The Religious Systems Of Ancient Greeks And Romans Religion Essay

The Religious Systems Of Ancient Greeks And Romans Religion Essay The religion of ancient Greeks represented a predominant form of early Paganism. They believe in worshipping many Gods. The Romans Gods can be cited as a belief of numen, according to which God inhabit the living things and objects and can be found in everything in nature  [2]  . The religious beliefs of these two cultures deeply influence the cultural, political and other such activities in the state. A study is done here to find out the practices that are followed in these cultures as a result of different religious beliefs and political and social differences between the two in the pre-historic times by comparing their beliefs. Roman Religion The history of Rome can be divided into three phases or periods. It originated in the year 753-509 B.C. when it established itself by conquering Etruscans. Then the second phase is the era when the Republic falls and the Battle of Actium happened between 509-31 B.C. Finally the new law and government and the Roman Empire emerged in the era 31 B.C. to 476 A.D. Also Christianity emerged as new phenomena to be reckoned in this period  [3]  . The Roman pantheons were originated in small villages of Rome by farming community. The mythology thus believed in faceless and nameless deities which support the communities. The people believed in Numen as a pantheistic inhabitant which however later transformed to a more defined system of Gods. The Romans were particular about the responsibility of their deity and thus each family was assigned with a guardian spirit called Lar Familiaris (Lars) which were then involved in all family functions. Examples of these are Genii represent men and junii for women. The Roman Gods as we know today got their form in the dynasty of Etruscan king in 6th century B.C. The God like Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva were then worshiped in temples. The Romans used to easily adopt others culture and they worship foreign Gods and adopt their customs as well, for example goddess Cybele was adopted in the Second Punic War, which is a Phoenician God and it still prevails in Roman System  [4]  . An imperial system rose in Rome with time and the Emperors like Julian Caesar claimed to be descendent of Aeneas and accepted the divine honors like God. This however became a source of conflict with Christians, and the emperor worship continued till 4th century A.D. and ended in the reign of Constantine. Christianity became the official religion in 392 AD. According to editor Fjordman of The Brussels Journal, Christianity gradually became the Greco-Roman culture since its foundation. As Christianity had suppressed the Greco-Roman religion, Henry Bamford stated in his book Gods and Men -The Origins of Western Culture that  [5]   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦although Christianity may have borrowed from the pagan heritage, it borrowed only what it could integrate with its own basic doctrines and could profitably absorb and make use ofà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.Much more important in the early evolution of Christianity was the influence of the classical intellectual heritage. As men trained in Hellenic and Roman modes of thought became converted, they began to reinterpret the new doctrines in the terms to which they were accustomed. Thus, Christian theology was presented in the language of Greek philosophy and of Roman law. Greek Religion The origin of ancient Greeks is thought to be 2nd millennium B.C. i.e. somewhere around the Aryan invasions period. Greek culture is formed with the fusion of the Aegeans (Pelasgians) and the Minoans of Crete culture. The civilization thus created was also known as Minoan-Mycenean civilization which existed from 1600 B.C. till 1400 B.C  [6]  . The Greeks used to worship many Gods. They have various myths with respect to distinct gods and domains. Many mythological series were illustrated in the art of Archaic and Classical Greece. The Greek pantheon determined twelve principle deities. Zeus the sky god is considered to be the prime power amongst others. Mount Olympos is considered to be the home of gods in Greece. Greek religious practices had some of its roots in the Bronze Age (3000-1050 B.C.). Lliad and Odyssey are considered to influence the Greek thoughts and the relation between the god and the humans were believed to be on concept of exchange of gifts  [7]  . Greeks used to give offering to their god in separate sanctuaries. The sanctuaries were built by marking off an area around an altar. As said by Aeschylus, The altar is an unbreakable shield, stronger than a fortification tower  [8]  . The boundary stones also called horoi might be used to create fence also called peribols thereby establishing a separate area which was termed as temenos. Each and everything in the sanctuary is treated as sacred and many refuges took shelter in these temenos. In the words of Euripides, The abode of the gods is a protection shared by all men  [9]  . It was a civil and religious crime to steal any property of god from these temenos. The hundreds or thousands of deities in Greece have one day dedicated to them each year, when the families celebrate the day with their neighbors. The family also might sacrifices a goat or sheep to keep the deity happy. Apart from these annual festivals the people can worship in case of personal needs like Apollodorus promised one-tenth of his profits to Poseidon on his safe return, before making a business trip. This gift which is served as a votive offering could be in the form of small statuette or painted plaque to the sanctuary with his name and the purpose of gift written on it like this: Apollodorus, son of Diopeithes after having made a vow, Erects this for you. Poseidon, as a tithe. Many such dedications can be found in the Greek dedicated museums today  [10]  . Art and philosophy arose as a result of Greek religion. The Greek religion was highly influenced by women as it arose at a time when the women deities were dominant. Some women involved in the early formation of Greek religion were Hecate, Ariadne, Athene, Demeter etc. Art of god and goddesses became the milestones of Greek and earned Greek society huge benefits by means of trade. Religion was more integrated in the ancient Greek people, compared to nowadays. All people belonging to same culture followed a common religion. The Greek religion is also referred as pagan which means ignorance of Christianity, however the Christianity was well came into existence in the Roman period. Also it is believed that Christianity was the adoption of Greek culture with changed names  [11]  . Comparing Greeks and Romans In ancient times, the Greeks and the Romans influenced European and American civilization the most. The Roman culture acquired many of its habits from the Greeks and also the laws and architecture designs of Roman culture were inspired by the Greeks  [12]  . However comparison can be made between the two in many ways. The Greeks followed a democratic form of government with the leader being a group of men called an oligarchy as chosen by people. The Romans however followed a semi-democratic form of government with a governing Senate and a political leader having all the powers as of a single emperor. The ancient Greeks were artistic in nature and had constructed well defined buildings which were beautiful and pleasant, and were especially temples, facades and columns. The Romans, on the other hand, worked more as engineers and constructed best roads, buildings, and other civic amenities and were less interested in building gods and goddesses architecture. However in both the cultures the people have to pay stiff taxes to government for their buildings. The literary interests existed in both the cultures with the Greeks epic followed the old tradition of writing like the Iliad by Homer , however the Roman epics were composed by living and on the spot writers like The Aeneid by Vergil  [13]  . The Greek and the Roman Gods performed the same duties but with different names. The Roman religion accepted many of the deities of the Greek Pantheon like the Mithra, the sun-god, Isis etc. but was more comprehensive in nature. Romans religion was practical in nature as against poetic nature of the Greek religion. The household Gods are dominant in Rome as they worship their ancestors, and the festivals celebrated in worship of God are numerous in Rome as compared to Greeks  [14]  . The study of the two ancient cultures here presented the fact that our ancient civilization is rich in culture and the various religions had an influence on each other in their formation. The culture and the religion followed by the people in ancient times were different still they paved the way for a common religion called Christianity. The religions greatly influenced the beliefs of the people and the society as a whole. The political and social thoughts of these two cultures are discussed here and the differences were found. The difference in the deities and the way of worship can also be seen. Thus the significance and relevance of the topic of discussion is great in all respect.

Analyses of Little Red Cap Story

Almost the whole story takes place somewhere in a village surrounded by dense forests. Story is set rather in the past time, but as I see it, it’s imaginative which makes it impossible to decide really when this actually occurred. Nature is well described and there are even some good detail descriptions. For instance; â€Å"†¦. sunbeams dancing here and there through the trees†, which made the best impression on me. Description of the nature was undeniably very important. Mainly because I think that by describing the nature well, the writer wanted to scare kids away from lonely forests. Little Red-cap can be described as a young, innocent girl that is going trough a period of time, where everything seems right. She seems to be well nurtured, which is shown in the text when she accepts her moms favor. In the same time she makes some bad decisions (ex. letting the wolf know everything) which shows her obvious immaturity. She is loved by everyone. The relationship between her and the grandmother are maybe strongest one of them all. If she really develops at the end the story is hard to say. It is true that she says in the very last lines of the text that she will from now on listen better to her mother. However, story ends with little Red-cap saying this, so what she actually does afterwards remain unknown. Symbols can be seen from different perspectives. According to me Little red-cap represents a immature human being, with proper behavior but also with a lack of knowledge. Unable to see evil herself, she opens herself up, and gives information to others, not thinking about the possible consequences. Wolf is the â€Å"unseen† evil, that represents trouble for the human being. The huntsman represents help. He is mature and he is aware of evilness. In a way he could be seen as God. He is giving the human being a second chance. Although the wolf caused trouble for the human being, in a way he helped her. Without him and his acts, the human being would perhaps still make same mistakes, which is, not listening to elders. The language used in the story is a bit odd and old. The writer used words like whither, craftily, nosegay, thou, thee. I didn’t found it hard to read, but I believe that the story could be a bit more interesting if the writer used more modern and frequent words and phrases. The good thing about the text is that it was both narrative and had some dialogues in it. It is more interesting that way. The story is not exactly emotional, neither is the used language. This however doesn’t stop it from being a good version of Little Red Ridding Hood. When I read this fairy tale I didn’t felt anything, simply because of the fact that it is a fairy tale. In the mean time it made me think about my childhood and the days when I was sitting in front of TV for hours, watching Little Red Ridding Hood. I remember it was one of my absolute favorite fairy tales. It felt nice to rewind that time. Right now, I don’t really have much to say about it. I personally haven’t learnt anything about life by reading this fairy tale now, but I know that it changed my thinking when I read it and saw it on TV as a child. Little Red RiddingHood is a great fairy tale for kids because in the same time as it entertains it is informing kids to be more careful with the strangers. Not only that, it also conveys a message that if you don’t want to get in trouble, then you should listen to elders and be more obedient.

Yellowstone Volcano - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1224 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/08/02 Category Environment Essay Level High school Tags: Volcano Essay Did you like this example? Introduction Yellowstone National Park is located in the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It is a popular park because it is home to over 10,000 features, several mountain ridges, headwater of 3 major western river system (?, 2015). Nevertheless, to say that is a beautiful place to visit, millions of visitors are unaware that they are standing in the largest, most explosive volcanoes ever to exist. It is important for people to be informed of the geologic aspects and the effects of the Yellowstone volcano. Geologic aspects Tectonic setting The tectonic setting of the Yellowstone volcano sits atop of a continental hotspot. While North America plates moved west they slowly moved over the hotspot that is now below Yellowstone [IJ1](Volcano World, n.d). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Yellowstone Volcano" essay for you Create order Activity The Yellowstone volcano has not erupted recently it is considered to be active. Although Yellowstone volcano is active, it is unlikely to erupt in the next thousand or even 10,000 years (Yellowstone Volcano, n.d). Such activities as ground motion, earthquakes, and hydrothermal activities are proof that the volcano is active (Lowenstern, Christianse, Smith, Morgan, and Heasler, 2005). It is estimated that about 1,000 to 3,000 earthquakes occur under Yellowstone each year (?, 2015). Magma Most of Yellowstone volcano eruptions has produced giant volcanic eruptions (Lowenstern, Christianse, Smith, Morgan, and Heasler, 2005). When eruptions take place the common magma present is silicic. Much of the composition of Yellowstone volcano lava is composed of rhyolite and basalt (An Overview of Yellowstone, n.d). To be precise, about 30 eruptions of rhyolitic lava moved around/ flew while other flows contained rhyolite and basalt that were expelled outside the caldera (Lowenstern, Christianse, Smith, Morgan, and Heasler, 2005). Considering the Yellowstone volcano is active, there has been non explosive eruptions. Some eruptions that have occurred about 27 of them rhyolite lava flew in the caldera, 13 rhyolite lavas flew outside the caldera and 40 basalt vents outside the caldera [IJ2](USGS, n.d). Type of volcano The Yellowstone volcano is a volcanic caldera and supervolcano(). [IJ3]Since its a supervolcano it is capable of exploding more than 240 cubic miles of magma (Yellowstone Volcano, n.d). How often it erupts Since the first to the last eruption of the Yellowstone volcano, we can calculate that the eruptions were separated in time by several tens of thousands of years. To be precise, the recurrence interval is about 6000,000 to 800,000 years (USGS, n.d). Based in Yellowstone past eruptions, the probability of another caldera- forming eruption is only 0.00014% (Volcano, n.d.). Although scientist dont know when will Yellowstone volcano will erupt again, scientist from Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) observe an array of monitor [IJ4]in the region. These monitors are fit to detect any sudden or strong movement of shifts in the area that could indicate activity in the Yellowstone volcano (Yellowstone Volcano, n.d). Precursors From the past eruptions, there was not information of any precursors to those eruptions. However, now there are precursors to eruptions in the Yellowstone volcano. The precursors include strong earthquakes swarms and rapid ground deformation (Yellowstone Volcano, n.d). Also, ground movement can be a precursor to magma moving towards the surface (USGS, n.d). Good news is that due to these precursors, the eruptions will not occur right away, it will typically take days to weeks before the eruption (Yellowstone Volcano, n.d). Description of eruptions From the history of the three-enormous caldera forming eruption that took place 2.1 million and 640,000 years ago, tiny particles of volcanic debris were presented in which it covered much of the western half of North America (Volcano, n.d.). At first when the eruptions occurred immense volumes of magma erupted at the surface and into the atmosphere as a variety of volcanic red-got pumice, volcanic ash, and gas spread as pyroclastic flows flew everywhere (Lowenstern, Christianse, Smith, Morgan, and Heasler, 2005). As the wind carried sulfur aerosol and ash particles around the Earth it might of have cause a decrease in temperatures around the globe (). Not to mention that the effect of the rapid withdrawals of the large volumes of magma below the Earths surface caused the ground to collapse, swallowing mountains and originated calderas (Lowenstern, Christianse, Smith, Morgan, and Heasler, 2005). Effects on people/ environment Major eruptions Yellowstone volcano major eruptions were capable of obscuring parts of North America continent with ash and debris (USGS, n.d). The first major eruption occurred 2.1 million years ago, the eruption was enormous that it was considered one of the five largest eruption on Earth that created caldera more than 60 miles across (Lowenstern, Christianse, Smith, Morgan, and Heasler, 2005). The eruption produced about 600 cubic miles of rock and ash An Overview of Yellowstone, n.d). As a result of the widespread volcanic deposits, it created the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff (Lowenstern, Christianse, Smith, Morgan, and Heasler, 2005). Moreover, the most recent eruption occurred 640,000 years ago. The eruption produced huge volumes of volcanic ash that were blasted into the atmosphere. In addition, it created 35-mile-wide and 50 long Yellowstone calderas (Lowenstern, Christianse, Smith, Morgan, and Heasler, 2005). After the eruption, the ground collapsed into the magma reservoir, creating a caldera 75 km long and 55 km wide (Volcano, n.d). As we can see [IJ5]each of these eruptions created a sizable caldera (USGS, n.d). Concerns now/ Hazards A concern that people have is how big an eruption of the Yellowstone volcano would be like. It is believed that the eruption would impact the entire world not just Teton Country. Some hazards include the loss of lifes, damage to property, cascading events, long and expensive recovery effort and economic losses (Volcano, n.d.). Expected for next eruption Even though there is not a set date of when Yellowstone volcano will erupt, people expect the eruption to be big. If an eruption occurs, it would produce thick ash deposits that would bury a huge area of the United States and injection of huge volumes of volcanic gases that will get high in the atmosphere resulting an effect on global climate (Lowenstern, Christianse, Smith, Morgan, and Heasler, 2005). But others believe that the eruption will be hydrothermal. Even though the eruption would be small it will still be an explosive eruption since it can occur from shallow reservoirs of steam or hot water. This eruption will produce lava flows of either rhyolite or basalt. If it happens to be a rhyolite lava flows, then it incorporates explosive phases that create significant volumes of volcanic ash and pumice (USGS, n.d.). Current state of the volcano As on April 2, 2018, the Yellowstone volcano alert level is normal (USGS, n.d). Warning systems Most scientist believe that the buildup preceding a catastrophic eruption would be detectable for weeks or even months to years. Being said this, there isnt any information of any warning systems in place. But if there is are any signs of an eruption, the park would communicate accurate and timely information to visitors, employees, surrounding communities, media outlets [IJ6](Yellowstone Volcano, n.d). Conclusion In conclusion, Yellowstone volcano is considered to be active even if it hasnt erupted recently. It is important to know that it is one of the largest and most explosive volcanoes on the planet. The eruptions of this volcano have caused damages that we could not see but it is safe to say that we wont see one any time soon. Being informed of the Yellowstone volcano gives a deeper insight of how the Yellowstone National Park came to form.

What Are the Components of the Lymphatic System