Culture, Power, Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Culture, Power, Religion - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that  one of the things that becomes immediately apparent when studying classical culture is that the origin story of each group seemed to be of great significance to them.   It is also of great significance to the people who study classical history, which is why they usually use the date of the Homeric compositions as the origins of classical culture.   This is especially true in the European conception of origins of culture: both the Greeks and the Romans placed enormous significance on their origin stories.   Likewise, both of these cultures had origins stories that featured the same event: the Trojan wars.   The Greeks considered themselves descendents of the people who waged war on Troy, as did the Romans (who argued that they were the children of Aeneas).  This discussion stresses that  the importance of foundational myths, was not simply bound to Europe, but also existed in many other cultures.   The Maya, for instance, had elaborate myths about the destruction and re-creation of the world, which occurred in cycles again and again, and informed an important part of their national character: great interest in the stars and in astrology and astronomy.   Central myths about the origins of a people were central to the thinking and national character of all classical peoples, something that dissolved somewhat in the eras that followed it, as things like religious affiliation became more important to defining the people or a people.... Likewise, both of these cultures had origins stories that featured the same event: the Trojan wars. The Greeks considered themselves descendents of the people who waged war on Troy, as did the Romans (who argued that they were the children of Aeneas). The Romans even composed their own work to complement the Odyssey and the Iliad, the Aeneid, which completed their origin myth as corresponding to that of the Greeks (182). The Greeks and the Romans shared creation myths, and both put a great deal of stock of their national identity into those creation myths. This feature, the importance of foundational myths, was not simply bound to Europe, but also existed in many other cultures. The Maya, for instance, had elaborate myths about the destruction and re-creation of the world, which occurred in cycles again and again, and informed an important part of their national character: great interest in the stars and in astrology and astronomy (293). Central myths about the origins of a people we re central to the thinking and national character of all classical peoples, something that dissolved somewhat in the eras that followed it, as things like religious affiliation became more important to defining the people or a people. Art and architecture likewise appeared very similar across a broad range of classical cultures. As with the case of foundational myths, this is most obvious in the Greeks and the Romans, because the two cultures were so closely linked. The Romans knowingly copied many aspects of Greek culture, and were especially eager to emulate their art and architecture. This artistic emulation took on several forms: for one, the sculpture of the Romans followed the