Saturday, November 14, 2009

Mythology Characters?

I need a brief description for the following characters:





-Freya


-Sisyphus


-Orion


-Narcissus


-Arachne


-Pygmalion


-Atalanta


-Icarus





You don't have to answer for all of them, if you only have one, thats fine. Thanks!

Mythology Characters?
Freya: German goddess of love.





Sisyphus: his eternal punishment for being a wicked man was to push a huge boulder up a hill.





Narcissus: was very egotistical. In Ovid's Metamorphosis, he is turned into a flower that leans over and appears to look at its reflection in a lake.





Arachne: Great weaver. She and Athena had a weaving contest. She won. Athena got upset and turned her into a spider.





Pygmalion: Sculpture who created a statue of a woman with whom he fell in love. Aphrodite brought the statue to life for him.





Icarus: Father of Daedelus. They wanted to fly to the sun. Built wings made of feathers and wax. Icarus flew too close, the sun melted the wax and he fell to his death.





Orion: A hunter.





Here's a site that should have most of them for you.
Reply:Freya-Norse goddess(I think of harvest)


Sisyphus-unfortunate resident of Tartarus/Hades(the underworld/Hell) in Greek mythology who had to push a giant rock up a hill every day just to have it roll back down again over and over for all eternity as punishment for his crimes in life.


Orion-hunter in Greek myth, has a constellation named after him easily distinguished by its belt of 3 stars.


Narcissus-a vain individual in Greek myth.


Arachne-something about a spider?


Pygmalion-I should know this,but...


Atalanta-a runner/athlete


Icarus-son of Daedalus in Greek myth. They were both imprisoned in a labyrinth by King Minos. Daedalus,an inventer, built wings made of wax for Icarus to wear and fly away to freedom, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and his wings melted causing him to fall to the sea.





Hope this helps!
Reply:Freyja- Norse goddess of love, beauty, and sexual passion.





Sisyphus- An evil man who was condemned to push a boulder up a hill in Tartarus, only to have it roll down again, forcing him to start over. He was forced to continue for all of eternity as a means of punishment.





Orion- a mythical hunter who was killed by a giant scorpion after he threatened to hunt all of the creatures on earth, angering Artemis.





Narcissus- a beautiful youth with whom the nymph Echo fell in love with. He scorned her, and she prayed to Aphrodite to have him fall in love with himself. Eros shot him with an arrow, and when he saw his reflection in a lake, he fell in love with himself.





Arachne- a proud weaver who boasted that she was better than Athena at her art. Athena heard and challenged her to a contest. Obviously, Arachne lost, and she tried to hang herself from shame. Athena took pity on her and turned her into a spider so she would be forced to weave forever (hence word "arachnid").





Pygmalion- a sculptor who refused to fall in love with anyone. The women of his village prayed to Aphrodite to have him fall in love with one of their daughters. She appeared to him and offered him any woman he chose. He said he would only have her, but she refused. To compromise, he made a sculpture of Aphrodite, entwined himself around it, and Aphrodite turned him to stone to be forever united with his sculpture.





Atalanta- a huntress who was raised by bears. She fell in love with Meleager, but he was killed. Her father then tried to marry her off. She said that she would marry only the one who could beat her in a footrace. To prevent many from trying, she declared that losers would be beheaded. Many died, but than Hippomenes tricked her with some golden apples given to him by Aphrodite. They were later turned into lions by Zeus after making love in his temple.





Icarus- the son of Daedalus. They were both trapped in Minos' labyrinth with no way to escape, so Daedalus fashioned a set of wings made of wax and feathers. He warned Icarus not to fly too low, as he would fall into the sea, or toohigh, as the wax on his wings would melt. Being a hot headed youth, he flew too high and the wax melted. He then plummeted into the Aegean Sea.
Reply:Freyja is a major goddess in Germanic paganism where she is portrayed as a goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. Blonde, blue-eyed, and beautiful, Freyja is described as the fairest of all goddesses, and people prayed to her for happiness in love. She was also called on to assist childbirths


and prayed to for good seasons. Freyja was also associated with war, battle, death, magic, prophecy, and wealth. She is cited as receiving half of the dead lost in battle in her hall Fólkvangr, whereas Odin would receive the other half at Valhalla.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freya





Sisyphus was a character in Greek mythology. He was a king punished in the Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll down again, and repeat this throughout eternity. Sisyphus promoted navigation and commerce, but was avaricious and deceitful, violating the laws of hospitality by killing travelers and guests. He took pleasure in killing his guests because that would allow him to maintain his position at the top. Sisyphus was famed as the craftiest of men. He seduced his niece, took his brother's throne and betrayed Zeus's secrets (specifically, Zeus' rape of Aegina, the daughter of the river god Asopus).


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus





Orion was a giant huntsman of Greek mythology whom Zeus placed among the stars as the constellation of Orion. Odysseus sees him hunting in the underworld with a bronze club, a great slayer of animals; he is also mentioned as a constellation, as the lover of the Goddess Dawn, as slain by Artemis, and as the most handsome of the earthborn. Orion was the son of the sea-god Poseidon and Euryale, daughter of Minos, King of Crete. Orion could walk on the waves because of his father.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(myth...





In Greek mythology, Narcissus The Self-Admirer, was a hero of the territory of Thespiae in Boeotia who was renowned for his beauty. Narcissus would cursed to one day know the pain of unrequited love. This curse was fulfilled when Narcissus became entranced by his reflection in the pool and tried to seduce the beautiful boy, not realizing it was himself he was looking at. He only realized that it was his reflection after trying to kiss it. Narcissus took his sword and killed himself from sorrow. His corpse then turned into a flower.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_(...





The fable of Arachne is a late addition to Greco-Roman mythology. Arachne's name simply means "spider". Arachne was the daughter of Idmon of Colophon, who was a famous wool dyer in Tyrian purple. She was a fine weaver in Hypaepa of Lydia and discovered the use of linen as well as nets. Pliny reports that she had a son named Closter who discovered the spindle for spinning wool. She was as skillful as the finest artist of the day and much praise was given to her in Hypaepa, where she had her workshop.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachne





Pygmalion is a legendary sculptor who falls in love with a statue he has made. Pygmalion was a Cypriot sculptor who carved a woman out of ivory. After seeing the Propoetides prostituting themselves, he is 'not interested in women', but his statue is so realistic that he falls in love with it. He offers the statue presents and eventually prays to Aphrodite. She takes pity on him and brings the statue to life. They marry and have a son, Paphos.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmalion_(...





Atalanta is a character from ancient Greek mythology. Her father, Schoeneus wanted a son so badly that when Atalanta was born, he left her in the middle of the woods to die. Artemis sent a "she-bear" to suckle her and eventually a group of hunters raised her. Years later, a beast called the Calydonian Boar was stalking the land. King Oeneus sent his son Meleager to gather up heroes to hunt the Boar. Among many others, Meleager chose Atalanta, who by now was a young woman and a fierce huntress, with whom he fell in love and she loved him, though she did not show it and continued to refuse marriage offers from him.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atalanta





Icarus is a character in Greek Mythology. Icarus' father fashioned a pair of wings for himself and his son, made of feathers and wax. Before they took off from the prison, Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, as the wax would melt, nor too close to the sea, as the feathers would become sodden. Overcome by the sublime feeling that flying gave him, Icarus soared through the sky joyfully, but in the process he came too close to the sun, which melted his wings. Icarus kept flapping his wings but soon realized that he had no feathers left and that he was only flapping his bare arms. And so, Icarus fell into the sea in the area which bears his name, the Icarian Sea near Icaria.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icarus





Atalanta participated in the hunt and struck the first wound, though Meleager killed the boar. Since she had caused the first drop of blood to be shed, Meleager awarded her the hide. According to one account of the hunt, the two centaurs, Hylaeus and Rhaecus, tried to go to sleep with Atalanta but she killed them or that Meleager killed them. Also during the hunt, Eurypylus and Iphicles insulted her, and Meleager killed them also.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atalanta





Icarus is a character in Greek Mythology, whose father, fashioned a pair of wings for himself and his son, made of feathers and wax. Before they took off from the prison, Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, as the wax would melt, nor too close to the sea, as the feathers would become sodden. Overcome by the sublime feeling that flying gave him, Icarus soared through the sky joyfully, but in the process he came too close to the sun, which melted his wings. Icarus kept flapping his wings but soon realized that he had no feathers left and that he was only flapping his bare arms. And so, Icarus fell into the sea in the area which bears his name, the Icarian Sea near Icaria.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icarus


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