Theme Of Cruelty In Classical Mythology - 923 Words

In classical mythology we encounter numerous myths that contain god and human interaction however, in these myths we clearly see the same concept of cruelty repeat itself. We not only see gods being cruel to humans but to other gods as well. Although they were deities they contained human qualities such as their violence and jealousy, these gods had no set of morals and believed themselves better than others. This theme of cruelty is exemplified in numerous myths such as Niobe, Arachne and as well as Heracles. Although their acts of cruelty were unfair and irrational they were justified in the end because of their superiority. This cruelty of the gods shows us that the Greeks believed they were better than others because although these†¦show more content†¦Although both these stories consist of mortals boasting that they are better than the gods they received vigorous punishment which shows us the excessive power gods had on humans and their acts of cruelty. In addition, go ds were not only cruel and violent to humans but to other gods as well. We see the same acts of violence and irrationalaty in the myth of Heracles where the concept of cruelty is exemplified as well. Hercules was the son of Zeus however, once Hera Zeus’ wife found out of this â€Å"illegitimate† child she was exasperated and sought out to destroy him (The Life of Hercules in Myth Legend). From the moment he was about to be born she tried to stop him from even existing however failed. Despite the fact that he still was a baby she tried killing him and failed once more, yet kept on trying to destroy his life as we see throughout his story. As Hercules grew up to be a strong and influential man Hera had noticed and devised for him to lose his popularity among the humans. This scheme consisted of her deranging him so that he could kill all his children and his wife as well. However, the people forgave him and this led her to scheme against him once more by driving him mad and making him kill his best friend Iphitus. As a result of Hera’s jealousy and lust for vengeance Hercules was remembered as a heroic figureShow MoreRelatedTaking a Look at the Romantic Movement929 Words   |  4 Pagesrevolution in France (Greenblatt 1412). Although politics played a large role in shaping the Romantic Era, it was also largely about â€Å"the recovery from obscurity of the medieval romances, previously ignored by literary historians more concerned with classical influences† (Greenblatt 1412). Romantics wrote stories of imagination, love, chivalry, nature, and adventure. A couple poets who greatly influenced this literary movement were William Blake and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 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