Iliad - Book 9

One of the most discussed episodes in the Homeric poem, the embassy to Achilles in Book 9 offers an opportunity to reflect on themes such as delivering a personal apology, offering gifts as compensation for previous actions and failing to provide leadership in times of crisis. Write a few comments on any of these topics -- support your claims through textual evidence.
If you would like to talk about anything else that interested you in the Iliad, please do so in a 'new post'.

Here is a link to my Museum Report
http://binny337.blogspot.com/2010/02/iliad-is-collection-of-stories-that.html

Findings on Mesopotamian Gods

Each Gold pendant in the jewelry hoard represents a deity.

Ishtar – the goddess of fertility as well as sexuality and violence. I was told the gridded or rough area below her waistline represents fertility.

Adad - God of the Storms, associated with lighting. Often represented in a smiting posture either mounted on or in a chariot pulled by a lion-dragon or a bull

Socrates

In his lifetime Socrates sort to distinguish knowledge that was devised by the leaders and Athenian Gods from wisdom given by the Almighty God. While trying to verifying whether he was the wisest of men, Socrates became an enemy to the state. Many believed they were insulted by his arrogance. Socrates was accused of creating disorder in the Athenian Society by teaching his beliefs and not accepting the Athenian Gods. When taken to court for his disorderly conduct, Socrates was offered a choice to either relinquish his beliefs or to accept a death sentence. Of course being a man of wisdom does not permit renouncing his beliefs and therefore Socrates accepted the death sentence.
The Neoclassical Statement below was taken from the Metropolitan Museum. It showcases Socrates seating on his bed getting ready to commit suicide by drinking poison as ordered by the court. Plato seated at the end of the bed with his head bowed. A young man handing Socrates the poison and covering his eyes in the process.

Iliad -Book 1

Any reactions to Book 1 of Homer's The Iliad? Is there a 'moral value' that governs the actions of the Achaeans?

Metropolitan Museum of Art Blog Post

The other week, I took a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to explore artifacts and other relics discovered during the Mesopotamian era. After walking through the Ancient Near Eastern exhibit, searching for something to catch my eye, I finally came across this odd wall sculpture of a soldier leading a horse with his left hand. I know this person was a soldier, because he was holding a spear in his free hand, had a sword strapped around his neck, and on his back he had a bow and arrow. The first thing I found intriguing about this hand- carved sculpture, was that the animal and human were depicted as separate entities. Most of the sculptures, statues, and art I have seen thus far from the exhibit, always portrayed the human and animal as one. This was typical during the Mesopotamian time period where there was a very thin line between Gods and Humans, and where they are constantly being juxtaposed together, and represent one entity (i.e. Gilgamesh).

Other pieces of art that I saw illustrated humans with wings like a bird, or a person with the legs of a bull or horse, but this wall sculpture showed human and animal as individuals. The other thing I found appealing from this wall sculpture, was the fact that there were fish involved. This was the first sculpture I found that had fish in it. I do not know whether this was a coincidence, or true meaning behind it. Even more fascinating was the way the fish were situated within the wall sculpture. The fish were depicted swimming in some sort of body of water, in the background. This is the first illustration I had seen that used a background for their piece of work. Perhaps the most amazing part of this image was the extraordinary amount of detail put into this piece of art. It provided so much detail, you can see every scale in the body of the fishes. It is unfortunate, that only part of the image was found and restored, because I would have liked to see what the rest of the picture looked like. Similar to the other artifacts and pieces of art I found in this exhibit, there was plenty of cuneiform writing around the hand carved wall picture.

Greek Gods and Godesses

There are many interesting documentaries on Ancient Greece. This is a link to a History Channel film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX0oIkMKMtw

I visited the Metropolitan museum last Wednesday and I must say the trip was worth taking. The museum consisted of several historical fragments ranging fragments ranging from ancient Greek to oriental art of china. It was indeed intriguing to see how well these pieces from all over the world were bought and organized under one roof. There were many people in the museum and above all many interesting things about the past so at one point I was really confused.

That topic that I am dealing is about the Mesopotamian era and specifically concerned about the deities and the first form of writing “Cuneiform”. The museum carried information and pictorial fragments of deities like Anu (the Supreme God), Innana (The Sumerian goddess of fertility), and Shamash (the city god) which is also a part of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The placement of God’s name in the Tablet (Cuneiform) gave me the idea of importance of God in the lives of the people of that era. While going through the tablets I also had the impression that perhaps the religious and conservative nature of people was actually existent even at the earliest of times.







The epic of Gilgamesh is a mythology. However, after looking at this piece with the name of Gilgamesh and other Deity gave me the impression of certainty that somewhere down the lane there used to be such king who took the journey in search for eternity.






Looking from the Gilgamesh’s side the story looks sad where a hero loses to achieve. However, going through the tablets in the museum I felt that Gilgamesh might have lost but in true sense he did not lose but got the opportunity to learn about the short lived nature of life and that all must enjoy life to the fullest instead of grieving.

The Cuneiform writing introduced by the Sumerians was fascinating but I must admit the cylinder seals were captivating too. According to the information from the museum Cylinder Seals were the first form of written language ever. It was used to communicate and identify land ownership and water rights. The seals were rolled in the clay tablet. The picture underneath gives a clear view of the clay tablets used during that period.






The Mesopotamians the earliest of all civilization gave us a new perspective in life. In the process of discovering the museum I realized that we indeed owed a lot to the ancient people who made it possible for the civilization to grow. The contribution from the Mesopotamian specifically the recording of clay tablets is intriguing in the sense that how people at that era with simple needs in life made such complex inventions. The epic of Gilgamesh which is one of the delights of the Mesopotamian era is also fascinating as it can be related to anyone. For instance, people are turning more arrogant like Gilgamesh in his prime time. Moreover, the use of sex symbol reflects upon the society we live in. The advancement or proposal of sex symbolizes corruption and it undeniable that it is evident till date.

Like the saying that goes “Morning shows the day”, the Mesopotamian era and the eras thereafter have given the opportunity to wake up with a fresh start. I would like to finally touch down on the same point that if it had not been the efforts of the earlier people perhaps we would not have been able to be in the position that we enjoy today.

Ancient Greece

I took a visit to the Metropolitan Museum on Saturday evening and I enjoyed it a lot more than expected. I didn't go alone. Going alone I would have just taken pictures and wrote anything here. But I actually took a look around and was amazed mostly in the pottery and the art. The pottery in the the Greek section of the museum was amazing in the fact that is showed the history of its people. There were many pottery but I was most interested in the ones with drawings. There would be like a story in each one. A table with people eating and enjoying themselves. Pictures of people fighting and also pictures of warriors or soldiers from the time. I took other pictures of the jewelry. I see that during that time fashion was still part of life. The most fun part was the sculptures of people. I enjoyed seeing how Greek art was advanced. They were really focused in the human body and its shape and specific characteristics. I took some pictures before the security guard tried to stop us from fooling around. My friend was pretending to grab the butt of the sculptures. Through the museum I also encountered different sculpture heads and some of Gods. I was really fascinated from it because it I always had a curiosity of mythic stories and Gods that have each different powers and responsibility in the Universe. Hades God of the Underworld. Zeus the King of the Gods. Im putting pictures for you all to see. If you can't view them please e-mail me if you want me to e-mail it to you. Kevin.delgado@baruchmail.cuny.edu

Cuneiform Script

My visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, please go to:

http://sumeriancivilization.blogspot.com/

Today's class

Hamurabi Code and The 10 Commandments

Moses - 1923 Movie - YOUTUBE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc8LfeZLO7g&feature=related

Gilgamesh's failure

Do you believe that Gilgamesh's journey ended in failure?

Zerzan on Agriculture, Patriarchy, and Civilzation

Here's some writing from one of my favorite authors, John Zerzan, that relates to our class discussions:

On Agriculture

On Patriarchy, Civilization, and the origins of gender

I would love to hear anyone's thoughts on these articles if anyone is interested.

Religion and Sexuality

For those of you interested in getting a scholarly perspective on some 0f the issues we talked about in class, I recommend this article (available on Jstor, via Baruch Lib. Databases):

• Religion and Sexuality: The Perversion of a Natural Marriage

• David Leeming
• Journal of Religion and Health, Vol. 42, No. 2 (Summer, 2003), pp. 101-109

What is the role played by God Shamash in this Epic?

Any thoughts on the sexual symbolism present in the Epic of Gilgamesh?