Connections except the quality is really bad cause I put too much effort into this presentation visually

Hero's Journey

 At the moment in Classics, we are looking at the hero's journey and how it applies to Ancient Greek mythology. The hero's journey is an order of 12 events that many believe can be applied to any story. I'll be applying this to the myth of Perseus and the slaying of Medusa. 

The Ordinary World

The ordinary world is the beginning of the hero's journey and sets the story up. This world will later be disrupted by the call to adventure. In the myth of Perseus and Medusa, the ordinary world is when Perseus and his mother - Danae - arrive at the shores of the Isles of Seriphos where they found themselves in the court of King Polydectes. They end up at the Isles of Seriphos due to Danae being locked away by her father due to the oracle claiming he will die at the hands of his grandson. Danae ends up pregnant anyway due to Zeus and her father locks Danae and Perseus in a crate that he then throws into the ocean. 

The Mentor 

The mentor is the point in the hero's journey where the protagonist meets someone who is older, wiser, and more experienced. This person will train them and allow them to have the tools to answer the call to adventure. Typically, the call to adventure comes before the mentor in the hero's journey, however, Perseus first meets the centaur Chiron. While Danae and Perseus are on the Isle of Seriphos, Perseus received training from Chiron who also trained Achilles, Jason, Hercules, and various other famed heroes. 

The Call To Adventure

The call to adventure is what prompts the story to really begin. The call is a challenge that is presented to the protagonist that disrupts the ordinary world. For Perseus, this would be King Polydectes falling in love with his mother and making her his slave. King Polydectes knows this will anger Perseus and challenges Perseus to kill Medusa, knowing he will most likely be turned to stone. Sometimes, the protagonist doesn't answer the call immediately, however, Perseus takes up the challenge and begins his journey. 

Crossing The Threshold

Crossing the threshold occurs when the protagonist accepts the call to adventure and enters the special world. The special world is the lower half of the circle and it is here that the protagonist will face the challenge. The special world doesn't necessarily need to be a world that is special, it just needs to be different from the ordinary world. Occasionally, the hero requires prompting to finally begin their journey, however, Perseus doesn't need this prompt and begins sailing for the Land of the Gorgons.

Tests, Allies, Enemies

Now that the journey has really begun, the protagonist will encounter various challenges that block the path to their goal. However, they will also meet allies that help them in their quest. Perseus's first test is to find the Graeae sisters, three old women who shared one eye and tooth. They were the sisters of the Gorgons and would reveal the location of Medusa. Perseus achieves this with guidance from his two allies - Athena and Hermes - who help him locate the Graeae sisters. The Graeae sisters don't tell Perseus where their sisters are straight away causing Perseus to steal their single eye in exchange for their location. Once he is given the location, he returns the eye.

Approach To The Inmost Cave

The approach to the inmost cave is essentially the final preparations before the ordeal. For Perseus, his approach may also fall under tests, allies, enemies, however, we're going to put it here for now. The Greek Gods and Goddesses gift Perseus tools that will aid him in his battle against Medusa and the Gorgon sisters. Athena gifts Perseus a bronze shield so he will be able to see Medusa's reflection and avoid looking at her and being turned to stone. Hermes gifts him winged sandals that allow him to fly from the location of the Graeae sisters to the Land of the Gorgons while Hades gifts him a cap that makes him invisible. Perseus also receives a sword however, there is conflicting information on whether this sword came from Hephaestus or Zeus. With everything he needed, Perseus takes flight and is headed to the Land of Gorgons. 

The Ordeal

The ordeal is the battle that was the call to adventure. It may be an answer or, in Perseus's case, the challenge the protagonist was given. Perseus snuck into the cave where Medusa resided with her sisters and, with the guidance of Athena, decapitated her and places the head in a bag. He then escapes by flying away to avoid the Gorgon sisters who awoke to their sister's headless body.  

The Reward

The reward aspect of the hero's journey doesn't need much explaining. After the ordeal, the protagonist will most likely be rewarded in some way, whether it's something physical like a sword, or spiritual and more abstract. For Perseus, his reward is Medusa's head which he keeps in a bag for the remainder of the Journey. Because of this, another reward we can consider is the release of his mother from slavery. 

The Road Back

After completing the ordeal and answering the call to adventure, the protagonist must return to the ordinary world. The protagonist may not want to leave the special world immediately, however, they will eventually accept that they must leave. Doing this will complete the hero's journey. Perseus leaves immediately and begins his return to the Isle of Seriphos to free his mother from being a slave to King Polydectes. It's not an easy journey as Perseus encounters Altas who he protects the Garden of Hesperides. Perseus sought to rest here, however, Atlas refused him entry to the garden as he feared Perseus would kill the dragon who protects the golden apples and steal them. Because of this, Perseus held up Medusa's head and showed Atlas who then turned to stone. Atlas's stoned body went on to shape the mountains and rocks. 

The Ressurection 

Before being able to fully return to the ordinary, the protagonist faces the final life and death challenge. Here the protagonist will apply everything they have learned and gathered along their journey. The resurrection will typically be the final battle that rounds everything up, other characters may make an appearance, or it may be a final battle that is internal and occur within the protagonist. For Perseus it is physical and it happens as he is passing by the kingdom of King Cepheus in Ethiopia. Here, Perseus finds a beautiful woman called Andromeda chained to a cliff that hangs over the ocean. He learns that Andromeda is the King's daughter and is being sacrificed due to the kingdom having been overcome with large waves and a sea monster. Andromeda's mother - Cassiopea - had proclaimed she was more beautiful than the sea-nymphs which angered Poseiden. Wanting to marry Andromeda, Perseus agreed to kill the sea-monster in exchange for her hand in marriage. He used the cap of invisibility given to him by Hades and he waited for the sea-monster to come and eat Andromeda. Once the monster arrived, he exposed Medusa's head to the monster, killing it instantly. Andromeda was freed and married Perseus. 

I should note that in one retelling, Perseus also fought Phineus, the man Andromeda was supposedly engaged to. In this version, he still kills the monster, just this time it's with his sword. Once Andromeda was free, Perseus challenged Phineus for her hand in marriage and it's here that Perseus used Medusa's head as a weapon and killed Phineus. 

Return With The Elixir

The final stage of the hero's journey is returning with the elixir. Typically, the elixir is what restores the ordinary world and brings the story to a close meaning, it doesn't have to be something physical. However, for Perseus, the elixir is a physical item. By returning with Medusa's head, the ordinary world is returned to how it was before the call of adventure - Perseus's mother is freed from being King Polydecte's slave. Returning with the elixir also causes a change in the ordinary world, whether it's small or big. This change is Perseus not only returning as a married man but also celebrated as a hero. 

More art stuff

This week we've been learning about positive and negative space. We've been doing this by painting with white paint on a black background. We were supposed to do something relating to our kaupapa but I didn't because I've changed my theme to something else. So, I'm not doing anything with childhood anymore cause that was a dumb idea and I'm doing something else. Anyway, I first did an apple but I didn't like it so I did this hand instead. 

I'm happy with how it came out, however, I hate the bottom part. Other than that it looks pretty good. Then I went and redrew the apple and redid it.

I don't like the middle section but it looks alright. Then I made my favorite painting out of the three - The Taemin painting. I've been wanting to paint Taemin for a while and I finally got the opportunity to paint him which made me very happy. 

I have mixed feelings about how the hair came out and like the painting in general. Like, there's that big black spot that looks really weird. I'm quite surprised by how decently good it looks especially with the folds in the clothes. But, yes, I do love Taemin. He's a part of the iconic group SHINee and all 5 members have released solo music. He's a phenomenal performer and his music is great and so is his dancing. His left arm also looks a bit weird so I might add a little bit of shading on top of the pocket so it looks a little 3D. Also, the right sleeve looks weird but it's not annoying enough that I want to go through the effort of changing it. Anyway, this is my favorite painting and also my least favorite painting. The longer I look at it the more I grow to hate it. 

Anyway, here's a Taemin performance. 

My favorite song of his is either Press Your Number, Danger, or Sexuality. Drip Drop, Criminal, and Idea are also bangers and deserve honorable mentions. 

Plato's Concept of the Self

 Ancient Greek Philosopher, Plato, believes that the self is your soul and that it can be split into three parts; the rational, the spirited, and the appetite. 

The rational soul is a moral and rational guide for the self and is the part of the soul that Plato considers most important. It is located in the head and is what enables humans to perform cognitive functions such as thinking, analyzing, and reflecting. The spiritual soul represents someone's emotions. It is located in the heart and is what allows someone to feel emotions such as happiness, anger, love, etc. Finally, the appetite represents human desire and is located in the abdomen. It's what causes humans to desire things and our physical wants. 

Plato describes these three through a charioteer. The charioteer (rational) is driving a chariot that is controlled by two horses (spirited and appetite). The two horses are pulling in two separate directions as they are in conflict with each other. It is the charioteer's job to control the two horses by keeping the two balanced, otherwise, the charioteer won't reach his destination. Plato views the self as someone who is able to think rationally, has a clear vision of what they are doing, and is able to balance their spirit and appetite. 

Fate vs Free Will

In ancient Greek society, the existence of the Greek Gods and Goddesses is weaved within everyday life. Greek society believed that the Gods and Goddesses were the ones in control of whether you lived or died. Whether you had safe passage across the sea or whether your crops grew that year, among other things. This belief that there were higher beings controlling things was shown through the ancient Greek's need to stay in favor of the Gods and Goddesses. Ancient Greeks would stay in favor of the Gods and Goddesses by making offerings in temples and on alters. With the idea of higher beings controlling things down on Earth comes the debate of fate vs free will. 

The idea of fate within Greek society is that one cannot control one's fate, not even the Gods can intervene. The ones who decided someone's fate were known as the three sister deities known as The Moirai, most commonly known as The Fates. Although many things are fated, in Greek mythology there is still a depiction of slight free will. However, this free-will will typically play into one's fate by either delaying it or prompting it to happen sooner. An example of this is the myth of Meleager. In the myth, the fates visit Meleager's parents to tell them of his fate. They predict that he would be noble and brave, however, he would die once one of the sticks in the fireplace had burned completely. This prompted his mother to remove one of the sticks from the fireplace and keep it safe. Although there is debate about Meleager's death, they all state that after killing the Calydonian Boar, Meleager quarreled with his uncles which led to their deaths. Upon hearing this, his mother proceeded to burn the stick which caused Meleager to die. This shows that although Meleager's Mother used her free-will to protect the stick from the fireplace, his fate was pre-destined and he died either way. 

An example of a hero displaying free-will is Achilles and his double fate. Achilles' mother, Thetis, hears of his double fate and, not wanting to outlive her son, dips him in the River Styx. His double fate is that he can either become a great hero yet live a short life or, live a long life and be unknown. As we know in Homer's The Iliad, Achilles uses his free will to become a great warrior yet live a short life. This shows how, although humans may have some free-will, in the end, everything has been fated. That's not to say you can't fight it - as shown in the myth of Meleager - but in the end, you will meet your fate. The only free-will within Greek myths is how you get from point A to point B.

Bibliography

GreekMythology.com 

https://www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/The_Fates/the_fates.html

https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Heroes/Meleager/meleager.html

https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Heroes/Achilles/achilles.html

LitCharts

https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-iliad/themes/fate-and-free-will

Bartleby Research

https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Greek-Fate-Fate-And-Free-Will-In-PZC2EZ9AF6#:~:text=As%20such%20with%20these%20stories,acting%20by%20one's%20own%20decisions.

What is a Hero?

Hercules  

 Greek Mythology

 Heros were prominent in Greek mythology with some of the most prominent heroes including Hercules, Jason, Perseus, and many more. Many heroes in Greek mythology are born from one godly parent and one mortal parent, making the child a demigod - half-god, half-mortal. This allowed them separation from the everyday man while still being an everyday man. If they didn't have a godly parent, such as Jason, they would often have the Greek Gods' favor - even if for a short time. Typically, the heroes also would have loose morals which further emphasized the separation of heroes from everyday men. This also emphasized their godly parentage as typically, gods had few morals or ethics which was believed to be an example to mortals. An example of what could happen if morals or ethics weren't followed. 

Modern Times

The Hulk

Nowadays, heroes that are demigods aren't so common. Modern heroes come from a range of backgrounds, however, they will all typically have some sort of superpower that separates them from everyday men rather than godly parentage. One major difference between an ancient Greek hero and a modern hero is that modern heroes are supposed to set a good example. While in ancient Greece, a hero was cheating on their lover or killing their family in a fit of rage, a modern hero is someone we're supposed to aspire to be. They help those in need and put others first while maintaining a positive never-give-up attitude. What makes a hero today isn't their godly parentage and separation from everyday man, instead, it's the message that in the end, anyone can be a hero. This comes from the fact that most modern heroes aren't born with their superpowers like ancient Greek heroes. While Hercules is born with super-strength, The Hulk obtains his super-strength and learns to use it for the greater good. 

The ship of Theseus

The Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment that was first written down by Plutarch - an ancient Greek historian. Plutarch wrote, "The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their place, insomuch that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers, for the logical question of the things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same." The question is, if you replace each part of a Theseus ship with new wood, is it still Theseus ship? Many believe that this is similar to human life. Humans are constantly changing, both physically and mentally, so, if we are constantly changing, are we still us in the end? Philosophers believe that objects are constantly changing and evolving, however, the identity of the object never changes. If an elephant evolved to not have husks we don't stop calling it an elephant. In the end, we're in a constant state of changing and it's something we can't control. You can try and shape yourself into a good person, but you can't control things like that and sometimes you need to let the universe flow. Certain things might stay with you, such as morals, ethics, and sometimes even mannerisms, other times you just need to let it flow. Things will also occur that you didn't want to happen, however, those things may benefit you in the future.