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Demeter, Persephone, and the Afterlife Wu Shiyu 课外作业 Croesus 是 “幸福”的还是 “幸运”的?评Solon的 幸福观及其现代意义。 Twelve Olympians Twelve Olympians Zeus (Jupiter) Hera (Juno) Poseidon (Neptune) Demeter(Ceres) Apollo Athena (Minerva) Artemis (Diana) Dionysus (Bacchus) Ares (Mars)(Hades (Pluto)) Aphrodite (Venus) Hephaestus (Vulcan) Hermes (Mercury) Words Demeter, Persephone Hades, Tartaros Demeter (德墨忒尔 ) The goddess of Grain and agriculture Daughter Zeus and Demeter mated once and produced a daughter Single daughter Persephone Persephone The daughter of Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter (P.19) Persephone’s Abduction Hades seizes Persephone picking flowers in a field Hades takes her down to the Tartaros with him to be his bride. Hades seldom leaves Tartaros; With Zeus’s permission, Hades goes out of the Underworld; Famine by Demeter Sad Not know what happened to her daughter Wanders, looking for Causing famine No grain grow Humanity death (starve) Zeus order Hades Return Persephone permanently Persephone ate a seed of pomegranate Can’t leave Tartaros permanently One-third of the year in Hades Two-thirds of the year with her mother Implications Demeter’s search for Persephone tells us: 1.Actual Greek marriage practices (contract); 2. Persephone marries her own uncle; 3. Marriage in Athens was “patrilocal.” 4. Human experience of death and separation. Olympians can’t or don’t go to Tartaros (Hermes, Hades) (God of the sun), Demeter like a human mother Zeus not pitied for man (gods’ attitude to humans). Demeter at Eleusis Demeter visits Eleusis, near Athens: Disguised as an old woman Four daughters of Metaneira Late born and desired baby bro Demeter, nanny the baby brother Demophoon Cherished son Great gifts and great honor Demeter make him immortal Anointing, Fireplace, night Ambrosia (burning) Metaneira observes, horrified Crazed old woman Burning her baby Demeter angry Tosses on ground A bargain with zeus A window into the nature of the gods: First, using Demophoon substitute (why a boy?). Second, immortalize not work. fixed. Third, “Lord of All”, “Receiver of all”, a balance Fourth, gods unconcern with human emotions Demeter says to the mother: “ Men are too foolish to know ahead of time the measure of good and evil which is yet to come. You too were greatly blinded by your foolishness. The relentless water of the Styx by which gods swear Be my witness: immortal and ageless forever would I have made your dear son… but now it is not possible for him to escape the fate of death” Freudian Way: A Wish-fulfillment fantasy Could “unmarry” their daughter Gets Persephone back for two-thirds of the year All human beings wish death could be reversed. Persephone comes back from the land of the dead (death is reversed) The Afterlife In surviving Greek literature, views of the afterlife are considered less pleasant. Odyssey (Homer): place of dim, shadowy existence, much less desirable Ghost (eidolon): image (not a person but an image); a shadowy image Different from Christian or Islamic view Psyche (soul): breadth, visibly leaves the body at death Odyssey : Witless, now knowing or recognizing themselves (blood) No sense: if you were an evil person in this life, you are going to be punished in Tartaros. A few wrongdoers punished in Tartaros. The story of Tantalos. The story of Tantalos The story of Tantalos The story of Tantalos The story of Tantalos The story of Tantalos Tantalos: not believe Invited god to a feast Cooked his own son God recognized Demeter ate a shoulder Punishment in the underworld Neck (water, fruit) Eternally hungry Tantalize someone Other sinners Titaios tried to rape Leto Sisyphus (first murderer) The idea of reincarnation A Most Famous story on Afterlife Orpheus, greatest poet His poetry, singing, beatiful Charm animals, stone, trees 歌者俄耳浦斯(orpheus) 祖父是apollo,母亲 是诗神。 妻子是Eurydice Orpheus and Eurydice Eurydice died in the wedding Orpheus journeyed to Underworld Lyre, poetry, sang so beautifully Hades and Persephone agreed Not look back Looked back Eurydice faded back into Tartaros Really dead Orphism (Orpheus’ teaching) Immortal and Mortal Eos, the dawn goddess Affair with the human Tithonos Enjoyed him so much Make him immortal Failed ageless Continue to age Nothing left but a voice Complaining voice A back chamber Immortal and Mortal Attempt to gain immortality Result in total disaster Sybil, a female lover of Apollo Asked many years of life grains of sand on the shore of sea This was granted But eternal youth was left out Grows older and older Withered away into a little thing sits in cage Greek view Life in this world is what counts and is desirable, and life as a disincarnated spirit is seen as only as a very poor substitute for life in the world. This life is the only life worth having, but it is short, and what comes after it is less valuable than this life itself. 所有这些故事,都体现了古希腊神话的深刻。 思考问题 1.你认为Hades把Persephone绑架到Tartaros说 明了古希腊世界的一些什么风俗? 2.迄今所讲述的古希腊的相关神话,你对哪一个 印象最深刻?为什么? 3.参看另一个班的古希腊神话PPT,阅读相关故 事。 Five Ages of Man The Golden Race; The Silver Race; The Bronze Race; Race of Heroes; The Iron Race. “I wish I were not counted among the fifth race of men, but rather had died before, or been born after it. This is the race of iron. Neither day nor night will give them rest as they waste away with toil and pain. Growing cares will be given them by the gods, and their lot will be a blend of good and bad.” --- Hesiod