Greek Columns

There are three different types of Greek Columns:

·         Doric – The most plain.

·         Ionic – Famous for its scrolls.

·         Corinthian – The most decorative.

                

     The Capital is a circle topped by a square. There are 20 sides on the shaft of a Doric Column. The Doric column is the simplest version and also had no base.

       

            Ionic shafts are taller than the Doric ones; this makes them look more slender. The shafts also had a characteristic called entasis, enabling the columns to look the same width all the way up to the top instead of appearing to get smaller. The bases looked like stacked rings and the capital had scrolls above the shafts for style.

       

             Corinthian Columns are the most decorative. They also use entasis to make the shafts appear to be straight. The capitals have flowers and leaves underneath a small scroll. Also the roofs on top of Corinthian Columns are flat, unlike those of the Ionian and Doric styles.

Hercules!!!!

In mythology Hercules, also known as Heracles, is an illegitimate son of Zeus, by a mortal woman named Alcmene. Hera, extremely jealous of her husband's extramarital activities, attempts to murder the child by sending two snakes to kill him, however, as a half-god; Hercules is blessed with superhuman strength and is able to defend himself. Upon reaching adulthood, he joins the Argonauts and embarks on many different adventures throughout the many myths; ultimately he becomes an Olympian God (the one of strength) and a constellation. He has a fit of madness and kills his wife, Megara and his three children, and for penance he must complete a series of trials.

As part of his trials he completed his famous 12 labours:

1.       Slay the Nemean Lion and bring back its hide, the lion's hide was unbreakable and could not be pierced by any weapon.

2.       Slay the 9-headed Lernaean Hydra.

3.       Capture the Golden Stag of Artemis.

4.       Capture the Erymanthian Boar.

5.       Clean the Augean stables in a single day.

6.       Slay the Stymphalian Birds.

7.       Capture the Cretan Bull.

8.       Steal the Mares of Diomedes.

9.       Obtain the Girdle of the Amazon warrior queen Hippolyte.

10.   Obtain the Cattle of the Monster Geryon.

11.   Steal the Apples of the Hesperides, which were strictly guarded by a 100-headed dragon called Ladon.

12.   Capture Cerberus, the guardian dog of Hades, using no weapons and bring him back.

One of the things that I’ve learned from being in this class is that Gods are not always good. They are both Constructive and Destructive. The fact that the Gods can be good or evil reminds me of all of the other myths and epics that involve a good and a bad. (Kane & Able; Romulus & Remus)

Gilgamesh

Although Gilgamesh started out about as close to a monstrous king as you could get; he ended up making up for a lot of his wrong doings.

At first he was a greedy, self-centered man. After the death of his best friend Enkidu however, he realized he was not as indestructible as he thought. He decided to change his life for the good and eventually became a great Mesopotamian hero. I found a Paleolithic carving of Gilgamesh.

He was shown in this stance to show power. He was one of the bravest men during his time. And he wasn't above letting it be known.

Cambell's Stages

Stage I – Departure:

·         Call to Adventure

·         Refusal

·         Supernatural Aid

·         Crossing First Threshold (liminal zone)

·         Belly of the whale  à Death (Could be metaphorical)/Night

Stage II – Initiation:

·         Road of trials (scary parts)

·         Meeting with the Goddess

·         Woman as temptress

·         Atonement with the father (metaphorical father or father figure)

·         Apotheosis (Climax)

·         Ultimate Boon

Stage III – Return:

·         Refusal to return

·         Magic flight (miracle escape)

·         Rescue from without

·         Second threshold (Return)

·         Master of two worlds

·         Freedom to live – Application of Boon

The whole overall concept of a Monomyth is pretty interesting. Each god that we’ve learned about has a different story, but all of them relate to each other in some aspect. Also the idea that myths can have the same general story but be from completely different areas and cultures around the world is a very hard one to grasp. I wonder if there is even one myth that is all its own in the sense that none other has copied it or if it was not copied from another. I guess I’ll just have to keep reading. J

Horus Horus Horus...

Can you say disfunctional family? So first off, his great uncle (Osiris) marries his mother (Isis). His father dies and his mother breaths life back into him just long enough to get pregnant (without sex...who knew?) Horus then came to be and eventually had to over power his uncle (Set) and "re-member" his father. When he wasn't allowed to kill Set, Horus got suuuuper pissed off at his mom (Isis) and cuts her head right off. Then her dad (Thoth) used his powers to replace her head with a cows head... (Why not just use your powers to put your daughters real head on her body? Gods are strange.) Then Osiris and Isis lived out the rest of their days together in the Other World. (Ahhh, Romance)

Eat That Neato!

End of the world anyone??

This is how I'm gonna feel if the steelers win the Superbowl...