When interested in the religious culture of medieval Europe in late antiquity, “The Cult of Saints” by Peter Brown is a magnificent source to turn to. Among receiving honorary degrees, prizes and book awards, Brown is also a historian at Princeton University who focuses on social and religious aspects of medieval Europe. Brown critically analysis the significance of saints and their holy remains to the people of Europe following the fall of the Roman Empire. These sacred figures in Christianity heavily influenced many aspects of society. His writing style is dense and one may encounter a few words in Latin throughout the book. However, the book is supported with a range of sources from the bible to other authors themselves which can be found at the notes section at the very back of the book. Brown highlights his intentions for the book in his updated, Preface to the 2014 Edition, here he includes the title of each chapter and gives a brief overview of what to expect in them. In reviewing Peter Brown's work, he exemplifies the role of the cult of Saints and relics and their contribution to development of medieval Europe among other concepts; while thriving in addressing modern ideas such as the “two-tiered” model that commonly misrepresents the true nature of the cult of saints.…
In 1983 the remains of an ancient Celtic body was found submerged in the peat of Lindow and was given the official name of Lindow man. This 2BC to 119 AD body provided information about the ancient Celtic religion and an insight into their world. The ancient Celtics or known as Gauls or galatains was the most feared barbarians of all during the Iron Age. Not much evidence had been found about this ancient culture but the body of Lindow man and further investigation brought about awareness of this ancient civilization. Lindow man was found to have been strangled, drowned, stabbed, received numerous blows to the head and suffering horrific wounds and injuries. This was an interesting case as no other bog body had had these same inflicting wounds. So was Lindow man a human sacrifice as many archaeologists have suggested? This question has been tossed and turned many times as new evidence has disproved many theories. This essay therefore provided information to what extent is the statement true Lindow man was a Celtic sacrifice'!…
(indent)One of the most well known figures in Christianity history is that by the Roman Catholic Church, Saint Nicholas of Myra. His fame has grown throughout the centuries through stories and legends of his life and deeds. Through these accounts (comma: prepositional phrase) we come to the understanding of why he is so loved and believed as the true protector and helper of those less fortunate or in need (St. Nicholas Center, n.d.).…
5. Which goddess is not one of the three goddesses that Aphrodite was unable to overpower?…
During the period when the Celts existed, which is approximately 800 BC - 400 AD, they were just a little tribe compared to other large civilizations such as the Romans and Greeks. They still managed to conquer many regions and prove victorious in most of their battles. Who were these Celts that survived numerous struggles? Where did they originate? What kind of social structure did they have? What kinds of beliefs did they have? What sort of weapons and armor did they use in battle? What were some of their military tactics? These are some of the questions that will be evaluated in the following paragraphs.<br><br>The Celts were tall, fair-skinned warriors who were well built, had blond hair and blue eyes. Some of them washed their hair in lime…
GodsSince the beginning of time man has believe in higher powers. People, especially during ancient times, believed these higher powers had influences in our everyday lives. During this time many stories, mostly pertaining to the religion practiced at the time, have been told and passed down in texts about these higher beings, or gods. People in the Greek era wrote texts like The Odyssey and The Iliad to try to explain how life was governed by multiple deities, while texts like Genesis, written by Christians expressed a monotheistic higher power. Theses two different kinds of texts share similarities and differences with each other in explanation of higher powers, especially in their roles, characteristics, views, and interaction between people and their respective gods.Greek mythologies like The Iliad and The Odyssey portrayed the roles of the gods similarly to modern-day imperfect politicians. Just like in modern government, Greek gods held many different positions, with their own followers and intentions behind each of their actions. An example of the sideways intentions of the gods can be seen in The Odyssey, “Zeus, Father, I will lose all my honor now among the immortals, now there are mortal men who show me no respect” (Homer p.446 l.145-147). The Christian God of Genesis was different in that He was portrayed as a perfect being with no mistakes and ethical reasons in judgment behind all of his verdicts, many times saving the righteous. This is shown in Genesis chapter 6 when God spares Noah, his family, and two of all kinds of animals from the destructive flood He sent on the wicked earth (p.56 l.18-34).Just as the roles of the gods in the Greek poems, The Odyssey and The Iliad, and the God in Genesis differed, their views of humanity also differed. The God in Genesis seems to view humanity as equals among each other from the highest king to the lowest poorest vagrant, as long as they kept Him in mind with their worship and obedience. God shows this in…
Poseidon or Posidon (Greek: Ποσειδῶν) is one of the twelve Olympian deities of the pantheon in Greek mythology. His main domain is the ocean, and he is called the "God of the Sea". Additionally, he is referred to as "Earth-Shaker" due to his role in causing earthquakes, and has been called the "tamer of horses".…
In ancient greece times all the people believed in greek gods and goddesses. The Greek people believed that the twelve most important gods and goddesses lived at the top of Mount Olympus. This caused many of the gods and goddesses to compete to be the best, making them not get along. The two goddesses that fought the most was the goddess of the night and the goddess of the day.The goddess of the night was Nyx, and the goddess of the day was Hemera. Nyx was a very strong and beautiful goddess. While Hemera was a very forgiving and merciful goddess.…
Beliefs about the Celtic Gods are not well known. However, what is known is that diverse gods had diverse functions. Some evidences show that in the Celtic society, some members had a closer connection to one god than other members. For instance, shoemakers would tend to worship the god Lugos because one of his iconographies was shoes. The Celts had a belief of gods living in the “otherworld” and were somehow connected the mythological ancestors of the people. There are over 300 names for the Celtic gods. Some of the known Gods are Arawn, Brigid, Cernunnos, Cerridwen, Lugh and Morgan. Celts also believed that the soul was immortal and was transported by the god known as Bile. Each different god had its own role in controlling what is going to happen next, and this can be concluded through Celts actions and needs and wants.…
As Christianity spread through the culture of the Anglo-Saxons, the monks wrote down the religion’s ideas into the epic. The fact that the monks incorporated Christianity into the Pagan epic shows how the religion slowly started to spread among the culture during that time period. As the decline of the Paganism started and the rise of Christianity began, it was important to include the ideas of the newly found religion into the literature to please those who have converted. The monks were successful in adding the Christianity aspects into the Pagan-told story and the ideals are still noticed and sought out…
Henceforth he deals with the issue that in order to begin to clearly determine what a myth is we should at least determine what a myth is not. He then informs the reader of various definitions associated with the concept of a myth. These definitions are separated into two groups; Historical-Philosophical and phenomenological (34). Under the etymological definitions, he classifies the following definitions as such: Myths were legends of false gods (33), a story of the gods in which results of natural causes are accounted for supernaturally, or a myth is a story involving a pre-scientific world view (34). Oswalt then begins to discuss the problems with these definitions of myths from the etymological perspective as an issue because “the burden of proof continues to rest on those who say it is incorrect” and “they are frequently too…
Although I had visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art before, I had never really taken the time to really look at the statues that they had displayed. I knew that this time around I had to take my time and I had to make sure I paid attention to art that the museum had to offer. What I was mainly looking for was some type of statue or art that alluded to what I had learned in mythology class. As I walked around I encountered at bronze statue of Eros sleeping. Cupid, Eros name, which most people call him, is a little boy and he is sleeping. I began to think about information about Eros that I already knew and what I wanted to find out.…
“The characters, stories, themes and lessons of Greek mythology have shaped art and literature for thousands of years. They appear in Renaissance paintings such as Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Raphael’s Triumph of Galatea and writings like Dante’s Inferno; Romantic poetry and libretti; and scores of more recent novels, plays and films.” I think that it is great that the ancient Greeks came up with these myths. When I first started reading and listening about the Greek myths, I thought they were totally absurd. However, I now think that some myths tell entertaining stories and teach great lessons. Through this paper I will tell you about one of the myths we share today in our culture, share what Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung had to say about mythic structures of the human psyche, and explain why myths such as these bring us together socially and culturally. (2)…
There once was a goddess with a mystical power that made everyone happy; as long as she was happy they were happy. That goddess’ name was Ella. Ella has a twin brother named Evan. Evan has the power of mind-control. Ella lived high in the sky on clouds amongst the other god. Ella and the other gods got along very well especially when she was in a good mood. After living in the clouds for a very long time all the gods got tired of doing regular deeds for themselves. They decided to do something big to create something. They all joined together in a big circle around the largest cloud and spun around three-hundred-and-sixty-five times. As they all came to a halt, they all peered off the edge of Evan’s humongous cloud they noticed a gigantic sphere. The gods got together and decided to call this gigantic sphere Earth. The gods soon learned that they could travel to Earth and that life could survive on Earth by the god James who had the power to make life human and animal.…
While the divine world of the Ancient Greeks gives the impression of role models, Hesiod’s Theogony and Homer’s The Iliad, illustrate the gods otherwise. Just as strife within mortal families is familiar, it plays a significant role in the creation of the gods, their interaction with each other, and how they intervene on behalf of mortals in The Iliad for their own self-serving interests.…