How and why historians’ portrayal of Cleopatra VII has changed over time The manner in which historians portray Cleopatra is a reflection of their context and their personal view is often evident. Various historians have many different interpretations based on their backgrounds and attitudes. Due to the constant change of society, the image of Cleopatra has been transformed from the power hungry, foreign queen using all means possible to extend her power, including exploiting her sexuality. Cleopatra’s contemporaries Virgil and Horace exemplify this view of Cleopatra in their epic poems. Historians of the first and second centuries AD, such as Josephus, Plutarch, Appian and Cassius Dio wrote for political purposes and portray Cleopatra as a strong political figure although their views are strongly biased towards Roman interests.
2. Discuss the differences and continuities between Homer’s Odyssey and Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad. Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad gives a contemporary insight into Homer’s ancient epic poem Odyssey. Atwood challenges and criticizes this epic story by transforming this classical myth “by means of demythologizing devices and burlesque conventions of the Greek satyr play and the Menippean satire” to expose the vast double standards that Homer instills amongst class difference and gender (Staels 2009, 100). This “metafictional parody is… used to seriously rework a literary model… to call attention to its conventions and limitations by putting it in a new, contemporary context” (Staels 2009, 101) that is achieved “through the technique of self-conscious mythologizing and demythologizing” through the use of a contemporary Penelope (Staels 2009, 103).
• Elegy is also considered an epic poem: ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events • In the elegy, mention of Mercutio was left out and positive comments of Romeo’s behaviour, believed that Benvolio was homosexual. • Situation: Mercutio and Tybalt verbally and physically fight, resulting in the deaths. • Importance of passage: scene is considered the turning point of the play because it is where Romeo becomes exiled and the plan created by the Friar and the deaths come into play. • Structure: Component of elegy: dactylic hexameter followed by dactylic pentameter, with iambic pentameter for the second stanza/paragraph (from line 165) • Dactylic hexameter: meter used in an elegy, for the first line. Follows this pattern: — U | — U | — U | — U | — u u | — X (note that — is a long syllable, u a short syllable and U either one long or two shorts and X is an ancep (long) syllable).
Each decision made says some things about the person that has made it. Decisions reveal, test, and shape the ideas we have of our self and our morals. Their consequences have far-reaching implications and the book indicates when they are made in haste, with only individual interpretation or emotion, they can be devastating to the owner. The author of Defining Moments, Joseph Badaracco, Jr., relies heavily on what history has taught us through great intellectual interpretations of the most prominent philosophers: Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sophocles, Niccolo Machiavelli, William James, and Marcus Aurelius. Badaracco draws examples from other writers on ethics and philosophy to reinforce how, which, and when to apply the teachings of such forward thinkers to everyday situations, with which we are faced.
‘Those who have the greatest impact on history are remembered as much for their faults as their achievements’. To what extent does the study of your personality support this view? Leni Riefenstahl was one of the most revolutionary—and certainly most controversial—filmmakers of the early twentieth century. The lasting influence of her innovative filmmaking techniques on twentieth-century cinema is undisputed by filmmakers and scholars throughout history, but the exact nature of her work is surrounded by ongoing controversy. Riefenstahl’s production of the feature films Triumph of the Will and Olympia have left a lasting imprint on history; these films established Riefenstahl’s influential career as a film director under the years of the Nazi regime.
Secondly, that justice may be our deep-rooted understanding and ability to identify good from evil. My motivation for presenting my own definition stems from my frustration in Thrasymachus’s inability to see justice as something much more than a form of legalism Thrasymachus starts his definition by stating that justice is the interest or advantage of the stronger (338c). Immediately after being questioned by Socrates on this definition, Thrasymachus quickly clarifies that the stronger are in-fact the rulers and that justice is in the interest of them alone (339a). Socrates forces the examination of this definition, and results in Thrasymachus then defining interests as the laws that rulers make (338e). From there, Thrasymachus then states that justice, from the perspective of the ruler, is obeying their laws (339b).
Philosophy in the Real World-Philosophers Kant and Nietzsche Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Nietzsche are two admirable philosophers from different times with many contributions to philosophy. The purpose of this paper is to identify and evaluate the key concepts and analyses that comprised each of these philosophers theories, identify and, describe each philosophers contributions to philosophy, describe how the culture and the time period each lived in influenced their ideas, and compare and contract these philosophers thoughts with that of their predecessors. After reading this paper we hope that a deeper understanding of both Kant and Nietzsche is acquired. Kant provided many great theories to philosophy, one of Kant’s key concepts to the idealist philosophy was on time and space has been noted as his best theory. The idea that time and space are merely conditions of our own animalistic instincts combined with intuition and life experiences opens the door to explore ideas of why humans seem to be in such a rush.
Not only does Hesiod’s sexist attitude reflect in his writing, but also his stories all have a connection to the reality and social aspects of the world. Hesiod artistically develops plots to explain the purposes of the gods because the “muses called upon him to sing about the gods.” (Harvard university press, Theogony) The stories and gods initial interactions may be examples of finding reason for a natural phenomenon such as in nature, or rather trying to explain reasons for stereotypical double standards towards men and/or women. Hesiod makes many connections between the gods and the people. Hesiod strategically exemplifies Zeus as a third generation god, simply because it creates a realistic suspense that Zeus is that much closer
Kyle Bogdan 9/11/12 Gilgamesh Response Paper In “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, there have been many quotes from the text that have raised questions and have made me reconsider what I thought of this epic. One major question that I couldn’t completely resolve was whether the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu was platonic or homoerotic. While the text seems to explain the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu is platonic, I think their relationship was homoerotic. In this epic, the poet made it clear that there was a strong bond between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. While Gilgamesh and Enkidu were physically equivalent, Gilgamesh was civilized and clouded by arrogance.
The Victimization of Cassandra and Hedvig For centuries, writers often have progressive ideas as to how innocent character(s) in their stories should suffer; however, it is with their creativity that they are able to convince us to see how pathetic these suffering characters are. Aeschylus and Henrik Ibsen are very similar in that respect. In his play, The Wild Duck, Ibsen choose Hedvig to be the innocent victim in the play’s conflict. Similarly, In Agamemnon, Aeschylus convey the same idea by having Cassandra as his play’s victim. Likewise, both Hedvig and Cassandra share common consequences, torture (not just physically but mentally) and in the end both walk hopelessly toward death.