When one thinks of a god, an almost immediate association with powers and miracles comes to mind. Gods are portrayed as almighty beings who contribute to historical events ranging from uncontrollable earthly forces to the outcome of a treacherous battle. We know much today of legends and myths becau...

Gods play an integral role in Homeric society. They are very active in the lives of humans, both in wartime and peacetime. People depend on the gods to help them fight wars, protect their loved ones, and just improve their everyday lives. Since they do play such a large role in the lives of huma...

A man tries to be the one who drives the course of his life, to fight against what gets in his way, and to create something beautiful with the pieces of his world. But being able to succeed in such tasks is never a simple thing in the classic Greek world of Homer's Iliad. Though there are exception...

Cassandra was the daughter of Hecuba and King Priam, the rulers of Troy during the Trojan War according to Homer's Iliad. Cassandra was a beautiful young woman, blessed with the gift of prophecy by Apollo, who was infatuated with her. Unfortunately, she shunned Apollo at the last minute and he adde...

An oracle prophesied to Laius, the king of Thebes, that his child by Queen Jocasta would kill him and marry her (Storr, trans 1912). People of that time deeply believed in oracles and so when Oedipus was born, the king bound his feet and was left to die in a mountain. But a shepherd found the ...

Greek Literature: Oedipus the King Background: Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, angered Apollo by killing the God's favorite snake. As punishment, the descendants of Cadmus lived under a curse prophesized to each generation by Apollo's oracle. According to the prophecy, if Laius, king of Th...

Greek Literature: Oedipus the King Background: Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, angered Apollo by killing the God's favorite snake. As punishment, the descendants of Cadmus lived under a curse prophesized to each generation by Apollo's oracle. According to the prophecy, if Laius, king of Th...

Greek Literature: Oedipus the King Background: Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, angered Apollo by killing the God's favorite snake. As punishment, the descendants of Cadmus lived under a curse prophesized to each generation by Apollo's oracle. According to the prophecy, if Laius, king of Th...

In ancient Greece there was once a matriarchal society. We know this because it is evident in the literature that has passed into our hands and from the religions of these ancient peoples. While this evidence is before us the reason for the change to a patriarchal society is not so evident. Very li...

Homeric Hymns to Hermes and Demeter The Homeric Hymns to Hermes and Demeter each tells the story of the conflicts Hermes and Demeter face upon birth. The ancient Greek Myths served to explain the unexplainable. Before modern advancement in technology and scientific research, natural phenomena ...