Zeus got fed up with Sisyphus (the fellow who had to push the boulder) because of his personal nastiness - he mistreated travelers and guests, violating guest-obligations, a big no-no, and part of Zeus' purview - and also his hubris, claiming he was as powerful as Zeus. Really stupid. I love the term "sisyphean" for many of life's little…
Zeus got fed up with Sisyphus (the fellow who had to push the boulder) because of his personal nastiness - he mistreated travelers and guests, violating guest-obligations, a big no-no, and part of Zeus' purview - and also his hubris, claiming he was as powerful as Zeus. Really stupid. I love the term "sisyphean" for many of life's little tasks - cleaning the fridge, the fish tank, etc.
Prometheus, on the other hand, was actually a good guy - a Titan who stole fire from the gods (after they stole it from humanity) and gave it to back to mankind, to better their lot. For this he was punished with the eagle as mentioned until he was finally freed (with Zeus' permission) by Herakles. In trying to help humanity further their development, he was lessening their reliance on the gods. Another big no-no. I appreciate the Greek's view of their deities as beings who can be all kinds of mean, petty, vengeful, amoral, spiteful and just generally shitty as well as wonderful, benevolent, kind and, well, god-like. It explained so much about the world.
haha Keahi you beat me to it. I just found Prometheus ! You even remember the detail! Wow! I have a soft spot for the Greeks because 1. they seemed to know more than modern men, and 2. we had an awesome teacher for Greek and Latin history whom I fondly remember
I met my husband in high school Latin class just about 60 years ago. He was going to minor in Latin in college but our teacher took him aside and disabused him of that notion. Since he wanted to be a high school teacher probably good advice. Sadly. I can still conjugate a few verbs. Lol. I liked Latin I took both years offered.
We were offered Spanish, French and Japanese (this was in Hawai'i). My sister became quite good at Japanese. Very helpful with getting jobs in the tourism industry.
I chose French and never regretted it. Now at 65 I'm learning Spanish!
I wish Latin had been offered when I was in school. It is the key to so many doors. The grandkids in Scotland were started early on it at their primary school. Do you remember this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjOfQfxmTLQ
OMG. thanks for the memories. I was on a tour in Greece once —lots of jokes and sneering at Romans. A statue only had its sandaled feet remaining planted on a plinth. It was a Roman of course.
I've been obsessed with mythology since I was able to hold a book. Then there's my theatre thing - I read the ancient Greek drama Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, and later Shelley's Prometheus Unbound. As a child I really struggled to understand how the Greek gods and goddesses, who I adored, could be so...human. It took maturity to see how this view was justified.
Zeus got fed up with Sisyphus (the fellow who had to push the boulder) because of his personal nastiness - he mistreated travelers and guests, violating guest-obligations, a big no-no, and part of Zeus' purview - and also his hubris, claiming he was as powerful as Zeus. Really stupid. I love the term "sisyphean" for many of life's little tasks - cleaning the fridge, the fish tank, etc.
Prometheus, on the other hand, was actually a good guy - a Titan who stole fire from the gods (after they stole it from humanity) and gave it to back to mankind, to better their lot. For this he was punished with the eagle as mentioned until he was finally freed (with Zeus' permission) by Herakles. In trying to help humanity further their development, he was lessening their reliance on the gods. Another big no-no. I appreciate the Greek's view of their deities as beings who can be all kinds of mean, petty, vengeful, amoral, spiteful and just generally shitty as well as wonderful, benevolent, kind and, well, god-like. It explained so much about the world.
haha Keahi you beat me to it. I just found Prometheus ! You even remember the detail! Wow! I have a soft spot for the Greeks because 1. they seemed to know more than modern men, and 2. we had an awesome teacher for Greek and Latin history whom I fondly remember
I met my husband in high school Latin class just about 60 years ago. He was going to minor in Latin in college but our teacher took him aside and disabused him of that notion. Since he wanted to be a high school teacher probably good advice. Sadly. I can still conjugate a few verbs. Lol. I liked Latin I took both years offered.
In high school I remember we had a choice of Latin, Spanish, French or German.
We were offered Spanish, French and Japanese (this was in Hawai'i). My sister became quite good at Japanese. Very helpful with getting jobs in the tourism industry.
I chose French and never regretted it. Now at 65 I'm learning Spanish!
I wish Latin had been offered when I was in school. It is the key to so many doors. The grandkids in Scotland were started early on it at their primary school. Do you remember this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjOfQfxmTLQ
OMG. thanks for the memories. I was on a tour in Greece once —lots of jokes and sneering at Romans. A statue only had its sandaled feet remaining planted on a plinth. It was a Roman of course.
Pushing over statues goes way back, huh!
I've been obsessed with mythology since I was able to hold a book. Then there's my theatre thing - I read the ancient Greek drama Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, and later Shelley's Prometheus Unbound. As a child I really struggled to understand how the Greek gods and goddesses, who I adored, could be so...human. It took maturity to see how this view was justified.