Academic literature on the topic 'King of Thebes (Greek mythology)'

The Oedipus complex of Freud is based on the inevitability of the tragic fate of a man who fled his home to escape the prophecy of parricide. Thus, he fulfilled it by killing a stranger who proved to be his father. As Freud does, this consideration of the tragedy of Oedipus takes as its point of departure the inevitability of the confrontation between father and son. Where Freud looks to the son, however, I look to the father, who set the tragedy in motion by attempting to murder his infant son. Themes ignored in developmental theory but axiomatic in gerontology are considered in this study of the elder Oedipus. The study begins by noting that Oedipus ascended the throne of Thebes not by parricide but by answering the riddle of the Sphynx and affirming the continuity of the life cycle which his father denied. In the second tragedy of the Oedipus Cycle of Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, this affirmation is maintained. As Oedipus the elder accepts the infirmities of old age and the support of his daughter Antigone, Oedipus the king proves powerful up to the very end of his life when he gives his blessing not to the sons who had exiled him from Thebes, but to King Theseus who shelters him in his old age. Thus, the Oedipus cycle, in contrast to the “Oedipus complex,” represents not the unconscious passions of the small boy, but rather the awareness of the life cycle in the larger context of the succession of the generations and their mutual interdependence. These themes are illuminated by a fuller consideration of the tragedy of Oedipus.

Structuralism is a way of decoding and studying aspects of human conduct, tradition, and love that relates factors of a conceptual system that reflects patterns underlying a superficial range. King Oedipus is King Laius’ biological son who he neglects at birth to prevent a prophecy by the Oracle that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He is adopted by a royal family in Corinth but later returns to Thebes and fulfills the prophecy mystically. He later finds out and pops his eyes out and his led out of the city by his daughter The French social anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss applied the structuralist outlook to cultural phenomena like mythology and kinship relations. To interpret the Oedipus myth, he placed the specific story of King Oedipus within the context of the whole cycle of tales connected with the city of Thebes. Concrete details from the narrative are seen in the framework of a wider structure and the overall system of elementary dyadic bigger structure is seen as pairs with obvious symbolic, thematic and archetypal resonance.

Abstract:Herodotus’ narrative of the testing of various Greek oracles by King Croesus of Lydia (1.46–54) has long been viewed with justifiable scepticism. A newly published verse dedication from the sanctuary of Apollo Ismenios at Thebes (Papazarkadas 2014: 233–48) sheds welcome light on Herodotus’ sources for this part of his Croesus-narrative. Herodotus’ account of Croesus’ testing of the oracle of Amphiaraus at Thebes appears to have been an imaginative extrapolation from the text of this inscription. But there is good reason to believe that Herodotus significantly misinterpreted the historical context and significance of the epigraphic text he had before him; in particular, the real author of the dedication is unlikely to have been King Croesus of Lydia, and may instead have been an Athenian aristocrat of the Alcmaeonid family. The new inscription from Thebes sheds light both on Herodotus’ use of documentary evidence and on the creative misreading of early epigraphic texts by Theban sanctuary personnel in the mid fifth century BC.

The article treats the reception of ancient Greek mythology and history in modern American cinema. Modern directors do not just illustrate ancient narratives, but update them, enriching them with additional readings and subtexts. In the films considered, eternal questions are posed: life and death, duty and moral choice, the destiny of man and desire to become equal to the gods, but they are reinterpreted. It demonstrates that the ancient Greek myth continues its life in the modern cinema, which serves as a kind of contemporary mythology. In the V. Petersen’s film “Troy” man finds true immortality, embodied in heroism and glory. The director’s version of the Iliad still contains the spirit of the Homeric epic, but in doing so conveys later themes through it as well. Homer's tales of the heroes of Troy are filled with new breath, not least due to the anthropocentrism of the film. In O. Stone’s film “Alexander” not only the mythologization of ancient history can be seen, but it can also be comprehended through an even more ancient mythology. The mythological structure of the film is further emphasized by the cyclicity of the narrative, but the film is topical at the same time.

It has long been known that the Egyptian pharaoh was regarded as divine in Egyptian culture. He was the son of Re and the mediator between the gods and humankind. During the royal coronation, he was transformed into a manifestation of the god Horus. He could be referred to as antr(‘divine being’, ‘god’), and was regularly described in inscriptions as ‘the good god’ or ‘perfect god’ (ntr nfr). By the New Kingdom period, the king's divinity was believed to be imbued by his possession of a divine manifestation of the god Amun-Re called the ‘living royalka’, which came upon him at his coronation, and which was also renewed during the yearlyopetfestival held in the Luxor temple in Thebes. As late as the period of Persian domination over Egypt in the fifth centuryb.c., Egyptian temple texts continued to describe their foreign king Darius I as a divine being, owing to the ‘living royalka’. This hieroglyphic formula proclaiming the king's divinity continues for Alexander the Great and even in Ptolemaic temple reliefs.

he article is devoted to the study of the Boiotians’ myths. These legendary stories were a basis of the imagined past. So myths had formed the mentality of the Ancient Greek society. The main for Boiotian people was a myth about the own migration. We can find this tale in the “History” by Thucydides. But it was only a later retelling of the myths of the epic text. The first version of the tale we need to look for in the epic texts such as Homer’s “Iliad” and Hesiod’s poems. So myth about migration of Boiotians was the basis of the imagined past of the people of this region. Main role of the tale was played by Boiotians, who became eponym of the people. The author tried to recover myths about the polis of Thebes. Differences between regional and polis tales may answer the question: what was a real role played by polis of Thebes in the imagined past of Boiotian people. Ancient Greeks created a great number of myths about Thebes. A lot of these tales were a basis for Attic classical tragedy. But none of the earliest mythological narratives of Thebes intersect with myth of the Boiotians origin. The biggest polis of the region didn’t play any role at the imagining past of the Boiotian people. But imagined past could be changed. One of the examples we can find at Corinna’s poems. This source told us that first king of Thebes was a son of Boiotos. It was the newer tradition than an epic migration story. This tale appeared at the period of Thebes’ hegemony. And it has sense only as propaganda of polis of Thebes in the region. Mythological origin genealogy was softly rewriting of the imagined past. A new reality was created by using a poem in ritual. So, Thebes had a political motive to change imagine past and used for that soft mythical genealogy. The repeating through the ritual should have justified this new tradition. This research is based on the ancient written sources and academic studies. The article is an attempt to understand how myths were created and influenced the life of Ancient Greeks.

Сочинение Публия Папиния Стация «Фиваида» представляет собой самое обширное дошедшее до нас изложение войны, развязанной сыновьями фиванского царя Эдипа – Этеоклом и Полиником. Братоубийственная война у Стация является преступлением, о котором он хочет поведать читателю, утвердив себя в роли морализирующего поэта, который является настолько же римским, насколько и греческим. В случае с детьми Эдипа война является божественным наставлением-наказанием, которое не могут или не хотят предотвратить смертные. Этеокл и Полиник в изображении Стация – это злые по природе юноши, ненависть которых друг к другу и жажда власти являются врожденными. Осуществив пересечение жанров, Стаций создал новую версию мифологических событий, к которой обращались как древнегреческие, так и древнеримские драматурги. В его версии Этеокл и Полиник не являются последним поколением, к которому перешло проклятие, передающееся по мужской линии между потомками фиванского царя Лая и неизбежно затрагивающее линию женскую. Словно давая Этеоклу и Полинику шанс стать лучше, Стаций постоянно отсрочивает начало войны, что позволяет Полинику обзавестись ребенком, которому уготовано стать четвертым поколением «нечестивого рода». О судьбе этого ребенка Стаций не сообщает, давая читателю право самому решить, станет ли он очередным педагогическим фиаско или обернется педагогической победой над проклятьем дома Лая. В статье также была проанализирована терминология Стация и Гигина относительно погребения Полиника – одной из ключевых точек сюжета. Для обозначения погребального костра Гигин использует слово pyra, которое заимствовано из греческого языка (πυρά). Стаций предпочитает использовать латинский аналог (bustum) для определения погребального костра Этеокла, куда Антигона с Аргией водружают тело Полиника. Сцена погребения Полиника Антигоной и Аргией, описанная Стацием и Гигином, имеет свое визуальное воспроизведение на мраморном саркофаге конца II в. н. э. (Villa Doria Pamphilj). Подтверждением тому, что версия погребения Полиника Антигоной и Аргией не придумана в римское время, а является древнегреческой традицией, которая уходит корнями в архаический период, являются данные материальной культуры. Например, саркофаг из Коринфа, датируемый серединой II в. н. э., имеющий в своем художественном выражении классическое греческое влияние, а также этрусская амфора ок. 550 г. до н. э. (Basel: Inv. Züst 209), где изображен поединок Полиника с Тидеем, за которым наблюдают Аргия и ее сестра Деипила. The Thebaid by Publius Papinius Statius is the most extensive surviving account of the war started by the sons of the Theban king Oedipus—Eteocles and Polynices. This fratricidal war is a crime that Statius wants to tell the reader about, having established himself in the role of a moralizing poet who is equally Roman and Greek. In the case of Oedipus’ children, the war is a divine instruction-punishment that mortals cannot or do not want to prevent. Eteocles and Polynices, as described by Statius, are young men evil by nature, experiencing the innate hatred of each other and lust for power. Having mixed the genres, Statius created a new version of the mythological events, which both ancient Greek and ancient Roman playwrights turned to. In his version, Eteocles and Polynices are not the last generation to whom the curse passed. Though the curse descended on the male line among the descendants of the Theban king Laius, it inevitably affected the female line as well. As if giving Eteocles and Polynices a chance to become better, Statius keeps delaying the beginning of the war, which allows Polynices to have a baby who is destined to become the fourth generation of the “wicked family”. Statius does not report on the fate of this child, giving readers the right to decide for themselves whether he will become the next pedagogical fiasco or turn into a pedagogical victory over the curse of the House of Laius. The article also analyzes the terminology used by Statius and Hyginus regarding the burial of Polynices—one of the key points of the plot. To refer to the funeral pyre, Hyginus uses the word ‘pyra’ borrowed from Greek (πυρά). Statius chooses to use the Latin word ‘bustum’ to refer to the funeral pyre of Eteocles, where Antigone and Argia place the body of Polynices. The scene of Antigone and Argia burying Polynices, described by Statius and Hyginus, is reproduced on a marble sarcophagus dating back to late II AD (Villa Doria Pamphilj). The fact that the version of Antigone and Argia buried Polynices was not invented in the Roman times but is rooted in an ancient Greek tradition going back to the archaic period is confirmed by the artifacts from material culture: for example, a sarcophagus from Corinth dating from the middle of the second century AD, which demonstrates a classical Greek influence, and an Etruscan amphora dating from approx. 550 BC (Basel: Inv. Züst 209), which depicts a combat between Polynices and Tydeus that Argia and her sister Deipyle watched.

<p>Oedipus Rex, one of the three famed Theban tragedies by the Greek dramatist Sophocles, vividly portrays the complex and often troubling theme of humanity’s relationship to fate. By detailing the way in which Oedipus, king of Thebes, is reduced by the cruelty of predestination into a puppet with no semblance of control over the course of his own life, Sophocles seems to cast doubt on, not only the effectiveness, but also the meaning of self-control. Thus, freedom of choice, humanity’s final assertion of independence, appears to dissolve into hollow mockery. But even then, Sophocles confirms the fundamental significance of the self-knowledge and dignity that comes from struggling against tyrannical destiny. It is this dignity that sustains king Oedipus through his terrible ordeal so that he comes out of it tortured but not destroyed. It is also this elevation that adds to a tale of endless victimization a whole new dimension of complexity and imbues the words with a touch of tragic and transfiguring sublimity.</p>

Pergamum is unquestionably one of the most impressive archaeological sites in all of Turkey. Pergamum’s attractions are hard to surpass—the breathtaking view from its theater carved out of the side of the acropolis, the magnificent restored Temple of Trajan, the foundations of the Great Altar of Zeus, the ancient healing center of Asclepius, the Temple of Serapis (the Red Hall), and the archaeological museum. A visit to Pergamum should not be rushed. There is much here to reward the patient visitor who will explore the riches of this ancient city. The site of ancient Pergamum is scattered in and around the modern town of Bergama, located in the western part of Turkey, approximately 65 miles north of Izmir. According to ancient mythology, Pergamum was founded by Telephus, king of Asia Minor and the son of Hercules (and thus the grandson of Zeus). Archaeological evidence indicates that Pergamum was settled as early as the 8th century B.C.E. Xenophon, the Greek historian who was involved in a mercenary expedition against the Persians, mentions that in 399 B.C.E. he and his soldiers spent some time at Pergamum. Little is known about Pergamum until the Hellenistic period, when Pergamum and all of Asia Minor came under the control of Alexander the Great. After the death of Alexander in 323 B.C.E., Lysimachus, one of Alexander’s generals (the Diadochoi) involved in the struggle for Alexander’s kingdom, eventually gained control of all of Asia Minor. He deposited a considerable amount of wealth in the treasury of Pergamum and placed one of his officers, Philetaerus, in charge. Philetaerus eventually turned against Lysimachus. After Lysimachus’ death, Philetaerus (r. 281–263 B.C.E.) used the money to establish a principality, with Pergamum as its capital. Unmarried (and supposedly a eunuch due to an accident), Philetaerus adopted his nephew Eumenes I as his successor. Eumenes I (r. 263–241 B.C.E.) was successful in defeating the Seleucid king Antiochus I at Sardis and expanding the rule of Pergamum throughout the Caicus River valley and all the way to the Aegean Sea. Upon his death, he was succeeded by his adopted son Attalus I Soter (r. 241–197 B.C.E.).

“The climate is what you expect, the weather is what you get”: The climate is a kind of average weather. But is it really? Those of us who have thirty years or more of recall are likely aware of subtle but systematic changes between today’s weather and the weather of their youth. I remember Montreal winters with much more snow and with longer spells of extreme cold. Did it really change? If so, was it only Montreal that changed? Or did all of Quebec change? Or did the whole planet warm up? And which is the real climate? Todays’ experience or that of the past? The key to answering these questions is the notion of scale, both in time (du­ration) and in space (size). Spatial variability is probably easier to grasp because structures of different sizes can be visualized readily (Fig. 1.1). In a puff of cigarette smoke, one can casually observe tiny wisps, whirls, and eddies. Looking out the window, we may see fluffy cumulus clouds with bumps and wiggles kilometers across. With a quick browse on the Internet, we can find satellite images of cloud patterns literally the size of the planet. Such visual inspection confirms that structures exist over a range of 10 billion or so: from 10,000 km down to less than 1 mm. At 0.1 mm, the atmosphere is like molasses; friction takes over and any whirls are quickly smoothed out. But even at this scale, matter is still “smooth.” To discern its granular, molecular nature, we would have to zoom in 1,000 times more to reach submicron scales. For weather and climate, the millimetric “dissipation scale” is thus a natural place to stop zooming, and the fact that it is still much larger than molecular scales indicates that, at this scale, we can safely discuss atmos­pheric properties without worrying about its molecular substructure. Clouds are highly complex objects. How should we deal with such apparent chaos? According to Greek mythology, at first there was only chaos; cosmos emerged later.