In Ancient Greek myths people are often punished by the gods for corrupt or evil behavior. I choose this theme as I believe that it shows us why the people of the ancient world worshipped and trusted in the gods as much as they did. I also think it teaches a lot of morals that people of many centuries have followed. The texts that I will be analyzing are, Tantalus by Homer, Prometheus by Hesiod, Sisyphus also by Homer, and Arachne by Ovid. All of these myths are from the Ancient Greek times.
In the myth of Tantalus by Homer, the theme of ‘Punishment from the gods’ is very relevant. Tantalus was the son of Zeus, he committed a lot of mild crimes but because of his relation to Zeus many of the gods looked the other way when these crimes occurred. …show more content…
Prometheus is a Greek god who stole fire from the sun and brought it down to earth for humans against Zeus’ will. Prometheus said “Man should have Zeus’ wonderful flower of fire…”. He was then chained to a mountain side and had a hawk eat out his liver every day, for at night it would regrow again. This again shows somebody trying to disobey the gods. I believe that Hesiod wrote this in order to try to keep the people of the ancient world from defying those above them, Gods, Kings, and Queens, etc. Similarly, to Tantalus he was punished for all of …show more content…
“It has been said that I can weave quite as well, if not better than the goddess Athena.” Athena is out raged and disguises herself as an old woman. She then requests a competition with Arachne, who is positive she will beat an old woman. They then begin weaving and Athena realizes that Arachne might well be better at weaving than herself. Once they are finished Athena pours a potion on Arachne and turns her into a spider, sentencing Arachne to weave and spin for the rest of her life. When a mortal challenged a god or believed they were better than a god, it was called hubris. This was one of the only things that was intensely disliked by the gods, so this is why Arachne was punished by Athena. I believe that the Ovid did this in order to teach people to be humble and modest in their day to day lives, and not to become big headed or conceited. As this will cause you to be seen as ungrateful and rude and to push people
In the myth of Tantalus by Homer, the theme of ‘Punishment from the gods’ is very relevant. Tantalus was the son of Zeus, he committed a lot of mild crimes but because of his relation to Zeus many of the gods looked the other way when these crimes occurred. …show more content…
Prometheus is a Greek god who stole fire from the sun and brought it down to earth for humans against Zeus’ will. Prometheus said “Man should have Zeus’ wonderful flower of fire…”. He was then chained to a mountain side and had a hawk eat out his liver every day, for at night it would regrow again. This again shows somebody trying to disobey the gods. I believe that Hesiod wrote this in order to try to keep the people of the ancient world from defying those above them, Gods, Kings, and Queens, etc. Similarly, to Tantalus he was punished for all of …show more content…
“It has been said that I can weave quite as well, if not better than the goddess Athena.” Athena is out raged and disguises herself as an old woman. She then requests a competition with Arachne, who is positive she will beat an old woman. They then begin weaving and Athena realizes that Arachne might well be better at weaving than herself. Once they are finished Athena pours a potion on Arachne and turns her into a spider, sentencing Arachne to weave and spin for the rest of her life. When a mortal challenged a god or believed they were better than a god, it was called hubris. This was one of the only things that was intensely disliked by the gods, so this is why Arachne was punished by Athena. I believe that the Ovid did this in order to teach people to be humble and modest in their day to day lives, and not to become big headed or conceited. As this will cause you to be seen as ungrateful and rude and to push people