Marsupial Fish, Marsupial Lions, Marsupial Birds Oh My!

After the lesser gods, the seed of Adam, went forth into the Earth and bred with the humans living there, came the time of giants. The seed of the lord became tainted by the impurities of the blood of man and he decided that he would have to start over. He  picked Noah, a man of Adam's loins who had not sullied the family name by making giant, demi-god babies, to carry the torch of a new breed of humanity that would people the Earth post-cleansing. Noah builds and ark to the Lord's exact specifications, and good thing too, his family and their menagerie was afloat for 150 days. They weathered the storm and then got their reward of re-peopling the earth with their small amount of genetic code. In the Greek version of this story Zeus gives the couple he saves grains to throw, magically making more men and women, which involves a whole lot less incest than the Hebrew way. Once Noah gets all high and dry he promptly burns some of the animals that he just went to all that trouble to save as a tribute to God, Oops, hope we didn't need whatever it was he slaughtered. It also turns out that god saved the wrong guy, Noah takes full advantage of being the top dog on Earth by being an alcoholic pervert whose own sons detest him. Instead of taking his grandson's suggestion that he not flash everyone reasonably, he curses Canaan's descendants to be the slaves of his uncles' descendants. The Lord God sure knows how to pick 'em. Once again these "sons of God" are written to be the founders ( and patron gods of) every semetic ethnic group from Sudan to Assyria.

If I had to decide what to bring on the ark, I would have brought only marsupials. This way, by the time that I got around to being born there would be some sort of giant, flying, pouched mammal that I could train to give me lifts places. It would be the life.

Noah and the Flood

Man, is God vindictive or what? So he creates the Earth, populates it with Adam and Eve, punishes their descendants because of Abel's murder by Cain, and now floods the Earth because he does not like how its inhabitants are living except for Noah of course!  In the process of deciding how to rid the world of its "immoral" members, God realizes that Noah has always acted righteously and deserves to survive the terrible flood that is going to follow. He also acknowledges that the animals he created did not wrong as well though he does show preferential treatment to the "clean" animals by giving them each seven slots on the Ark instead of just two. After Noah, his family, and the animals were on the Ark for seven days, it began to rain and rained for 40 DAYS AND NIGHTS. Wow, that's enough rain to kill all the life on Earth save for the citizens of the Ark. Eventually, a very angry God decided enough was enough and the rain needed to stop but the water did not all drain away for several months.  In this story, Noah faces a test of faith, tests we will all face in our lifetime whether we believe in a deity or not because they test our willingness to be successful despite hardship. Because of his faith, God rewards Noah with a bountiful Earth.

I have to guess that the Ark was not a very fun place to live for a man and his family stuck in a boat with all the animals of the world. I would have hated since I get sea sick very easily and flood waters are not the most calm waters in the world, but I would have enjoyed getting to live with my favorite animal, elephants. Since I was a little kid I have loved elephants probably because the stuffed animal I called my best friend was an elephant. Anyway, I have to admire their grace and kind nature. They mind their own business and don't bother other animals because they just don't want to cause trouble.

A stuffed elephant for your viewing (it's from a place called Noah's Stuffed Ark)

http://www.stuffedark.com/elephantellie.htm

Infiltrationnnn....hesitationnnnn

That which deviously infiltrates a wall and  tears  it contents apart comes in many shapes and sizes. The trojan horse (or it's less successful bunny counterpart) is the ultimate symbol for such cunning violation. Odysseus is struck with this clever idea only once all hope seems to be lost, and the war appears un-winable. His strategy is arguably a low-blow; a cheap shot; a cop-out, but hey it worked. This type of unexpected violation is present not only in myth, but unfortunately is common in real lyf shrouded in infinity disguises. Rape, Pearl Harbor, software viruses, communism..uhhh

Anyway, so like, Journey is okay. Really I think that they got lucky with their one hit, and are a little overrated, but i can't deny that "Dont stop Believin" is mega-catchy.  They are a little too cheesy though. Like Air Supply kind of.

But for real, my journey is to find what I really love and be certain that it is not just what I am soaking up from people I am impressed by.

Gullible Trojans and Anxious Michael

The Trojan Horse is yet another one of those allusions (a bit like Pandora's Box) that's so ingrained in our culture we tend to know what the term refers to before we know the actual context around it. Basically after 10 years of meaningless war fighting over which Greek person owned the prettiest woman in the world (*rolls my eyes*), Agamemnon and his army did what the United States apparently still struggles with and realized he was fighting an unwinnable war. So his Smart Friend (everyone needs a Smart Friend) Odysseus comes up with what is now the most cliche military strategy of all time, and was likely even at the time to be the most improbable one - make a giant wooden horse, stuff it full of soldiers, and then give it to the Trojans as a "gift." This plan works because the Trojans apparently have an almost superhuman level of collective gullibility. The Greeks, Odysseus included, pour out of the horse and subsequently ransack the city of Troy. The Greeks then make their leave of Troy, having resolved (?) the conflict, and Odysseus sets off towards his far-away home, a journey that will span years and an entire epic poem which will be forced on teenagers in Hades in high school.

Can we take a moment to appreciate how absurdly obvious it is that this horse was made to contain people? Obviously this isn't the actual Trojan Horse but... It sure would have been impractical if it was. Or the Trojans really would have been dumb as all get out.

The journey I most wish to take right now really isn't about the destination - it's not even about the places I'll be on the way there. The journey I need to go on right now is a journey of finding a way to define myself outside others' expectations. I feel like, for many many years my view of myself and my self-worth have been based on how well I meet certain expectations I believe are set for me, and in recent years this has caused me a great deal of anxiety, stress, and depression as I have found myself not only frequently incapable of living up to those expectations, but also somewhat unwilling. I am certain that I want to go to a college outside of Kentucky, not because I hate our state - in fact, thanks to a service trip I took this past summer, I have more appreciation for Kentucky than ever - but because I need to distance myself from the people who hold the most egregious expectations for me. I need to surround myself with people I don't know who I can start fresh with, and with new opportunities for identity that I can match to my own preferences, not the preferences of those around me.

Odysseus

According to Homer's epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero who fought in the Trojan War alongside Achilles. Although he is a secondary character in The Iliad, his valor and mettle in battle surpassed only the mighty Achilles himself, Odysseus is the primary protagonist of The Odyssey. The Odyssey tells Odysseus' story following the Trojan War, chronicling his perilous journey back to his home in Ithaca, Greece. Although The Odyssey relates Odysseus' tale after the Trojan War has ended, it does not--however--tell of his actions immediately following the events in The Iliad; that is, it does not tell of how he and the other Greeks deceived the Trojans by offering them a huge wooden horse filled with Greek soldiers, which eventually leads to an easy Greek victory over their Trojan adversaries. Rather, this story is accounted in The Aeneid, written after both The Iliad and The Odyssey by another author.
Discouraged by Achilles' death and the persistence of the Trojans, the Greeks were ready to admit defeat and surrender to the Trojans when Achilles, the master strategist that he is, devised a clever plan to penetrate the Trojans' defenses and defeat them without incurring heavy losses of their own: He proposed that the Greeks build a tremendous wooden horse and present it to the Trojans as a peace offering. The horse, however, would be hollow so that a few Greek soldiers could remain hidden to the Trojans as the horse was transported to within Troy's great walls. As the Trojans slept, the Greek soldiers inside the horse would stealthily sneak out of the horse and open Troy's gates, leaving the city vulnerable to the Greek's onslaught. The rest of the Greeks agreed to this plan and began construction of the Trojan Horse. After construction was completed, a few Greek soldiers hid in the horse to disguise themselves from the Trojans. The Trojans, believing the Greeks to have finally surrendered, accepted the gift and, as Odysseus intended, placed it within Troy's walls. While the Trojans slept, the Greeks--again, according to plan--crept out of the horse and opened Troy's gates. The entire Greek army then stormed the city and killed all who opposed them, easily routing the Trojans in a single assault. Thus, Troy was destroyed, and the Greeks emerged from the war as victors. Having served their duties, Odysseus and his men set sail for Greece. Only Odysseus would survive the twenty year journey back to his homeland.

Ever since I was a chile, I have always dreamed of venturing into space, of exploring the solar system, the outer reaches of the galaxy, and the entire vastness that this universe has to offer. Of course, such means of intergalactic space travel has not yet been invented (I do believe it will eventually), but I have dreamed nonetheless. Like Odysseus' grueling return to his home in Ithaca, such an adventure into space would be daring and filled with potential dangers, yet it would be a great and rewarding experience, and one that I would never forget.

Odysseus and the Trojan Horse

In the Trojan War, the Trojans and the Greeks are fighting at the city of Troy. The Trojans are inside of the city, protected by a wall, while the Greek army, which Odysseus is a part of, is right outside of the city. Odysseus devises a plan to get Greek men into the city so that they can attack the Trojans, which calls for a huge wooden horse to be built and sent inside the walls of the city. They leave the horse outside of Troy as a gift and pretend to sail away. The Trojans bring the horse inside the city and are celebrating their victory when Greek soldiers that were hiding inside of the horse come out and attack the city, ending the Trojan War.

source

This is going to sound extremely cliché, but I like to think that my life has been and continues to be a journey. Over my seventeen and a half years, I've faced a great amount of struggles, achieved my share of successes, and learned countless life lessons. I face new challenges every day and I look forward to seeing where this journey will take me. With college on the horizon, I know that it's about to take off in some new, unknown direction, and I can't wait to find out just where I will go. 

Odysseus and the Trojan Horse

In both Greek and Roman myth, there was a great battle called the Trojan War that began with the taking of Helen and ended after ten years with the sacking of Troy. Odysseus, a Greek king, supposedly devised the plan of the Trojan horse, which entailed the construction of a giant wooden horse and the subsequent concealment of Greek troops within it. Feigning retreat, the Greeks waited out of sight for the Trojans to bring the horse into the city walls as an offering to the gods. That night, after the seemingly victorious Trojans were drunk and asleep, the Greek troops exited the horse and let the rest of their forces into the city. The Greeks then proceeded to destroy the city, killing nearly everyone - including the great King Priam. (One should note, however, that a survivor of the attack, Aeneas, went on to progenerate the Roman people, a much greater empire than Greece ever attained.) This Odysseus, in his triumph, cursed the sea-god Poseidon, believing that he was able to accomplish this victory all by himself. This hubris never goes unpunished in the classics, and Odysseus is accordingly forced to go on a great journey. The return to his home in Ithaca is impeded by the scorned Poseidon and takes an additional ten years. In total, Odysseus is gone from his home and his family for twenty years.

Image from my Aeneid textbook

If I were to go on a journey, it would not be fueled by a bitter sea-god and my fatal hubris - in fact, it wouldn't be a sea-bound journey at all. I would want to go across the country; I have a great desire to see it first hand. A simple road trip would be wonderful, but even more, I would like to experience it without the luxury of a window between us. I would like to set out with the money in my pocket and clothes on my back, trying all I can to make it anywhere, hitchhike my way through the heartland. I understand that this isn't a very likely event, and that modern times do not suit such reckless abandon, but I have this romantic idea of it all. I have these wholesome images of working hard, eating my fill, and feeling glad, satisfied, fulfilled. Maybe I won't hitchhike, but I do plan on seeing this great expanse in some capacity. I don't think I could count myself as "experienced" if I haven't left the comfortable routine of my life.

one, two, FIVE! three, sir. THREE!

The story of King Arthur and the French Rabbit is one of the most well known stories in all of history. After searching tirelessly for the Holy Grail, King Arthur believes that a French occupied castle contains the sacred chalice. He and his loyal knights devise a cunning plan to invade the castle. They built a giant wooden rabbit and gave it to the French as a gift. Then, sir Lancelot, sir Galahad, and I were to leap out of the rabbit, taking the French completely by surprise. Unfortunately, the rabbit was empty, and just as the brave knights were considering building a giant wooden badger, the rabbit was launched from the French castle and King Arthur and his knights promptly ran away.

The original story is very similar except for it was a horse instead of a rabbit and the plan actually worked. The sack of Troy is one of the most savage and brutal acts ever recorded, complete with wanton slaughter, women raped at the shrine of the virgin goddess Athena, and babies flung from the city walls. The gods punished the greek army by destroying most of their ships and the men inside them. Odysseus was not exempt from this punishment, and he spends a good deal of time imprisoned on Calypso's island (which, as far as prisons go, doesn't sound so terrible). He also blinds Poseidon's son, the Cyclopes, which is one of the main reasons why it takes him so long to get home. His men are also complete idiots by opening Odysseus's hurricane in a bag (why he kept that within easy reach of such numbskulls we'll never know) as they were within sight of their home. His men also manage to piss off Apollo (who was mad at them at the start of the Iliad as well) and get murdered.

My dream journey would definitely have to include a heist, large amounts of stolen money/drugs, the mafia/mob or a ridiculously top-secret government agency, at least three major cities on at least two continents, a murder (preferably not my own), as well as some sort of incredible outsmarting done by me and perhaps a few choice accomplices to permanently extract ourselves from the enormous mess we are in. I also would not mind gaining super powers or superawesome ninja moves from the experience.

One of the victims of the sack of Troy
[source]

The Trojan Horse details the military strategy of the Greeks to take over the City of Troy in which they crafted a huge horse and they all hid in it and snuck into the city and pillaged and villaged and it was pretty chill.

My dream journey is that one night I will go on an adventure with my friends through the woods and well end up finding a door behind a waterfall that leads to a different universe where I have a nurturing caucasian family and live a life without any obligations and become a professional football player and Ill eat corn and mashed potatoes and chicken drum sticks for breakfast lunch and dinner and success will finally be measured in happiness rather than things and life will be sweet and ill say HECK YEAHH !!

Trojan Horse and Dream Journey

The story of the Trojan horse is recounted by the Roman poet Virgil in the Aeneid and is not associated with the Iliad despite popular theory. Homer's epic ends before the fall of the city but the wooden horse is referred to in the Odyssey. The tale is well known: Odysseus, cunning Greek warrior, hatches a plot to disguise soldiers in a large wooden horse made to look like an offering so that the Trojans will bring it into the city only to be ambushed in the night. The story is an example of how the Greeks valued brains over brawn through the hero Odysseus. Where would my dream journey be? Well to keep in the theme of Greece, I would love to visit the Mediterranean. My Grandfather is Greek and his name, meaning citizen, is the one I carry around and I'd love to go back to the fatherland for a couple weeks. See the sights: the Acropolis, some temples, travel the coastline, eat some olives some goat, live the life of a Greek. Plus if the pictures of Santorini or the Cyclades are what they live up to be, I'm in for a treat. If you've ever seen Mama Mia you know what I'm talking about.

The Trojan Horse

In the Trojan war the Trojans were protected in the city of Troy behind its walls. Odysseus makes a plan to build a Trojan horse that they can invade the city of Troy with. Odysseus's plan had all of the Greek soldiers inside the horse and one Greek man telling the Trojans that the horse was a gift from the Greeks and they must bring it into their city to please the gods. The Trojans celebrate and get drunk giving the Greeks an opportunity to attack.

My dream journey would be to travel throughout Italy. I have never been out of the country and Italy has been somewhere I have wanted to go to for a few years. I would like to become fluent in italian and it would be awesome to learn it in Italy. Italy and it's culture are extremely intriguing and it would be awesome if I could journey throughout the country.

The Trojan Horse

The Trojans were being protected by the walled city of Troy during the Trojan Wars. Odysseus came up with a plan that would gain the Greeks access to the Trojans. Odysseus decided that a giant wooded horse should be built that would hold all but one man. Once the horse has entered the city of Troy all the Greeks would jump out and attack. The one man that is not inside the horse acts as a traitor and delivers the horse to the Trojans who accept their present from the Greeks. The hidden soldiers had no difficulty attacking and defeating the Trojans, as many of them were drunk from their huge celebration of the horse. 

I honestly do not know what my dream journey would be. I would love to travel to either Australia or London. London might be my first choice though. I can't point out exactly why I want to go to these places, but they have always just been floating around in the back of my head. I have been trying to get my parents to take our next family vacation, which we all love so much, to Bora Bora. They keep saying no because it takes too long to get there, and that we would spend more time getting there and back than we would actually in Bora Bora. 

Source

Odysseus and the Trojan Horse

In elementary school we did a play on this story so I know it from memory. Odysseus and the Greeks were at war with the Trojans because the most beautiful women in the world was stolen by Paris. The problem was the Greeks could not penetrate the Trojan city walls. So Odysseus came up with a plan to deceive the Trojans and sack the city. The Greeks built a giant wooden horse that they all snuck inside of and they presented it in front of the Trojan walls as a gift and sailed all their ships away from the coast to make it seem like they surrendered. The Trojans took the horse in and that night the Greeks sacked the city. My dream journey (as in trip I presume) would probably be to Hawaii. It seems like a beautiful place in the world and I have wanted to go there for a long time.

The Trojan Horse

This tale is about the ten-year war between the warriors of Greece and the people of Troy. Prince Paris of Troy had stolen Queen Helen from the Greek's, so the Greeks set forth to fight for their queen. The warriors were tired, so Athene, the goddess of war, composed a brilliant plan. She told Ulysses to build a large wooden horse, put it in the middle of their camp, pretend to leave said camp, and then hide out in the horse until the Trojans' curiosity was uncontrollable. Sure enough, the Trojans were intrigued by the large horse and had it brought to the city. A large paraded ensued as the villagers celebrated freedom from war. Everyone had a grand ol' time, but as the town fell quiet in the night the Greek soldiers climbed out from the horse and killed the Trojans, rescued Queen Helen, and celebrated their own victorious actions.

My dream journey would be to New Zealand. I have always dreamed of exploring the foreign shores and trekking its Alps. As long as I don't have to travel there by wooden horse, I'd imagine I'd be fine. New Zealand is my own personal Terabithia. It's so beautiful, I feel as if it only exists in my daydreams.

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Odysseus and the Trojan Horse

The infmaous story of Oysseus and the Trojan Horse takes place during theTrojan Wars between the Greeks and the Trojans. The Trojans are protected in the walled city of Troy, and the Greeks need to find a way into the city. Odysseus makes a plan to invade by building a giant horse of wood that all but one person will hide inside. The Greeks agree on Odysseus’ idea and build the giant horse. They leave one man out of the horse who pretends to be a traitor to the Greek military and states that the Greek army made it as a gift and if the Trojans would take it into their castle, they would please the gods. The Trojans bring in the horse and begin to celebrate. Since the Trojans were drunk from celebrating it made it easy for the hidden Greek soldier to kill and enslave the town.

My family loves to spend our money on travel. I've been to many places before in and outside of the country; however, I think my dream journey wouldn't be another fancy trip. I want to become a doctor when I am older (specifically a pediatric oncologist), and my dream has always been to participate in the Doctors Without Borders program. I think it would be so cool to travel the world while healing people simultaneously. I've never been anywhere past Europe, so it would be a fun adventure. Hopefully, this will all work out and I will be able to participate in the program. 

http://sytereitz.com/2012/07/july-4th-or-obamas-independence-day-gift-to-america-a-trojan-horse/ 

Odysseus and the Trojan Horse: My Dream Journey

This story is set during the Trojan War between the Greeks and the Trojans. Odysseus devises a plan to get past the wall protecting the city of Troy. He plans to build a giant horse that all but one person can hide inside. The Greeks would offer the horse to the Trojans as sort of a "trophy," a declaration of their dominance, so they couldn't refuse the offer. Odysseus planned to have his troops jump out and attack the Trojans once the horse is brought inside the city. Once it is brought in, the Trojans celebrate their supposed victory, getting very drunk and foolish. This made it easy for the hidden Greek soldiers to then murder the people living in the city. 

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My dream journey would be to Iceland. I know, a lot of people assume one of two things when I say this: 1) that I'm trying to be unique and, dare I say, "hipster." or 2) that I'm crazy. Most people don't know that Iceland actually isn't all that "icy," that's more of Greenland. Iceland is an absolutely breathtaking country and I would do anything to visit. Within one country of only about 320 thousand people, there are volcanoes, geothermal springs and pools, ice blue glaciers -- all set amidst picturesque landscapes surrounded by rolling pastures and colorful seaside towns. 

Gah. Just talking about it makes me want to drop everything and hop onto a plane. I'd bring all my essentials, but that would be it. It's not that I wouldn't want to live in comfort, but I'd want to really assimilate into the "Icelandic" culture for a couple weeks. Apparently the culture is very easy going, so that wouldn't make things too difficult to me. I'd look into their environmental programs, seeing how they are by far one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly countries out there. No wonder, with a country that beautiful, it would be hard to ignore the majesty and importance of our earth. 

Iceland Waterfalls 

An Iceland Town

Black Sand Beaches

Journey

In the Trojan War between the Trojans and the Greeks, the Trojans are protected in the city of Troy. Odysseus wants to invade the city and develops a plan to do so by building a giant horse of wood. He planned on having one Greek outside the house acting as a traitor to the Greek military. He volunteered that the Trojans take it as a gift to the gods and when they did so and celebrated, they all got really drunk. This made it easier for the Greeks to come out of the horse and attack the men.

I'm not really sure what my dream journey would be... right now, I have no clue where I'll be this time next year, which is both exciting and scary. But I am excited to think about where I could be after college. Will I be in grad school? Will I be married or engaged? Where will I live? I honestly just hope that I'm able to travel and see parts of the United States, and possibly the world, before I settle down somewhere. I hope my career journey can take me on a real journey and let me live where I want to. 

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Odysseus Trojan Horse

When the Greek army was in a desperate time in their war against the Trojans, they resorted ti desperate measures. They knew they could not enter the city with force but maybe they could using their brains. Odysseus thought of a plan that was so crazy that it just might work. He ordered the construction of a giant wooden horse. This horse, which was to presented as a gift to the Greeks, would actually act as a mule for the entire Greek army into the city of Troy. Obviously this plan worked perfectly as the Greeks were able to leave the horse and kill most of the soldiers in the city before an alarm could be sounded. This is a classic example of brains beating brawn... as the saying goes "The giant wooden horse is mightier than the sword."
I have never really thought of a dream journey for myself, but if I could go anywhere in the world I would go to Australia or the Caribbean and fish for sailfish.

Journeys in the Mediterranean

The war between the Greeks and Trojans is a famous one. Odysseus develops a plan that will prove successful as the war wages on. A giant horse made of wood would be offered as a gift to the Trojans from the Greek military. All but one person would be hiding in this horse and once inside the walls of Troy, the Greeks would attack the city. 

This being said, I traveled to the Mediterranean last summer and it was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. Greece and Italy were my favorite, and I'd love to be able to return to Greece to explore more of the islands. My dream journey would be to take a year or two to backpack all around Europe from Portugal to Greece. I loved the Mediterranean and I love to hike so getting the chance to backpack around Europe would be a dream come true. 

http://cityoftroy

And I Ain't Got No Home in this World Anymore

     Odysseus was a very clever man. He was able to mask victory in defeat, to hide brazenness under a thin veil of humility. He was the Grecian master of sarcasm. As the Trojan War drug on for many years too many, Agamemnon and the rest of the Greek force was getting rather tired of fooling around in Anatolia and wanted to get back to drinking goat milk and olive oil on the mainland. Then Odysseus had a fantastic idea. They would let the Trojans, who mind you had fought just as hard as they with half the resources and had held out as long, let them think they'd won; dangle victory in front of them and they'd be forced to seize it. Brave men, Noble men assault a city's wall, break down its gates, meet its occupants in battle; fortunately for the Greeks Odysseus was a wily man. In that day when a general was defeated he would give up his horse to the victor as a symbol of his subservience. Odysseus suggested they build an enormous wooden horse from the ships of the men who had died (they wouldn't be needing them to get home) , hide inside it and then jump out at night and murder all the Trojans during their celebrations of a false but truly deserved victory. And it worked, the Greek armies waited just offshore and once the infiltrators hidden within the bowel of the horse were safely withing Troy's impenetrable gates, they slaughtered the guards and opened them. The Greeks poured in and with much glee proceeded to rape and pillage the city to its foundation, leaving only the line of Aeneas to escape and start life anew. I'm glad Odysseus was punished by Poseidon. He used the horse, symbol of Poseidon's power to play one of the dirtiest tricks known to the classical world. He made the Trojans feel false relief, only to have it redoubled when they realized their mistake, such pain provoked on another human being should never go unanswered.
     My dream journey does not involve getting lost on the way home to my wife for twenty-some-odd years, but it does involve quite a good bit of honest-to-god rambling. My ideal journey is a journey, not only back to a place but also to a time. I wish to roam around with the migrant laborers of the 1930's and document their lives, the hardships and the victories and the loss. I wan t to go to a time when men were men who worked hard and were as honest as they were simple. Running from bulls, hoping freights in Tuscon, building dams in Washington, just living and working and walking and living. Amen.

Odysseus and the Trojan Horse

With the Trojan War going nowhere, the Greeks needed a keen new tactic. Odysseus came up with the sneaky plan to build the Trojan Horse. The entire Greek army hid inside the horse except one man who acted like the army had gone home and left him behind. The horse was a gift to the Trojans from the Greek army, and the Trojans took it in their gates, happy the war was over. They rejoiced, but while they were sleeping, the Greeks left the horse and slaughtered all the Trojans.

I have a lot of dream journeys in mind. Throughout my life I hope to visit as many countries as I can. I'm very excited to go on the Europe cruise to Spain, France, and Italy with Mr. Junker this summer. I've always wanted to go to Barcelona, and that's where we are going first.

Odysseus and the Trojan Horse

The Greek Army had been standing outside of the gates of Troy for several years only able to make small attacks into the heavily armed city. As the rising star in the Greek Army, Odysseus fancied himself a sly genius who could outwit the intelligence and trust of the city of Troy. Because of the heavily armed gate that defended the city, he devised a plan to build a giant "horse" made of wood which would then be filled with the entire Greek Army with the exception of one soldier Sinon who would serve as the decoy. As the plan came into effect, Sinon pretended that all the Greeks had left him stranded in Troy in pursuit of a way to appease Athena who was "angry" with the Greeks. The Trojans permitted him to enter their city along with the Trojan horse which was intended to be the gift to Athena, whose temple, the Palladium, was located in the center of the city. Eventually, the Trojans rejoiced the war was over and went to bed while the Greeks escaped from the horse setting the city on fire and killing the male residents, enslaving the women, and throwing the children from the wall around the city to their deaths below. After the capture of Troy, Odysseus became lost on the way home to Greece becoming stranded for years as depicted in the Odyssey

  

My dream journey would look nothing like the journey of Odysseus. I am an avid traveler so I would like to go as many places as possible in a given period of time so I would like to purchase a yacht that I could take me around the world stopping on every continent including Antarctica. On my yacht, I could relax with my own stuff instead of having to transfer all of it from place to place, but I would stay in places for weeks so I could get a real feel for the culture and heritage of the place I am visiting.



Modern Replica of the Trojan Horse located in Germany

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Trojanisches_Pferd_in_Ankershagen.jpg

blog now working, Cain and Abel

Adam and Eve bear two sons in this chapter of Genesis, Cain and then Abel. Cain and Abel both brought offerings to God from their work on the ground and with livestock, but God only accepted Abel's gift. This infuriated Cain and he killed his brother. That went on to anger God. God punished Cain for the murder of his brother by making his life like a fugitive- hard and never-ending. Then a generation of men and women came from Cain and his wife.

This story of course reminded me of my little brother, although I would never actually hurt him. He is the little one so when he does something well, he gets all the attention. Sometimes he even does things better than me, just like Abel showed up Cain. This makes me extremely pissed off, so I can totally understand Cain's anger. I think this just shows the typical relationship with siblings- the older sibling does not want to lose to the younger. However, the story teaches older siblings a lesson. I believe God is trying to tell us to support and be proud of our family and friends' accomplishments instead of being jealous and mad.



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Blog now working, Pandora's box

In Pandora's Box, Zeus punishes Prometheus for giving fire to mankind when Zeus didn't approve. Zeus disguises his punishment as a gift-a woman named Pandora to marry Prometheus's brother Epimetheus. Pandora comes with a box that is never supposed to be opened. But of course, curiosity gets the best of her and she opens it. Out come all evil things known to mankind, and now humans will have to face these evils every day. However, there is a glimmer of hope at the bottom of the box representing hope for humanity amidst all the evil. I believe this story is quite similar to the story of Adam and Eve but with different temptations. But the stories, however, convey the same message.

If there is one evil things I could get rid of the came out of Pandora's box that day it would be abortion. That might be be a selfish choice on my part, but it's what I'm passionate about. I wish abortion didn't exist so everyone could have fair right to life.


bloggingtheodicy.wordpress.com

Cain and Abel were the children of Adam and Eve. As a tribute to God, Cain, a farmer, offered portions of his crops to God as sacrifice while his brother Abel, offered the fattest portion of his flocks. Enraged that God preferred Abel's sacrifice, Cain murders his brother. God then exiles Cain from his home to wander in the land east of Eden, but marks Cain to protect him from the wrath of other people..

This story serves as the most rudimentary explanation of Good vs. Evil. Here we have Cain represent evil while Abel represents good, Cain's deception and murder stand out to the reader as the ultimate testament of Evil and God's mercy on and judgement on Cain exemplify the ultimate "good" in the world.
For me it is easy to shoot holes in any piece of work, whether it be biblical or otherwise, what stands out to me is the importance of this piece of work and the translation to modern times. Something specific I seem to grab from this piece of work is the mercy God took on Cain despite his murder. The fact that God did not kill a murder juxtaposes our current method for dealing with murder through the death penalty. For me in affirms  my position against the death penalty. For me religion stands as a set of rules that cannot be blindly followed, it is meant to be questioned and translated into our current era and constantly expounded upon. It is our duty, regardless of whether or not we believe in religion, to have a good moral compass. For those who do abide by a religion, it serves as a set of guidelines that help us distinguish between right and wrong; while some aspects of it may arguably be extreme or 'contrived' the essential message remains the same: Don't participate in evil; always keep a good moral compass.

Cain and Abel

Cain was the first child of Adam and Eve and he was a farmer. Abel was the second younger son who was the shepherd of the flock. Cain gave up an offering of some of his fruits and Abel presented the Lord with some of the fat parts of the firstborn in his flock. God was pleased with Abel's offering but did not favor Cain's, so Cain was angry and envious of Abel. He took Abel out to the field and killed him. When God found out, he punished Cain by saying that his fields will not yield any crops anymore and he will be a hopeless wanderer of the Earth. The Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.

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This story makes me appreciate the relationship that I have with my sister. We've always gotten along and we rarely ever argue about anything. Even though it makes for a boring blog post, I know it's a good thing that I can't think of any big conflict that we've had with each other. I have seen other sibling relationships that aren't at a level that's anywhere close to the one ours is at, and that makes me value our bond even more. I will forever be grateful for being blessed with such an amazing big sister and I try to never take that for granted.

Genesis IV: Cain and Abel

The story of Cain and Abel in the Bible is remarkably short and without any clear lesson. Sure, one probably should not murder anyone else, especially not one's brother, but aside from that there is no moral of the story. God expressed some arbitrary favor with Abel, and Cain killed him for it. Maybe this tells us not to worry about God's approval because we will be driven to unspeakable acts. I myself am not inclined to think anything of this story except that I do like using the term "my brother's keeper." My brother and I are on fantastic terms these days, and I could never see myself killing him. Perhaps when we were younger and living together tensions would run high, but I have never truly had anything but love for him. He's a great person, and we keep in contact every day. Every couple weekends we see each other, and though its less than I'd like, I'll take anything. We have the same tastes in movies and music and the same sense of humor, and he really is a good friend. I hope that we can remain so close well into the future.

Cain and Abel

Adam and Eve give birth to two sons, Cain and Abel. Abel is the younger brother and his blessings impress God more than Cain's, so Cain gets really jealous and kills Abel in a field. God was angry with this and cursed Cain so that no matter how much it rained, the crops wouldn't grow.

Honestly, my siblings are the best. I have a brother, Brandon, 16, a sister, Shelby, 14, and a little brother, Sloan, who's 10. We're all actually pretty close, and they're some of the funniest people I've ever known in my whole life. We do get in fights, but over really silly stuff. Actually, about 30 minutes ago, my sister dropped my favorite water bottle (that I paid for) and it broke. Just shattered. I was really mad about it and didn't talk to my sister for about 20 more minutes. And I'm still a little upset about it (but it's a water bottle, who cares?!), but it was honestly a mistake. Even though that's a random story, all of our fights are stupid little fights like this. I love my siblings tons and tons and we don't fight frequently, but when we do, we all tend to gang up on one person (is this bad?? What if Cain had many more brothers???). For example, if my sister's being crabby, my brothers and I pick a little at her. And I'll attest that I know when they're doing the same to me. 

This photo cracks me up because the four of us can assemble to take a photo in less than a second. 

The silly Scroggin kids.

Cain and Abel

Cain and Abel are the sons of Adam and Eve.  Cain, the older one, is a farmer, and Abel is a shepard. The brothers bring offerings to the Lord, but only Abel's offering of animal fat pleases him. Cain becomes angered by this and lures Abel into a field and kills him. The Lord is furious at Cain and places a curse on him and sends him offf. The curse is carried on in Cain's family for genreations.

My sibilings and I have a funny relationship. I am the oldest of three girls; Clay (15) is the middle, and Smith (10) is the baby. I love my sisters, they keep my life so much more interesting. One minute we will love eachother, and the next it's like World War III has broken out. All of us are very stubborn, but we'd be the last to admit it, so nothing is usually accomplished when conflicts do arise. I wouldn't say rivalry is prevelent in our realtionship because we are all so different from eachother. There's no reason for rivalry because more often than not we are not competing against each other. My sisters mean the world to me, and even though some days Cain's idea doesn't seem so bad, I will always love them.

My Brothers' Keeper

The story of Cain and Abel is the classic story of sibling rivalry. As a blog post that is sort of in the middle of the pack, I'm guessing you've probably read at least 10-15 summaries of this story, so I will recount only the most major elements while adding blahs in between for comedic effect.

Adam and Eve have two sons named Cain and Abel blah blah blah gifts to God blah blah blah sheep and crappy veggies blah blah blah Cain gets jealous blah kills Abel blah blah "Am I my brother's keeper?" blah blah "Yes, you ass." blah blah blah vagabond existence blah Land of Nod. 

I have always felt a connection to this story because I have three younger brothers and a younger sister, and, being the oldest, I have always felt more than a little responsible for them. However, I do not believe that there is much sibling rivalry between me and my brothers, and, while my sister does enjoy one-upping me whenever possible, there is nothing aggressive or mean-spirited about it. I think that this is because of the age differences and our own unique successes in academic and athletic areas. When not at school, I spend the majority of my time with my family, so I'm not sure what I would do if we fought all the time. 

What I do with my siblings

Cain and Abel

My brother and I are thick as thieves. We have a 7 year buffer between us, so fighting is an "immature" and "shameful" act on my end. We really don't have much to fight about, and we can even bond over meaningful stuff like hot girls and shoes. God was kind of a bitch to Cain in this story. (God seems to occasionally display some immature and immoral qualities intermittent with his awesomeness, like in the story of Job). But in this situation, neither brother was at fault, and they should have stuck together and protested God's bullshit. My Brother and I have a similarly immature parent. Instead of killing each other we have always supported the other in our subjection to "God". This has been a really bad post. I'm sorry.

Sibling Rivalry

Cain and Abel are Eve's two sons. Abel, a shepherd, and Cain, a farmer, bring offers to God. Abel impresses God with his offerings, which causes Cain to become envious and ends up killing Abel. God knew what Cain had done to Abel, which led to him becoming cursed. Regardless of how much it rained, or how much Cain worked the field, he would never again yield crops.

My brother and I have a "weird" relationship. We rarely see each other, let alone speak to each other, not because we hate each other, but because we are always going in opposite directions. When I am home he isn't or he has gone to bed, and when he is home, I am not. When we were younger we fought all the time simply because we are very different people. He would play the sweet-innocent younger child card and never get the blame. The source of most of our arguments stemmed from him wanted to use his of rescue heros instead of Ken when we played Barbies. As we have grown up, we see less of each other which has actually brought us closer. My brother and dad naturally drifted towards each other because of sports, and my mom and I have always done dance, so we don't fight over the title of "favorite child." We still have our arguments and its generally me getting mad at him for getting water all over the bathroom floor, but I know we both love and care about each other. We just can't effectively live together.

Cain and Abel

The ultimate sibling dispute: the story of Cain and Abel. Cain was the first son of the first man and Abel was his little brother. While Cain chose to tend the fields and harvest for a living, Abel chose to herd sheep. When it came down to give an offering to their creator, both men offered a bit of what they had: Cain some of his harvest and Abel a lamb. God was more pleased by Abel's offering, and Cain, overcome with rage, led his brother into a field and murdered him. This story is the hyperbolic version of sibling rivalry. While a lot of the times we want to murder our siblings, Cain actually did. He murdered his own blood which leads to not only his eternal damnation but also that of his offspring for generations. I don't know how one could possibly consider killing one's brother, especially his little brother, but apparently Cain was wicked a man enough to do it. I have a little brother and could scarcely conjure a scenario where killing my brother would be justifiable. The thing that really gets to me about this story is that it wasn't the usual little brother feels some form of jealousy/rage and decides to overthrow the top dog. That drama I think is typical in some common fictional stigmas, but here no one is really the better. Just because God was happier with Abel didn't mean Cain had done a bad job, and it also didn't mean that Cain was no longer in his favor. Cain must of been through and through a wicked man.

Seriously Cain I Know That Feel

The story of Cain and Abel depicts the first murder in the Bible. Cain and Abel are the first sons of Adam and Eve, and each has particular skills - Cain is a farmer, reaping fruits and vegetables from the Earth. Abel,, Cain's younger brother, is a shepherd, raising livestock and and slaughtering them for their meat. The brothers present offerings of their labors to God, and evidently God is not a vegetarian because He "had regard" for Abel and his offering over Cain and his. Cain, understandably steamed by God's favoring Abel, as if mom and dad babying his little brother all the damn time wasn't good enough, decides to take a radical (but narratively more interesting - thanks Cain) approach to this sibling rivalry, and murders his brother in a field.

I sympathize with Cain, to a degree. Sometimes I, too, want to murder my siblings in a field. However, unlike Cain, this is rarely out of a sense of inferiority (OK, sometimes I wish I had my youngest sister's activity/metabolism but that's rarely why I want to bash her skull in with a rock in an empty pasture). Rather, I would attribute most of my sibling conflicts to personality and values clashes. Despite sharing something like 50% of our DNA and the same general upbringing, my two younger sisters and I have all emerged with rather distinct personalities and (at least in my case, compared to them) even more distinct values. This leads to conflicts ranging from the banal (what are we watching on Netflix tonight) to the persistently irritating (my sister's lack of initiative in getting up, which causes me to arrive later to school than I'd like) to the Now-I-Understand-Why-Cain-Killed-His-Brother (my youngest sister's frequent and Always Unnecessary chastising me for using """""swear words""""" in casual conversation.) Admittedly, I'm beginning to realize that many of these conflicts are in part due to a maturity gap - particularly as one of my sisters nears me on the Maturity Curve as she is now in her sophomore year, while the other remains down in the nether regions of middle school.

Depictions of Cain's murder of Abel have been variously described as "metal," "frickin rad," and "woah look at all these hairless shirtless dudes." (Painting by Peter Paul & Mary Rubens, circa 1608)

Cain and Abel

In Genesis 4 Adam and Eve had two sons: Cain and Abel. Cain worked with crops and Abel worked with animals. Cain brought God fruit as an offering and Abel brought God portions of fat from his first flock. God favored Abel’s offering and Cain was furious. Later Cain brought Abel into his field and killed him. When God asked Cain where Abel had gone Cain said he didn’t know and that he wasn’t his brother’s keeper. God knew that Cain had killed him so he put a curse on Cain that his fields would never yield crops again.

There is obvious sibling rivalry between Cain and Abel but it is extreme. I have a younger brother and we bicker constantly but we have never gone so far as to even thinking about killing each other; most of the time we just get on each other’s last nerve. I would like to say that it’s mostly Tanner doing things he knows annoys me just to get a reaction but I’m pretty sure I do it without realizing as well. However, while we can’t stand each other sometimes, we have gotten a lot closer these past couple years. Tanner is a bit more mature and we have more things in common. As a result we have a lot more civilized conversations and we can trust one another.

Cain and Abel

Cain and Abel are the sons of Adam and Eve. Abel kept flocks and Cain worked the soil. When they sacrificed to God, Abel sacrificed the fat of his first flock while Cain brought some of his fruits as an offering to God. God clearly liked Abel's offering more and this was apparent to Cain. So, Cain took Abel out into a field and killed him because he was angry. Cain then admitted killing Abel to God.
I have a sibling and sibling rivalry is very common. She is two years older than me but that didnt stop us from being competitive. Since she was older and the girl my parents trusted her more so she would always blame everything on me even though she usually would do it. Naturally I would try to get her punished by my parents in any way possible out of spite and so they would like me more. Sibling rivalry happens in every family, it does not matter how much they love each other.

Cain and Abel

Eve gives birth to two sons, Cain and Abel. Abel is a sheep herder and Cain is a farmer. The two brothers bring their offerings to God; Cain brings fruits found on the ground, a lame contribution, while Abel offers both the firstlings of his flock and their fat portions. Cain is enraged at his brother's superior offerings to God, so he takes him out into the field and kills him there. Cain is cursed by God for his wrongdoings.

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Luckily, I can address this prompt with ease. I do have a sibling and I do have conflicts with him. I think he's had a permanent grudge against my existence - after all, he was a little boy that wanted a little boy brother but instead found himself with a little girl sister. He was mad because I wouldn't play Power Ranger's with him, I was mad because he wouldn't play Barbie Dolls with me. As we grew up, we always had something to be upset about - "He ate my candy! I hate him!"Now that we're older, we keep the bickering to the minimum. I'd never kill my brother for giving a better gift, but that's okay; I bring the better gift anyway. 

Sibling Rivalry

In Genesis 4, the issue of sibling rivalry arises. While Cain presents God with the sacrifice of fruits of the soil, Abel presents God with fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. It appears obvious that God favored Abel's offering over Cain's. Of course, as any sibling would feel angry and inadequate at this point, Cain feels resentful. He then kills Abel and when God asks where Abel is, Cain eventually admits to killing his brother. While this acts as an extreme example of a clash between sibling, that rivalry does exist. 

I don't have any siblings; I don't know all there is to know about why siblings act the way they do towards each other. So I can't really say much as to why this constant bickering and hostility exists. However, I do know that when competing for the love of parents, it's a stressful situation. In Genesis, it's obvious that both siblings want to be loved by God, and when it appears that God prefers Abel to Cain, of course feelings will be hurt. We have to remember we are loved, nonetheless, and to stop competing with those we love.

 https://www.google.com/siblings

Cain and Abel

The fourth chapter of Genesis begins where the third chapter ended, with Adam and Eve having left the Garden of Eden, never to return. After some time, Eve gives birth to Cain and, then again, to Abel. Cain and Abel have differing responsibilities in the New World: Cain works as a "tiller of the ground" while his brother, Abel, worlds as a "keeper of sheep." At some point in time (the Bible does not clearly state when), both Cain and Able decide to present God with sacrificial offerings. As a tiller of the ground, Cain offers God some fruit that he grew from the land. On the contrary, Abel sacrifices to God some of the lambs from his flock, and it is apparent that God prefers Abel's offering over Cain's. Disheartened and envious, Cain murders Abel shortly thereafter in an open field. God suspects that Cain has committed some terrible act and asks hime as to the whereabouts of his brother. Cain confesses to God that he killed his brother, to which God responds by cursing Cain: "When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength;a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." Cain leaves his mother and father and ventures into the land of Nod, "on the east of Eden," where he settles and makes permanent residence. In time, Cain has a son, Enoch, and builds a city, which he names after his son. (Although the Bible does not mention who gave birth to Cain's son, there is only one option as to who this might have been, considering there were only three people living on Earth at this time.) Enoch eventually marries and has children, who eventually marry and have children, and so forth the cycle continues. Though countless of Cain's descendants eventually populate the Earth, they are all taught to praise God.

Although I have had conflicts with my sister in the past, such altercations have been minor and have never resulted in one of us killing the other. Nevertheless, like Cain, there have been moments when I felt touches of jealousy in my sister's relationship to my parents and envy of her lot in life--her success, her achievements, her aspirations, etc. When I was younger, for instance, I believed that my mom and dad love my sister more than they loved me, as they always seemed to side with her on arguments between the two of us. They actually did usual support my sister's position in arguments, but for good reason; I was not the most agreeable of children. Naturally, I viewed this as special treatment. Of course, since I was the baby of the family (my sister is six years older than me), the opposite was, in fact, true: My parents doted on me far more than they did on my sister, but it did not feel like that at the time. This phase eventually subsided, only to be replaced by envy for my sister's accomplishments as i entered my teenage years. My sister, like everyone else in my family, is a high achiever, and she has thus attained various academic and athletic awards over the years. She is, for instance, valedictorian of her high school class of 2008, she is a National Merit Scholar, and she was captain of her varsity soccer team for two years. She is now currently in medical school at the University of Virginia, a path that I hope to follow within the next four years. However, I believe that this phase in my life is also now coming to an end. In the past year, I have started to focus less on my sister's accomplishments and more on my own. After considering all of my accomplishments in the past few years, I have realized that I have also been, for the most part, successful in my endeavors. My relationship to my sister has, correspondingly, improved within the past few years as well. Now that we understand each other's similarities and differences, we have finally been able to coexist without any constant bickering.

Blood of the Titans

I have already addressed the issue of God's completely unfair treatment of Cain and his then unfair punishment of Cain for slaying his brother in frustration. The rest of Genesis 4 has its own interest however. It goes on to list the lineage of Cain and Seth, Eve's replacement for her favorite son. It tells of so-and-so begatting so-and-so and the whole lineage of the created man rolling out to Abraham. 

     The reason I find this passage more interesting than the rest is because of the way that each subsequent generation is described. It reads more like the Olympian lineage than you would expect for a supposedly monotheistic religion. Jabal is the ancestor of all those who live in tents and raise livestock, while Jubal is the ancestor of all those who play the flute or the lyre.  Zeus knew Hera and she begat him Hephaestus, who was the ancestor of all those who bend the ores of the Earth to their will. These two sentences are nearly identical, displaying Adam's stock more as patron gods than actual people. This is either the incredibly pagan roots of Christianity coming through or as I've mentioned earlier the basis of an entirely new reading of the old testament through the lens of the Greek mythos.

Jenny vs. Helen: Edward edition

The story of Cain and Abel in Genesis Chapter 4 shows the classic tale of jealousy between siblings. 

Adam and Eve gave birth to two sons, Cain and Abel. One day, Cain offered some fruit to the lord while Abel brought a more impressive offering -- fat portions from some of the firstborn from his flock. Cain became jealous, tricked his brother into going into a field with him, and then attacked and killed him.

Later, the Lord asked Cain where Abel was. Cain acted as if he didn't know, and inquired, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

But the Lord knew what Cain had done, so he put him under a curse. From that day on, whenever Cain worked the ground, it would no longer yield crops.

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Picture Credit

My sister and I used to fight -- alot. We'd yell, hit, and scheme against each other. But now that she's away in college and we've had over a year apart, we seem to be closer than ever. We talk on the phone often about everything and nothing at all, and we act just like friends. This transition is a warm, happy story--i know--but it's not what you asked for. So let me tell you about the time my sister and I liked the same boy.

We were visiting our Korean friends in Maryland and staying with them for the weekend. Instantly, I became infatuated with who I thought was the absolute love of my life. Unfortunately, my sister was cast under the same spell. For those two days, we scraped and clawed at each other to get to Edward. My sister was a heavy sleeper, often dozing until noon. So I took the opportunity to wake up early at around 8 a.m. so that I could hang out with Edward, who was also an early bird. Basically this fact of life proved we were meant to be. However, I was younger than my sister and subsequently went to sleep earlier. So my sister took the advantage of my unfortunate bed time to hang out with Edward while I was supposed to be asleep rather than wide awake in my bed, thinking of all the terrible ways Edward could  fall in love with my wretched sister instead. In the end, my sister and I both left Maryland defeated. I like to tell myself he thought I was more relatable in the end, though. After all, we had some great times in the early morning hours.

Cain and Abel

Genesis 4 describes the development of Adam and Eve's family and the development of humanity. Adam and Eve have two children, Cain and Abel. Abel was a shepherd while Cain was a tiller of the ground, or a farmer. When Cain offered the Lord his harvest, Abel offered the Lord his livestock. The Lord appreciated Abel's offering but not Cain's. Due to the success of his brother and the jealousy that develops, Cain murders Abel. God expels Cain and the memory of violence and punishment is forever passed down in his family.
All of us who have siblings have had conflict with our brothers and sisters. While I can get extremely angry at my brother, "slaying him" is a bit extreme. Nine times out of ten sibling conflicts are worked out and gotten over, so Cain clearly did not think when he impulsively and selfishly murdered his own brother. He was cursed with guilt and he deserved this, because anyone would regret losing a sibling, who is someone you grow up with and could be forever close to. While it's easy to get mad at people and jealous of them, murder is a little bit of an overreaction. I've gotten extremely angry at my brother and gone days without talking to him, but we always get over it and I'm pretty glad I haven't killed him.

Cain and Abel

Similar to the story in the Garden of Eden, the new human race continues to be confronted by the challenges posed by morality imposed by God, the creator. Cain and Abel are the children of Adam and Eve born after their parents' expulsion from the Garden of Eden while Cain eventually becomes a farmer and Abel becomes a shepherd. As time passes, God is pleased with the work of Abel while he is disappointed in the work of Cain leading to Cain's jealousy of Abel. Even though his reaction may seem extreme, Cain murders Abel as a result of his anger enraging God leading to Cain's expulsion away from his homeland despite his eternal guilt over the murder of his brother. Eventually, the concept of killing becomes ingrained in the minds of Cain's descendants as a brutal crime that does not go unpunished.

It is completely natural that siblings may feel jealous of each other when one may have more success than the other; however, I believe that Cain's reaction was indicative of his primitive nature as a human being. My brother and I don't always get along primarily because of our large age difference of six years, but we both know that we still care about each other and we are supportive of each other's goals.

http://thedramaofscripture.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/storying-cain-and-abel/

Pandoras Box

This is the classic story of curiosity killing the cat. A man and his wife are entrusted with the keeping of this magical box by the gods, but they are also instructed never to open it to look inside. This sound familiar? Well the parallels between this and Eden don’t stop there. Pandora, the man’s wife, just can’t take the suspense anymore and one day when she is alone at home she opens the box. Unbeknownst to the poor girl, the flimsy latch on the face of the box was the only thing keeping all the evils of the world in check, and her insubordination has let them all out. Her and her husband suffer terribly, much as Adam and Eve do following their expulsion from paradise, until there is some resolution which I can’t recall. 

                Many early civilizations share similar stories especially concerning events core to human existence like creation, destruction, or morality. Both of these stories deal with the presence of evil and how it is the fault of man, women moreso, that it is so.  It would be very interesting to examine a similar story from an eastern perspective, to gain some insight as to whether the woman-hating is uniquely western in the early days of man.

Yes I Called Myself an Anarchist Is There a Problem

Pandora's Box is the classical (literally - it's Greek) story of how "evil" was brought into the world. One wonders what the writer of this story might have called all the nastiness that went on earlier in the Greek "canon" (insofar as such a thing existed) with fathers eating their children and whatnot. At any rate, the story essentially goes like this - the first woman, Pandora (it always has to be the woman, doesn't it?) was created by Hephaestus at the behest of Zeus, and given all sorts of wonderful objects and attributes - clothing, beauty, speech - by the other gods. She was, evidently, such a desirable bride that as part of the punishment of Prometheus, who disobediently gave Fire to humans, she was given over to Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus, with a special jar in her possession, which she was told never to open. And of course, as these stories inevitably go, she totally opened it anyway. Apparently, Zeus, in his infinite wisdom, stuffed that jar full of every evil known to man, so when Pandora opened it, they all escaped into the world. Pandora was afraid she'd be punished, but actually Zeus expected exactly this so he didn't really care.

A note about the jar: Yes, I know the myth is Pandora's box but apparently some Dutch guy in the 16th century named Erasmus of Rotterdamn mistranslated the original story by Hesiod and translated pithos (jar) as if it were pyxis (box).

A pithos

A pyxis

I've struggled throughout my life to gain a conception of what causes the many evils that I encounter in the world. When I was in 8th grade and on my atheist tip, I thought religion was the root of all evil. Later I probably shifted to it being homophobia and other sorts of ignorance. But I think that as I understand it today, evil is most rooted in one central principle - Power. And it is this power that I hope to squelch from the Earth,

When I say power, specifically I refer to the power individuals exercise on one another, and the power groups exercise on other groups. I see these power dynamics in many of the evils I perceive in the world - in racism and queerphobia, in government oppression and genocide, in abuse by corporations, in the day to day struggles of individuals I've known to live happy and fulfilling lives. In previous times, I described myself as a liberal - someone who believes government can be a tool for people to help themselves and others through economic programs and social justice. But now I think that the very concept of government may in fact be the problem - that no matter our best intentions, the existence of a State structure inevitably causes more harm than it generates good. My ideal world is an anarchist society - not, that is to say, a society without order, but a society ordered by people among themselves, not by people who then force it downwards upon those without power. If power must exist, all humans must possess it in equal balance. Power imbalance is, I believe, the greatest evil in the world.