Academic literature on the topic 'Achilles (Greek mythology)'

Abstract Various medical terms are rooted in Greek in Roman mythology. The names of mythological figures such as Aphrodite, Hygeia, Morpheus, Narcissus, Priapus, or Thanatos, to name just a few, gave birth to terms such as aphrodisiac, hygiene, morphine, narcissism, priapism, thanatology. Achilles heel is derived from the myth of Achilles, in common language referring to one’s physical vulnerability. This paper investigates a small corpus of medical articles in order to identify collocations built with the name of the mythological figure of Achilles.

Greek mythology relates that the legendary warrior Achilles was made invincible by his mother Thetis, who dipped him in the River Styx while holding him by his heel. Because his heel was never immersed, it remained his one area of vulnerability. After the fall of Troy, Achilles met his demise when he was shot in the heel by Paris, whose arrow was guided by the Greek god Apollo. This is the derivation of the term “Achilles tendon.” Avulsion fractures of the tuberosity of the calcaneus are rare injuries. 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 , 12 Schonbauer 14 reviewed a series of 870,000 accident cases treated at the Vienna Trauma Hospital and found only four such cases in addition to 151 cases of subcutaneous Achilles tendon rupture. In Bohler's 4 series of 182 calcaneal fractures, avulsion of the calcaneal tuberosity accounted for less than 1% of these injuries. Rowe 13 reported four Achilles avulsion fractures in his series of 154 calcaneal fractures. Three basic mechanisms of injury have been described: (1) dorsiflexion violence against the maximally plantarflexed foot, typically occurring in a fall from a height; (2) powerful contraction of the triceps surae muscle with simultaneous extension of the knee such as when a person is about to sprint in a race; (3) a direct blunt blow to the hindfoot. 1 , 2 , 8 We are describing a case of avulsion of the calcaneal tuberosity due to direct penetrating trauma from a gunshot wound, a mechanism not previously reported.

ABSTRACT The conditions affecting the calcaneal tendon remain extremely prevalent in the clinical practice. The search for information about these diseases in national and international scientific databases are commonly hampered in the use of search tools, requiring the use if an eponym in the strategy. Achilles, in reference to the hero of the Greek mythology, is often used by several authors in scientific publications despite the new Nomina Anatomica. Objective: This article intends to recover the history behind the use of this term, which heroically resists in the clinical discussions of everyday life in articles and textbooks. Level of Evidence V, Literature Review.

The aim of the research is to develop a methodology for describing the semantics of phraseological units in the Russian linguistic consciousness. Using the example of set expressions borrowed from ancient Greek mythology with a proper name component (the Augean stables, Achilles’ heel, herostratic fame, the prophetic Cassandra, the Trojan horse), the paper demonstrates the potential of using the results of psycholinguistic experiments to describe the psychologically real meanings of phraseological expressions. The psycholinguistic meanings of the studied units are formulated based on the semantically interpreted data from a free association experiment. The paper compares lexicographic and psycholinguistic definitions. The research is novel in that it is the first to develop a methodology of psycholinguistic description of the semantics of set expressions in the everyday linguistic consciousness of Russian native speakers, to determine the types of psycholinguistic sememes in the set expressions. As a result of the research, it has been found that the psycholinguistic meaning of each phraseological unit in the linguistic consciousness of the native speakers is wider than its lexicographic version. Three types of psycholinguistic sememes of the phraseological units have been identified: phraseological, mythological and contaminated.

Greek mythology is generally looked upon as stagnated stories of made up characters and monsters; however, through the words of one contemporary author, Madeline Miller, mythology is revealed to be a modern phenomenon, not solely a classical one. This essay explores the works of Miller’s Young Adult novels, Song of Achilles, Circe, and Galatea that reveal unrepresented and misunderstood segments of mythology, interpreting them to empower and reveal aspects of not only Antiquity but also modern society. Her interpretation inevitably encourages young readers to challenge classical history that people have normally accepted as absolute truths, which allows myths to be more accessible to the modern reader while utilizing an evolving perspective. The stories she creates are different compared to mainstream interpretations, but they are still authentic. In a way, Miller is the modern Homer, adding to the ancient tapestry of mythology while weaving in her own threads to add to history and myth that transcend both time and space.

Louis Markos holds a BA in English and History from Colgate University and an MA and PhD in English from the University of Michigan. He is a Professor of English and Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University, where he holds the Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities and teaches courses on British Romantic and Victorian Poetry and Prose, the Greek and Roman Classics, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien. He is the author of twenty books, including The Myth Made Fact: Reading Greek and Roman Mythology through Christian Eyes, Ancient Voices: An Insider’s Look at Classical Greece, On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis, Apologetics for the Twenty First Century, From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics, Lewis Agonistes: How C. S. Lewis can Train us to Wrestle with the Modern and Postmodern World, Atheism on Trial, and The Dreaming Stone and In the Shadow of Troy, children’s novels in which his kids become part of Greek Mythology and the Iliad and Odyssey. He has produced two lecture series on C. S. Lewis and literary theory with The Teaching Company/Great Courses, published 300 book chapters, essays, and reviews, given well over 300 public lectures in some two dozen states as well as Rome, Oxford, and British Columbia, and had his adaptations of The Iphigenia in Tauris of Euripides, The Helen of Euripides, and The Electra of Sophocles performed off-Broadway. He is committed to the concept of the Professor as Public Educator and believes that knowledge must not be walled up in the Academy but must be disseminated to all who have ears to hear. Visit his amazon author page at amazon.com/author/louismarkos In this interview he responds to questions about his latest book!

Purpose: The Mahabharata by Vyasa and the Iliad by Homer both have a surfeit of Heroes. The two great heroes are Karna from the Mahabharata and Achilles from the Iliad. They have a few things in common as their lives are heavily influenced by fate. As fate is inescapable, they confronted their death head-on. The figures of Karna and Achilles stand out dramatically in both Indian and Greek mythology respectively casting everyone else in the gloom, thus making both the masterpieces incomplete without these heroes. Though these spartan heroes were invincible due to their origin, they lay their lives in Kurukshetra and Trojan wars respectively. They decided to be glorious despite knowing the fact that they would die in the battle. Few characters in the ancient literature have been drawn with such perfect skill and insight into human nature as Maharathi Karna, a character who has never been truly understood, has been continually misinterpreted despite the completeness, candor, and clarity of the amazing Epic in providing us with specifics of his existence. The most important aspect of his life narrative which is often overlooked or glossed over by modern writers which has far-reaching implications is that Karna was born out of wedlock and so cast away at birth. His adroitness and the values he lived and loved for standing him in good stead for a hero. Design / Methodology/Approach: The paper is prepared by accumulating secondary data from educational websites and written articles. The study shall be carried out with the use of Research Journals, Scholarly Books, Doctoral Theses, and websites. This qualitative research is carried out by studying and interpreting the existing knowledge on the subject using the keywords “Karna”, “Epic”, “Tragic flaw”, “Battle”, “Loyalty” which are accessible in online articles, peer-reviewed journals, publications and a variety of related portals. Findings/Result: Karna's entire life was spent trying to figure out who he was and to find an answer to the same. Karna's life also shows us how life is full of unrelenting choices; the options being limited. Friendship with someone who has aided at times of need and to whom one has sworn lifelong loyalty and friendship is admirable, but there must be a fine line drawn between this duty and other, more important responsibilities. Karna is, without a doubt, a figure who, in Aristotelian terminology, possesses the classical features of a tragic hero, as well as a figure with a great deal of literary potential. Originality/Value: This paper attempts to make a sincere study of Karna as a tragic hero under classical examples of Aristotle's ‘Hamartia’ where a hero wants to ‘Triumph’ but while doing so he commits an intentional error and ends up achieving exactly the opposite with disastrous results. The story of the life of Karna is pre-eminently great nevertheless fate and destiny played an unwarranted and calamitous game facilitating the reader of the Epic to identify himself or herself with the Tragic Hero. Paper Type: Exploratory research paper.

L’analyse du vocabulaire grec du visage dans l’ensemble des romans de Chariton, de Xénophon, de Longus, d’Héliodore et d’Achille Tatius a pour dessein de montrer l’intérêt certain, à la fois esthétique et sensoriel, porté à cette partie souveraine du corps. Quelle est donc l’importance accordée au visage du héros ou de l’héroïne ? Et de quelle manière le discours rend-il compte de son incarnation, de sa réalité organique ? Comment les visages des personnages interagissent-ils ? Parce que le visage se révèle une interface entre l’intime et le social, entre l’intériorité et l’expressivité, on peut se demander en quoi ce lieu privilégié du corps, à travers la description de l’aspect physique des personnages, caractérise leur éthos permanent ou communique au lecteur leurs émotions fugitives. Le visage s’offre aux regards et interpelle. Ses traits sont autant de signes à interpréter pour celui ou celle qui le regarde et dont il mobilise le système de reconnaissance et de représentation. Certes, la description physique des héroïnes comme celle des jeunes hommes ne se limite pas au visage. Mais, seul le visage, qui n’a rien d’incertain, d’irrégulier, de disharmonieux, est appelé à refléter les vertus des personnages mais aussi ses plus grandes souffrances. La mise en icônes de traits représentatifs des personnages s’inscrit dans la logique des procédures de description physique qui caractérise la culture romanesque. Le roman aime ainsi à représenter la beauté, en alliant aux manifestations physiques les émotions de l’âme. Les visages des héros romanesques grecs sont dévoilés dans une sorte de mosaïque à la fois anatomique et littéraire, évoquant les éléments fondamentaux qui les constituent. Ainsi, sans confondre visage et portrait, nous avons déconstruit le visage romanesque pour en montrer les diverses facettes, la palette des couleurs, les références littéraires intertextuelles et mythologiques mais aussi certains invariants, pour enfin mieux le reconstruire. Nous avons donc procédé à l’étude et à l’analyse du visage, non seulement comme entité mais en tant que visage morcelé, voire éclaté. L’étude approfondie des sens s’est attachée à souligner la passion, ses effets et les émotions du corps, entre plaisir et souffrance, entre affection et violence. Cette recherche a permis de souligner les éléments communs aux différents romanciers, mais aussi leur originalité d'écriture. L'importance accordée au visage et plus généralement au corps dans la narratologie laisse apparaître le reflet des valeurs de la société grecque de leur temps
The analysis of Greek vocabulary about the face in Chariton, Xenophon, Longus, Heliodorus and Achilles Tatius’s novels as a whole plans to show the definite interest, both aesthetic and sensory focused on this sovereign part of the body. So what is the importance attached to the hero or heroine’s faces? And how does the discourse explain its incarnation and organical reality? The face proves to be an interface between the private and social world, between interiority and expressiveness. So we can wonder how this privileged part of the body characterizes their permanent ethos ; we can wonder how it transmits their fleeting emotions to the reader, through the description of the physical look of the characters. The face catches attention. Its features mobilize the system of recognition and representation. Indeed the physical description of heroines as well as heroes is not limited to the face. But only the face, with nothing uncertain, irregular, disharmonious, is assigned to reflect the characters’ virtues but also their greatest suffering. « La mise en icônes »of characters’ representative features is part of the procedures of physical description that characterize the culture of the novel. Thus the novel likes to represent beauty by combining physical expressions with soul feeling. The faces of Greek novelistic heroes are revealed in a kind of mosaic at once anatomical and literary, evoking the basic elements that constitute them. Thus, without mixing up face and portrait, we have deconstructed the novelistic face to show its various facets, colour palette, intertextual literary and mythological references ; but also to show some invariants to, at last, rebuild it in a better way. We have therefore conducted a thorough study and analysis of the face not only as an entity but as a fragmented even blown up face. The detailed study of senses has endeavoured to emphasize passion and its effects, and show the emotions of the body between pleasure and suffering, affection and violence. On the one hand this research has permitted to highlight the elements common to the different novelists, their original writing and the importance granted to face and more generally to body in narratology. On the other hand it has led us to analyze the reflection of the values of the Greek society of their days

This work deals with characteristics of Greek mythology and tries to define a myth and to describe the differences between myths and fairy tales. It focuses on an origin and a history of myths, on gods and on heroes. My work also examines a concept of collective unconscious and archetypes, that appears in antique mythology (especially the archetype of a hero). Based on these findings, this work forms characteristic features of heroes, that are applied on the Greek heroes Odysseus and Achilles. Their life stories prove they deserve to be considered as archetypes of heroes. A survey, that deals with a concept of heroism according to contemporary young people, is also part of the work. It reflects not just the teenagers' image of a hero, but it examines their knowledge of Greek mythology, too.

Abstract Heroes become important to cultures particularly when deities no longer come down to interact with us. Heroes—usually male in patriarchal cultures such as those of Europe—are often the offspring of the union of deities and mortals. To varying degrees they possess superhuman qualities, but they are also genuinely human like us. Achilles, Herakles, Odysseus, Cúchulainn, Sigurd, Lemminkäinen, and Beowulf are all heroes of European mythology whose powers come from some connection with divinity but who suffer the agonies and joys of human life. Heroes are our personae in the world of myth, expressions of our collective psyches, first as cultures and then as a species. Cúchulainn reflects the Irish physical and psychological experience and Achilles could not be anything else but Archaic Greek. But when we compare the heroes of these various cultures, Joseph Campbell’s monomyth pattern emerges, and we discover a hero who belongs to the Indo-European tradition, to Europe, and ultimately to all of humanity.

Abstract What is the relevance or importance of Greek mythology in the vast world of the Roman empire? Moderns are understandably drawn to the way Roman poets and artists make use of particular myths: the vogue (for example) for the myth of the Golden Age in Catullus, Vergil, and Horace; the political exploitation of the gigantomachy myth for the victories of the princeps; more generally, the use of myth as source of imagery and exemplarity; or myth as allegory (whether physical, spiritual, or moral) in the essayists and philosophers; the development of certain mythical figures through different ages and literatures (the Ulysses theme, the Heracles theme, and so on); the sometimes puzzling myths chosen to decorate Roman sarcophagi. I myself have long been fascinated by the extraordinary vogue for the childhood rather than manhood of Achilles in the literature and (above all) art of the empire. No less intriguing in a different way is the negative attraction the old myths held for early Christians, who insisted on taking them literally, so that they could attack pagans for having unworthy gods (adulterers, parricides, crybabies). Obviously this can be seen as a sort of perverse tribute to their continuing power.

The first teacher attested in the Greek literary tradition is Cheiron the centaur, who from his cave on Mount Pelion in Thessaly dispensed an elite, one-on-one education to some of mythology’s greatest heroes. Because the centaur has left few traces in epic and tragedy, it is necessary to assemble his pedagogic persona from disparate sources. After defining Cheiron as an anti-centaur who differs from his fellows in lineage as well as character, this chapter discusses the centaur’s position vis-à-vis the human community; the Precepts of Cheiron, a collection of injunctions attributed to Hesiod; and Cheiron’s relationship with his pupils Achilles, Jason, Asclepius, and Actaeon, as well as with his daughter Hippo. In his failures as well as his successes, the centaur sets the pattern for subsequent teachers in the ancient Greek literary tradition.

Moving to the science fiction genre, but remaining within the field of allegory, Chapter Thirteen sees Christine Muller scrutinise one of the most economically successful and culturally impactful genre variations to emerge from the American film industry in the last two decades, the renaissance of the superhero film. While it is an emergence which has been criticised by many (see Alan Moore's criticism of it as a "cultural catastrophe" in Flood, 2014), its impact has been so profound that to dismiss it seems imprudent, and, as Richard Gray and Betty Kaklamanidou observed in their The 21st Century Superhero Essays on Gender, Genre and Globalization in Film (2011), in many ways the 2000s were the 'decade of the superhero' (Gray and Kaklamanidou 1). Indeed, one can deal a great deal about a culture by its heroic mythology. Just as the ancient Greeks had tales of Hercules and Achilles, late nineteenth century America turned to mythologised stories of Wyatt Earp and Davy Crockett, in the twentieth century and into twenty-first, western culture found its heroic ideals embodied in comic-book heroes like Superman, Batman and Spider-Man. In Muller's chapter, "Post-9/11 Power and Responsibility in the Marvel Cinematic Universe", she considers the relationship between the superhero film and the tumultuous post-9/11 era, exploring the ideological function of superhero narratives. Muller looks at how the Marvel Cinematic Universe often returned to trauma in a variety of forms in their films which frequently emerge not as bloated blockbusters empty of resonance, but texts which engage with the decade in deeply revealing ways (see DiPaolo and McSweeney). Far removed from the cartoonish fantasyscapes of Salkind era Superman (1977) or the increasingly extravagant excesses of Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher's Batman years, the real world set Marvel Cinematic Universe films, beginning with Iron Man (2008), are deeply immersed in what we might call the ongoing 'War on Terror' narrative. While some writers have dismissed the genre as perpetuating hegemonic ideological systems (see Hassler-Forrest) Muller argues that they are able to, at times, offer more than the conservative world view they are primarily associated with. The defining events of the 'War on Terror' era thus become replayed in the MCU through the melodramatic spectacle of the superhero genre.