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BEOWULF

Especially seen through the characters of Beowulf and Wiglaf, the poem Beowulf illustrates three important morals of its time: bravery, honor, and loyalty. Beowulf, the hero of the poem, exhibits great bravery in everything he does.

Beowulf is the perfect example of what a leader is. He is willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his people, he knows when to ask and accept help from others. He also recognizes the efforts of other people and never gets the credit from them.

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Medea

Medea follows the story of Medea, a sorceress, whose husband, Jason, left her and her children to remarry Glauce, the daughter of King Creon. Medea plots her revenge full of passion and distress. Her revenge results in the murder of Glauce, King Creon, and infamously her two children.

Takeaways / Learnings:

From their perspective, she embodies the plight of women in a misogynistic society, and she refuses to take her oppression lying down. Medea was instrumental to Jason's success in his quest for the Golden Fleece. Without her magic and wisdom, he would have failed.

Medea possesses qualities that conform to the gender expectations of ancient Greece, but many parts of the play suggest that Medea is a feminist figure who challenges the gender and social norms of her time. Like many Greek tragedies, Euripides's Medea explores themes about society and human nature.

Since Medea is part of the two groups in Athenian society that are treated discriminatorily and her cleverness is seen as menacing, the rulers of Corinth want to exile her almost immediately upon Jason’s betrothal to the princess of Corinth. Because of her alienation, Medea feels like she has no one to go to when Jason disrespects their marriage vows and, as a final point, she turns to revenge – one of the most primitive, brutal human impulses. The Medea reveals how poisonous isolation and betrayal can be when met simultaneously.

Link to modern times: Gender stereotypes surrounding women. That women are the weaker sex and can only do calculated risks while men are being known for being strategic.

Archetype: Witch archetype. A symbol of women expression. The myth of Medea is about the witch archetype; this character is an autonomous woman, ruled by her great passions and with a great capacity to make decisions. At the time when she first appeared, she represented the complete opposite of what a woman should be. It was, perhaps, for this reason, that the story aroused great interest and had a huge impact on the authors.

The story says that this sorceress learned the arts of witchcraft from her aunt Circe. She had great powers and had the kind of knowledge of magic potions that allowed her to turn her enemies into animals. She could also cure diseases thanks to her knowledge of herbs and medicine.

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The Great Families of Greek Mythology

The House of Atreus

King of Lydia- Tantalus

given special treatment by Gods among all the mortal children of Zeus.

Tantalus chose to be a rebel by behaving atrociously.

Willing to sacrifice his son by boiling him in a cauldron and serving him to the gods as food.

Tantalus thought he can fool the gods but the olympians knew and he was punished.

Lessons from Tantalus:

The dangers of hubris and the severe consequences of defying the gods could bring generational misfortunes.

Link to modern times:

Greedy and corrupt public officials / authorities who are willing to kill others only to prove that they are powerful and capable of committing a heinous crime.

The myth of Tantalus as a primary reference for the granting conference. Granting of Bestowal (the act of conferring an honor or presenting a gift) as an attribute of the Father Archetype. Sufferings of the ward and severe impairments of the psyche resulting from the denial or loss of the bestowal. Psychic reactions, due to the loss of the grant, such as: shame, feeling of guilt. The shame of being incompetent. And the humiliation for being ridiculous. The symbolic foundations of the emergence of depression. Father-Narcissus, the one who does not bestow. Parents with rigidly defensive patriarchal structures. The conflicts of children of split couples in which one grants and the other denies it. The possibility of a resilient exit with the automobilization of the grant. Symbolic correlations between Tantalus' punishments and the grandiosity of the bestowal

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Oedipus Rex

Oedipus the King unfolds as a murder mystery, a political thriller, and a psychological whodunit. Throughout this mythic story of patricide and incest, Sophocles emphasizes the irony of a man determined to track down, expose, and punish an assassin, who turns out to be himself.

The plot of Oedipus Rex is a straightforward interpretation of a Greek myth. When the king and queen of Thebes give birth to a son, Oedipus, an oracle tells them that their child will kill his father. To avoid this the king, Laius, orders the child to have his feet broken and then be left for dead.

Learnings / Takeaways:

Although he is known for being a great leader because his kingdom thrived under his relationship, Oedipus is known for being impervious (meaning: not affected by) to reason and advice. (He rejects the prophecy of Tiresius and the news brought by Creon.)

Ignorant of the truth.

it is full of dramatic irony.

For example: the people of Thebes come to Oedipus at the start of the play, asking him to rid the city of the plague, when in reality, it is he who is the cause; Oedipus curses the murderer of Laius out of a deep anger at not being able to find him, actually cursing himself in he process; he insults Tiresius’ blindness when he is the one who actually lacks vision, and will soon himself be blind; and he rejoices in the news of the death of King Polybus of Corinth, when this new information is what actually brings the tragic prophecy to light.

Dramatic Irony-- a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character.

Link to modern times: In modern times, most religions that have beliefs similar to this are in the eastern part of the world. Most people in the west believe that they are in charge of their own fates and destinies and that they can be altered by things that they do or don't do (Donn, 231).

Archetypes: Character Archetypes. The Hero: courageous individual who continually saves the day. The Outcast: individual that is exiled from society or leaves by choice.

Creon is a mentor because he tells Oedipus he is acting irrational by accusing him of treason. Creon is also a loyal retainer because he still provides Oedipus knowledge on the murder of Laius despite he is being accused of treason.

Tiresias is an archetype of a blind seer, this is a character that is humble in their truth and isn't arrogant in their actions. In the play, Tiresias speaks the truth of what Oedipus had done, but he stays true to his archetype, and he doesn't fight with Oedipus when Oedipus says that he doesn't speak the “truth”(23).

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refer to this pic for archetypes of odyssey

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The Odyssey

Learning / Takeaways:

A quintessential quest of returning home that relates to the importance of familial love.

Mortal man must sometimes submit, and the Gods cannot always be cheated.

A well-known hero had to suffer a lot of times and for too long to prove that his capacity as a mortal is limited no matter how wise he is.

He is an intellectual. Often, he openly evaluates a situation, demonstrating the logic he employs in making his choices. When it proves effective, Odysseus lies (even to his own family), cheats, or steals in ways that we would not expect in an epic hero.

The three traits that makes Odysseus a bad leader are being dishonest, prideful, and careless. These traits causes his men to die, him suffering, and trouble. The trait of Odysseus being dishonest is a factor of why Odysseus is a bad leader. Odysseus is meeting with Tiresias (a blind prophet) to learn his future.

Link to Modern times:

Immigrants finding a new home in a strange land or refugees.

The quest of finding a home is always an immigrant experience. It is complex, and there are as many steps back as forward, and once an immigrant reaches their new home, constant challenges are thrown at them, and they must wear disguises or masks to hide who they are. The journey is psychological and physical and emotional and complicated. And there are many sacrifices along the way.”

Prior to escaping from their home country, refugees are in the premigration stage. This phase is often accompanied by chaos, violence, sexual abuse, war, anxiety, and torture.

Hero archetypes (archetypes of transformation and redemption):

a. The quest: the hero (savior, deliverer) undertakes some long journey during which he or she must perform impossible tasks, battle with monsters, solve unanswerable riddles, and overcome insurmountable obstacles in order to save the kingdom.

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The Iliad

The Iliad by Homer is an epic poem that recounts the ten-year Trojan War and the heroic deeds of warriors like Achilles, Hector, and Odysseus. It explores themes of pride, honor, and the human condition, and is considered one of the greatest works of ancient Greek literature.

Learnings / Takeaways:

Wars can be the result of a destructive nature of wrath and anger.

Even during the ancient times, involving yourself in a war can be a form of sacrifice. (Achilles' fate: he will be the Greek army's best warrior. Second, he will gain fame if he fights in the Trojan War. Third, he will die in Troy. Achilles doesn't have to go to Troy, but if he stays home, his legacy will be forgotten.) Achilles decides to fight the Trojans.

What does The Iliad teach us about war?

Homer uses scenes of fallen soldiers on the Trojan and Achaean to highlight that all men in battle are equal even when they are fighting on opposite sides. In ancient times, war is treated as a profession. Necessary for survival.

The Iliad depicts the range of human emotions.

Pride, wrath, anger, grief, sorrow, loss, and winning in life's certain circumstances.

Link to modern times:

destructive effects of war are still applicable in society today. (War between Israel and Palestine)

Archetypes:

Initiation: the hero undergoes a series of excruciating ordeals in passing from ignorance and immaturity to social and spiritual adulthood, that is, in achieving maturity and becoming a full-fledged member of his or her social group. The initiation most commonly consists of three distinct phases: (1) separation, (2) transformation, and (3) return. Like the quest, this is a variation of the death-and-rebirth archetype. c. The sacrificial scapegoat: the hero, with whom the welfare of the tribe or nation is identified, must die to atone for the people's sins and restore the land to fruitfulness.

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LEARNINGS FROM GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Stories of Adventure

Phaeton- In Greek myth Phaeton became inflated when the sun god, Helios, acknowledged him as his son. Phaeton then asked to drive his father’s chariot, pulling the sun across the sky. He could not control the powerful horses, scorched the earth, and was killed. Arrogating god-like powers to oneself eclipses self-awareness and disaster ensues. Inflation can be expressed outwardly as power-seeking grandiosity or inwardly as self-sacrificing suffering. It is present in unrealistic risk-taking, frenzied creativity, spiritual illusions, the entitlement of toddlers and teens, and in collective excesses. Mobs are inflated, flouting the constraints of civilization, culture, and common sense. The antidote to inflation is humility, service, and love.

Pegasus and Bellerophon,

Daedalus and Icarus,

Otus and Ephialtes

Takeaways: Greed amongst mortals

Not getting drawn into hubris.

= they all have this desire to prove something about themselves. The desire to become legendary.

= sometimes they try to get beyond their own abilities to prove that they can be greater people. Greater than Gods in some cases.

= this hubris causes these mortals to act careless, and become foolish.

Link to modern times:

The darker side of invention (invention of nuclear weapons or weapons for mass destruction, cigarettes)

Invention of AI become others see that this has a negative implication in our society. It can cause unemployment, decrease creativity, economic inequality and more.

Archetype: Inflation as defined by Jung. Inflation applies to balloons, economics–and psychology. Jung defined it as being seized by archetypal energy resulting in “a puffed up attitude (to pleased or satisfied), loss of free will, delusion, and enthusiasm for good and evil alike.” Inflation is more than a “swelled head” because the influx of unconscious desires leads to desiring god-like powers.