Frank O'Connor was born in Ireland in 1903 named as Michael O'Donovan. He took the name Frank O'Connor when writing to hide his talent from his employers. As a child, O'Connor idolized his mother who worked as a maid supporting the household. His father drank a bit too much an...

Aeschylus's plays "Agamemnon", "The Libation Bearers", and "Eumenides" were all based on one parent child conflict that gradually manifested into one the best-known curses in Greek mythology. Tantalus, one of Zeus's many sons, started this havoc when he attemp...

Jocasta is an integral part of the play, Oedipus The King, by Sophocles. Her actions and thoughts are essential to the reader as well as the characters within the play. In this passage, there are several themes and significant items that she is addressing. Jocasta is trying to help relieve Oedipus ...

Achilles was a warrior who was among the most powerful Achaean in The Iliad. He conquered men and helped to conquer many countries. He, in the midst of seizing Lyrnessus, took a trophy wife. Her name was Briseis and she was a fair-cheeked maid. Agamemnon, the commander of the chief, also takes Chrys...

The given extract is Hamlet's first soliloquy in the play. It is recited by Hamlet after he is told by Gertrude and Claudius not to return to Wittenberg for his studies, however to remain in Denmark. This soliloquy portrays a prominent difference to the previous scene, which features a control...

Heroes If a hero is properly defined as somebody who does something dangerous to help somebody else, then the heroes of Greek mythology do not qualify. They were a pretty selfish and arrogant bunch, --in other words, not exactly role models for the younger generation of today. The funny thing a...

HADES "GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD" Hades (Pluto) was the God of the Dead. He ruled the kingdom of the dead which was also named Hades. He was the son of Cronus and Rhea (Titans), and the older brother of Zeus (the King of the Gods). In spite of Hades importance to the Greeks, they did not devote ...

The play opens with a scene in which Oedipus and Jocasta learn that Polybus is dead. Oedipus takes the news in of Polybus's death without showing even the slightest sign of grief. The moment actually becomes a near triumph, as Oedipus believes his doubts about prophecies have been confirmed. He...

In the begining, there was Chaos. From Chaos and Mother Earth came the first race of Greek deities, the Titans. These first gods were ruled by Saturn, who had received the prophesy that his son will over throw him. Well, he ate all his children save one, the one his wife, Mother Earth (Gaia) placed ...

The Greeks believed that the earth was formed before any of the gods appeared. The gods, as the Greeks knew them, all originated with Father Heaven, and Mother Earth. Father Heaven was known as Uranus, and Mother Earth, as Gaea. Uranus and Gaea raised many children. Amoung them were the Cycl...

Ancient world masterpieces that have survived until the present day have probably done so because of their ability to draw people. These great literary works explore different areas of the human experience, to help us understand the world and our lives. Many times, several different works will dea...

An epic simile (also known as a Homeric simile) is defined as an extended simile often running to several lines, used typically in epic poetry to intensify the heroic stature of the subject and to serve as decoration, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Epic similes can be found quite often t...

Oedipus the King, is a play in which its readers are presented with the relationships between Gods and humans. Throughout the play humans rely upon gods for support, guidance, and assistance. Humans have the knowledge that the gods are all knowing and powerful; yet they show arrogances, and cont...

Orestes was one of posterity of the house of Atreus. He also was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia. The main character of The Libation Bearers, the second part of Aeschylus¡¯ great trilogy, the Oresteia, Orestes was able to go through with his father¡Â...

Achilles As A Dynamic Character In The Iliad by Homer, Achilles is a dynamic character. A dynamic character is someone who changes from the beginning of a story to the end. Many events in this story influence Achilles to change. He becomes independent and also values people's feelings mo...

One might call Aeneas a "behind the scenes man" in the book, The Iliad. Though he was second in command for the Trojans, Homer rarely talked about the unsung hero. His childhood was different than most children his age. Without a dominant mother figure in his life, Aeneas learned his values and bel...

Oedipus the King had one of the worst destinies in all of literature. As a young man he learned of his fate to kill his father and marry his mother. Fleeing his family and seeking refuge from his terrible future in a distant state only brought about the actualization of the forecast. Unbeknownst to ...

The Riddle of DoomSophocles "Oedipus the King" is a tragic play which discusses the tragic discovery of Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. The story of Oedipus was well known to the Athenian's. Oedipus is the embodiment of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, int...

After Diomedes wounds Ares, Ares immediately flies to mount Olympus to complain to Zeus. Zeus' original reaction (5.1027-1030) is to compare Ares to his mother Hera. Zeus shows his anger towards Ares vividly and also lends to his compassion as his father. Zeus is torn here; we can see his emotion...

In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, dramatic irony is often present in Oedipus' long speeches. Oedipus constantly sees things incorrectly, and is in denial that he has, in fact, killed his father and married his mother. This is first apparent when he demands the death of the man who killed Laios. Oedipus c...

Story\'s are told involving fate, but very few capture the true meaning of fate like Oedipus the King. To be successful, you have to understand how to use fate to your advantage. Fate is defined as \"the immutable law of the universe; inevitable necessity; the force by which all existence is determi...

When the ancient Greek craftsmen and builders toiled away in 550 BC, they knew that their labors would not be in vain; they knew that they would be blessed. To the early Greeks, the legends of the Greek gods were more than legends; they were beliefs that most Greeks shared. Greek mythology is a myst...

The Sphinx and FateSophocles' Oedipus Rex is a tragic Greek play in which Oedipus Rex, the King of Thebes unknowingly follows his fate by killing his father and having children by his mother. Oedipus is self-confident, intelligent, and strong-willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring ...

Sophocles' "Oedipus the King" is a tragic play which discusses the tragic discovery of Oedipus that he has killed his father andmarried his mother. The story of Oedipus was well known to the athenian's. Oedipus is the embodiement of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong...

Cassiopeia was the wife of Cepheus, the Ethiopian king of Joppa (now known as Jaffa, in Israel), and the mother of Andromeda. The queen was both beautiful and vain, and the story of how her vanity caused great distress is told in relation to the constellation Andromeda. After promising her daughter ...