Greek tragedy strikes the contemporary audiences with the same strength it had over two and a half millennia ago. Sophocles, along with Aeschylus and Euripides are among the most famous playwrights of the Greek ancient world whose works have survived. Their plays are testimonies of the creative genius of the human mind regardless of the time, as well as of the universality of the human nature. In his dealings with the contradictions of human nature, Sophocles was among the first playwrights to tackle the issue of sacred vs. mundane.
Antigone and King Creon are the main characters in the play Antigone who embody the weakness of humanity when confronted with some of its fatal mistakes: fanaticism.

Sophocles' play, Antigone, is part of a trilogy. The other two plays are Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus. Oedipus, the king of Thebes, and his wife and mother, Jocasta, make a couple that can…...

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Bibliography:

Sophocles, Antigone, Prestwick House Inc. 2005.

Griffith, Mark, editor. Sophocles Antigone. Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics. Cambridge University Press. 1999

Aesthetics
Sophocles' Antigone is taken as a paradigm of the very idea of tragedy. Why is Sophocles' play called "Antigone" and not "Creon"?

The play "Antigone" by Sophocles illustrates many of the factors and paradigms that go into defining a great tragedy. A tragedy can be thought of as a literary work in which the principal character is engulfed in some form of a morally significant struggle which in the end results in ruin or in which the primary character experiences some profound disappointment in their life. Throughout the tragedy "Antigone," Sophocles uses many literary techniques to engage the empathy of the reader and manifest feelings of fear and pity which is a requirement of an excellent tragedy.

To meet all of the requirements for a great classical tragedy, the plot must achieve the response of fear and pity in the reader. In the plot of "Antigone," Sophocles does a great job of…...

Tragedy in the Oedipus Trilogy
Sophocles is considered to be one of the greatest Greek dramatists, and remains among the most renowned playwrights even today. The Greek tragedy is one of the most influential genres of literary and theatrical history on the modern drama and theatre. The theatre of ancient Greece was inspired by the worship of Dionysus, and the performance of plays was considered to be a religious experience for both the actors and the audience. ecause of this, the intensity of the Greek theatre was very strong, and the degree to which the plays were taken seriously as a means of influencing and interpreting life was also very high. According to Aristotle, the philosopher credited with creating the definition of a tragedy, "Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the…...

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Bibliography

McManus, Barbara. "Outline of Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy in the POETICS." CLS 267 Topics. November 1999.  http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics.html 

McManus, Barbara. "Unity of Actionn in Oedipus the King." CLS 267 Topics. November 1999.  http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/oedipusplot.html 

Morissey, Christopher. "Oedipus the Cliche: Aristotle on Tragic Form and Content." Anthropoetics 9, no. 1. Department of Humanities, Simon Fraser University. Spring/Summer 2003.  http://www.anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap0901/oedipus.htm 

"Reading Greek Tragedy." University of Washington, Tacoma. 2005.  http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/ctlt/students/resources/someelementsoftragedy.pdf

The vengeance of the gods is further underscored by the Chorus who warns that "But if any man comes striding, high and mighty, in all he says and does, no fear of justice, no reverence for the temples of the gods-let a rough doom tear him down, repay his pride, breakneck, ruinous pride!" Oedipus portrays tyranny and the people's greatest blessing becomes their worst curse.
In the last stage, Oedipus is a man who has become humbled with the pain and dejection of knowing the truth of reality as he is forced to admit his tragic destiny by the overwhelming evidence. The writer shows the sudden change in the protagonist's persona when Oedipus condemns himself by saying, "I stand revealed at last -- cursed in my birth, cursed in marriage, cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands!" (1309-1311) Oedipus's complete transformation is demonstrated when he gouged out…...

As a king in ancient Greek literature, Oedipus was required to have a dramatically catastrophic fall, while modern literature needs a tragic hero who is an "everyman." But both suffered greatly in their own ways, and in ways that the audience both expected and regarded as essential. But while these two characters were both the central, tragic figure in their respective stories, their differences were a reflection of the role of dramatic tragedy in their societies.
The subject of ancient Greek literature was often the magnificent deeds of the gods and heroes, while everyday life was more often forgotten. As a result, the tragedies presented often had as their main character a great person, sometimes with a major personality flaw, who suffers extreme torments and a mighty plunge from an exalted position. Nothing exemplified this excessive amount of suffering than Oedipus, a man who became a king only to later…...

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Works Cited

Aristotle, S.H. Butcher. "Poetics." The Internet Classic Archive. Web. 8 April 2012.

 http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.html 

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. London: York, 1998. Print.

Sophocles. "Oedipus the King." The Internet Classic Archive. Web. 9 April 2012.

Greek Sculpture
A Timeline of Greek Sculpture

Polykleitos, Doryphoros (early fourth century BC)

As Paul Johnson (2003) records, this ancient example of Greek classicalism "epitomizes a canon of male beauty embodied in mathematical proportions" (p. 63). Showing the perfection of contraposto, Doryphoros (or the spear-carrier) is a balanced representation of the body's muscles. Polykleitos, a contemporary of Phidias, had his own school of young artists, which carried on into the third century BC. Polykleitos' works are treated on in his own treatise, called "The Canon," which gave explicit attention to symmetry, clarity, and wholeness. The Spear-carrier is one of the best examples of Polykleitos' teaching -- however, this example is a copy of his original, and is held in Naples -- a fitting representation of the art of Greek sculpting.

Praxiteles, Aphrodite of Knidos (mid-fourth century BC)

Praxiteles actually made two statues for Kos -- so the legend goes. One statue depicted Aphrodite (Venus), modestly…...

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Reference List

Agony -- The Famous Group of Laocoon. (n.d.) Old and Sold. Retrieved from  http://www.oldandsold.com/articles26/rome-19.shtml 

Haaren, J. (2000). Famous Men of Greece. Lebanon, TN: Greenleaf Press.

Johnson, P. (2003). Art: A New History. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

The Farnesse Bull. (n.d.) Old and Sold. Retrieved from  http://www.oldandsold.com/articles26/naples-5.shtml

Greek Concept to Movie Troy
Ancient mythology as never ceased to amaze and fascinate its readers and followers. Especially Egyptian and Greek mythology, having followers everywhere; in the current times it has found a new fan, that is the movie making business, with a special interest in Greek mythology. Nothing is better than watching your favorite characters brought up to life and actually see them doing all the things we had previously only imagined them doing. One such captivating movie is 'troy' based on the Greek Trojan war starring Brad Pitt. Various Greek concepts were shed light in this movie, which will be discussed, in relation to the movie.

The first concept is Fate, since in Greek mythology fate does not just happen. The gods make things happen, in their own engineered ways, and interfere to make things happen on their own account. Then there is MOIA, which means that everyone has…...

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REFERENCES

Walter Benjamin "The Task of the Translator" vol 1: 1913-1926. Marcus Bullock. Pg. 256-259

Roman Jacobson "The World of Movies, Media and Multimedia: language, history, theory" Pg. 26-266.

James Monaco "How to Read a Film" 3rd edition, Pg. 250-255.

Also, this carving is quite sentimental in appearance, for it reflects "the solemn pathos of the Greek citizen, much like some of the sculptures found on the pediment of the Parthenon" (Seyffert, 245).
Our last artifact is titled Pair of Armbands with Triton and Tritoness Holding Erotes, made in the Hellenistic period, circa 200 .C.E. These jewelry objects were apparently designed for a woman of high Greek culture, for they are made from solid gold and are fashioned in the shape of two loosely-coiled snakes or serpents. Whomever designed these intricate and beautiful objects realized the special properties of gold, for the woman lucky enough to wear these could easily slip her arms through the loops, due to the malleability of solid gold. The two figures located at the tops of each piece are representations of Triton and Tritoness, most closely associated with the Greek god of the sea Poseidon.

As…...

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Bibliography

New Greek and Roman Galleries." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Internet. 2007.

Retrieved at  http://www.metmuseum.org/special/greek_roman/images.asp .

Seyffert, Oskar. The Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Religion, Literature and Art.

New York: Gramercy Books, 1995.

Euripides' tragedy of "Hippolytus":
Phaedra as a plaything of the gods

Euripides' tragedy of "Hippolytus" is a tragedy of paganism, at least on its surface. The work details the conflict between Hippolytus, the noble son of Theseus who honors the goddess of chastity and the hunt Artemis and his new stepmother Phaedra, who honors Aphrodite above all other goddesses. When Phaedra falls in love with Hippolytus he is repulsed not simply because of the incestuous nature of Phaedra's love but because it dishonors the principles of chastity embodied by his excessive worship of Artemis. The conflict between the two goddesses, translated into human terms, ultimately results in death and destruction for both Hippolytus and Artemis and the misery of Theseus, the father of Hippolytus and the husband of Phaedra. However, there is also a higher symbolic order beyond that a personal conflict between the gods that is being violated, one which gives…...

In asking him to stay with her and their family, she was practically betraying her country. Demeter cares for the earth in a way that no other gods did. She was actively involved with mortal affairs. However, she also cared for own, her daughter. She does what she feels what she must do in an act of revenge. These women demonstrate the complexity of the female in any era. Even in ancient texts, we see the female figure associated with the typical womanly things such as motherhood and fertility but she is also given characteristics that are strong, powerful, and dangerous. What these myths tell us about the role of the female is that it is constantly changing. The female is complex and while she will always associated with fertility, she should never be relegated to an inferior role. While we often see mythology as wild with fantastical elements,…...

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Bibliography

Bullfinch, Thomas. Bulfinch's Mythology. New York: Random House Publishing. 1979.

Hesiod. Theogony. Perseus Digital Online Library. Information Retrieved August 7, 2009.

drama is tragic not only because of Willy Loman's suicide, but because he has left his family with nothing, and his sons with no hopes and abilities of their own.
Brief overview of the play

Miller's work

Story

Characters

Obstacles

Argument for tragedy

Aristotle's definition

Pro argument for tragedy

Con argument against tragedy

Own conclusions

What the critics say

Death of a Salesman as Tragedy

This paper analyzes the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. Specifically, it discusses the definition of tragedy by Aristotle, and research if it is correct to label the play as a tragedy.

Death of a Salesman is indeed a tragedy of epic proportions. The drama is tragic not only because of Willy Loman's suicide, but because he has left his family with nothing, and his sons with no hopes and abilities of their own.

Arthur Miller wrote Death of a Salesman in 1948, and it premiered on Broadway in February of 1949. Critics Susan C.W. Abbotson and Brenda…...

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References

Adamczewski, Zygmunt. The Tragic Protest. The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1963.

Amsden, Robert. "Aristotle's Definition of Tragedy." Ripon College. 2002. 29 Aug. 2005.

<  http://www.ripon.edu/Faculty/Amsdenr/THE231/GreekTheatreFolder/AristotlePage.html#3 

Bloom, Harold. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1988.

The fact that most men sublimate this feeling, and instead identify with their father to obtain the maternal figure in the form of another woman, is the reason the Oedipus myth was generated in the first place.
Freud's theory was popular not only 'on the couch' but in literary theory. Ernest Jones suggested that it is the reason Hamlet cannot bring himself to kill his uncle: "Now comes the father's death and the mother's second marriage. The long 'repressed' desire to take his father's place in his mother's affection is stimulated to unconscious activity by the sight of some one usurping this place exactly as he himself had once longed to do… the two recent events, the father's death and the mother's second marriage . . . represented ideas which in Hamlet's unconscious fantasy had for many years been closely associated" (Jones 98-99).

Regardless of the merit of Freud's theory, Freud's…...

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Works Cited

Dunkle, Roger. The Classical Origins of Western Culture, the Core Studies 1 Study Guide.

Brooklyn College Core Curriculum Series. Brooklyn College, the City University of New York, 1986.

Jones, Ernest. "The Oedipus-Complex as an Explanation of Hamlet's Mystery:

A Study in Motive." The American Journal of Psychology. January, 1910

Girl From Samos
Act III:

Just to give a background. This passage starts off with Demeas finding out some devastating information. He discovers that his mistress Chrysis' was holding a baby. Believing it to be Chrysis', and kept against his requests, he decides to kick her out. At that time, Moschion moves in and tries to convince him to keep the baby and then starts to push the question of marriage to his mistress. "Nay, wine is mixing and your wedding's going on Incense rises; and Hephaestus laps the victim with his flame" (Meander, 2010, p. 61)

However, before all of this would occur, there would be a great tragic incidence that would change the course of the play "In the midst of a fair voyage, a storm can suddenly appear from nowhere. . ." (Meander, 2010, p. 53 para 4) This quote is basically explaining that there was about to be a…...

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References

Meander. (2010). Plays and Fragments. Penguin Classics; Reissue edition.

Investors
Corporate Office

Greek Crisis- Opportunity

Board of Directors

The Greek financial crisis is rooted in two decades of profligate spending which has ballooned the country's debt to GDP ratio to 124.9% of GDP in 2010 (The Wall Street Journal.com. May 7, 2010). Coupled with a stagnant economy, the risk of a Greek sovereign default is roiling markets and could cause a contagion across the Eurozone and ultimately the global financial system. Yet, Greece has a unique opportunity to emerge from this crisis stronger and able to compete competitively around the globe as a viable and prospering member of the Euro block. To do so they must embrace a mix of austerity and free market reforms to ensure liquidity and avoid default.

Background

Greece had always been a weaker member of the Eurozone as compared with Germany, France, and Italy accounting for only 2.6% of the GDP of the Euro area (oscini, D. Schlefer, J.…...

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References

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.com. (2011). Economic

Survey of Greece. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.com. Retrieved December 1, 2011 from  http://www.oecd.org/document/28/0,3746,en_2649_34327_48421852_1_1_1_1,00.html 

Roscini, D. Schlefer, J. & Dimitriou, K. April 19, 2011). The Greek Crisis: Tragedy or Opportunity? Harvard Business School. Retrieved December 2, 2011

The Wall Street Journal.com. (November 26, 2011). Greece Faces 'Mortal Danger' Amid

Gradually the Greek hero recognizes (peripeteia) that his visitors are the hated Greeks who once abandoned him, in disguise. Philoctetes denounces the foul plot and demands back his bow, realizing once again he is alone in the world. (anagnorisis)
In Euripides, "Hippolytus," pity and fear (pathos) is evoked by Phaedra's unbridled passion for her stepson Hippolytus. The recognition element of the drama (peripeteia) comes when both Phaedra and Hippolytus see that their mutually incompatible desires both for others (in the case of Phaedra) and also to be removed from others (as expressed in the character of the young, title son of Theseus) are inescapable. This recognition is shortly followed by the terrible peripeteia of Theseus that his wife has lied to him and he has cast off his son as nothing, for nothing. The final tragic anagnorisis comes with Athena's visit. Athena exposes Theseus' folly of his love for his…...

Literary Analysis

Hamlet's Tragic Flaw: An Exploration of Indecisiveness and Self-Doubt
The Role of Ambition in Macbeth: A Study in Power and Corruption
The Tragic Heroine in King Lear: A Comparison of Cordelia and Goneril
Romeo and Juliet as a Tragedy of Fate or Free Will
The Meaning of Love in Twelfth Night: A Romantic Comedy with a Twist

Character Analysis

The Complexity of Hamlet: Madness, Melancholy, and the Search for Truth
Macbeth: A Tragic Hero or a Villain?
Ophelia in Hamlet: A Study of Fragility and Female Agency
The Character of Falstaff in Henry IV and Henry V: Humor, Loyalty,....

Hamlet: A Tapestry of Intriguing Themes and Literary Devices

1. The Complexity of Hamlet's Character

Explore Hamlet's introspective nature, existential contemplations, and indecisiveness.
Discuss how external pressures and internal conflicts shape his behavior.
Analyze the role of madness as a defense mechanism and vehicle for truth-telling.

2. The Question of Vengeance and Justice

Examine the themes of revenge and retribution, and their consequences on Hamlet and others.
Discuss the complexities of the moral dilemmas Hamlet faces.
Explore the tension between justice and mercy, and how it influences Hamlet's actions.

3. The Role of Fate and Free Will

Analyze the interplay between fate and....

Reimagining Greek Mythology in Modern Storytelling

Throughout history, Greek mythology has captivated imaginations and instilled profound cultural influences. In modern times, it continues to inspire and permeate various storytelling mediums, offering a rich tapestry for contemporary narratives to explore.

Film and Television

Greek mythology has found a vibrant home in film and television, with adaptations ranging from classic tales to contemporary reimaginings. The 1959 epic "Ben-Hur" depicts the trials of a Jewish prince during the Roman occupation of Judea, weaving in elements of Greek tragedy. More recently, the "Percy Jackson" franchise follows a modern-day demigod navigating the dangers of the underworld. Television shows....