Prostitution Opposition Essay

Prostitution is one of th oldest trades known to man and even at the present time, while it is illegal in most areas of the United States, it is still employing many women and is solicited by even more men. Prostitution should be decriminalized because we are paying too high a financial and social cost for the ineffective enforcement of laws against it. The money and the law enforcement personnel freed by legalizing prostitution could be better spent if used to protect citizens against violent crimes. Prostitution has not always been a crime and there are still a few communities in the West, particularly in Nevada, where houses of prostitution operate as legal businesses. First, let me give you a brief history lesson on prostitution. â€Å"Before the 17th century, fornication may not have been socially accepted, but neither English nor American common law recognized it as a crime. After the Civil War, a series of laws were proposed to segregate and license prostitutes to operate in â€Å"red light† districts, and in 1910, the Mann act, a federal statute prohibiting the transportation of females across a state border for the purpose of prostitution, debauchery, or any immoral purpose was passed. By 1917, the organized and highly profitable prostitution of New Orleans and other cities was doomed by federal edict, and in 1925, every state had enacted an anti-prostitution law. Still, the effectiveness and the social and economic cost of making prostitution a crime has been continually questioned† (J. Pearl, 256). There are generally two types of prostitutes, those who either employ themselves or have a pimp, and then there are escorts. Escorts are supposed to be just that, an escort. According to Kentucky law, an escort is defined as â€Å"Any person who is held out to the public to be available for hire for monetary consideration in the form of a fee, commission, tip or salary, to consort with, or who accompanies, another or others to or about social affairs, entertainments or places of amusement, or within any private quarters, or who pose for the purpose of being observed or viewed by any person† (J. Sharkey). However, most escorts are prostitutes that are hiding  behind and being protected by the facade of a legal business. If, and usually when an escort does engage in any sexual activity, her services have then become criminal and she is prostituting herself. But, other more violent crimes are being committed daily. The perpetrators of these crimes often get away with it because our police forces are spread too thinly, even without adding prostitution arrests into the equation. â€Å"In 1985, residents and visitors of Dallas, Texas reported over 15,000 violent crimes, only 2,665 of which resulted in arrest. That same year, Dallas police officers arrested 7,280 prostitutes, which cost local taxpayers over ten million dollars. More importantly, it cost the community over 300 hours daily, of police man-hours (J. Pearl, 258). For an officer to make an arrest of a prostitute, he must do five things. First, the officer must be solicited by , and make an arrest of a suspected prostitute or â€Å"john†, then he would have to transport the arrest to the police station. Once the arrest has been detained, they must be booked, this would include fingerprinting and the identification process. The next thing the officer does is write and file his report, the fifth and final step of a prostitution arrest is to testify in court. The officer interviewed says that testifying is by far the most time-consuming aspect of the entire process (Mora, interview). Beyond the obvious costs associated with police earnings are less apparent ancillary expenses. These are the props and things used to make an arrest. Most officers change their physical appearances frequently and lease a new car every three months, these expenses, of course, are paid by our tax dollars. There are two more aspects of financial cost involved with prostitution arrests. The judicial expenses and correction costs. â€Å"The costs of prosecuting persons arrested as suspected a prostitute reflect the fact that most cases involve more than one court appearance. The prosecution of an average prostitution case usually requires nearly four hours of a court’s full attention over a period of weeks or months (J. Pearl). When a person is  convicted of prostitution, she may be sentenced to jail time. â€Å"In California, convicted prostitutes are estimated to account for at least 30 percent of the population in most women’s correctional facilities, the annual cost of incarcerating only four convicted prostitutes in Boston was almost fifty thousand dollars† (J. Pearl, 262). Correctional costs impose a substantial burden on the public. Since it takes an average of 22 hours to complete the process of arresting a prostitute, you can imagine the amount of time that is being wasted on it. The time used enforcing present prostitution laws could be better used on finding and prosecuting the perpetrators of violent crimes. â€Å"Well over two million violent crimes were reported in 1985 to police departments. Eighty three percent, or 1.9 million, of these reported offenses failed to result in arrest. For each of these non-arrest cases, police in the same cities last year spent nearly one hour enforcing prostitution laws’ (J. Pearl). There is no assurance that while arresting prostitution offenders, that police officers will also be patrolling for other crimes being committed in the same area. All factors considered, prostitution laws clearly represent lost opportunities for the protection of society against other crimes. Charles Winick says that â€Å"It would be extremely foolhardy to base public policy on the temporary or neurotic needs of a very small element of the population, there has never been any society where regulated prostitution has worked† (pg. 267). He also believes that prostitution is unfair to the prostitute, and that prostitution paves the way for other crimes in a community that allows it. I am not denying these facts, however, Winick does not provide any refutation to my arguments invoving the costs of prostitution law enforcement. Maybe because there are very few arguments against my views. Many Americans may never wish to condone prostitution, but the time has come to ask whether or not we can afford to keep it illegal. In the face of rising complaints of violent crime in virtually all major cities, the hundreds of highly skilled vice officer man-hours devoted weekly to prostitution costs. It is clear that many of the costs incurred in the  enforcement of prostitution laws are inescapable, but most unfortunately, police on prostitution duty are seldom available to deter more assaultive crimes. Works Cited Mora, James. Personal Interview. 28 Apr. 1999 Pearl, Julie. â€Å"The Highest Paying Customers: America’s Cities Against the Costs of Prostitution Control.† Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Human Sexuality. ED. Robert T Francoeur. Guilford [C.T]: Dushkin Publishing Group, INC., 1989. Sharkey, Joe. â€Å"Come Listen to a Story ‘Bout a Town Against Hookers.† New York Times. 19 Apr. 1998: P. 7, Sec. 4. Winick, Charles. â€Å"Debate on the Legalization of Prostitution.† Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Human Sexuality: Ed. Robert T. Francoeur. Guilford [C.T.]: Dushkin Publishing Group, INC., 1989.

Case Starbucks Essay

a. Assuming that Starbucks had no significant permanent differences between book income and taxable income, did income before taxes for financial reporting exceed or fall short of taxable income for 2012? Explain. Taxable income before income tax is $2,059 million, and taxable income should minus $674.4 million. So income before taxes exceeds taxable income. b. Will the adjustment to net income for deferred taxes to compute cash flow from operations in the statement of cash flows result in an addition or subtraction for 2012? There will be a subtraction from net income for deferred taxes to compute cash flow. c. Starbucks rents retail space for its coffee shops. It must recognize rent expense as it uses rental facilities but cannot claim an income tax deduction until it pays cash to the landlord. Suggest the scenario that would give rise to a deferred tax asset instead of a deferred tax liability related to occupancy cost – Accrued Occupancy Cost. No lease payment in the begin ning of the rent. As a result, the company recognizes rent expense earlier for financial reporting than for income tax reporting in order for Starbucks to report deferred tax assets. d. Starbucks recognizes an expense related to retirement benefits as employees rendered services but cannot claim an income tax deduction until it pays cash to a retirement fund. Why do the deferred taxes for deferred compensation appear as a deferred tax asset – Accrued Compensation and Related Costs? Suggest possible reasons why the deferred tax asset decreased slightly between the end of 2011 and the end of 2012. Company can contribute cash to a retirement fund in later years, it can claim an income tax deduction. The decreasing amount of the deferred tax asset in could be. Starbucks reports deferred revenue for sales of stored value cards, such as the Starbucks Card and gift certificates. These amounts are taxed when collected, but not recognized in financial reporting income until tendered at a store. Why does the tax effect of deferred revenue appear as a deferred tax asset? Why might the value of this deferred tax asset doubled from 2011 to 2012? Because they recognize revenue even they didn’t get the cash. So the tax can be deferred until they get the cash. g. Starbucks recognizes a valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets to reflect â€Å"net operating losses of consolidated  foreign subsidiaries.† Presumably, these are included in â€Å"Other† deferred tax assets. Why might the valuation allowance have financial increase between 2011 and 2012?(no idea) h. Starbucks uses the straight-line depreciation method for financial reporting and accelerated depreciation for income tax reporting. Like most firms, the largest deferred tax liability is for property plant and equipment (depreciation). Explain how depreciation leads to a deferred tax liability. Suggest possible reasons why the amount of the deferred tax liability related to depreciation increased between 2011 and 2012. Starbucks uses different depreciation method for financial reporting and income tax reporting. So the taxable income on financial statements may lower than on income tax reporting. The difference between is deferred tax liability. The accelerate depreciation calculate more with the time, so the amount may increased during 2011 to 2012.

Artificial Intelligence And The Legal Profession

Artificial Intelligence And The Legal Profession Technologies that may be able to automate typical legal duties, such as performing case research or creating standard contracts, have existed now for quite some time but have not been fully integrated into practice as of yet. However, in roughly the last decade, pressure on lawyers and law firms to reduce fees has increased and this has led to a more favorable attitude toward legal technologies in a push to increase efficiency throughout the profession. Second, pressure to improve access to justice by reducing both financial and structural barriers affecting disadvantaged groups has led to the development of several online or otherwise accessible legal technologies. Third, as the capabilities of computers grow to include higher-level processes, the possibilities for their integration into the legal field grow too. While previous legal technologies threatened to replace mostly clerical work, artificial intelligence may threaten to replace lawyers themselves. To gain a comprehensive un derstanding of this topic, it is necessary to explore the current state of artificial intelligence in the legal profession, how it impacts the demand for lawyer labor, and how the profession’s regulatory structures relate to the trajectory of legal technology. The term â€Å"artificial intelligence† describes how computers can perform tasks that might generally be thought to require some level of human intelligence. These tasks can range from flagging outliers in a set of data to transcribing an audio tape and everything in between. Fundamentally, computers operate based on sets of defined rules. Any task to be performed by computers must be able to be articulated as a set of basic rules to be followed. Deductive rules are those laid out in a step-by-step process that is followed by the computer until the task is completed. An example of this as applied to automated legal work is the use of automated document assembly, such as the creation of a template for a will or other standard legal document. In a matter of seconds, a document assembly application can pull relevant information about a client and use this to create a personalized document. Similarly, a computer could provide a list of cases from a particular court citing a parti cular statute. In addition to such tasks whose processes can be modeled explicitly, some other tasks can be accomplished with the use of data-driven rules. The relationship between a set of input variables and the resulting outputs can be estimated by a process called â€Å"supervised machine learning†, so called because the estimation is bounded by the set of training data. For example, a team of researchers was able to develop a model to predict the behavior of the Supreme Court, based only on data from past decisions. They were able to achieve 70.2% prediction accuracy at the case outcome level and 71.9% prediction accuracy at the justice vote level. While these predictions cannot be expressed based on a combination of deductive rules as in previous examples, with enough input data a relatively consistent pattern can be recognized. Similarly, software for automated document review has been developed and proven successful at determining relevancy of documents based on the i nput of a â€Å"seed set† of documents designated relevant or not. As well as being able to potentially replace or improve the efficiency of routine legal tasks, predictive algorithms like these have possible applications to the legal field as a whole. For example, results of a race-neutral sentencing predictor algorithm could be compared to actual sentences to determine the influence of human bias in such processes. Overall, the success of data-driven algorithms is significant primarily in that it highlights the routineness of some tasks that would otherwise be viewed as more sophisticated and complex. The adoption of technology into the legal workplace will be influenced by the market in addition to the quality and capabilities of available technologies. Historically, the demand for technology in law firms has been low for several reasons. The billable hour system economically encouraged inefficiency, while the typical partnership structure meant the funds for new technologies would come directly out of the pockets of partners, unlike a traditional corporation structure in which the money would come from shareholders. To the first point, in recent years there has been a notable shift in supply of lawyers relative to demand for lawyer labor. This leads to increasing pressure to improve efficiency and reduce cost to clients. Additionally, a rise in the share of legal work performed by a company’s house legal department compared to that performed by outside law firms allows these technologies to be purchased with corporation funds, which is more favorable. In addition to the g rowing demand for legal technologies, the capabilities of such technologies are expanding rapidly as well. The theory of disruptive innovation explains how this will also contribute to the growing prevalence of legal technology. When the only legal tasks that could be automated were clerical and other low-level services, law firms were willing to buy into such software to improve efficiency and better serve their clients. However, developers have since been able to expand their technologies to handle more complex tasks, and firms now are practically required to adopt them as client pressures grow. This phenomenon, in addition to the growing market interest, will lead to rapid adoption of technology into the legal realm. As the use of technology in the legal profession grows, the impact of artificial intelligence on the demand for lawyer labor in some areas has been or will be relatively significant, while in others is unlikely to pose a significant threat. The distinction between tasks that can easily be automated versus those that cannot is in the extent to which their underlying structures can be defined. For example, while document drafting can be successfully automated as discussed above, more complex legal writing characterizing the state of the law or its application to particular factual circumstances presents a much more challenging situation. The conceptual creativity and flexibility demanded by this type of writing cannot be defined by either deductive or data-driven rules. Another example is the distinction between document review during discovery and document review during due diligence. While the former can be automated with the use of explicit rules, the latter requires critical judgme nts that a computer cannot make. A trained lawyer can note, for example, any unexpected information or violations of appropriate rules that a computer would not be able to recognize without being explicitly primed to look for such things. Some advanced applications of artificial intelligence to the legal profession have found ways to extend its reach despite these limitations. For example, IBM’s Debater System is able to analyze documents and other materials annotated first by humans. While this is clearly less efficient than purely automated processes since it requires time put in by an associate, it alleviates some of the major issues with automated lawyering; any glaring contradictions or relevant subtleties can be highlighted before the materials are analyzed by the software. Another way by which artificial intelligence can be employed to perform tasks that a lawyer is qualified to do is through online systems to resolve minor disputes ranging from parking violations to e -commerce complaints. These technologies aid lawyers in negotiating by analyzing overlap between stated preferences of the two parties and can typically reach a mutual solution without the involvement of a lawyer at all. While such systems may thus be able to replace lawyers and even judges entirely, they will likely have little impact on the overall demand for lawyer labor since it would likely not be feasible economically or otherwise to hire an attorney and litigate. In this way, the full automation of legal services comes at no cost to lawyer labor. In fact, a study that categorized legal tasks by the impact of automation on employment found that only around 4% of lawyers’ time was billed to tasks most acutely threatened by artificial intelligence. In summary, while even moderately complex legal tasks have been successfully automated, the legal profession is unlikely to find itself obsolete within a decade as some headlines predict. As new technologies continue to develop and make their way into the practice of law, there emerges a need for a better way to protect the integrity of the legal system while ensuring consumer protection and access to quality services for all members of the population. With regard to consumer protection, computers offer the advantage of eliminating human error and standardizing services in some cases, but certainly not all. For example, online services cannot effectively analyze highly complex scenarios, but instead of returning an error message often return products completed in a way that places the client liable. While consumer protection concerns are not necessarily graver with automated legal services, they deserve at least the same attention afforded to legal services provided by human lawyers. Current professionalism guidelines limit the performance of legal services to those trained and licensed to practice law, and the stated reason for this is â€Å"to protect the public fr om the consequences of receiving legal services from unqualified persons†. These regulations are then enforced through disciplinary sanctions imposed by bar committees. However, these guidelines have several weaknesses when it comes to the regulation of new technologies in the legal field. They fail to specifically outline what tasks require the expertise of a licensed practitioner, which makes them unhelpful in governing what tasks may be left to automated providers. Next, even though computers may not be skilled enough to perform some tasks normally handled by lawyers, they may be competent enough to assist trained professionals, something not addressed by the guidelines. Finally, there has never been a sophisticated investigation into exactly what tasks computers can perform at the same level lawyers can. Although the quality of legal services provided by automated programs may be lower than that provided by a trained and experienced lawyer, the low prices associated with t hese types of services justify their employment in certain instances. For example, someone who needs a simple will written has little need for a full-service lawyer. However, the consequences of trading low quality for low cost are magnified in more complex high-stakes issues like custody disputes or messy divorce negotiations. The â€Å"access to justice† problem discussed briefly above is a key aspect of the legal profession and should not be redefined as â€Å"access to some form of legal services whether quality or not†. While the introduction of low-cost automated services does increase accessibility to low-income persons, the result could be a two-tiered system that does not equally serve justice to the disadvantaged. For these reasons, it is important that the use of technology in the legal profession is regulated in the future to prevent it from being driven forward on the basis of outcome alone. When it comes to the recent discussion surrounding technology in the legal profession, there are two major sides taken. Some argue that incorporating more technology into the field will reduce costs to client with little expense in terms of quality and oppose strict regulations while others argue that there is no equal alternative to the work of a trained professional. This paper has shown the principles of artificial intelligence that govern which tasks can be automated successfully and discussed the impacts of such automation on the legal profession. While the media forecasts an end to the legal profession, in reality only a small portion of legal tasks are affected and the overall effect on the demand for lawyer labor is moderate at best. With that said, current regulations are insufficient at providing a consistent framework to guide the incorporation of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies into the field, and the careful creation of such regulations will prove necessary as automated legal services develop further.

Political, Fiscal and Programmatic Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Political, Fiscal and Programmatic Power - Essay Example National Governments assumed more and more power and the original spirit of the federalism under which states had a role too diminished. Though the federalism emerged as a concept of sharing the powers of the states and the national government however, the power naturally shifted towards the national government. Though this may be considered as good however, states being the laboratories for democracy tend to have their own role too. The founding fathers of the country established this mechanism of governance in order to control the overlapping of powers between different organs of the State however, the power ultimately shifted. Over the period of time, powers such as fiscal, political as well as programmatic have been largely in the hands of national government. This paper will therefore discuss as to whether these powers should be shifted towards the states or not in order to streamline the powers between national governments and states. Federalism in US It is argued that the fede ralism emerged out of a political necessity and it was established in order to consolidate the different states under one national government. One of the plausible explanations of the federalism was actually to prevent the rise of the power holders and balance the powers between different power holders. ... (Gerston, 2007) Theoretically, a federal system is based upon a system in which the overall power and authority is shared between a central government at the national level and different sub-governments. This very characteristics of dividing the power between different players actually limits the authority and also preserve the representative democracy. As such , federalism blends both the centralized as well as de-centralized political systems thus creating a fusion of governance mechanism which can ensure transparency and balance. Historically, however, except the general assignments as outlined specifically within US constitution, there has been a critical struggle between the national governments and states to maintain the powers between themselves. The overlapping of powers, roles and responsibilities between states and national government therefore requires critical insight and exploration into the practical nature of the federalism and whether it has achieved its objectives or not. The era from great depression to at least 1980s, even the apex court of the country gave decisions based on entrusting greater powers to the national government under the impression that strong central government is necessary for ensuring fiscal stability within the country. States and National Government National Government, in US, evolved as a result of creating a policy making entity at the top. As such the laws passed by the Congress almost touched every aspect of human life. This approach towards law making and the historical tendency of the Congressmen to pass laws with uniform policy implications for the social sphere of life at least have been historically on rise. Right from

Muenster Pump Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Muenster Pump - Case Study Example It is amply clear that Union Foundry’s quote is most competitive. Moreover, it guarantees to deliver the quality product as they have adopted modern technology. Outsourcing pump housing is in benefit of the company. Ned Dorf is not enthusiastic about outsourcing the parts. He is of the view that his company produces quality products and has reputation in the market place. He is a bit conservative and wants to have every parts produced in-house for this reason. The bigger issue is when foundry is closed down and pump housings are outsourced, what would happen to the workers working in the foundry unit? Currently, industries try to save every cent in material and direct labor cost because that is a key to survive in the long run – in the good and bad market. Market dynamics change rapidly and efficiency is the mantra for any industry to progress in the market place. It is quite likely that someone else might offer pumps at lower cost by employing Union Foundry’s housing and outplay The Muenster Pump Company from its age-old secured business. The clichà © ‘Survival of the Fittest’ is equally true in the business too. a. The Company will reduce its direct cost by more than 10% percent and will save substantially increasing the bottom line. The company can offer more competitive prices to the customers and increase its market share. Only disadvantage with outsourcing is to ensure quality supply of the component outsourced and if Union Foundry fails to deliver the supply in future for the reasons beyond their control what should be done? The advantage is that the company would be able to judge the quality of Union Foundry in due course of time and then gradually increase the procurement to make it hundred percent. This will give company enough time and leverage to adjust the workers in the other processes or in expansion of the main activities. This will take care of the human adjustment

Marketing ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing ethics - Essay Example However, in contemporary competitive market, the task of aligning is excessively challenging (Appelbaum, et al., 2009). In this particular study, the researcher will primarily focus on ethics of marketing, which addresses certain standards and principles associated with suitable conduct in the market (Ferrell, n.d.). According to the author, marketing is an activity usually conducted by an organization to promote a particular product or service and unethical practices arise out of pressure to achieve performance objectives. Misleading sales approach, overbilling customers, price fixing and fraud antitrust are all categorized as unethical marketing practices. Although such practices may fetch short-term benefits for the company; in the long run, these have devastating impacts. Such impacts may deteriorate financial performance of a company or tarnish its reputation to such an extent that downfall of the company becomes inevitable. This is precisely the reason why conducting ethical marketing is so important. Organizations that efficiently manage ethics are able to methodically absorb, respond and adap t to most breakdowns in decisions or conduct. In the contemporary consumer oriented society, human rights play a crucial role. Given the aforesaid fact, greater number of companies has been exposed to several positive as well as negative ethical issues of which count of the latter is increasing day by day. This has been largely possible due to rising power of media and the way this system is structured. Consequently, the system has a considerable impact on organizations that are involved in such means. In light of the aforementioned facts, this study will take a look at GlaxoSmithKline, which is a UK based pharmaceutical company and assess few of the ethical marketing challenges faced by the company, thereby seeking evidences as to why these

Critical review on The Haemophilias Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical review on The Haemophilias - Essay Example mutations in the gene encoding blood coagulation factors VIII or IX respectively (Turgeon, 2004). The gene for factor VIII is situated near the tip of the long arm of X-chromosome (Xq 2.6 region). The gene for factor IX is close to that for factor VIII near the tip of long arm of the x-chromosome. Due to sex-linked pattern of inheritance, a carrier mother, carrying a gene for haemophilia on one of the two X chromosomes, transmits the gene for haemophilia to half of her female children and half of her male children. Males who inherit the gene for haemophilia manifest the disease. On the other hand females who inherit the gene for haemophilia from their mothers would not show the defect and would act as the carrier, transmitting the defective gene to their offspring. The inheritance and clinical features of Haemophilia B are identical to that of haemophilia A (Turgeon, 2004). Both types of Haemophilias would show similar results for various blood tests, involving the normal bleeding ti me, clot retraction time, platelet count, Prothrombin time and increased APTT (Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time) (Hoffbrand et al, 2006). ... The prevalence of Haemophilia A varies from 30-100 per million population (Hoffbrand et al, 2006). While Haemophilia A is a relatively more common disorder, the incidence of Christmas disease is one fifth of that of haemophilia A. Depending on the levels of coagulation factors in the body, the disease can be classified into severe, moderate and mild. When the coagulation factor deficiency is less than one-two percent of normal, the clinical manifestations of haemophilia are severe, with the symptoms being frequent spontaneous bleeding into the joints, muscles and internal organs from early life itself. Infants may suffer from profuse post-circumcision haemorrhage or develop recurrent joint and soft tissue bleeds and excessive bruising when they grow old and become active. Recurrent painful haemarthrosis and muscle haematomas may be predominant, resulting in joint deformity and crippling, especially if the disease is not adequately treated. Local pressure from haemophilic pseudo-tumours (encapsulated haematomas with progressive cystic swelling resulting from repeated haemorrhage) can cause entrapment neuropathy or ischaemic necrosis (Hoffbrand et al, 2006). If the coagulation factor activity is between 2-10 % o f the normal, the moderate manifestations of the disease are produced. Bleeding usually occurs after minor trauma, though occasionally spontaneous episodes of bleeding can occur too. Prolonged bleeding may occur after dental extractions. Spontaneous haematuria and gastro-intestinal haemorrhage, resulting from intramucosal bleeding can also occur (Hoffbrand et al, 2006). If the coagulation factor activity is greater than 10-30% of the normal,

Professional Development Plan&Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Professional Development Plan&Review - Essay Example The following description states the goals that I have set, these are the self goal of completing assignments in time, group goal of increased coordination and finally critically evaluating my writing skills. I furthermore explain the manner in which I have gone through the process of developing them and the results obtained. In my education, I have gone through many different problems and trying times. Some hindered me from achieving the best in university and thus I set several goals to ensure that they were eliminated. One of the problems that I had was the inability to complete my assignments in time. This was a major hindrance and in an effort to eliminate it, I set the goal of always preparing for my assignments early. This was effective as it offered me spare time that I went through the work to ensure perfection. There were a number of stages involved in the accomplishment of this. The first stage in this process was to ensure that I had an overview of the whole assignment so that I could divide it to ensure that I finish the parts in place. This was bound to help me break down the work and it made it seem simple. I was also be able to have my own self calendar to keep in mind the deadlines. In case of failure, I was supposed to accept it and work on all my mistakes to avoid them in future. The learning strategies for the perfection of the plan were to ensure that the project I was working on got ready three weeks due. The opportunities that I put into use were practicing on my own to identify my weak areas. Moreover, I was able to set my own study time and work with my friends as they added me knowledge that I did not have before and I offered them new knowledge (Cottrell, 2010, 71). To improve my motivation to start preparing for assignments in one month is important. I also had access to books and the internet as a source of my information and due to my consistency. My plan worked and the evidence that I was

Issue(s) with Obamacare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Issue(s) with Obamacare - Essay Example The purpose of the article is to analyse several sources in relation to the main topic and determine how reliable the Obama care is. Contrary to the Act’s main goal, sources indicate that Obama care is doing the opposite because there is an increase in emergency room visits by low-income individuals. The article is in fact stated in that it does not provide indirect information. For instance, the article maintains that since the signing of the Act into law there has been a shortage in physicians and an increase in crowding, which reflects a negative progress. The article tries to prove that Obama care is not meeting the objectives for which it was made. This is being done by indicating and analysing the problems that Obama care has brought in the country with regard to deteriorating health care. Additionally, since the article states, â€Å"Obama care has a new problem† it tries to prove that although the Act had encountered problems in the past, the condition is not im proving (Zadrozny). The overall American population is the audience. The audience might be influenced by the content in that it might refrain from using and trusting Obama care. The author has adequate expertise in both political and business field, as the arguments provided are reliable and does not confuse the reader on the main issue. The sponsoring website for the article is the Daily Beast Company. The company’s reputation is good. This is because the company’s website provides reliable information. Although the article does not have a bibliography list provided, it has incorporated in-text links that point to other reliable websites such as governmental websites that help in cementing the overall argument. To show that the information is trustworthy, the author has ensured that secondary links are provided for further reading and confirmation of the argument’s authenticity. With regard to grammar, the

Alladin Essay Example for Free

Alladin Essay I enjoy going to the movies. My experience with movies began when my mom and dad first took me to watch Alladin(1992) a Disney feature film. I remember the long line of kids with their parents queuing up for popcorn and soda right before entering the darkened theater. If there was one word to describe how I felt and must have looked while watching what seemed to me giant cartoon characters dancing and singing on the big screen, I am guessing it would be spellbound. Nowadays, my affinity with the movies remains. To me theres nothing better than settling down with popcorn, a soda, and perhaps a slice of pizza and maybe some candy while waiting for the movie to start. For anywhere between $7. 00-$9. 50, I can spend about a couple of hours eating while losing myself in the story that I have stood in line for to watch. Theres nothing else for me to do but sit back, relax and enjoy the program†¦Or at least thats whats supposed to happen. Like most adult relationships, my relationship with the movies has come to be of a love/hate nature. While I still enjoy the films, often I find my reverie and trip to a state of mental suspension interrupted by the most unbelievable and dismaying things. For example, comedies are a favorite of mine. Whether through slapstick or the more sophisticated and witty comedies, I enjoy a good joke as much as the next person does. Unfortunately, when that next persons version of a laugh is loud and unrestrained and mixed with comments of Boy I sure didnt see that coming! that persists even after the funny part is through, it can rather put a crimp on my personal enjoyment. Date movies arent much better either. It can get rather difficult to distinguish whether the sounds Im hearing are coming from the film or from the row behind me. Ive noticed that in particularly mushy scenes, it is not unusual to hear sotto voce whispers of sweet nothings among the courting couples and giggling among the teenaged girls in the audience every time the lead characters would kiss . It can also be rather irritating when, in the middle of a rather climactic scene, some person s mobile phone would just go off ringing. Only three things can possibly happen then. One, the ringing is suddenly silenced by the apologetic offender hitting either the reject or off button. Two, ringing phone will be answered and Ill call you back will be quickly whispered. Three, offender will let the phone play out the whole of his ring tone too mortified to admit ownership of the ringing phone and practically ruining two minutes o or more of the film for the rest of the audience. Of course I havent even mentioned this very select group of people who just cant not take the call †¦ It can be unbelievable how important some people seem to think they are that they forget that they are intruding on the rights of others. And then there are also these people who seem to think that it is their sworn duty and obligation to provide a running commentary of the films story. For some reason, some people who have seen the film before and have gone to watch the movie again with friends feel obligated to assure their companions Dont worry. The bomb wont explode. Just you wait and so-and-so hero will arrive in just a few seconds. After which they proceed to detail how the hero or heroine will save the day. It can get rather tempting to just turn around and admonish them for this. If its not the plot spoilers, there are people who just cant keep their emotions to themselves. I remember one time when I was sitting watching the film Constantine (2005) and heard several screams of the word Run or Hide! in about five different languages from the audience. If I ever needed proof of how culturally diverse America has become, well there it was. Dont get me wrong though. Despite all these, my enjoyment of the silver screen remains. While I admit that there were a few times when I cheated and just opted for a quiet night at home with some select DVDs and some snacks on my sofa, I still go back to the movie theater. I suppose it can be viewed as a quirk of mine but I do miss the battle of wills I get into with my next-seat neighbor on who claims rights to the armrest separating our seats. I miss the stand off that takes place between myself and the guy behind me after I ask him to please take his foot off my seat back. All these things do not diminish my excitement of seeing the anticipation and enjoyment shared on the audiences faces including my own as the movie starts its magic with the flashing of its beginning credits. Most of all, I look forward to the many and various reactions among the audience as the final credits roll on the screen and the house lights come on. It’s sad that some people cant seem to fully appreciate the movie-going experience and treat it along with its audience with the respect they deserve. For me, despite the not so nice experiences in the movie house, the magic and excitement of going to the movies still exist. Our relationship endures and remains strong.

Impact of the Internet on Political and Social Change

Impact of the Internet on Political and Social Change Placing the rise of the World-Wide Web in its historical context, assess the extent to which the Internet has been a force for positive social or political change. Word count: 996 words This essay deals with the extent to which the rise of the internet has been a force for positive social or political change when placed in its historical context. Considering the factors that have been influential on social change, it will then go on to assess the extent to which there has been an impact on political change. In addition to this, it will outline the counter arguments that oppose the positive development of the of the world-wide web, and assess the extent to which positive social and political change has been established.Then it will draw conclusions to evaluate the true extent to which the rise of the world-wide web has been a force for positive social and political change or to what extent the process has been hindered. Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee is a British computer scientist who is credited with writing, at the time, his own private program for storing information that went on to form the main structure of the World Wide Web. As the source (Tim Berners-Lee, 2012 ) reads in 1989, he proposed a global hypertext project, to be known as the World Wide Web; it was to be designed to allow people to collaborate by combining their knowledge in a web of hypertext documents. He wrote the first Web server and the first client, a hypertext browser-editor and advocated to ensure that CERN would agree to make the underlying code available on a royalty-free basis, for ever. Two of the most significant impacts that the world-wide web has had in terms of being a force for social change is in the form of connections and communications. These networks are not a tool for concealment of identities, but alternatively, exhibition of a real person. There is a close connection between virtual networks and networks in society, meaning sociability is easily adaptable between reality and virtuality. (Castells, 1997) As Tyler (2002, pp.196) writes the internet allows people to more easily work from their home, to form and sustain friendships, romantic attachments and to manage bank accounts. They are also essential in enhancing initiatives to promote political and social-issue-based discussions with others in their communities from home, and to pursue other social connections. Academics have been hugely influential in providing evidence that the world wide web indeed enhances this sociability (Castells, 1997), (Rainie Wellman, 2012). Academic research into this has presented a positive correlation between the conitued use of the internet with indicators of personal happiness. Another impact that the rise of the world-wide web has had on social change is that it has increased the ability for all sized businesses to advertise. This means that regardless of its size every business can still play a role in shaping society whether thats by making us aspire to be something or making us want something. (Kumar, V., Gupta, S. 2016, pp. 302) reference Jaishri and Shruti (2006) by stating, Digital advertising has an ability to move markets and minds, products and perceptions. It builds a relationship between customers and brands. The world-wide web has also developed into a place where political change has occoured. As Kenski, K. and Stroud, N.J. (2006, pp. 174) identified, results they obtained from the National Annenberg Election Survey, studying the relationships of access online and relative exposure to information surrounding presidential campaigns and political value and engagement. Political efficacy is a determinant of political behaviour-without feelings of competency and beliefs that ones actions are consequential; one has little incentive to participate in politics. (Kenski, K. and Stroud, N.J. 2006, pp. 174) During the American presidential election, the social media site Twitter was used frequently by the two main candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. They shaped the perceptions of the people of America via the use of tweets against the other party to obtain popularity using powerful rhetoric. As (Graham et al., 2013, pp. 694-695) writes politicians who use Twitter regularly tap into the intimacy Twitter fosters. Additionally, social network sites develop reciprocal relationships (Graham, 2013) due to engagement through public input on political dilemmas. The rise of freedom and independence, has enabled the growth of the world wide web for mass communication and self-promotion purposes, politically and socially. (Rainie, and Barry Wellman, 2012). While the world-wide web has been a force for both postive social and political change, it has also become influential in a negative way too. The world wide web is addictive and this often means that people find themselves spending vast periods of time online. As Shotten, M. (1991, pp. 219 ) writes many early Internet users were computer hackers, who were characterized as preferring the machine to people. Often social outcasts, they turned first to the computer and then to the internet in lieu of people. Another reason why the rise of the internet has caused a negative impact in terms of political and societal change is people nowadays are more likely to make final decisions based off of what they see online rather than what their common knowledge tells them to. Digital technologies dont produce effects by themsleves, but instead form the platform from which these social and political effects can come about by altering the communication capacity. One significant societal change is the impact seen on communications and connections on an exponential level, enabling people and businesses to establish a physical presence. Additionally, political change can be seen through an increase in social media usage surrounding political events, through which participation and interaction with voters allows the candidates to assert power and mediate perceptions. Although, contrasting ideas such as the addictiveness of the internet, argue that the rise of the world-wide web has also been a force for change in a detrimental way with it being the cause of factors such as social outcasts and the damaging of peoples intellectual abilities. However, the rise of the world-wide web has most certianly had more of a positive impact than a negative impact on both pol itical and societal change. References: Graham, T., Broersma, M., Hazelhoff, K. and van t Haar, G. (2013) between broadcasting political messages and interacting with voters, Information, Communication Society, 16(5), pp. 692-716 Kenski, K. and Stroud, N.J. (2006) Connections between Internet use and political efficacy, knowledge, and participation, Journal of Broadcasting Electronic Media, 50(2), pp. 173-192. Kumar, V. and Gupta, S. (2016) Conceptualizing the evolution and future of advertising, Journal of Advertising, 45(3), pp. 302-317 Shotten, M. (1991). The costs and benefits of computer addiction. Behavior and Information Technology, 10, pp. 219-230 Columbia University Press (2012) Tim Berners-Lee. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition,. Available at: http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?sid=68ad9a68-9b77-40f1-ac06-702a6564089d%40sessionmgr4006vid=5hid=4205bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=39047085db=lfh (Accessed: 12 December 2016). Tyler, T.R. (2002) Is the Internet changing social life? It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same, Journal of Social Issues, 58(1), pp. 195-205. Castells, M. (1997) The information age: Economy, society and culture: V. 2: Power of identity. 2nd edn. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers. Rainie, L. and Wellman, B. (2012) Networked: The new social operating system. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Identity Vs. Outside Forces Essay -- Literary Analysis

The existential drama, No Exit by Jean Paul Sartre, and the absurd drama, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard both portray characters with an ambiguous sense of identity. While the characters in No Exit delude themselves with respect to identity and shirk responsibility for their identity-making choices, the characters in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead are primarily controlled by outside forces that confuse and limit their sense of identity. Both these authors do a fine job of portraying the relationship between identity and the outside forces The only character in either play that exhibits a true sense of identity is No Exit's Inez. by Comparing and contrasting the identites of the characters we can see how identity unfolds admist oustanding forces. The identity of a person is created by how one precieves themselves to other people. With respect to Garcin of No Exit, this is very evident. He claims: "I'm no talker, I don't move much; in fact I'm a very peacful sort of fellow"(Satre 9) even though speaks and voices his opinion often. Garcin becomes more comfortable when he begins to realize his identity, "I'm no gentleman, and I have no compunction about striking a woman". Thomas Whitaker believes "Garcin...finally sees that one who identitfies conciousness with any role or ideal must submit to the unpredictable validating judgement of others"(par. 4). Garcin's identity becomes clear as soon as he enters the room when talking to the valet: "I tell you, I regret nothing"(Satre 24). This is also evidence that Garcin thinks of himself as a hero. Garcin's deludes himself by convincing himself that he did do the right thing: "I shan't be sorry for myself, I'll face the situation, as I said just n... ...oing anything, or nothing at all. Works Cited Berlin, Normand. "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Theatre of Critism." Modern Drama 16.3 & 4(Dec. 1973): 269-277. Rpt. in Contemorary Literary Critism. Ed. Roger Matuz and Cathy Falk. Vol. 63, Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 Dec. 2010. Sartre, Jean-Paul. "No Exit." New York: Vintage Books, 1947. Stoppard, Tom. "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead." London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1967. "The Fools of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead." Free Essays 29 November 2010 Whitaker, Thomas R. "Playing Hell." The Yearbook of English Studies 9(1979): 167- 187. Rpt. in Contemorary Literary Critism. Ed. Daniel G. Marowski and Roger Matuz. Vol. 52. Detriot: Gale Research, 1989. Literature Resource Center. Web. 12 Dec. 2010.

Voltaires Candide Essay -- Voltaire essays research papers

Candide, written by Voltaire and published in 1759, is based in the Age of the Enlightenment. Candide is a satiric tale of a virtuous man's search for the truest form of happiness and his ultimate acceptance of life's disappointments. The illegitimate son of the Baron's sister; Candide is raised in the Castle of Westphalia and taught by his friend and philosopher of metaphysico-theologo-cosmolo-nigology, Dr.Pangloss. Candide is abruptly cast out from the castle when he and Lady Cunegonde are found indiscreetly kissing behind a screen. Broken hearted and emotionally lost by the separation from Lady Cunegonde, his true love; Candide wanders off. After being tricked into servitude with the Bulgar army, Candide discovers that his one and only love Lady Cunegonde is dead and his friend Dr. Pangloss is deathly sick; Candide then decides that all is not lost and that a cure must be found for Pangloss. Tragedy, adventure and a series of horrible events follow Candide as he is forced to over come misfortune to find true happiness; in the end he determines that all is not well and that he must work in order to find even a small amount of pleasure in life. The principal theme presented throughout majority of the novel is "Optimism" by the main character Candide and how that theme is incorporated into his winning outcomes of terrible situations. His good friend and philosopher Dr.Pangloss first introduces this Optimism that Candide believes. Yet this optimist foundation is being con... Voltaire's Candide Essay -- Voltaire essays research papers Candide, written by Voltaire and published in 1759, is based in the Age of the Enlightenment. Candide is a satiric tale of a virtuous man's search for the truest form of happiness and his ultimate acceptance of life's disappointments. The illegitimate son of the Baron's sister; Candide is raised in the Castle of Westphalia and taught by his friend and philosopher of metaphysico-theologo-cosmolo-nigology, Dr.Pangloss. Candide is abruptly cast out from the castle when he and Lady Cunegonde are found indiscreetly kissing behind a screen. Broken hearted and emotionally lost by the separation from Lady Cunegonde, his true love; Candide wanders off. After being tricked into servitude with the Bulgar army, Candide discovers that his one and only love Lady Cunegonde is dead and his friend Dr. Pangloss is deathly sick; Candide then decides that all is not lost and that a cure must be found for Pangloss. Tragedy, adventure and a series of horrible events follow Candide as he is forced to over come misfortune to find true happiness; in the end he determines that all is not well and that he must work in order to find even a small amount of pleasure in life. The principal theme presented throughout majority of the novel is "Optimism" by the main character Candide and how that theme is incorporated into his winning outcomes of terrible situations. His good friend and philosopher Dr.Pangloss first introduces this Optimism that Candide believes. Yet this optimist foundation is being con...

Two Sides of Billy Pilgrim in Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse Five :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

Two Sides of Billy Pilgrim in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five War can destroy. War can teach. In Kurt Vonnegut's book Slaughterhouse Five, the central character, Billy Pilgrim, is the outcome of a test. In creating and developing Billy Pilgrim, Vonnegut's intention is to show the effect of modern war on a sensitive person who tries to play the game the way society expects. This, along with family influence, shapes how Billy acts in his two different lives: life in the military and life alone. Torn inside and out, Billy Pilgrim was forced to make a choice. He had to choose the way he would live his life. Learning from his father, Billy could respond by taking his father's drive toward dominance over people and environment. Billy could also follow his mother, confusing him with her excessive demands for gratitude. Forced to decide, Billy chooses neither, which to him, is the easiest way to survive. He yields to his father's attitude without adopting it as a model, while withdrawing from his mother without complaint, without hurting her. He believes that sharing the guilt of aggression is more complicated than simply turning the other cheek, which shines through in moments under pressure. Denial is also crucial to Billy Pilgrim's character. The Dresden bombing intensifies the damage to his personality. He can survive only by denying his experiences at Dresden and he divides himself into two halves: a social half that says, "Yes," and a private half that says, "No." His conflicts force his "surrender to the world," first with a mental breakdown, then with an escape into fantasy. Publicly, he agrees with the Marine major who wants more bombing, more Green Berets, while internally, he sees a war-film backwards, in which he wishes to undo the ravaging effects of war. Looking for an outlet, Billy discovers science fiction, which gives him perspective and consolation. This perspective forces him to teach others, to improve not people's physical sight but their spiritual vision, which eventually leads to his commitment.

Greek Mythology

Greek mythology in western art and literature With the rediscovery of classical antiquity in Renaissance, the poetry of Ovid became a major influence on the imagination of poets and artists and remained a fundamental influence on the diffusion and perception of Greek mythology through subsequent centuries. [2] From the early years of Renaissance, artists portrayed subjects from Greek mythology alongside more conventional Christian themes.Among the best-known subjects of Italian artists are Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Pallas and the Centaur, the Ledas of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and Raphael's Galatea. 2] Through the medium of Latin and the works of Ovid, Greek myth influenced medieval and Renaissance poets such as Petrarch, Boccaccio and Dante in Italy. [1] In northern Europe, Greek mythology never took the same hold of the visual arts, but its effect was very obvious on literature. Both Latin and Greek classical texts were translated, so that stories of mythology becam e available. In England, Chaucer, the Elizabethans and John Milton were among those influenced by Greek myths; nearly all the major English poets from Shakespeare to Robert Bridges turned for inspiration to Greek mythology.Jean Racine in France and Goethe in Germany revived Greek drama. [2] Racine reworked the ancient myths — including those of Phaidra, Andromache, Oedipus and Iphigeneia — to new purpose. [3] The 18th century saw the philosophical revolution of the Enlightenment spread throughout Europe and accompanied by a certain reaction against Greek myth; there was a tendency to insist on the scientific and philosophical achievements of Greece and Rome.The myths, however, continued to provide an important source of raw material for dramatists, including those who wrote the libretti for Handel's operas Admeto and Semele, Mozart's Idomeneo and Gluck's Iphigenie en Aulide. [3] By the end of the century, Romanticism initiated a surge of enthusiam for all things Greek, including Greek mythology. In Britain, it was a great period for new translations of Greek tragedies and Homer, and these in turn inspired contemporary poets, such as Keats, Byron and Shelley. 4] The Hellenism of Queen's Victoria poet laureate, Alfred Lord Tennyson, was such that even his portraits of the quintessentially English court of King Arthrur are suffused with echoes of the Homeric epics.The visual arts kept pace, stimulated by the purchase of the Parthenon marbles in 1816; many of the â€Å"Greek† paintings of Lord Leighton and Lawrence Alma-Tadema were seriously accepted as part of the transmission of the Hellenic ideal. [5] The German composer of the 18th century Christoph Gluck was also influenced by Greek mythology. 1] American authors of the 19th century, such as Thomas Bulfinch and Nathaniel Hawthorne, believed that myths should provide pleasure, and held that the study of the classical myths was essential to the understanding of English and Americal literatu re. [6] According to Bulfinch, â€Å"the so-called divinities of Olympus have not a single worshipper among living men; they belong now not to the department of theology, but to those of literature and taste†. [7] In more recent times, classical themes have been reinterpreted by such major dramatists as Jean Anouilh, Jean Cocteau, and Jean Giraudoux in France, Eugene O'Neill in America, and T.S. Eliot in England and by great novelists such as the Irish James Joyce and the French Andre Gide. Richard Strauss, Jacques Offenbach and many others have set Greek mythological themes to music. [1]References 1. ^ a b c d â€Å"Greek Mythology†. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2002. 2. ^ a b c â€Å"Greek mythology†. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2002. * L. Burn, Greek Myths, 75 3. ^ a b l. Burn, Greek Myths, 75 4. ^ l. Burn, Greek Myths, 75-76 5. ^ l. Burn, Greek Myths, 76 6. ^ Klatt-Brazouski, Ancient Greek and Roman Mythology, 4 7. ^ T. Bulfinch, Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythol ogy, 1 Greek Mythology Greek Mythology,  set  of  diverse  traditional tales told by the ancient Greeks about the exploits of gods and heroes and their relations with ordinary mortals. The  ancient  Greeks  worshiped many gods within a culture that tolerated diversity. Unlike other belief systems, Greek culture recognized no single truth or code and produced no sacred, written text like the Bible or the Qur’an. Stories about the origins and actions of Greek divinities varied widely, depending, for example, on whether the tale appeared in a comedy, tragedy, or epic poem.Greek mythology was like a complex and rich language, in which the Greeks could express a vast range of perceptions about the world. A  Greek  city-state  devoted itself to a particular god or group of gods in whose honor it built temples. The temple generally housed a statue of the god or gods. The Greeks honored the city’s gods in festivals and also offered sacrifices to the gods, usually a domestic animal such as a goat. Stories about the gods varied by geographic location: A god might have one set of characteristics in one city or region and quite different characteristics elsewhere. II A A1PRINCIPAL FIGURES IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY Greek  mythology  has  several distinguishing characteristics, in addition to its multiple versions. The Greek gods resembled human beings in their form and in their emotions, and they lived in a society that resembled human society in its levels of authority and power. However, a crucial difference existed between gods and human beings: Humans died, and gods were immortal. Heroes also played an important role in Greek mythology, and stories about them conveyed serious themes. The Greeks considered human heroes from the past closer to themselves than were the immortal gods. GodsGiven  the  multiplicity of myths that circulated in Greece, it is difficult to present a single version of the genealogy (family history) of the gods. However, two accounts together provide a genealogy that most ancient Greeks would have recognized. One is the account given by Greek poet Hesiod in his Theogony (Genealogy of the Gods), written in the 8th century BC. The other account, The Library, is attributed to a mythographer (compiler of myths) named Apollodorus, who lived during the 2nd century BC. The Creation of the Gods According  to  Greek  myths about creation, the god Chaos (Greek for â€Å"Gaping Void†) was the foundation of all things.From Chaos came Gaea (â€Å"Earth†); the bottomless depth of the underworld, known as Tartarus; and Eros (â€Å"Love†). Eros, the god of love, was needed to draw divinities together so they Greek Mythology might produce offspring. Chaos produced Night, while Gaea first bore Uranus, the god of the heavens, and after him produced the mountains, sea, and gods known as Titans. The Titans were strong and large, and they committed arrogant deeds. The youngest and most important Titan was C ronus. Uranus and Gaea, who came to personify Heaven and Earth, also gave birth to the Cyclopes, one-eyed giants who made thunderbolts.See also Creation Stories. A2 A3 A4 Cronus and Rhea Uranus  tried  to  block any successors from taking over his supreme position by forcing back into Gaea the children she bore. But the youngest child, Cronus, thwarted his father, cutting off his genitals and tossing them into the sea. From the bloody foam in the sea Aphrodite, goddess of sexual love, was born. After  wounding  his  father and taking away his power, Cronus became ruler of the universe. But Cronus, in turn, feared that his own son would supplant him. When his sister and wife Rhea gave birth to offspring—Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon—Cronus swallowed them.Only the youngest, Zeus, escaped this fate, because Rhea tricked Cronus. She gave him a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow in place of the baby. Zeus and the Olympian Gods When  ful ly  grown,  Zeus forced his father, Cronus, to disgorge the children he had swallowed. With their help and armed with the thunderbolt, Zeus made war on Cronus and the Titans, and overcame them. He established a new regime, based on Mount Olympus in northern Greece. Zeus ruled the sky. His brother Poseidon ruled the sea, and his brother Hades, the underworld.Their sister Hestia ruled the hearth, and Demeter took charge of the harvest. Zeus married his sister Hera, who became queen of the heavens and guardian of marriage and childbirth. Among their children was Ares, whose sphere of influence was war. Twelve  major  gods  and goddesses had their homes on Mount Olympus and were known as the Olympians. Four children of Zeus and one child of Hera joined the Olympian gods Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and Ares. Zeus’s Olympian offspring were Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, and Athena. Hera gave birth to Hephaestus. The Offspring of ZeusZeus  had  numerous   children by both mortal and immortal women. By the mortal Semele he had Dionysus, a god associated with wine and with other forms of intoxication and ecstasy. By Leto, a Titan, Zeus fathered the twins Apollo and Artemis, who became two of the most important Olympian divinities. Artemis remained a virgin and took hunting as her special province. Apollo became associated with music and prophecy. People visited his oracle (shrine) at Delphi to seek his prophetic advice. By the nymph Maia, Zeus became father of Hermes, the Olympian trickster god who had the power to cross all kinds of boundaries.Hermes guided the souls of the dead down to the underworld, Greek Mythology carried messages between gods and mortals, and wafted a magical sleep upon the wakeful. Two  other  Olympian  divinities, Hephaestus and Athena, had unusual births. Hera conceived Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, without a male partner. Subsequently he suffered the wrath of Zeus, who once hurled him from Olympus for coming to the aid of his mother; this fall down onto the island of Lemnos crippled Hephaestus. The birth of Athena was even stranger. Zeus and Metis, daughter of the Titan Oceanus, were the parents of Athena.But Gaea had warned Zeus that, after giving birth to the girl with whom she was pregnant, Metis would bear a son destined to rule heaven. To avoid losing his throne to a son, Zeus swallowed Metis, just as Cronus had previously swallowed his own children to thwart succession. Metis’s child Athena was born from the head of Zeus, which Hephaestus split open with an axe. Athena, another virgin goddess, embodied the power of practical intelligence in warfare and crafts work. She also served as the protector of the city of Athens. Another  of  Zeus’s  children was Persephone; her mother was Demeter, goddess of grain, vegetation, and the harvest.Once when Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow, Hades, god of the underworld, saw and abducted her, taking her do wn to the kingdom of the dead to be his bride. Her grief-stricken mother wandered the world in search of her; as a result, fertility left the earth. Zeus commanded Hades to release Persephone, but Hades had cunningly given her a pomegranate seed to eat. Having consumed food from the underworld, Persephone was obliged to return below the earth for part of each year. Her return from the underworld each year meant the revival of nature and the beginning of spring.This myth was told especially in connection with the Eleusinian Mysteries, sacred rituals observed in the Greek town of Elevsis near Athens. The rituals offered initiates in the mysteries the hope of rebirth, just as Persephone had been reborn after her journey to the underworld. Many  Greek  myths  report the exploits of the principal Olympians, but Greek myths also refer to a variety of other divinities, each with their particular sphere of influence. Many of these divinities were children of Zeus, symbolizing the fact that they belonged to the new Olympian order of Zeus’s regime.The Muses, nine daughters of Zeus and the goddess of memory, Mnemosyne, presided over song, dance, and music. The Fates, three goddesses who controlled human life and destiny, and the Horae, goddesses who controlled the seasons, were appropriately the children of Zeus and Themis, the goddess of divine justice and law. Far different in temperament were the Erinyes (Furies), ancient and repellent goddesses who had sprung from the earth after it had been impregnated with the blood of Uranus’s severed genitals. Terrible though they were, the Erinyes also had a legitimate role in the world: to pursue those who had murdered their own kin.A5 Disruptive Deities Human  existence  is  characterized by disorder as well as order, and many of the most characteristic figures in Greek mythology exert a powerfully disruptive effect. Satyrs, whom the Greeks imagined as part human and part horse (or part goat), led liv es dominated by wine and lust. Myths depicted them as companions of Dionysus who drunkenly pursued nymphs, spirits of nature represented as young and beautiful maidens. Many of the jugs used at Greek symposia (drinking parties) carry images of satyrs. Equally  wild,  but  more threatening than the satyrs, were the savage centaurs.These monsters, Greek Mythology depicted as half-man and half-horse, tended toward uncontrolled aggression. The centaurs are known for combat with their neighbors, the Lapiths, which resulted from an attempt to carry off the Lapith women at a wedding feast. This combat was depicted in sculpture on the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena in Athens. The  Sirens,  usually  portrayed as birds with women’s heads, posed a different sort of threat. These island-dwelling enchantresses lured mariners to their deaths by the irresistible beauty of their song.The seafaring Greek hero Odysseus alone survived this temptation by ordering his compani ons to block their own ears, to bind him to the mast of his ship, and to ignore all his entreaties to be allowed to follow the lure of the Sirens’ song. B B1 B2 Mortals The  Greeks  had  several myths to account for the origins of humanity. According to one version, human beings sprang from the ground, and this origin explained their devotion to the land. According to another myth, a Titan molded the first human beings from clay. The Greeks also had a story about the destruction of humanity, similar to the biblical deluge.The Creation of Human Beings Conflicting  Greek  myths tell about the creation of humanity. Some myths recount how the populations of particular localities sprang directly from the earth. The Arcadians, residents of a region of Greece known as Arcadia, claimed this distinction for their original inhabitant, Pelasgus (see Pelasgians). The Thebans boasted descent from earthborn men who had sprung from the spot where Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, had sown the ground with the teeth of a sacred dragon. According to another tale, one of the Titans, Prometheus, fashioned the first human being from water and earth.In the more usual version of the story Prometheus did not actually create humanity but simply lent it assistance through the gift of fire. Another  tale  dealt  with humanity’s re-creation. When Zeus planned to destroy an ancient race living on Earth, he sent a deluge. However, Deucalion, a son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha—the Greek equivalents of the biblical Noah and his wife—put provisions into a chest and climbed into it. Carried across the waters of the flood, they landed on Mount Parnassus. After the waters receded, the couple gratefully made sacrifices to Zeus.His response was to send Hermes to instruct them how to repopulate the world. They should cast stones behind them. Stones thrown by Deucalion became men; those thrown by Pyrrha, women. The Greek People According  to  myth,à ‚  the various peoples of Greece descended from Hellen, son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. One genealogy related that the Dorian and the Aeolian Greeks sprang from Hellen’s sons Dorus and Aeolus. The Achaeans and Ionians descended from Achaeos and Ion, sons of Hellen’s other son, Xuthus. These figures, in their turn, produced offspring who, along with children born of unionsGreek Mythology between divinities and mortals, made up the collection of heroes and heroines whose exploits constitute a central part of Greek mythology. C C1 C2 C3 Heroes Myths  about  heroes  are particularly characteristic of Greek mythology. Many of these heroes were the sons of gods, and a number of myths involved expeditions by these heroes. The expeditions generally related to quests or combats. Scholars consider some of these myths partly historical in nature—that is, they explained events in the distant past and were handed down orally from one generation to the next.Two of the most important of the semihistorical myths involve the search for the Golden Fleece and the quest that led to the Trojan War. In other myths heroes such as Heracles and Theseus had to overcome fearsome monsters. Jason and the Golden Fleece Jason  was  a  hero  who  sailed in the ship Argo, with a band of heroes called the Argonauts, on a dangerous quest for the Golden Fleece at the eastern end of the Black Sea in the land of Colchis. Jason had to fetch this family property, a fleece made of gold from a winged ram, in order to regain his throne.A dragon that never slept guarded the fleece and made the mission nearly impossible. Thanks to the magical powers of Medea, daughter of the ruler of Colchis, Jason performed the impossible tasks necessary to win the fleece and to take it from the dragon. Afterward Medea took horrible revenge on Pelias, who had killed Jason’s parents, stolen Jason’s throne, and sent Jason on the quest for the fleece. She tricked Peliasâ€⠄¢s daughters into cutting him up and boiling him in a cauldron. Medea’s story continued to involve horrific violence.When Jason rejected her for another woman, Medea once more used her magic to avenge herself with extreme cruelty. Meleager Jason  and  the  same  generation of heroes took part in another adventure, with Meleager, the son of King Oeneus of Calydon and his wife Althea. At Meleager’s birth the Fates predicted that he would die when a log burning on the hearth was completely consumed. His mother snatched the log and hid it in a chest. Meleager grew to manhood. One day, his father accidentally omitted Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, from a sacrifice. In revenge Artemis sent a mighty boar to ravage the country.Meleager set out to destroy it, accompanied by some of the greatest heroes of the day, including Peleus, Telamon, Theseus, Jason, and Castor and Polydeuces. The boar was killed. However, Meleager killed his mother’s brothers in a quarr el about who should receive the boar skin. In her anger Althea threw the log on to the fire, so ending her son’s life; she then hanged herself. Heroes of the Trojan War The  greatest  expedition of all was that which resulted in the Trojan War. The object of this quest was Helen, a beautiful Greek woman who had been abducted by Paris, son of King Priam of Troy.Helen’s husband Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon led an army of Greeks to besiege Troy. After ten Greek Mythology years, with many heroes dead on both sides, the city fell to the trick of the Trojan Horse—a giant wooden horse that the Greeks built and left outside the gates of Troy while their army pretended to withdraw. Not knowing that Greek heroes were hiding inside the horse, the Trojans took the horse into the city. The hidden Greeks then slipped out, opened the city gates and let their army in, thus defeating Troy. The Iliad, an epic poem attributed to Greek poet Homer, tells the story of the T rojan War.The story continued with the Odyssey, another long poem attributed to Homer, in which the Greek hero Odysseus made his way home after the Trojan War. Odysseus returned to his faithful wife, Penelope, whereas Agamemnon returned to be murdered by his faithless wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover. Historians  considered the Trojan War entirely mythical until excavations in Turkey showed that there had been cities on the site of Troy and that fire had destroyed one of these cities at about the time of the Trojan War, sometime from 1230 BC to 1180 BC. C4 C5 Heracles and TheseusThe  deeds  of  the  heroes Heracles (see Hercules) and Theseus exemplify a central theme in Greek mythology: the conflict between civilization and wild savagery. Each hero confronted and overcame monstrous opponents, yet neither enjoyed unclouded happiness. Heracles  had  been  an  Argonaut but left the expedition after being plunged into grief at the loss of his companion Hylas. In anoth er story, a fit of madness led Heracles to kill his own wife and children. But he is best known for his feats of prowess against beasts and monsters, which began soon after his birth.The most difficult of these feats are known as the 12 labors, which are believed to represent efforts to conquer death and achieve immortality. Although Heracles died, his father, Zeus, gave him a place on Mount Olympus. Theseus  successfully  slew the Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull. On his voyage home to Athens, however, he forgot to hoist the white sails that would have signified the success of his adventure. According to one tale, Theseus’s heartbroken father Aegeus, seeing black sails, believed his son had died, and committed suicide. The Aegean Sea in which he drowned is presumably named after Aegeus.Oedipus No  hero  of  Greek  mythology has proved more fascinating than Oedipus. He destroyed a monster, the Sphinx, by answering its riddle. Yet his ultimate do wnfall served as a terrifying warning of the instability of human fortune. As a baby, Oedipus had been abandoned on a mountainside by his parents, King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes, because of a prophecy that the child would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Saved by the pity of a shepherd, the child—its identity unknown—was reared by the king and queen of the neighboring city of Corinth.In due course, Oedipus unwittingly fulfilled the prophecy, matching the horrific crimes he had committed with the equally ghastly self-punishment of piercing his own eyes with Jocasta’s brooch-pins. Greek Mythology III A Gods and Goddesses B THE NATURE OF GREEK GODS AND HEROES In  many  respects  the  gods and goddesses of Greek mythology resembled extraordinarily powerful human beings. They experienced emotions such as jealousy, love, and grief, and they shared with humans a desire to assert their own authority and to punish anyone who flouted it.How ever, these emotions and desires took supernaturally intense form in gods and goddesses. As numerous literary descriptions and artistic representations testify, the Greeks imagined their gods to have human shape, although this form was strongly idealized. The  Greeks,  moreover, modeled relationships between divinities on those between human beings. Apollo and Artemis were brother and sister, Zeus and Hera were husband and wife, and the society of the gods on Mount Olympus resembled that of an unruly family, with Zeus at its head. The gods could temporarily enter the human world.They might, for example, fall in love with a mortal, as Aphrodite did with Adonis; Apollo with Daphne; and Zeus with Leda, Alcmene, and Danae. Or they might destroy a mortal who displeased them, as Dionysus destroyed King Pentheus of Thebes for mocking his rites. Not  all  Greek  divinities resembled human beings. They could also be uncanny, strange, and alien, a quality made visible in artistic re presentations of monsters. For example, the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa had a stare that turned her victims to stone. The Graeae, sisters of the Gorgons, were gray-haired old crones from birth.They possessed but a single tooth and a single eye between them. Typhoeus was a hideous monster from whose shoulders grew a hundred snakeheads with dark, flickering tongues. Even  the  major  deities of Olympus showed alien characteristics at times. A recurrent sign of divine power is the ability to change shape, either one’s own or that of others. Athena once transformed herself into a vulture; Poseidon once took the form of a stallion. This ability could prove convenient such as when Zeus assumed the form of a swan to woo Leda. Zeus turned Lycaon, a disrespectful king, into a wolf to punish him for his wickedness.The ability to exercise power over the crossing of boundaries is a crucial feature of divine power among the Greeks. Heroes Greek  mythology  also  told how divini ties interacted with heroes, a category of mortals who, though dead, were believed to retain power to influence the lives of the living. In myths heroes represented a kind of bridge between gods and mortals. Heroes such as Achilles, Perseus, and Aeneas were the products of a union between a deity and a mortal. The fact that the gods often intervened to help heroes—for example, during combat—indicated not the heroes’ weakness but their special importance.Yet heroes were not the equals of the gods. With  a  logic  characteristic of Greek myth, heroes typically possessed a defect to balance out their exceptional power. For example, the warrior Achilles, hero of the Trojan War, was invulnerable except in the heel. The prophet Cassandra, who warned the Trojans of dangers such as the Trojan Horse, Greek Mythology always prophesied the truth but was never believed. Heracles constituted an extreme example of this paradox: His awesome strength was balanced by his t endency to become a victim of his own excessive violence.Nevertheless, the gods allowed Heracles to cross the ultimate boundary by gaining admission to Olympus. IV A B THE FUNCTIONS OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY Like  most  other  mythological traditions, Greek myths served several purposes. First, Greek myths explained the world. Second, they acted as a means of exploration. Third, they provided authority and legitimacy. Finally, they provided entertainment. Explanation Greek  myths  lent  structure and order to the world and explained how the current state of things had originated. Hesiod’s Theogony narrated the development of the present order of the universe by relating it to Chaos, the origin of all things.By a complex process of violence, struggle, and sexual attraction, the regime led by Zeus had eventually taken over. Another poem by Hesiod, Works and Days, explained why the world is full of trouble. According to the poem the first woman, Pandora, opened a jar whose lid she had been forbidden to lift. As a result of her disobedience all the diseases and miseries previously confined in the jar escaped into the world. Such a myth also makes a statement about relationships between the sexes in Hesiod’s own world.Scholars assume that he composed the poem for a largely male audience that was receptive to a tale that put women at the root of all evil. One  of  the  commonest  types of explanation given in myths relates to ritual. Myths helped worshipers make sense of a religious practice by telling how the practice originated. A prime example is sacrifice, a ritual that involved killing a domesticated animal as an offering to the gods. The ceremony culminated in the butchering, cooking, and sharing of the meat of the victim. Hesiod recounts the myth associated with this rite.According to this myth, the tricky Titan Prometheus tried to outwit Zeus by offering him a cunningly devised choice of meals. Zeus could have either an apparently unappetizing dish—an ox paunch, which had tasty meat concealed within—or a seemingly delicious one, gleaming fat on the outside, which had nothing but bones hidden beneath. Zeus chose the second dish, and ever since human beings have kept the tastiest part of every sacrifice for themselves, leaving the gods nothing but the savor of the rising smoke. Exploration Myths  charted  paths  through difficult territory, examining contradictions and ambiguities.For instance, Homer’s Iliad explores the consequences during the Trojan War of the Greek leader Agamemnon’s decision to deprive the warrior Achilles of his allotted prize, a female slave. Achilles feels that Agamemnon has assailed his honor or worth but wonders how far he should go in reaction. Is he right to refuse to fight, if that means the destruction of the Greek army? Is he justified in rejecting Agamemnon’s offer of compensation? One of this poem’s themes explores the limits of ho nor. Greek Mythology The  dramatic  genre  of tragedy provides the clearest example of mythical exploration (see see Greek Literature; Drama and Dramatic Arts).The great Athenian playwrights of the 5th century BC— Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides—wrote tragedies that explored social questions by placing them, in extreme and exaggerated form, in a mythical context. Sophocles’s tragic play Antigone concerns just such an extreme situation. Two brothers have killed each other in battle: Eteocles defending his homeland, and Polynices attacking it. Their sister Antigone, in defiance of an edict by the city’s ruler, attempts to bury her ostensibly traitorous brother Polynices. Sophocles raises several moral issues. Is Antigone justified in seeking to bury her brother?Which should prevail, a religious obligation to tend and bury a corpse, or a city’s well-being? The answers to these moral issues are far from clear-cut, as we might expect from a wo rk whose subtlety and profundity have so often been admired. C D V A Legitimation Myths  also  had  the  function of legitimation. A claim, an action, or a relationship acquired extra authority if it had a precedent in myth. Aristocratic Greek families liked to trace their ancestry back to the heroes or gods of mythology. The Greek poet Pindar, who wrote in the early 5th century BC, offers ample evidence for this preference. In his songs Pindar raised the exploits of current victors in the Olympian Games by linking them with the deeds of their mythical ancestors. In addition, two Greek city-states could cement bonds between them by showing that they had an alliance in the mythological past. Entertainment Finally,  myth  telling was a source of enjoyment and entertainment. Homer’s epics contain several descriptions of audiences held spellbound by the songs of bards (poets), and recitations of Homer’s poems also captivated audiences. Public performances of tr agic drama were also hugely popular, regularly drawing some 15,000 spectators. ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF GREEK MYTHOLOGYOur  knowledge  of  Greek mythology begins with the epic poems attributed to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, which date from about the 8th century BC even though the stories they relate probably have their origins in events that occurred several centuries earlier. Scholars, however, know that the origins of Greek mythology reach even farther back than that. Origins of Greek Mythology Linguists  (people  who study languages) have concluded that some names of Greek deities, including Zeus, can be traced back to gods worshiped by speakers of Proto-Indo-European, the common ancestor of the Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit languages.But it would be misleading to regard the people who may have spoken this language as originators of Greek mythology because many other elements contributed. Greek Mythology Archaeologists  have  shown that many of the places where mythical events presumably took place correspond to sites that had historical importance during the Mycenaean period of Greek history (second half of the 2nd millennium BC). Scholars thus consider it likely that the Mycenaeans made a major contribution to the development of the stories, even if this contribution is hard to demonstrate in detail.Some scholars have argued that the Minoan civilization of Crete also had a formative influence on Greek myths. The myth of the Minotaur confined in a labyrinth in the palace of King Minos, for example, might be a memory of historical bull-worship in the labyrinthine palace at Knossos on Crete. However, there is little evidence that Cretan religion survived in Greece. Nor have any ancient inscriptions confirmed that Minos ever existed outside of myth. Scholars  can  demonstrate influence on Greek mythology from the Middle East much more reliably than influence from Crete.Greek mythology owed much to cultures in Mesopotamia and Anatolia, e specially in the realm of cosmogony (origin of the universe) and theogony (origin of the gods). To take one example, a clear parallel exists in an early Middle Eastern myth for Greek poet Hesiod’s story about the castration of Uranus by his son Cronus and the subsequent overthrow of Cronus by his son Zeus. The Middle Eastern myth tells of the sky god Anu who was castrated by Kumarbi, father of the gods. The weather and storm god Teshub, in turn, displaced Anu. Scholars continue to bring to light more and more similarities between Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies.B Development of Greek Mythology Our  knowledge  of  Greek myths comes from a mixture of written texts, sculpture, and decorated pottery. Scholars have reconstructed stories that circulated orally by inference and guesswork. Homer’s  epics,  the  Iliad and the Odyssey, stand at the beginning of Greek literary tradition (see Greek literature), even though they almost certainly depended on a lengt hy previous tradition of oral poetry. The Iliad is set during the Trojan War; it focuses on the consequences of a quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, two of the leading Greek warriors.The Odyssey is about the aftermath of the Trojan War, when the Greek hero Odysseus at last returns to his home on the island of Ithaca following years of wandering in wild and magical lands. The Trojan War later provided subject matter for many tragic dramas and for imagery on countless painted vases. Hesiod’s  Theogony,  composed in the 8th century BC at about the same time as the Homeric epics, gave an authoritative account of how things began. The creation of the world, described by Hesiod in terms of passions and crimes of the gods, is a theme that later Greek philosophers such as Empedocles and Plato developed but took in new directions.This connection serves as a reminder that mythology was not a separate aspect of Greek culture, but one that interacted with many other fields of ex perience, particularly the writing of history. For example, in the 5th century BC Greek historian Herodotus employed numerous themes and story patterns from Greek epics and tragedies in writing his historical account of the war between Greeks and Persians (see Persian Wars). Although  the  authority of Homer and Hesiod remained dominant, the poetic retelling of myths continued throughout antiquity.Myths were constantly remade in the light of new social and political circumstances. The Hellenistic period of Greek history (4th century to 1st century BC) saw many new trends in the treatment of myths. One of the most important was the development of mythography, Greek Mythology the compilation and organization of myths on the basis of particular themes (for example, myths about metamorphosis). Such organization corresponded to a wish of newly established Hellenistic rulers to lend legitimacy to their regimes by claiming that they continued a cultural tradition reaching back into a g reat past.Artists,  too,  portrayed myths. Statues of gods stood inside Greek temples, and relief sculptures of scenes from mythology adorned pediments and friezes on the outside of these temples (see Greek Art and Architecture). Among the best-known examples are the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens. These reliefs include depictions of combat between centaurs and Lapiths. Other  visual  representations of mythology were more modest in size and scope. The best evidence for the use of mythology in Greek painting comes from painted ceramic vases.The Greeks used these vases in a variety of contexts, from cookery to funerary ritual to athletic games. (Vases filled with oil were awarded as prizes in games. ) In most cases scholars can securely identify the imagery on Greek vases as mythological, but sometimes they have no way of telling whether the artist intended an allusion to mythology because myth became fused with everyday life. For example, does a representation of a woman weaving signify Penelope, wife of Odysseus who spent her days at a loom, or does it portray someone engaged in an everyday activity?The  Greeks  retold  myths orally, as well as preserving them in literary and artistic works. The Greeks transmitted to children tales of monsters and myths of gods and heroes. Old men gathered to exchange tales in leschai (clubs or conversation places). Storytelling, whether in writing, art, or speech, was at the heart of Greek civilization. VI A THE LEGACY OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY Mythology  formed  a  central reference point in Greek society because it was interwoven with ritual and other aspects of social existence.Yet the question of how far people believed the myths is a difficult and probably unanswerable one. Some intellectuals, such as Greek writer Palaephatus, tried to interpret the myths as having figurative (nonliteral) meanings. Writing in the 4th century BC, Palaephatus interpreted the stories of Diomedes, a king devoured by his own mares, and of Actaeon, a hunter torn apart by his own hounds, as concealing perfectly credible accounts of young men who had spent too much money on their animals and so been figuratively eaten alive by debt.Other  thinkers,  such  as the 4th-century-BC philosopher Plato, objected to some myths on moral grounds, particularly to myths that told of crimes committed by the gods. Yet such skepticism seems hardly to have altered the imaginative power and persistence of Greek myths. As late as the 2nd century AD, the Greek traveler and historian Pausanias described the myths and cults in the places he visited as if they constituted a still-living complex of religious discourse and behavior. Ancient Rome and Early ChristianityThe  ancient  Romans  eventually took over Greek civilization and conquered Greece. In the process, they adapted Greek mythology, and myths remained a vehicle for reflecting on and coping with the Greek Mythology world. In his poem the Aeneid, wri tten in the 1st century BC, Roman poet Virgil used the theme of the wandering Trojan hero Aeneas and his eventual foundation of a settlement that became Rome. The Aeneid not only continues story patterns developed in Homer’s epics, but it also makes frequent and detailed allusions to the texts of Homer and other Greek writers.The long poem Metamorphoses by Roman poet Ovid embraces an enormous number of Greek myths, reworked into a composition that later had unparalleled influence on European culture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Greek  mythology  survived during Christian antiquity by its interpretation as allegory (expressive of a deeper or hidden meaning). Early Christians incorporated pagan stories into their own worldview if they could reinterpret the story to express a concealed, uplifting meaning.In the 5th century AD, for example, Latin mythographer Fulgentius gave an allegorical reading of the Judgment of Paris. The Greek myth told of a young Trojan shepherd faced with a choice between the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Each goddess tried to bribe Paris to name her the most beautiful: Hera offering power, Athena offering success in battle, and Aphrodite offering a beautiful woman. Fulgentius explained that the choice was actually a moral one, between a life of action, a life of contemplation, and a life dominated by love.The allegorical approach to the myths has never died out; we find it today in the writings of those who regard myths as expressions of basic, universal psychological truths. For example, Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, borrowed from Greek mythology in developing his ideas of human psychosexual development, which he described in terms of an Oedipus complex and an Electra complex. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung believed that certain psychic structures he called archetypes were common to all people in all times and gave rise to recurring ideas such as mythological themes. BEuropean Art, Music, and Lite rature The  influence  of  Greek mythology on Western art, music, and literature can hardly be exaggerated. Many of the greatest works of painting and sculpture have taken myths as their subject. Examples include the Birth of Venus (after 1482) by Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli, a marble sculpture of Apollo and Daphne (1622-1625) by Italian baroque sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini, a terrifying Cronus Devouring One of His Children (1820-1823) by Spanish painter Francisco de Goya, and Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (about 1558) by Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel.In the Bruegel painting peasants continue with their daily toil oblivious of the mythological drama being played out in the sky above. Musicians  too,  especially composers of opera and oratorio, have found inspiration in ancient myths. Operatic dramatizations of these stories begin with Orfeo (Orpheus, 1607) and Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (The Return of Ulysses to His Homeland, 1641) by Italian comp oser Claudio Monteverdi.They continue into the 20th century with Elektra (1909) by German composer Richard Strauss and Oedipus Rex (1927) by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. The  impact  of  Greek  mythology on literature has been incalculably great. In the 20th century the story of the murderous revenge of Orestes on his mother Clytemnestra (for killing his father, Agamemnon) has inspired writers as diverse as American dramatist Eugene O’Neill (in Mourning Becomes Electra, 1931), American-born poet and playwright T. S.Eliot (in The Family Reunion, 1939), and French philosopher and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre (in Les Mouches [1943; The Flies, 1946]). Among the Greek Mythology most notable of all literary works inspired by Greek mythology is Ulysses by Irish writer James Joyce. In this intricate novel, Ulysses (Odysseus) becomes Dublin resident Leopold Bloom, while Bloom’s wife, Molly, combines characteristics of faithful Penelope (wife of Odysseus) and seducti ve Calypso (a sea nymph who holds Odysseus captive on his journey home).The  influence  of  Greek mythology shows no sign of diminishing. Computer games (see Electronic Games) and science fiction frequently use combat- or quest-oriented story patterns that have clear parallels in classical mythology. Greek myths developed in a specific ancient society, but the emotional and intellectual content of the stories has proved adaptable to a broad range of cultural contexts.