To the greek philosopher epicurus, the unhappiness and degradation of. Hamilton takes his story from a variety of sources, but mostly from apollodorus. The ancient texts tell beautiful, wise and amusing stories of love, lust, family, power, war, hatred, revenge and nature. The hero perseus in greek mythology was known as the one who killed the medusa, saved andromeda and founded the city of mycenae.
He received a mirrorlike shield to take on his journey. Greek mythologyheroesperseus wikibooks, open books for an. The sequence of grammatical lessons follows and is coordinate with that of wheelocks latin. The title of lucretiuss work translates that of the chief work of epicurus, peri physeos on nature. Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. Like most of the mythological heroes, the genealogy of perseus makes him the son of a god and a mortal. As an epic, it begins with an invocation to the muse, in this case, venus. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is divided into six untitled books, and explores epicurean physics through poetic. For example, in one version of the story of perseus, the oracles prophecy was fulfilled when perseus showed medusas head to acrisius to prove that he had actually slain her. The only son of zeus and danae and, thus, a halfgod by birth perseus was one of the greatest heroes in greek mythology, most renowned for beheading the only mortal gorgon, medusa, and using her severed head capable of turning onlookers into stone as a mighty weapon in his subsequent adventures.
I am sure you are familiar with his myth, so i think you might be ask. Greek mythologyheroesperseus wikibooks, open books for. Theseus is the son of the king of athens, aegeus, but he grows up with his mother in southern greece. Also point out that the ancients believed oracles would always reveal the truth about the future. The adventures of perseus have been told, and retold, over the millennia, and even today his story regularly appears on the big screen. In it david sedley explores lucretius complex relationship with greek culture, in particular with empedocles,whose poetry was the model for his. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. On the nature of things by lucretius, part of the internet classics archive. Each guest should have a present for the celebration, but perseus had nothing to give. Perseus was secretly raised on the island and became a courageous young man. Many heroes have been mentioned to be the youngsters of gods, and positively they have been mentioned to be plenty greater than you or i. Perseus 1 is also said to have been made immortal and placed among the stars. Lactantius, the divine institutes selection, and on the anger of god selection. He freed andromeda from her chains and married her.
Perseus how the two legends get confused feats above humantiy perseus was basically like the average greek. A roman summary of mythological stories, the fabulae of hyginus first century bcefirst century ce says that he was killed by a rival king, megapenthes, with whom he had previously exchanged kingdoms tiryns and argos. See reference page for directories of online books, etc. Perseus is a major hero from greek mythology best known for his clever decapitation of medusa, the monster who turned all who looked at her face into stone. Son of alcaeus, grandson of perseus, and king of tiryns. This massive collection includes important greek and. Of course, i swerve from greenblatts basic orientation in his book. Myth of perseus roman and greek gods and goddesses. Lucretius on human history this world is the product of nature, things colliding into. Greek mythology is an important subject at primary school so i was happy to introduce it to my young children 5 and 7 with this picture book for the wishing shelf book awards. He famously slew the dreaded gorgon medusa whose gaze could turn men to stone, an exploit he swiftly followed up with the daring rescue of the princess andromeda from a monstrous seacreature sent by poseidon to terrorize the kingdom of ethiopia. Jul 15, 2019 perseus is a major hero from greek mythology best known for his clever decapitation of medusa, the monster who turned all who looked at her face into stone. Perseus myths are full of gods, creatures, and monsters that you might see in a number of hollywood movies and television shows. The gods, who are made of the smallest, swiftest, and finest atoms, exist in a.
On the nature of things is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius c. Perseus was considered as one the most famous and popular heroes in greek culture. The greek gods, goddesses and greek myths mythology are ancient stories which were written down in classical greece around 500 b. Perseus was one of the greatest and oldest panhellenic heroes of greek mythology. Perseus had to fetch the head of the gorgon medusa whose head could turn anyone who looked at it into stone. On the nature of the universe is a didactic epic poem. In greek mythology, perseus is the legendary founder of mycenae and of the perseid dynasty. Perseus, in greek mythology, the slayer of the gorgon medusa and the rescuer of andromeda from a sea monster. Discover the myths about the ancient gods, goddesses, demigods and heroes and the terrifying monsters and creatures they encountered on. Perseus is the granddaddy of all the greek heroes, coming before theseus, heracles, odysseus, and the rest. Lucretius and the transformation of greek wisdom link to cup for sedleys new book.
According to greek mythology, perseus was demigod, son of zeus. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. The story of perseus begins in the greek kingdom of argos, at a. The short mythical story of perseus is one of the famous legends that feature in the mythology of ancient civilizations. Feb 25, 20 lucretius is, on occasion, less than flattering about some aspects of religious ritual. Perseus was one of the oldest out of all of the greek mythological heroes. Perseus in greek mythology greek legends and myths. Introduction to classical mythology midterm 2 multiple choice. Lucretius refers to memmius by name four times in the first book, three times. He beheaded the gorgon medusa for polydectes and saved andromeda from the sea monster cetus. In greek architecture, the term atlantes was employed to denote the colossal male statues sometimes used in great buildings instead of columns to support an entablature or a projecting roof. Learn more about the traditional story of perseus in this article.
Start studying introduction to classical mythology midterm 2 multiple choice. These are graduated latin readings in mythology for beginners. Jerome, a prominent roman clergyman writing four centuries after his death, wrote that a love potion had driven him insane and that lucretius had eventually committed suicide. Perseus projectgreek and latin texts with hyperlinks to lexica, and english translations.
Lucretius most famous passage is his argument in book iii that one need. Even if perseus myth is a little on the simple side, it has still had a huge impact on greek mythology. He famously slew the dreaded gorgon medusa whose gaze could turn men to stone, an exploit he swiftly followed up with the daring rescue of the princess andromeda from a monstrous seacreature sent by poseidon to terrorize the kingdom of ethiopia perseus is. Perseus perseus facts and information on the greek hero perseus. The story of perseus in greek mythology begins in argos during the reign of king acrisius. In a lot of ways, perseus is the dude that all mortal heroes have to measure up to. The excellent perseus edition is here in greek and here in english. He was the son of zeus and the mortal danae, as well as the halfbrother and greatgrandfather of heracles. Very little is known of the poet s life, though a sense of his character and personality emerges vividly from his poem. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you. Before he left for athens, aegeus placed a sword and a pair of shoes under a giant rock and tells his wife that when their son is strong enough, he should roll. Heras favourite was eurystheus, while zeus picked heracles as his. Lucretius and the transformation of greek wisdom david sedley. In greek mythology, various old texts are used as references along with centuries old artifacts and drawings.
The adventures of perseus part 2 greek mythology ep. But the story is long, lets start with the beginning. Modern scholars refer to, and study the myths in an attempt to throw light on the religious and political institutions of ancient. Lucretiustranslation of drn 3, from the internet classics archive. Perseus 1 is said to have being killed by megapenthes 2, on account of the death of his father, as someone puts it. The only thing that set him above humanity was that he was a demigod, and therefore had a bit of the favor of the gods. Megapenthes 2 is a son of proetus 1 by stheneboea, that is, halfbrother of perseus 1. Demonstrates the atomic structure and mortality of the soul. Explain to the students that they will now make their own shields like the one that perseus had in the story. Perseus perseus facts and information on the greek hero.
He is best known in greek mythology as the slayer of medusa, one of three female creatures, or gorgons, with hair said to be made of poisonous snakes. Apollodorus, library, book 1, chapter 1, section 1 perseus. He was the son of sthenelus and nicippe, grandson of perseus hera and zeus quarreled at who would be the hero that would destroy all the monsters of the previous era, in order to establish the new age of the twelve olympians. Polydectes asked perseus to slay and behead the gorgon medusa and bring back her head as his gift. Proem o thou who first uplifted in such dark so clear a torch aloft, who first shed light upon the profitable ends of man, o thee i follow, glory of the greeks, and set my footsteps squarely planted now. Perseus perseus with the head of medusa by benvenuto. Lucretius is, on occasion, less than flattering about some aspects of religious ritual. Acrisius though, was desperate for a son to be his heir. King acrisius was father to one child by his queen, eurydice. The poem begins with a famous invocation to venus and sets out the major principles of epicurean physics and cosmology. Lucretius and the transformation of greek wisdom this book is designed to appeal both to those interested in roman poetry and to specialists in ancient philosophy. What do you think a poet like lucretius, disillusioned with his city, and disappointed by corruption in his time, would do. Dec 29, 2017 a roman summary of mythological stories, the fabulae of hyginus first century bcefirst century ce says that he was killed by a rival king, megapenthes, with whom he had previously exchanged kingdoms tiryns and argos. In greek mythology, eurystheus was the king of tiryns, a stronghold near mycenae.
The internet classics archive on the nature of things by. Perseus, famous greek demigod, the slayer of medusa and. Part 1 3 the hero perseus in greek mythology was the son of danae and zeus, who had turned into a stream of gold in order to get into her chambers. Introduction to classical mythology midterm 2 multiple. Atom is a greek word used by epicurus, following democritus. Perseus was the son of zeus and danae, the daughter of acrisius of argos. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Lucretius the sacrifice of iphigenia knights fabulae. Perseus is one of the greatest heroes spoken of in greek mythology, for perseus was the famed vanquisher of the gorgon medusa. He was favoured by the gods because, in his quest to defeat medusa, he was given a.
The image of venus here suggests some of the major ways in which romes vision. Most lessons also contain annotated selections from the classical latin authors ovid, virgil, apuleius, catullus who recount these stories. Perseus is best known for beheading the gorgon medusa, a snakehaired lady who can turn anybody who looks at her into stone. Perseus greek mythology article about perseus greek. He was, alongside cadmus and bellerophon, the greatest greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of heracles. Athena and hermes both provided perseus with tools to kill medusa. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the british library library of congress cataloguing in publication data sedley, d. On the nature of things work by lucretius britannica. He was known for his vigorous strength, incredible bravery and slaying two of the most ferocious monsters, known as medusa, the youngest of the gorgons, and cetus, the sea monster of poseidon. Discover the myths about the ancient gods, goddesses, demigods and heroes and the terrifying monsters and creatures they encountered on their perilous journeys and quests. Oct 21, 2012 perseus was one of the greatest and oldest panhellenic heroes of greek mythology. We are reading daulaires book of greek myths as well and are excited to compare the two different versions of the story of perseus. Gives a comprehensive account of epicurus theory of vision and sensation.
821 1498 304 317 1299 832 1184 1242 1533 1042 456 586 668 1221 802 780 1349 151 174 1156 781 728 1346 1356 805 61 1344 31 266 1096 17 421 1168 238 953 392 84 823 816 937