Hey guys, hope you're enjoying your three-day weekend! Some of you may be stressing out over Tuesday's test, so I found a resource to help everyone study.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/beginners-guide-greece/a/ancient-greece-an-introduction

Artifact complications

Almost all of the artifacts including items and statues that we have studied have been taken from their original land and are in some foreign museum. Some of these items were legally attained by donations to the museum, but the countries that the items originally came from want their historical items back. A few examples of such items that countries want returned are the Rosetta Stone, Chinese imperial treasures, and the Old Fisherman from Aphrodisias, which was from the Pergamon. Such artifacts as they range in their acquisition. For example, the Rosetta stone was discovered by French officers in Egypt, but later changed hands to the British when they defeated France in 1802. The Old Fisherman from Aphrodisias was bought for the museum at an art market, and therefore they do not think that it should be given back. Museums in general have no reason to give artifacts back, because they might have gotten them legally even though the people who owned the artifacts before might have attained them illegally. This creates a problem for countries that want to maintain their own historical pasts through items such as these.
 
The link to the article I used follows:
https://mic.com/articles/76321/9-priceless-artifacts-museums-should-return-to-their-home-countries#.43YXfSHMt

Medea and Jason's changing roles

In the beginning of the play, the audience is inclined to feel sorry for Medea. She was lost her husband to another woman and is heart broken. We originally think of her as the protagonist. We dislike Jason because of what he is done to Medea; he is the antagonist. However, as the play progresses, their roles change. We learned that Medea betrayed her father and killed her brother for Jason. Medea also becomes obsessed with revenge. She eventually ends of killing Jason's bride, her father, and even their kids. By the end of the play, the audience is disgusted by Medea and considers her the antagonist. When Jason loses everything, we feel sorry, making him the protagonist. It is interested to see the flip-flop between the two characters, and a clever move on Euripides' part.

Then vs. Now

Today in class, we talked about if we felt Medea's actions were appropriate. Obviously, by today's standards, her actions are completely unwarranted and insane. It is understandable that she would be furious with Jason, but committing murder is too much. Certainly, Athenian men of the time would've also thought that her actions were crazy. But I am not so sure women would've thought the same thing. Women back then were probably very frustrated with having no rights and being a slave to their husbands. Although they realistically could do nothing if their husband left them for another woman, they probably wished they could. Perhaps Medea's actions were the fantasies of Athenian women. Although they are insane, being able to do something would probably satisfy the women.

Euripides

Euripides was very brave in writing Medea. The play focuses on the bad treatment women in ancient times. They had no rights, were not citizens, and were force to stay home. No woman could speak out against their treatment, and no man was going to stick up for them. Men liked the way society worked because they were in charge. Euripides was really the first person (that I've learned about) to draw attention to the gender inequalities.

Guys, incest is still the best

OK, after reading Oedipus I'm sure a lot of you might be convinced that incest is no longer the best. I'm here to prove that it is. Some animals actually use incest to their benefit. For example, wasps use inbreeding to actually strengthen their gene pool. That is because wasps and other similar insects are haplodiploid. This means that, while females inherit genes from both their mother and father, males only inherit genes from their mother. Because of this, any inbred negative traits will be expressed in males, even if they are recessive. These males will soon die, therefore strengthening the gene pool of the population.

Greek Mythology in Oedipus the King

The role of Greek gods is apparent in Athenian society and translates into Sophocles's use of invocation to the gods to depict their significance in society and in his play. One of the first instances where the role of gods is mentioned is when the chorus tells Oedipus that he is not as great as the gods, but is the best fit to help save the Athenian people. Oedipus, a very confident ruler, often tries to put himself on the same level as the gods. This is significant of his character because he lacks humility. Another point mentioned throughout the play in connection to Oedipus is blasphemy. As mentioned prior, Oedipus's confidence leads him to feel superior to the gods at some points, especially when he describes how he solved the Sphinx riddle and the gods did not. However, the Athenians recognize this and know that ultimately, the gods hold superiorty over anyone else in all they do; the gods are the supreme power. The Athenian people often call out and pray to the gods seeking salvation because they know that the true power lies in the hands of the gods.