2015/9/30

Western literature - week three

a. Story related to Helen of troy

1. Achilles heel -  In Greek mythology, when Achilles was a baby, it was foretold that he would die young. To prevent his death, his mother Thetis took Achilles to the River Styx, which was supposed to offer powers of invulnerability, and dipped his body into the water. But as Thetis held Achilles by the heel, his heel was not washed over by the water of the magical river. Achilles grew up to be a man of war who survived many great battles. But one day, a poisonous arrow shot at him was lodged in his heel, killing him shortly after.

          

           * The use of “Achilles heel” as an expression meaning''area of weakness''

                                               

                                                          

 

   2.  Persephone and the Pomegranate seeds : http://thisenchantedpixie.org/2013/09/22/the-story-of-persephone-and-the-pomegranate-seeds/

                                     

 Persephone - In Greek mythology, Persephone , also called Kore or Cora, is the daughter of  Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter, and is the queen of the underworld. Homer describes her as  the formidable, venerable majestic princess of the underworld, who carries into effect the curses of  men upon the souls of the dead. Persephone was abducted by Hades, the god-king of the underworld.  The myth of her abduction represents her function as the personification of vegetation, which shoots  forth in spring and withdraws into the earth after harvest; hence, she is also associated with spring as  well as the fertility of vegetation.


  b. Character - 

• Hades - Hades was the ancient Greek chthonic god of the underworld, which eventually took his name.Hades was often portrayed with his three-headed guard dog Cerberus and, in later mythological authors, associated with the Helm of Darkness and the bident.                                                                                   
• Zeus - Zeus was the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who ruled as king of the gods of Mount Olympus. He was respected as an allfather who was chief of the gods and assigned the others to their roles.                                                                                                                                                       

c. Vocabulary - 

1. agriculture - agri means earth
2. river styx -  is a deity and a river that formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld (the domain often called Hades, which also is the name of its ruler).                                             

                                            



d.