THETHEMES,MOTIFS

ANDSYMBOLS

OFANCIENT

GREEKLITERATURE

Moirai/FatesFata viam invenient“The Fates will find a way”III.395

MortalitySunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt“These are tears of things and mortal things touch the mind” (literal)“The world is a world of tears, and the burdens of mortality touch the heart”I.462

Kleos or RenownHeroes made for popular protagonists in Greek mythology. These stories often follow a “rags to riches” plot, in which the hero rises from obscurity to fame through his great feats. Many of them embark on some sort of epic quest. How many Greek heroes do you know of?

NationalismAncient culture was oriented towards familial and geographical loyalty. In Book I Aeneas laments not being able to die “ante ora patrum Troiae sub moenibus altis.” A homeland was one’s source of identity. In fact Virgil’s purpose in writing the Aeneid was to epitomize the grandeur of the Roman empire. The homelands of heroes are held in high esteem.

Ethics

WeatherAc venti, velut agmine facto, qua data porta, ruunt et terras turbine perflantI.82

CannibalismA number of stories in Greek mythology involve cannibalism, in particular cannibalism of close family members.

Happy Holidays!

Bibliography“Greek literature.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2012

http://www.theoi.com/

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Mythology.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 3 Dec. 2012.

http://www.wikipedia.org/