Mortal Struggle in Mythology in Essay

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Dionysus allows Midas to have his wish knowing that it will soon be the worst thing he could have done as man cannot live by gold alone. For awhile Midas is a "happy man" (Ovid 263), surrounded by all of the gold but soon he begs to be rescued from "this loss / That looks so much like gain!" (263). We also see a tragedy with the story of Narcissus, who is so in love with himself that he falls in love with his own reflection in a pool as punishment for his cruelty. This might not seem like such a bad thing except for the fact that he is compelled to look at the reflection and never leave. In short, he "wanted himself" (70) and died while trying to kiss the image.

We see how the gods can inflict their wrath on individuals in Homer's The Iliad. When Achilles shows disregard for Hektor's dead body by dragging it until it literally turns to dust, he is punished. Lycurgus also experiences the gods' anger when his life is cut short. Helen incurs the anger of Venus as Oeneus must deal with the wrath of Diana when he does not do as she says. The make the gods angry was something one never wanted to do but the most stressful aspect of the relationship between gods and mortals is that mortals did not have to do anything to feel that wrath.

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As a result, mortals spent a good amount of time watching their behavior and hoping they did not do or say something wrong that might offend.

In mythology, mortals seem to withstand the worst of the gods' every whim. Humanity was at the mercy of the gods since the gods controlled almost every aspect of nature. Life was just as difficult for them as it is for us but they had the added pressure of living to appease or, at least, not offend the gods. Their daily lives were filled with the same destruction and illness we have but their perspectives are tainted because they feel as though everything that happens is the result of some god doing something. In addition, there was never the guarantee that the gods would prevent mortals from making a terrible mistake, even if they could. It was as if men and women were nothing more than game pieces to the gods and they were lucky if they survived long enough to tell about it.

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