responsemythology

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Kaitlynmythologyresponse.docx

(Kaitlyn)I quite literally had to read the first few pages of this chapter about 3 times to be able to understand fully why the war had started. My understanding is that an evil goddess named Eris was mad that she did not get invited to the marriage ceremony of King Peleus and Thetis, therefore throwing a golden apple marked “…for the fairest,” into the banquet hall knowing all would want it. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena wanted to apple and were the result of narrowing down the list filled will all, yet when it came time for the decision to be made, he who was appointed, Zeus, wanted nothing to do with the decision making. The goddesses shall, “go to Mount Ida, near Troy, where the young prince Paris…[is] an excellent judge of beauty”. (Hamilton, 248) Paris, then picking based on the bribes that were offered, picked Aphrodite, who has sought to bring him the fairest woman in all the land. This does end up happening to be Helen, the daughter of Zeus and Leda, “…not a young prince in Greece but wanted to marry her”. (Hamilton, 248) But hold on, because there was a problem there, she was residing with Menelaus and when Paris gave Aphrodite the apple, all Aphrodite did was bring him to Sparta where she was with Menelaus. Paris couldn’t control himself and he vanished with Helen, so the sacred bond that was formed and should never be crossed, was crossed and the chieftains responded to help. From thus on, the war had started and answering the prompt, I do not think that this was a justified means to start a war and bring other people into the matter. If men cannot control themselves to have the common decency to respect another’s wishes, why should those who followed the rules, must then be sucked in, and have to avenge the one who did wrong. That man got the one in a million shot and he had it taken from him, that’s his battle and his problem to deal with, he should be searching for his lady considering there was only one that took her. There was no need to involve all these others that could have gotten on better by just moving on with their lives.

 

My impression of the heroes for this week is to each their own, but every single one of them is selfish. Yes, there may have been the opportunity for good deeds being that they are gods and goddesses and are looked at as heroes, but at the same time, it is totally every man for themselves. I would say that there is a good agenda when it comes to making a home and building a family, but that statement would then later be retracted in finding out that these mothers and fathers of sons and daughters just willingly give up their children for a life of dismay, misfortune, certain death, and much more. Seems like nobody’s life mattered and nobody was too afraid of dying, thinking they are just going to meet other family and acquaintances down in Hades. I thought everything was going to be a bit different whereas yes there would be gruesome experiences in punishment or wrongdoing, but I had thought that everything was light, feathery, more like heaven because well that’s what you think when you hear the word gods and goddesses. Feel like I was clued into the fact that they don’t want to deal wish decision making, and they also push tasks off unto other people, they would act like death is a normality and their young can be offered as sacrifices on any given day. I’d say that’s dishonorable.

 

Works Cited

Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. Grand Central Publishing, 2011.