Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Is It The Power Of Love?

“Men seemed to have failed completely to comprehend the power of Eros, for if they did comprehend it, they would have built to him the greatest altars and temples and offered the greatest sacrifices, whereas he is given none of these honors, although he should have them most of all…”


From Aristophanes’ Speech in the Symposium

Please use any of the myths we read about love to critique or support this quotation? In your response, react, evaluate, challenge, or contemplate. (Please complete this blog response by 2:30p.m. on Thur., Mar. 2nd, 2017.)

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Involving Eros, most Greek tales emphasize their love they are experiencing, but they give little credit or little acknowledgment to Eros. As in being the God of love, he should receive more credit for his deeds and giving very one the capability of loving, but in return for such a gracious gift, he is rewarded with very little, when as the quote stated, he should've been praised more.

Anonymous said...

In Aristophanes's quote, he contemplates the importance of love and how deeply it is ingrained within our lives. By reflecting on how little mankind recognizes Eros, he talks about how love is underestimated within our culture and needs to be further respected. In the chapter, “Eight Brief Tales of Lovers” within Edith Hamilton’s “Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes” text, there are many stories that emphasize the significance of love within the human life, parallel to the beliefs of Aristophanes. In the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, the two lovers were forbidden to marry by their parents. They planned to escape together, but Thisbe was chased away by a lion, dropping her cloak in the process. When Pyramus came and saw the bloody cloak and the tracks of the lion, he killed himself out of fear and sadness for his dearest Thisbe. Thisbe, coming back to find his dead body, killed herself as well because she didn’t want to live without him. In this story, the two people are so deeply in love that they couldn’t bear the thought of living without one another, choosing death over a life without love. In their lives, love is the most significant force in their actions and otherwise they would have still been alive. Aristophanes argues that Eros should be the most worshipped divinity because love is most prominent in the human life, just as in Pyramus and Thisbe’s story. In another short story, the king of Thessaly, named Ceyx, had a beautiful wife named Alcyone. Ceyx had to make a journey across the sea to consult the oracle, but a terrible storm sunk his boat and killed him. When Alcyone heard the news, she was horrified and ran to the shore, where she found Ceyx’s body. She lept into the water, hoping to drown, but suddenly she and Ceyx were changed into birds, which fly around and love each other for eternity. Similarly to the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, love is the most important force behind Ceyx and Alcyone’s lives and actions. Aristophane recognized the prominence of love within human life and culture and rightly believed that Eros was an underestimated divinity that was deserving of higher honors and sacrifices from mankind.

Anonymous said...

Aristophanes quote makes clear how important love is in society, back then and still today. In Greek mythology it is seen even more, with many myths, like Cupid and Psyche, love is demonstrated as vast and irreplaceable. In the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe, love is forbidden and even through a wall, love still exists. I think that this quote by Aristophanes is asking for more respect and honor be given to Eros.

Anonymous said...

I believe that Aristophanes' quote is accurate because the reason we worship people in this world usually has to do with love in one way or another. Whether it be a dictator memorializing themselves with a statue to try to sway their people over, or a statue of someone the public already loves, love is the focal point of many memorization. It does make sense that we would memorialize the very god that makes love possible for us, but I don't believe it to be a bad idea to memorialize certain "mortals" to help us remember that love. In the Greek love story of Pygmalion, a man creates a mannequin and falls in love with it because of its perfection. The mannequin comes to life and the two become lovers. This to me says that memorializations can remind a viewer so much of love that it even seems like true love.

Anonymous said...

Aristophanes' quote is an accurate depiction peoples view point on Eros. Love is a binding force that links us together and is the driving force of our universe, but our feeble human minds find it easier to pick war over love. This is why there are two major gods of war, Ares and Athena, while there is only one major god of love, Aphrodite. I believe this is the human struggle, fighting our need to be distinctive and becoming loving people, and love is currently losing this struggle, and that is the main reason that Eros is overlooked.

Anonymous said...

I think that if we worshiped the god of love more than other gods, our world would be much more peaceful than where we are now. There would be less war and feuds between different countries, less bullying between kids and teenagers, and less hatred between people. I don't think that these things would be completely eradicated, but I do think that they would be as prominent as they are today. Not only this, but people would marry much younger because it would be our first priority as man-kind to fall in love, so I think that people would be looking for it earlier and trying to commit much earlier. Overall, I think that our world would be extremely different if we were to look at love in a way that is much more reverent than the way we see it today.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

This quote is an eye opener to the concept of Eros, love. Love is a very important thing which we take for granted, it is always there in the back of every single person's mind. What the quote is trying to express is the fat that we do not give Eros any thought, or retit. In the myth of Daphne and Apollo, Apollo decides he wants Daphne and hases after her when she runs away. Apollo, since he is a god, takes “small” things like love for granted. So, he just decides who he loves, but he does not let the women he is going after share her opinion like Daphne. So, even gods do not give any love to Eros, we should start paying them with more respect like Mr. Aristophanes’ has warned us to start to do.

Anonymous said...

I support this quotation on how the gods are not giving credit to Eros. In the myth Alpheus And Arethusa, Alpheus has no respect to love and just follows Arthusa around. If he really respected Eros he would have not stalked her and just tried to get her the right way. Most of the gods in these myths did not respect Eros at all. In another myth Apollo also did what Alpheus did and stalked the lady. Which is not giving enough credit to Eros because they are disrespecting him. Overall the gods gave little credit to Eros.

Anonymous said...

Love, whether it be for materialistic things like money or corporeal things like your crush, is such an underestimated force that it is nearly criminal to not give it proper praise. This is also why it can be our greatest ally, or most venomous foe. In the myth of Apollo and Daphne, the god only sought a corporeal love, not worrying for emotions or how the fair Daphne felt, which in the end proved to be the downfall of this ill-fated quest, as she was taken from him. In short, Love, or Eros, is a power that no one can give enough credit to, as it has the ability to make or break you.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Aristophanes’ quote expains the importance of giving praise to those who are powerful as a way of showing love to them. I agree with Aristophanes’ quote in the sense that we must be kind and compassionate to our superiors. In the example of cupid and Psyche, Psyche had to trust the cupid was not a monster. Though she broke her promise to Cupid, it still shows that she was willing to give up something (seeing Cupid) in order to be with Cupid because Psyche loved him. Loving someone is a sacrifice. Aristophanes’ is not given any of these sacrifices and honors, however, if people truly loved him, they would do whatever it takes to show how much they love him. Cupid and Psyche is a prime example of how love is shown through sacrifice just as Aristophanes’ deserves the same.

Anonymous said...

The quote talks about how we take the power of Eros, the god of love, for granted. Says that people do not give the deserved value and appreciation for him and his power, which is so important, because it has a lot of influence on our lives. What in life, not only happens in this situation, we often do not pay attention to things that are right in front of us, love can be by our side and we do not notice.

Anonymous said...

None of the gods and very few of the lovers' myths understood the gravity linked with love, that they, in fact, should give Eros the sun, moon, and stars. Most of the lovers' myths showed twisted tales highlighting women's stupidity and curiosity and man's visual tendencies and pride. Though they attempted to highlight key points in relationships they often failed-- and showed a much creepier male dominant storty instead. Alpheus and Arethusa illustrated that men are pigs, while Pygmalion and Galatea spoke to their visual side. Many of the eight lovers myths involve a stupid decision, followed by a sacrifice that is needed to be made by the lover in order to regain their beloved, most of them were unable to complete the task. Short term gratification was more important than eternal happiness with their spouse. The Greeks, like many of us now, are too focused on self and the now to give love the adequate amount of worship or gratitude.

Anonymous said...

The quote hits on how people are today. Where we are so busy falling in love with other things we forget that it's not really love. We use the word for things not important like pizza or ice cream, which takes away the purpose of the word. In the stories we have read, I don't see real love. I see lust or need but no love. In the Cupid story there is betrayal and following "destinies" it's not really love. In the story we are going to read he loves him self more than anything. If there is no love in the world. No true love, than there's no happiness. The Greeks forget about the god of love, that's just another thing we take from them.

Anonymous said...

In Greek mythology, most of the tales of love are focused on unconventional loves. For example, Venus never intended for Cupid and Psyche to be happy, and in love, but they soon fell for each other. In Pyramus and Thisbe, their love isn't stopped by the wall that stands between them. Therefore, I think Eros must be praised more because he always finds a way to keep true love alive, no matter what stands in between.

Anonymous said...

Aristophanes' quote explains how little understood what love was, granted the scientific revolution would not happen for 2000+ years the entire idea of love is just powerful chemical reactions in the brain, which in a way the stories do help to explain this, with the story of daphene it shows how powerful the spirit of eros/Oxycontin can do. The story of cupid and psyche can also show. While Cupid told psyche never see him because he wanted pyshce to love him for him not for he looked like. But sight is a key part of attraction and psyche loved him enough to risk losing the connection between the two to add the last part of a relationship and complete the theory of attraction.

Anonymous said...

Eros, the god of love, does not get any attention, for he deserves many altars, and statues. All followers of the standard mulit-god religion, had been too caught up in the story of cupid, seeing him as the god of love.

Anonymous said...

Aristophane's quote explains that love can go either way. If someone likes you, then talk to the person in order to get to know them before you start dating. If you like someone, trust yourself and talk to them. Love can change your life. Psyche didn't listen to Cupid. So, he lost trust in her and left. Trust is another part of love that needs to be in a relationship. Psyche did whatever she could to try to get him back and it worked.

Anonymous said...

Love has an overwhelming power over everyone, in one way or another. The thing is as much as it can be great, it can harm and destroy the ones who are stuck with it. From Pyramus And Thisbe, Alpheus And Arethusa and Endymion. Love can destroy anything, it can harm those unwilling to fall for the device. But it can also build something great, like Baucis And Philemon who love is the greatest backbone for them. They choose love over all else, from love to the random strangers at the door to their personal love of each other. Or Ceyx And Alcyone who loves affects the god Juno so much that at the cries of Alcyone that she changes them to sea gulls to live together for as long as they can. Even with this love is something that is not only good but as well harmful. If it’s one side, it will never be good. If it’s a healthy relationship it’s a two way street. And if it’s not equal it’s not love. However the idea of worshiping love in unideal, if we face with only the idea that it will be the greatest thing in your life. It will leave your life dry and never can find the trues form as love itself. As well it does not need altars or temples or sacrifices it’s something we already have attached inside of us. Loves is from within, and that's what love needs, not blood covered trees or places of gold. It needs a heart, nothing more or less.

Anonymous said...

Love is taken for granted most of the time and used as an excuse when lovers are in a quarrel. It is eternal in the story of Ceyx And Alcyone. Their story is tragic, but their love couldn’t be broken with the death of Ceyx. In the end, the Gods took pity and turned them into segal's so they could spend the rest of their lives together. In the stories it seems like love is a curse because in most of the stories it’s either one-sided or not reciprocated at all, such as the story of Narcissus and Echo. Narcissus was cased by many beautiful women, but only loved himself.

Anonymous said...

There is something about the power of love that can literally defy anything else on earth. The connection is so strong and everlasting if both reciprocate the feelings there is no stopping the couple. But also, love is destructive and can be devastating. Throughout these stories, we have been displayed various types of love. Like the example of Baucis and Philemon whose love went beyond death when they were united together as trees. But there was also an evil side, Alpheus And Arethusa's tale was disturbing. He loved her forcefully which turned frightening. I think that love is extremely powerful and it depends on what you do with the emotions for it to be worshipped or seen as destructive. While it can inspire miracles it can also ignite a fire that is destructive and too powerful to stop. So yes man does not completely comprehend the power of love, rather he sees it as a strong emotion that either encompasses him or causing great joy.

Anonymous said...

In Greek Mythology, Eros is the god of love. Humanity experiences love throughout their lives on almost every single day. Yet love is a concept that we don't usually associate with gods so we don't truly appreciate Eros. Although Eros can be seen in our everyday lives, he isn't often rewarded for his power he has in our lives. In many greek stories of love Eros is rarely mentioned, just the concept of love is present. Many people look at myths such as Cupid and Psyche and are reminded of the importance of trust and appreciation because of love and yet Eros is seldom mentioned. Also in the story of Ceyx and Alcyone, love shows its importance by showing that even in tragedy love can be unbroken.

Anonymous said...

Aristophanes' quote is an accurate depiction peoples view point on Eros. Love is a binding force that links us together and is the driving force of our universe. With the way that humans work we try to pick the best option and something that would provide us with could over bad. Love over war or anything that would create something good not bad.

Unknown said...

love is what makes the world go around. This reminds me of our last blog post because i brought love and trust together kind of connecting them. as humans we are driven by it and it can do alot to us.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.