scholarly journals Who the hell is Hades? An examination of Hades' reception within modern film

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Joel Gordon

<p>This thesis seeks to engage with modern receptions of Hades, the ancient god of the underworld, within the medium of film. Although reception studies encompasses a broad variety of themes and subject matters, filmic characterisation (especially that of a deity) is presently an under-represented topic. Hades’ unique persona provides further incentive for this study; not only does he hold an ambiguous position within antiquity but this is similarly echoed throughout much of Hollywood’s own history, up until the turn of the 21st century. Hades’ filmic persona has, however, received a revitalisation within modern blockbusters which draw their inspiration from ancient Greek mythology. With prominent appearances in the likes of Disney’s Hercules (1997), Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (2010), Clash of the Titans (2010) and Wrath of the Titans (2012), Hades has now become a staple character within the film industry.  Hades’ recent stardom is not without issues. It appears that mass culture has freely refashioned Hades’ mythic persona in order to better fit a particular cinematic presentation, epitomised by Hades’ association with the Judeo-Christian Devil. I will argue, however, that the figure which has resulted does not have to be viewed as marking a rupture with classical thought but should be seen rather as a continuation of Greek mythological concerns. While this suggestion, following Martin Winkler’s theory of neo-mythologism, is not particularly original, I seek to explore it in an entirely new manner, highlighting the iconographical and narrative tropes which define Hades’ filmic persona.  This requires a unique approach, one not yet found within contemporary scholarship. In drawing upon modern film theory for inspiration, this thesis seeks to engage with Hades’ reception while letting the medium in question shape the methodology. Such considerations should be fundamental to reception studies.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Joel Gordon

<p>This thesis seeks to engage with modern receptions of Hades, the ancient god of the underworld, within the medium of film. Although reception studies encompasses a broad variety of themes and subject matters, filmic characterisation (especially that of a deity) is presently an under-represented topic. Hades’ unique persona provides further incentive for this study; not only does he hold an ambiguous position within antiquity but this is similarly echoed throughout much of Hollywood’s own history, up until the turn of the 21st century. Hades’ filmic persona has, however, received a revitalisation within modern blockbusters which draw their inspiration from ancient Greek mythology. With prominent appearances in the likes of Disney’s Hercules (1997), Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (2010), Clash of the Titans (2010) and Wrath of the Titans (2012), Hades has now become a staple character within the film industry.  Hades’ recent stardom is not without issues. It appears that mass culture has freely refashioned Hades’ mythic persona in order to better fit a particular cinematic presentation, epitomised by Hades’ association with the Judeo-Christian Devil. I will argue, however, that the figure which has resulted does not have to be viewed as marking a rupture with classical thought but should be seen rather as a continuation of Greek mythological concerns. While this suggestion, following Martin Winkler’s theory of neo-mythologism, is not particularly original, I seek to explore it in an entirely new manner, highlighting the iconographical and narrative tropes which define Hades’ filmic persona.  This requires a unique approach, one not yet found within contemporary scholarship. In drawing upon modern film theory for inspiration, this thesis seeks to engage with Hades’ reception while letting the medium in question shape the methodology. Such considerations should be fundamental to reception studies.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-156
Author(s):  
Hans-Christian von Herrmann

We are witnessing a return of cosmology in 20th and 21st century thinking. It is cosmology in the ancient greek sense of the word which addressed the entirety of what surrounds and carries us. Another term for this ongoing transformation is the ›planetary‹ which isn’t simply a synonym for the ›global‹. The planetary means a kind of boundless pervasion based on science and technology and transposing planet earth and human life from a culture-historical to a cosmic scale.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (43) ◽  
pp. 4-21
Author(s):  
Rosie Sykes

The lessons planned in this essay were designed for a group of Year 7 students in an independent girls’ school in London. Their course of study for Classics in Year 7 was a general introduction, involving beginners’ Greek and the rudiments of Latin, but largely focused on learning about Greek mythology, Homeric epic and Roman culture. Wright's Greeks & Romans textbook was often used in class, but the content was chosen and materials designed by the class teacher. I began teaching this class just as they were finishing Greek mythology and beginning to study the Iliad and Odyssey. The sequence of four lessons, based around the Underworld was intended to provide a re-cap of the Homeric material after they had studied the two epics, as well as exploring in further detail episodes which I had skipped over for the sake of brevity in the previous sequence, such as the Odyssey's katabasis. It also looked forward to studying Roman material in the next module by introducing the Aeneid in translation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan Meis ◽  
J.M. Tyree

Wonder, Horror, Mystery is a dialogue between two friends, both notable arts critics, that takes the form of a series of letters about movies and religion. One of the friends, J.M. Tyree, is a film critic, creative writer, and agnostic, while the other, Morgan Meis, is a philosophy PhD, art critic, and practicing Catholic. The question of cinema is raised here in a spirit of friendly friction that binds the personal with the critical and the spiritual. What is film? What’s it for? What does it do? Why do we so intensely love or hate films that dare to broach the subjects of the divine and the diabolical? These questions stimulate further thoughts about life, meaning, philosophy, absurdity, friendship, tragedy, humor, death, and God. The letters focus on three filmmakers who challenged secular assumptions in the late 20th century and early 21st century through various modes of cinematic re-enchantment: Terrence Malick, Lars von Trier, and Krzysztof Kieślowski. The book works backwards in time, giving intensive analysis to Malick’s To The Wonder (2012), Von Trier’s Antichrist (2009), and Kieślowski’s Dekalog (1988), respectively, in each of the book’s three sections. Meis and Tyree discuss the filmmakers and films as well as related ideas about philosophy, theology, and film theory in an accessible but illuminating way. The discussion ranges from the shamelessly intellectual to the embarrassingly personal. Spoiler alert: No conclusions are reached either about God or the movies. Nonetheless, it is a fun ride.


Literator ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger M. Field

Sigmund Freud’s reading of the classics and Greek mythology is well documented. By contrast, Edward Said’s reading of Freud has received little attention. This article considers three main issues: how Said and Freud thought about and used ancient and classical Greek literature; the ways in which Said has read Freud reading the ancient and classical worlds; the significance of ambivalence and analogy for these readings. The article concludes that there is a necessary relationship between analogy and ambivalence. Primarily chronological, the reading also draws on Freud’s notions of latency and repression to track how Said’s approaches to ambivalence and analogy changed. In the case of Said, it is possible to attribute some of these changes to the impact of Bernal’s Black Athena, which encouraged him to review the notions of ancient Greek society which underpin Orientalism, and to Bernal’s narrative inspiration, Kuhn’s The structure of scientific revolutions. Latency and repression make it possible to posit prehistories. Therefore, the article also examines the ways in which Freud and Said have been obliged to assume continuities between prehistory and history, and between individual and mass psychology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Rani Erum

Anti-Muslim emotions are not new for the world. It was present since the rise of Islam. West was furious after facing Muslims in battle ground and constantly defeated by those who were less equipped but obtained high morals. Initially they were frightened due to the novelty and unique approach of faith and its execution, therefore, they try to fabricate the original manuscripts, making false stories and molesting the last prophet’s life history. Islamophobia transformed after 9/11 and become more intensified and dangerous. It effected the common men worldwide without any boundaries. The respective research is based on the fact that hatred is the negative notion whether it related with nobility or wicked perception. It creates harmful effects on human psychology which subsequently created abusive mindset and actions. When any form of ideology identified as phobia means uncontrolled envy combine with the concept and turn it into a form of frenzied connotation. The fight between East and West was ancient which now convert among religions particularly Islam and others. The research is intend to provide the journey of anti-Islamism from past to present as well its significant elements and its present state. It also discusses the future prospects of clash of religions.  


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Min Zhou ◽  
Yan Wang

<p>Mythology, as a special cultural carrier, can reflect people’s spiritual values in a certain period and region. In ancient Chinese mythology and ancient Greek mythology, there are some goddess with similar attributes or symbolic meaning. Their symbolic attributes essentially represent some specific areas of women’s values, such as fertility, wisdom, love and marriage. Based on the mythology of ancient China and Greece as well as the ancient social background of the two countries, this paper analyzes and compares the goddess images in the myths of the two countries from the perspective of fertility, wisdom, love and marriage in the female values. In the aspect of fertility, China in the matriarchal society showed the worship of the supremacy of women. In the aspect of wisdom, the ancient Greek society affirmed the importance of moral wisdom, and also emphasized the necessity of acquiring personal skills, interests and reputation. In the aspect of love and marriage, women in both countries were victims of the patriarchal society, but the ancient Greek society emphasized the pursuit of individual hedonism and freedom. What’s more, the goddess images in Chinese mythology are romantic, while the goddess images in ancient Greek mythology is more humanistic. From these aspects, the comparative analysis of the two goddesses can reveal the characteristics, social causes and evolution of the ancient women’s values of the people of the two countries.</p><p> </p>


Author(s):  
Mirzaeva Aziza Shavkatovna ◽  

World literature of XX century has experienced the great influence of postmodermism, which resulted in diversity of styles and refusal of well-known structures and forms. One of the most widely used stylistic devices, characterizing the features of postmodernism, is intertextuality. Appearing only in recent years, intertext become widespread with its own forms, such as allusion, quote and reminiscence. And the novel “Percy Jackson” b y American writer Rick Riordan seems to be an example of the use of intertext-allusion within the work. 12-year-old boy, Percy Jackson, becomes the part of adventeruos, danderous and exciting world of Ancient Greek Gods, legends, myths and heroes. This work tries to study and analyse the importance of allusion to understand the idea of the writer and interpret the used allusions in the first book of Riordan “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief”.


Kavkaz-forum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Р.Н. АБИСАЛОВА

В статье рассмотрен один из мотивов осетинского Даредзановского эпоса – мотив прикованного героя, еще в древности вошедший в мифологию, фольклор, литературу многих народов и получивший название «мотив Прометея». Образ Прометея относится к «вечным образам» мировой художественной культуры. История прикования и освобождения Прометея и в древнегреческой мифологии, и в трагедии Эсхила позиционируется как топонимически привязанная к Кавказу. Именно здесь сюжет о наказанном Богом и прикованном богатыре получил распространение в национальных мифах и эпических преданиях – грузинских, осетинских, кабардинских, абхазских, вайнахских, армянских и др. Эти лаконичные предания об Амиране-Амране, по мнению Вс.Ф. Миллера, – кульминационные во всех источниках, рассказывающих об этом герое. Рассмотрены как древнегреческий Прометей, так и кавказские, в первую очередь осетинские, прикованные герои, представленные в работах Вс.Ф. Миллера, Г.Н. Потанина, Дз. Гатуева, Д.А. Калоевой, З.Г. Тменовой, Ю.А. Дзиццоты, Х.Ф. Цгоева и др. Образ Амирана сравнивается с соответствующими ему героями кавказских эпосов. При всей схожести мотивов богоборчества и наказания героя прикованием к скале или столбу нельзя не отметить отличия осетинского Амирана от остальных. В Даредзановских сказаниях он героическая личность, истинный богатырь, совершающий множество подвигов, побеждающий великанов, помогающий всем нуждающимся. Сын племянницы Бога, герой близок к народу, он побеждает врагов не только ради демонстрации силы, ловкости, хитрости, но и для спасения родных и друзей. В отличие от большинства кавказских прикованных героев, освобождение Амирана не предвещает гибель мира, напротив, осетинский Амиран, в случае освобождения, даст людям свободу и счастье. Многие мотивы в преданиях об Амране соотносятся с мотивами Нартовского эпоса. Амиран-Амран приравнивается к любимым героям осетинской Нартиады – Сослану, Батразу, Урузмагу, Шатане. В работе его образ рассмотрен для подтверждения объективной закономерности подобной репрезентации осетинского героя. The article deals with one of the motives of the Ossetian Daredzanian epic − the motive of the chained hero, which in ancient times entered the mythology, folklore, literature of many peoples and was called the "Prometheus motive". The image of Prometheus belongs to the "eternal images" of world art culture. The history of the chaining and liberation of Prometheus, both in ancient Greek mythology and in the tragedy of Aeschylus, is positioned as toponymically tied to the Caucasus. It was here that the plot about the God-punished and chained hero became widespread in national myths and epic legends − Georgian, Ossetian, Kabardian, Abkhaz, Vainakh, Armenian, etc. These laconic legends about Amiran-Amran, according to Vs.F. Miller, are culminating in all the sources telling about this hero. Both the ancient Greek Prometheus and the Caucasian, primarily Ossetian, chained heroes presented in the works of Vs.F. Miller, G.N. Potanin, Dz. Gatuev, D.A. Kaloeva, Z.G. Tmenova, Yu.A. Dzizzoity, Kh.F. Tsgoev and others. The image of Amiran is compared with the corresponding heroes of the Caucasian epics. With all the similarity of the motives of fighting against God and the punishment of the hero by being chained to a rock or a pillar, one cannot fail to note the difference between the Ossetian Amiran and the others. In Daredzan's legends, he is a heroic person, a true hero who performs many feats, conquers giants, and helps all those in need. The son of the niece of God, the hero is close to the people, he defeats enemies not only for the sake of demonstrating strength, dexterity, cunning, but also to save family and friends. Unlike most of the Caucasian chained heroes, the release of Amiran does not portend the death of the world, on the contrary, the Ossetian Amiran, if liberated, will give people freedom and happiness. Many motives in the legends about Amran correlate with the motives of the Nartov epic. Amiran-Amran is equated with the favorite heroes of the Ossetian Nartiada - Soslan, Batraz, Uruzmag, Shatana. In the work, his image is considered to confirm the objective regularity of such a representation of the Ossetian hero.


Author(s):  
S. Philip Nolte ◽  
Yolanda Dreyer

Interpersonal transformation of pastors – the paradox of emotional trauma as source to healingThis article reflects upon the way in which the interplay between reason and emotion influences pastors’ lives and ministry. It studies the process of inner transformation as a meaningful way for pastors to become ‘healed healers’. Inner transformation is described in terms of Aristotle’s phronēsis and Paul Ricoeur’s movement from mimēsis1 to mimēsis3. The article agrues that ‘healing’ in no way purports that pastors are able to heal others in a literal sense, but merely that by being conscious of their own wounds, pastors can experience the paradox that their own wounds could become a source of healing. This approach to woundedness is interpreted from two distinct perspectives. Firstly, it is seen from the perspective of Jesus as the human face of God. Jesus’ emotional disposition towards the nobodies of his time is seen as paradigmatic for pastors’ relationships with others. Secondly, woundedness is seen within the context of the metaphor of the wounded healer as narrated in ancient Greek mythology, and used by Carl Jung in a psychiatric setting. It is not only pastors’ knowledge of the Bible, theological tradition and different pastoral and other therapeutic theories, models and methods that facilitates meaningful interaction between themselves and others. Central to pastors’ role as wounded healers is their conscious acknowledgement of their own humanity and therefore their own woundedness.


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