Hercules
A. After doing the reading, please 1. Make a specific observation about the reading.
2. Use that observation as starting point and think, in writing, about what you have read. Present that thinking in a comment on this blog. You may also comment respectfully on what others have written before you about the same reading assignment.
NOTE: if someone else has "taken" the observation you were going to make, make sure you have some of your own thinking to say about the observation. Otherwise, record a different observation, and go from there.
3. A half hour or more after posting your comment, return to the blog and read what your fellow students have written. Feel free to comment again; otherwise, just write, "I have read."
B. Other homework:
Make 25 observations about a collection of yours. (An observation is something that no sane person would disagree with.) Try to come up with observations that have potential interest to you. The observations may be about the collection as a whole, different subsets of the collection, or a particular item in the collection. It's your collection; you probably know a lot about it. Bring your observations to class with you.
It seems like in these descriptions, each God has a certain power over someting. For example: Poseidon (Neptune) ruled the sea, and Hades (Pluto) controled the underworld. They are all tied together because they are family, who descended from the Heavens, then Titans. The Gods are the children of the Titans, and they have powers to control and rule something or somewhere.
ReplyDelete-Maddie Adams
At the very beginning of the chapter, it says that the gods did not create the universe but that the universe created the gods (Pg. 24) In reading the gods bios you learn where the gods kind of come from and where they rule and what they rule. It is also interesting to see how all the gods are connected to each other and how they interact.
ReplyDelete-Audrey Emerson
Although each God was seen as sacred, they were not all perfect. For example, Apollo who was seen as pure and honest, sometimes was pitiless and cruel. Even Zeus, the god of the sky could be deceived and opposed.
ReplyDeleteAt the bottom of page 25 when the Olympians are listed, They are listed in the order of; Men (the three brothers), Women (the sisters/wives) and finally the seven Children. This represents the hierarchy in ancient times. The men were at the top because the women weren't aloud to do things like invent things or compete in games. The children were at the bottom because they had even less rights than women and even if they had them they would probably not be physically (or mentally) capable of them.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that the gods were not always in power, rather they conquered and took over control from the titans. The book describes how these powerful, massive, children of the universe so to speak, are simply dethroned and basically demoted to a lower level of power. Even more interesting, their power is taken away by their own children, the gods.
ReplyDeleteChristopher- that is soooo interesting! I would have never even thought about that.
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I have read.
ReplyDeleteI have read.
ReplyDelete-Maddie
The most interesting observation I found in the beginning was the fact that the universe (or the titans) created the gods, not the other way around. To follow up on that statement it is also significant to consider the fact that the gods overthrew there own fathers. This is not typical of ancient hierarchy, being that the oldest and strongest often meant being the most superior.
ReplyDeleteMadeleine- I also found it interesting that the sons often overthrew their older and "wiser" fathers!
ReplyDeleteOn page 27 it talks about what was written about Zues in the Iliad and how no other god could take him down, but if he ever wanted to he could take down any of them whenever he pleased. Also, on page 26 he is the first god listed when they list all of the gods and he is called the Chief, with that all being said, it makes think of Things Fall Apart and how Okonkwo considered himself the greatest and most knowledgeable for both taking down The Cat and for being the eldest of them all. So that makes you think that Zues is the most powerful of all of the gods and that he is sort of like the ruler/chief of Olympus
ReplyDeleteIn this reading i found that each god and goddess has unique traits that tie them together and yet pull them apart. For example, Zeus and Heras' "endless love afairs"(pg 27).
ReplyDelete-Erin Moody
I have read.
ReplyDelete-Erin Moody
Before reading this chapter I had assumed that Heaven was the home of the twelve great Olympians, but I soon saw that I was wrong. On page 25 “Mount Olympus” is described, the high mountain top that is the home of these ancient gods. Shared by all the Gods, Olympus is described as pure perfection. Rain nor snow ever fall and the “white glory of sunshine is diffused upon its walls”. The heavenly plane is conceived as “an abode of perfect blessedness”.
ReplyDelete-Alana Pagano
From the reading I learned that all gods are connected.
ReplyDeletefor example the three brothers Zeus, Hades, and poseidon are bound by brotherhood and there almighty power. Many of the gods share the same nickname like how Apollo is often referred to as the Sun God but the official title belongs to Helios. Although each god is individually powerful they all are somehow intertwined.
Taylor
I thought it was interesting that the twelve titans came before the gods, since I always thought that in Greek mythology, the gods created the earth. I also agree with Maddie's first comment, I think that it's really interesting and fascinating how the gods control natures features, such as Hades ruling death, Aphrodite controlling love, Poseidon controlling water and the sea.
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ReplyDeleteYeah Alana same with me, I thought that Heaven was where all of the great Olympians lived, but I found out from reading that I was completely wrong
ReplyDeleteI have read.
Zeus was born a leader, due to the fact that he dethroned his own father and "seized the power by himself. All of their authorities over something are all different in their own way, but are all very strong. I also found gripping how not all gods were powerful, and how there were lesser gods. Pan and Silenus caught my attention from the jump. How they are described as "mischievous" and "jovial" just interests me. It also separates the weak from the strong, and especially in myth tails it always interests me.
ReplyDeleteI have read (but I also have a comment below on Martha’s comment)
ReplyDeleteI have no recall of ever seeing “perfect” being the exact word to describe any of the gods. In every God (except maybe Hephaestus) there was always one aspect that was somewhat vulgar. And each aspect ranged from a wide variety of wrongs such as infidelity (Zeus) and cruelty. As described on page 32 there was always an “uncertainty between good and evil which is apparent in every one of the divinities”. Just like humans in my perspective the twelve great Olympians are far from perfect.
- Alana Pagano
I have Read
ReplyDeleteAs opposed to one God who has only one point of view, in Greek Mythology there are many Gods with different view points. One example is Hades (Pluto) who is the king of the underworld. Contrasting to him, there is Aphrodite (Venus) who is known as the goddess of love and beauty, also she is very different than Hades.
ReplyDeleteI also found these gods' imperfections quite interesting. They Greeks/Romans seemed to find a very good balance between relatable and great/powerful. The gods have their temper tantrums and vices but they also have their immense power. It was quite the balancing act.
ReplyDelete-Ashley Robillard
Chris- I also saw the order of the gods to be like that too. I feel that it is so common in earlier societies that the males are always (or mostly) the ones in charge, where the women and children are below them. I think it's just the common "stereotype" in a society; man just looks stronger and more tolerant of harder duties.
ReplyDeleteDustin- I also noticed the part about Zeus being the chief. I immediately thought about Ononkwo and how his personality and actions (the wrestling and the way he farmed and all of his thoughts.) were so "chiefy" in the book.
I almost laughed out loud reading about Hera and Zeus, and how she punished all the women that Zeus was having an affair with. I just thought it was funny because this happened so long ago with the gods, and its still the same way women feel in the 21st century :)
One statement surprised me. "Minerva was the daughter of Zeus alone. No mother bore her. Full grown and in full armor, she sprang from his head." There must have been some explanation for this, but it left me thinking about it for awhile.
I was amazed at how the information about the gods/goddesses was written. I had studied about them in 7th/8th grade but I hadn't gone into that much detail and learned that much about them. This I enjoyed.
When the writer talks about Apollo, I feel he is a spitting image of Walnut Hill. He's artistic with his poetry, his playing of the lyre. Out of all of the gods, I think he was the most interesting to read about, in this reading and the other articles I have read about him. (Along with Zeus)
Mr. Durning- I hope this doesnt seem too relaxed, or too long. I guess I had many comments to put out about the reading...
From Lara LeBlanc
I agree with Alana, that all the gods were never "perfect" or the ultimate god, they all had a weakness or something that wasnt so perfect about them.
ReplyDeleteOH! I have read
I have read
ReplyDeleteHi its JJ McGlone Well I kind of agree with Ashley because i feel that when the greeks were creating these god they wanted to feel closer to them and this is shown by them having tempers like everyone else. What I also noticed was that in most religions their gods live in their heaven but in the case of the Olympians they just live in the half way point almost. Also on the subject of gods close to humans, this isn't from the reading but it is from my previous knowledge of the greek gods was that they could reproduce with humans which is unheard of in most other religions so I just feel that the greeks really tried to make their gods as relatable as possible
ReplyDeleteI have read
ReplyDeleteIn my observation, I discovered that the Greeks and Romans valued individual personalities as much as paradisiacal physical forms. They expressed that important opinion through realistic descriptions of the Olympian gods. For example, Hephaestus was the ugly duckling of the perfect and divine group of swans. He was deformed and lame, but highly honored because he was a "kindly, peace-loving god, popular on earth as in heaven." On the other hand, Hades the underworld god was handsome and flawless like the rest of his family, but was unfortunately an unpitying, inexorable god, and therefore was not a "welcome visitor".
ReplyDeleteWow... I seemed to be the latest one to post... :)
ReplyDeleteI have read. Those were some really interesting comments!!!
I have read
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