Poseidon Was A God Of Pure Impulse - 1457 Words

Introduction Poseidon was known to be a temperamental, greedy and unpredictable god. He would have the power to build new islands and exotic undersea lands, yet he would also have the power to demolish an entire kingdom all based on his mood. Being known for his inconsistent behaviours and impulsive acts of violence, Poseidon was worshipped heavily among the civilization of Ancient Greek; for the fear of accidentally upsetting the god and causing any disputable disagreements was anxiously high in the civilizations minds. With this mindset, many can argue that Poseidon was a god of pure impulse; which with his many conflicts can easily be proven true. For this sole fact, the product I’ve associated with this god is a stress relieving water†¦show more content†¦(Allan, 50). Either way, the childhood of Poseidon and his five siblings, (Hestia, Demeter, Hera, hades, and Zeus) was one of true misfortune; one which lead to the conspiracy against their father. Once in power, Posei don wasted no time to showcase his calamitous powers and greed for sovereignty. From creating generous undersea lands and blessing civilians in times of drought to feeling angered just as quickly over trivial matters and destroying extravagant empires, Poseidon shifted from these two moods at lightning speeds. Despite all these negative characteristics, Poseidon Famous Tales Being the god of all water and natural and supernatural occurrences, keeping Poseidon happy was a main priority of especially sailors; and with the temperamental, greedy and unpredictable attributes Poseidon possessed, this was not often easy. With trivial matters taken personally, Poseidon was known for have being the main cause for ground breaking earthquakes, shipwrecks and city drowning’s; and it is because of this very reason, he has been involved in countless conflicts with others. One of his most popular tales includes competing against Athena for the patronage of the city of Athens. According to this myth, the first king of Athens had been looking for a guardian of the city when both Poseidon, god of seas, and Athena, god of wisdom, interestedly volunteered. The king then asked both gods to present a true gift of value to the city of

Ancient Olmec Trade and Economy

The Olmec culture thrived in the humid lowlands of Mexicos Gulf coast during the Early and Middle Formative periods of Mesoamerica, from about 1200–400 BCE. They were great artists and talented engineers who had a complex religion and worldview. Although much information about the Olmecs has been lost to time, archaeologists have succeeded in learning much about their culture from excavations in and around the Olmec homeland. Among the interesting things they have learned is the fact that the Olmec were diligent traders who had many contacts with contemporary Mesoamerican civilizations. Mesoamerican Trade Before the Olmec By 1200 BCE, the people of Mesoamerica—present-day Mexico and Central America—were developing a series of complex societies. Trade with neighboring clans and tribes was common, but these societies did not have long-distance trade routes, a merchant class, or a universally accepted form of currency, so they were limited to a down-the-line sort of trade network. Prized items, such as Guatemalan jadeite or a sharp obsidian knife, might well wind up far from where it was mined or created, but only after it had passed through the hands of several isolated cultures, traded from one to the next. The Dawn of the Olmec One of the accomplishments of Olmec culture was the use of trade to enrich their society. Around 1200 BCE, the great Olmec city of San Lorenzo (its original name is unknown) began creating long-distance trade networks with other parts of Mesoamerica. The Olmec were skilled artisans, whose pottery, stone tools, statues, and figurines proved popular for commerce. The Olmecs, in turn, were interested in many things that were not native to their part of the world. Their merchants traded for many things, including raw stone material such as basalt, obsidian, serpentine and jadeite, commodities such as salt, and animal products such as pelts, bright feathers, and seashells. When San Lorenzo declined after 900 BCE, it was replaced in importance by La Venta, whose merchants used many of the same trade routes followed by their forebears. Olmec Economy The Olmec needed basic goods, such as food and pottery, and luxury items such as jadeite and feathers for making ornaments for rulers or religious rituals. Most common Olmec â€Å"citizens† were involved in food production, tending fields of basic crops such as maize, beans, and squash, or fishing the rivers that flowed through the Olmec homelands. There is no clear evidence that the Olmecs traded for food, as no remains of foodstuffs not native to the region have been found at Olmec sites. The exceptions to this are salt and cacao, which were possibly obtained through trade. There appears to have been a brisk trade in luxury items such as obsidian, serpentine and animal skins, however. The Gulf Coast Olmec blossomed at a time when there were at least four other islands of expanding civilization in Mesoamerica: the Soconusco, the Basin of Mexico, the Copan Valley, and the Valley of Oaxaca. The Olmec trading practices, traced through the movement of goods produced or mined elsewhere, are key to understanding the Early and Middle Formative histories of Mesoamerica. Characteristics of the Olmec trading network include: baby-faced figurines (essentially, portable versions of the Olmec stone heads);distinctive white-rimmed blackware pottery and Calzadas Carved wares;abstract iconography, especially that of the Olmec dragon; andEl Chayal obsidian, a translucent to transparent banded black volcanic stone. Olmec Trading Partners The Mokaya civilization of the Soconusco region (Pacific coast Chiapas state in present-day Mexico) was nearly as advanced as the Olmec. The Mokaya had developed Mesoamericas first known chiefdoms and established the first permanent villages. The Mokaya and Olmec cultures were not too far apart geographically and were not separated by any insurmountable obstacles (such as an extremely high mountain range), so they made natural trade partners. The Mokaya adopted Olmec artistic styles in sculpture and pottery. Olmec ornaments were popular in Mokaya towns. By trading with their Mokaya partners, the Olmec had access to cacao, salt, feathers, crocodile skins, jaguar pelts and desirable stones from Guatemala such as jadeite and serpentine. Olmec commerce extended well into present-day Central America: there is evidence of local societies having contact with the Olmec in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. In Guatemala, the excavated village of El Mezak yielded many Olmec-style pieces, including jadeite axes, pottery with Olmec designs and motifs and figurines with the distinctive ferocious Olmec baby-face. There is even a piece of pottery with an Olmec were-jaguar design. In El Salvador, many Olmec-style knick-knacks have been found and at least one local site erected a man-made pyramid mound similar to Complex C of La Venta. In the Copan valley of Honduras, the first settlers of what would become the great Maya city-state of Copà ¡n showed signs of Olmec influence in their pottery. In the basin of Mexico, the Tlatilco culture began to develop about the same time as the Olmec, in the area occupied by Mexico City today. The Olmec and Tlatilco cultures evidently were in contact with one another, most likely through some sort of trade, and the Tlatilco culture adopted many aspects of Olmec art and culture. This may have even included some of the Olmec gods, as images of the Olmec Dragon and Banded-eye God appear on Tlatilco objects. The ancient city of Chalcatzingo, in present-day Morelos of central Mexico, had extensive contact with La Venta-era Olmecs. Located in a hilly region in the Amatzinac River valley, Chalcatzingo may have been considered a sacred place by the Olmec. From about 700–500 BCE, Chalcatzingo was a developing, influential culture with connections with other cultures from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The raised mounds and platforms show Olmec influence, but the most important connection is in the 30 or so carvings that are found on the cliffs that surround the city. These show a distinct Olmec influence in style and content. Importance of Olmec Trade The Olmec were the most advanced civilization of their time, developing an early writing system, advanced stonework and complicated religious concepts before other contemporary societies. For this reason, the Olmec had a great influence on other developing Mesoamerican cultures with which they came into contact. One of the reasons the Olmec were so important and influential—some archaeologists, but not all, consider the Olmec the mother culture of Mesoamerica—was the fact that they had extensive trade contact with other civilizations from the valley of Mexico well into Central America. The significance of the trade is that the Olmec cities of San Lorenzo and La Venta were the epicenter of the trade: in other words, goods such as Guatemalan and Mexican obsidian came into Olmec centers but were not traded directly to other growing centers. While the Olmec declined between 900–400 BCE, its former trading partners dropped the Olmec characteristics and grew more powerful on their own. Olmec contact with other groups, even if they did not all embrace the Olmec culture, gave many disparate and widespread civilizations a common cultural reference and a first taste of what complex societies might offer. Sources Cheetham, David. Cultural Imperatives in Clay: Early Olmec Carved Pottery from San Lorenzo and Cantà ³n Corralito. Ancient Mesoamerica 21.1 (2010): 165–86. Print.Coe, Michael D, and Rex Koontz. Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. 6th Edition. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2008Diehl, Richard A. The Olmecs: Americas First Civilization. London: Thames and Hudson, 2004.Rosenswig, Robert M. Olmec Globalization: A Mesoamerican Archipelago of Complexity. The Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Globalization. Ed. Hodos, Tamar: Taylor Francis, 2016. 177–193. Print.

A King’s Collapse Free Essays

A King’s Collapse Unfortunately, in about every person’s life either a tragic event or a series of tragic events can be found and in some cases more than others. To many people a tragic hero could be defined as someone who performs a heroic act, but dies in the process. Nevertheless, this statement is wrong, but instead a tragic hero needs five elements. We will write a custom essay sample on A King’s Collapse or any similar topic only for you Order Now To be a tragic hero one would need noble stature, a tragic flaw, free choice, excessive punishment and increased awareness. When discussing the play Antigone, a perfect example of a tragic hero would be Creon. Though many people might argue Antigone to be the tragic hero, but she is missing the element of increased awareness. Imagine finding out that your father married your grandma and your brothers killed each other over power. Then your uncle steps in to be king and declares that one of your brothers will get no burial because he was a trader. This information starts off a tragic play called Antigone. In the play, Creon must have noble stature in order to be the tragic hero. One way Creon has noble stature is that he is the king which gives him power over the people. Antigone voiced this when she told Creon, â€Å"They share my views, but they keep their mouths shut just for you. † (Sophocles 12) Even though Antigone was telling Creon that his people did not share his views, what she said showed that Creon still had power over them. Another two ways Creon has noble stature are that he creates the laws and Creon’s decisions affects everyone. This is shown when Creon states, â€Å"It’s impossible/ to really know a man, to know his soul,/ his mind and will before one witnesses/ his skill in governing and making laws. (L 198-201) This statement shows that Creon thinks everyone knows him because he is the one governing and making the laws. Creon may be the king of the Thebes, but Creon does have a tragic flaw. Flaws can be found in every single person that has lived either in the past, present or will live in the future. Though there are many people, like Creon, who believe that they have no flaws. This was just a side affect of Creon’s tragic flaw which was excessive pride. Creon’s excessive pride leads him to not taking any sort of advice from anyone, especially women. This is shown when Antigone tried persuading Creon and Creon replied with, â€Å"No woman’s going to govern me- no, no- not while I’m still alive. † (L 599-600) This not only shows his excessive pride, but also that he has absolutly no respect for women. Creon may have especially not listened to women, but he had the same communication level with everyone else, too. This is proven when the chorus leader tries reasoning with him then finally tells him, â€Å"Old man you’re like archers shooting at me. † (L 1149) This states that Creon had excessive pride, but he also was persistent and stubborn. Creon may of had excessive pride as his tragic flaw, but he also had the free choice when making his decisions. With both Creon’s excessive pride and him being the King of Thebes, he created a proclamation. This is one of the many unfortunate events that lead up to the tragic ending in Antigone. With this proclamation Creon was very forceful when making sure everyone knew it and the consequences they would apprehend if broken. Ismene restates, â€Å"For Creon this matter’s really serious. / Anyone who acts against the order/ will be stoned to death before the city. (L 41-43) This was the punishment for anyone who would betray him by breaking the proclamation which showed he had his own free choice on what the punishment would be. He also had the free choice on who to forgive and who to punish. This was shown when Creon claims, â€Å"An enemy/ can never be a friend, not even in death. † (L 598-599) When Creon says this it shows everyone that Creon has no respect for traitors at all and they will be punished no matter who they are. Creon’s noble stature, tragic flaw and free choices have all lead up to Creon’s excessive punishment. To be completely truthful excessive punishment could be a lot of different things, but the most common one is probably death. Though in Antigone death is not Creon’s excessive punishment. Instead, Creon’s excessive punishment for everything he had done was the loss of his son and wife. In Antigone, Creon had changed his mind about his actions and went to go fix them, but in the end he still lost his wife and son. Creon made it clear that he was going to fix things by saying, â€Å"Alas- it’s difficult. But I’ll give up. I’ll not do what I’d set my heart upon. / It’s not right to fight against necessity. † (L 1236-1238) This shows that Creon was finally persuaded into not killing Antigone and burying Polyneices. Creon may of finally changed his mind, but he was too late to save anyone from death. Then after Antigone, his son and his wife he finally admits, â€Å"I killed you, my son, without intending to,/ and you as well, my wi fe. How useless I am now. † (L 1479-1480) This statement shows exactly what Creon’s excessive punishment was which included losing his family. Creon’s actions and his excessive punishment lead to his increased awareness of what he had done and the consequences he would now have to face because of them. The last element one needs to inquire before being classified as a tragic hero concludes to be increased awareness. Through all Creon had done, in the end, he finally realized that he should not have been so selfish nor stubborn. Creon lastly voiced the truth as he stated, â€Å"A las for me†¦ The guilt for all this is mine-/†¦ I, and I alone†¦ / I murdered you†¦ I speak the truth. (1463, 1465-1466) This comes to show that Creon comprehended that even though his son and wife killed themselves, he still was the reason in which they killed themselves. For any one person, with is awareness that you comprehend there has to be guilt that follows. His regret is stated as, â€Å"Oh the profanity of what I planned. / Alas, my son, you died so young-/ not your own foolishness but mine. † (L 1410-1412 ) In this quote it explain not only that Creon made mistakes or that he regrets it, but it also shows that Creon realizes that he made foolish mistakes that he would expect someone much inexperienced to make. Mix this five elements: noble stature, tragic flaw, free choice, excessive punishment, and increased awareness together and one would result with a tragic hero. Since almost everyone in the world has exprienced or seen some type of either tragic event or a series of tragic events in their lifetime it can be concluded that each person has their own definition of a tragic event. In many cases the established definition can be dependent on how severe the tragic event happens to be. The same thing happens when defining what a tragic hero consists of being. The correct difinition for what one needs to be a tragic hero states that a person should need five elements: noble stature, a tragic flaw, free choice, excessive punishment, and increased awareness. Creon from the tragic play Antigone could be cosidered to be a perfect example of a tragic hero. Now many people might beg to differ that Antigone is the real play, but in all actuality Antigone missed one of the elements in the play. The element that allowed Creon tone the tragic hero instead of Antigone was that Antigone had no increased awareness in the end. How to cite A King’s Collapse, Papers