Controlling Destiny The Odyssey And Medea - 1555 Words

Controlling Destiny in The Odyssey and Medea In ancient Greek literature, fate is defined as the course a person’s life will take that is predetermined and can’t be changed by mortals or even the gods, and destiny is the outcomes that will ultimately be produced by one’s actions, social status, character, etc. Homer’s The Odyssey and Euripides’ Medea portrays their protagonists on a quest to reach their fate, but they first must take their destiny into their own hands in order to achieve this goal. The texts suggest that humans use their personal traits and values as weapons to gain control of one’s destiny instead of letting the gods or social norms dictate their lives. Both of the texts start out in a similar fashion with the†¦show more content†¦Countless time in the epic, Odysseus used his trait of cunningness to escape situations, but in this particular case, he uses it to gain an advantage for his revenge on the suitors. He utilizes his trait of cunningness to make himsel f out as a humble and decrypted old man who had no intentions to harm anyone. Trusting only his son and two faithful servants, he had to be clever and remain in character as to not draw speculation and take his destiny out of his hands. Everyone in the epic described Odysseus as strong in the sense of combat however, in order to ensure his destiny when he enter his household for the first time in twenty years, he needed to employ inner strong. One of the suitors named Antinous became angered by Odysseus, still disguised as an old man, and in retaliation threw a footstool at him. The stool hit him sqaure in the shoulder however, â€Å"Odysseus stood there as solid as a rock and didn’t even blink. He only shook his head in silence, and brooded darkly† (Homer 537). The younger Odysseus, greater in strength than most men and quick to act, would have lashed out at Antinous. This kind of action would have blown his cover and made his mission murky. His strength is shown in this instance by the action he doesn’t take against the suitor and the strength he exhibits in containing himself and his emotions. Odysseus decides to lose the battle, but in due time will get the opportunity to win the war and obt ain his fate. The last example of Odysseus using hisShow MoreRelatedGreek Mythology s Influence On The Arts And Literature Of Western Civilization2652 Words   |  11 Pagesstories. Today the Greek myths are known primarily from written Greek literature such as the Iliad and the Odyssey. These classic epics—long, narrative poems praising heroic deeds—are said to have been written by the poet Homer. He may have flourished in the 9th or 8th century BC. The Iliad, set during the Trojan War, recounts the story of the wrath of the Greek warrior Achilles. The Odyssey tells of the long wanderings and adventures of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, as he travels home from the war. The

Christianity Vs. Foundational Islam - 1659 Words

Foundational Christianity vs Foundational Islam Religion has been debated since the creation of Zoroastrianism. The most debated religions are Christianity and Islam. Many people believe that Christianity is a highly pure religion, spreading love and hope to everyone who chooses to follow. Many people also believe horrendous things about Islam, that they are full of hatred and violence. But, neither of those things are true. Religion is what you bring to it and the foundational beliefs of both religions are extremely similar. Christianity was the first religion that focused not on this world, but the next. Christianity is viewed as otherworldly, focusing on the spiritual world and the afterlife. This means that it focuses on what†¦show more content†¦It originally rejected the world of government and authority, drawing it’s followers from the poor, low powered people of the world. So when these low people eventually gained positions of power, it fundamentally changed this foundational belief of christianity. Being an ethical religion, Christianity demands that its followers helps the less fortunate and is actively concerned for their welfare, even though it rejects the material concerns of the world. In its ethics, it’s an individualistic religion, where people are in charge of themselves and their own ethical challenges and actions, not the responsibility of a group. As well as the individual responsibility in ethics, Christianity teaches that ethical behavior comes from within. That the action does not matter, but the ethical intention and motivations behind the action. For example, if you were to murder someone, yes, that seems awful. But say, you murdered that person because they were attacking someone else and you were trying to protect them. That, is in fact, and ethical motivation behind that action, and you would not be reprimanded by God for that action because your intention was to save someone else’s life. As well as eth ical intentions, it also is in Christianity s foundation to forgive. Forgive those who have wronged you, no matter what, and have no ill will towards them. Christianity is such an expanse religion with so many foundations, like the

Canadian GDP Essay Example For Students

Canadian GDP Essay Canadian GDPThe output or GDP of Canada has increasedfrom 1995 to 1999. This means that more people became employed orproductivity has risen. With the GDP on the rise, Canada is ableto buy more because people will have more money from work. This wouldappreciate the dollar because Canadians need the U.S. dollar to purchaseour goods. Demand, on the other hand, has somewhatstayed the same. There were periods when it was up and periods whenit was down. When the demand for passenger cars was falling, Canadianswere looking elsewhere to buy their cars. This factor would, mostlikely appreciate the dollar because, one again, the Canadians would needthe U.S. dollar to buy our cars. When the demand was up, the oppositesituation would happen. The unemployment rate for Canada fell,possible because of increased advertisement. When the unemploymentof a country is low, output and productivity are raising. I statedbefore, as output rises, imports will also rise. This is due to theincrease of money in the country. The dollar will appreciate relativeto the Canadian dollar. Canadas inflation has risen 7% in thelast five years. As the price of Canadas goods increase, the U.S. is looking elsewhere to buy its products. The supply of the U.S. dollar would decrease in Canada and the U.S. dollar would appreciate. In order to get an exact reading of the actions taken by Canada, we mustlook at their inflation compared to the U.S. I looked at http://www.stls.frb.org/fred/data/cpi/cpiaucsl,and I found that the U.S. had an 11% inflation rate. This means thatproduct price of the U.S. has risen faster to that of Canada. Thismeans that Canada was possible taking there business elsewhere, causingthe dollar to depreciate. The interest rates of Canada are clearlyon the downfall. Less people are putting their money into the investingsector. When the interest decreases, it is likely that Canada isputting their money into the U.S. This would appreciate the dollarbecause Canada would need the U.S. currency to invest in our country. Canada is running a constant trade surplus. We must also look at the current account balance of Canada. It decreaseddrastically from 1996 to 1997. This, most likely, means their importswere greater than their exports. You would be able to see this ontheir goods and service balance. I would assume that they do havea merchandise trade deficit because Canada is getting money from investingincome. I see this because there is little investing domestically. Therefore, Canada must be making their money abroad. This would appreciatethe dollar because Canada is depending on our currency to buy our products. The Pacific Exchange Rate graph showsthe U.S. dollar appreciating. The exchange rate started at $.71 in1995 and is currently around $.676. Most of the indicators show thedollar appreciating to the Canadian currency. One strong indicationof the dollar appreciation is that of the financial market. You cansee the share prices decrease. At the same time the dollar appreciateddrastically. This could have been due to the flooding of U.S. marketsfor higher rates of return.