery on countless painted vases. Hesiod’s  Theogony,  composed in the 8th century BC at about the same time as the Homeric epics, gave an authoritative account of how things began. The creation of the world, described by Hesiod in terms of passions and crimes of the gods, is a theme that later Greek philosophers such as Empedocles and Plato developed but took in new directions.This connection serves as a reminder that mythology was not a separate aspect of Greek culture, but one that interacted with many other fields of ex perience, particularly the writing of history. For example, in the 5th century BC Greek historian Herodotus employed numerous themes and story patterns from Greek epics and tragedies in writing his historical account of the war between Greeks and Persians (see Persian Wars). Although  the  authority of Homer and Hesiod remained dominant, the poetic retelling of myths continued throughout antiquity.Myths were constantly remade in the light of new social and political circumstances. The Hellenistic period of Greek history (4th century to 1st century BC) saw many new trends in the treatment of myths. One of the most important was the development of mythography, Greek Mythology the compilation and organization of myths on the basis of particular themes (for example, myths about metamorphosis). Such organization corresponded to a wish of newly established Hellenistic rulers to lend legitimacy to their regimes by claiming that they continued a cultural tradition reaching back into a g reat past.Artists,  too,  portrayed myths. Statues of gods stood inside Greek temples, and relief sculptures of scenes from mythology adorned pediments and friezes on the outside of these temples (see Greek Art and Architecture). Among the best-known examples are the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens. These reliefs include depictions of combat between centaurs and Lapiths. Other  visual  representations of mythology were more modest in size and scope. The best evidence for the use of mythology in Greek painting comes from painted ceramic vases.The Greeks used these vases in a variety of contexts, from cookery to funerary ritual to athletic games. (Vases filled with oil were awarded as prizes in games. ) In most cases scholars can securely identify the imagery on Greek vases as mythological, but sometimes they have no way of telling whether the artist intended an allusion to mythology because myth became fused with everyday life. For example, does a representation of a woman weaving signify Penelope, wife of Odysseus who spent her days at a loom, or does it portray someone engaged in an everyday activity?The  Greeks  retold  myths orally, as well as preserving them in literary and artistic works. The Greeks transmitted to children tales of monsters and myths of gods and heroes. Old men gathered to exchange tales in leschai (clubs or conversation places). Storytelling, whether in writing, art, or speech, was at the heart of Greek civilization. VI A THE LEGACY OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY Mythology  formed  a  central reference point in Greek society because it was interwoven with ritual and other aspects of social existence.Yet the question of how far people believed the myths is a difficult and probably unanswerable one. Some intellectuals, such as Greek writer Palaephatus, tried to interpret the myths as having figurative (nonliteral) meanings. Writing in the 4th century BC, Palaephatus interpreted the stories of Diomedes, a king devoured by his own mares, and of Actaeon, a hunter torn apart by his own hounds, as concealing perfectly credible accounts of young men who had spent too much money on their animals and so been figuratively eaten alive by debt.Other  thinkers,  such  as the 4th-century-BC philosopher Plato, objected to some myths on moral grounds, particularly to myths that told of crimes committed by the gods. Yet such skepticism seems hardly to have altered the imaginative power and persistence of Greek myths. As late as the 2nd century AD, the Greek traveler and historian Pausanias described the myths and cults in the places he visited as if they constituted a still-living complex of religious discourse and behavior. Ancient Rome and Early ChristianityThe  ancient  Romans  eventually took over Greek civilization and conquered Greece. In the process, they adapted Greek mythology, and myths remained a vehicle for reflecting on and coping with the Greek Mythology world. In his poem the Aeneid, wri tten in the 1st century BC, Roman poet Virgil used the theme of the wandering Trojan hero Aeneas and his eventual foundation of a settlement that became Rome. The Aeneid not only continues story patterns developed in Homer’s epics, but it also makes frequent and detailed allusions to the texts of Homer and other Greek writers.The long poem Metamorphoses by Roman poet Ovid embraces an enormous number of Greek myths, reworked into a composition that later had unparalleled influence on European culture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Greek  mythology  survived during Christian antiquity by its interpretation as allegory (expressive of a deeper or hidden meaning). Early Christians incorporated pagan stories into their own worldview if they could reinterpret the story to express a concealed, uplifting meaning.In the 5th century AD, for example, Latin mythographer Fulgentius gave an allegorical reading of the Judgment of Paris. The Greek myth told of a young Trojan shepherd faced with a choice between the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Each goddess tried to bribe Paris to name her the most beautiful: Hera offering power, Athena offering success in battle, and Aphrodite offering a beautiful woman. Fulgentius explained that the choice was actually a moral one, between a life of action, a life of contemplation, and a life dominated by love.The allegorical approach to the myths has never died out; we find it today in the writings of those who regard myths as expressions of basic, universal psychological truths. For example, Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, borrowed from Greek mythology in developing his ideas of human psychosexual development, which he described in terms of an Oedipus complex and an Electra complex. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung believed that certain psychic structures he called archetypes were common to all people in all times and gave rise to recurring ideas such as mythological themes. BEuropean Art, Music, and Lite rature The  influence  of  Greek mythology on Western art, music, and literature can hardly be exaggerated. Many of the greatest works of painting and sculpture have taken myths as their subject. Examples include the Birth of Venus (after 1482) by Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli, a marble sculpture of Apollo and Daphne (1622-1625) by Italian baroque sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini, a terrifying Cronus Devouring One of His Children (1820-1823) by Spanish painter Francisco de Goya, and Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (about 1558) by Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel.In the Bruegel painting peasants continue with their daily toil oblivious of the mythological drama being played out in the sky above. Musicians  too,  especially composers of opera and oratorio, have found inspiration in ancient myths. Operatic dramatizations of these stories begin with Orfeo (Orpheus, 1607) and Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (The Return of Ulysses to His Homeland, 1641) by Italian comp oser Claudio Monteverdi.They continue into the 20th century with Elektra (1909) by German composer Richard Strauss and Oedipus Rex (1927) by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. The  impact  of  Greek  mythology on literature has been incalculably great. In the 20th century the story of the murderous revenge of Orestes on his mother Clytemnestra (for killing his father, Agamemnon) has inspired writers as diverse as American dramatist Eugene O’Neill (in Mourning Becomes Electra, 1931), American-born poet and playwright T. S.Eliot (in The Family Reunion, 1939), and French philosopher and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre (in Les Mouches [1943; The Flies, 1946]). Among the Greek Mythology most notable of all literary works inspired by Greek mythology is Ulysses by Irish writer James Joyce. In this intricate novel, Ulysses (Odysseus) becomes Dublin resident Leopold Bloom, while Bloom’s wife, Molly, combines characteristics of faithful Penelope (wife of Odysseus) and seducti ve Calypso (a sea nymph who holds Odysseus captive on his journey home).The  influence  of  Greek mythology shows no sign of diminishing. Computer games (see Electronic Games) and science fiction frequently use combat- or quest-oriented story patterns that have clear parallels in classical mythology. Greek myths developed in a specific ancient society, but the emotional and intellectual content of the stories has proved adaptable to a broad range of cultural contexts.