Ix Chel - Mayan Goddess(es) of Fertility and Death

Ix Chel - Mayan Goddess(es) of Fertility and Death Ix Chel (sometimes spelled Ixchel) is, according to longstanding archaeological tradition, the Mayan moon goddess, one of the most important and ancient of Maya deities, connected to fertility and procreation. Her name Ix Chel has been translated as â€Å"Lady Rainbow† or as â€Å"She of the Pale Face,† an allusion to the moons surface. Fast Facts: Ix Chel Known For: Goddess of the Moon, fertility, physical love, weaving.Religion: Classic and Late Post Classic period Maya.  Also Known As: Lady Rainbow, She of the Pale Face, Goddess I, and Goddess O.  Appearance: Two aspects: a young, sensual woman and an old crone.  Shrines: Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, Mexico.Appearances: Madrid and Dresden codexes. According to Spanish colonial records, the Maya thought the moon goddess wandered the sky, and when she wasnt in the sky she was said to live in the cenotes (natural sinkholes filled with water). When the waning moon appeared again in the east, people made pilgrimages to the Ix Chel shrine on Cozumel. In the traditional pantheon of Maya gods and goddesses, Ix Chel has two aspects, that of a young sensual woman and an aged crone. However, that pantheon was built by archaeologists and historians based on a wide variety of sources, including iconography, oral history, and historical records. Over the decades of research, Mayanists have often debated whether they have incorrectly combined two female deities (Goddess I and Goddess O)  into one Moon Goddess. Goddess I The primary aspect of Goddess I is as a youthful wife, beautiful and downright sexy, and she is occasionally associated with references to the lunar crescent and rabbits, a pan-Mesoamerican reference to the moon. (In fact, many cultures see a rabbit in the moons face, but thats another story). She often appears with a beak-like appendage protruding from her upper lip. Goddess I is known as Ixik Kab (Lady Earth) or Ixik Uh (Lady Moon) in the Maya books known as the Madrid and Dresden codices,  and in the Madrid codex she appears as both a young and aged version. Goddess I presides over marriage, human fertility and physical love. Her other names include Ix Kanab (Child of Lady of the Seas) and Ix Tan Dzonot (Child of She in the Middle of the Cenote). Ixik Kab is associated with weaving in the post-classic period, and the aged form of Ixik Kab is often shown weaving and/or wearing a pair of horn-like elements on her head which likely represent spindles. Goddess O Goddess O, on the other hand, is a powerful aged woman identified not just with birth and creation but with death and world destruction. If these are different goddesses and not aspects of the same goddess, Goddess O is most likely to be the Ix Chel of the ethnographic reports. Goddess O is married to Itzamna and thus is one of the two creator gods of Maya origin myths. Goddess O has a raft of phonetic names including Chac Chel (Red Rainbow or Great End). Goddess O is depicted with a red body, and sometimes with feline aspects such as jaguar claws and fangs; sometimes she wears a skirt marked with crossed bones and other death symbols. She is closely identified with the Mayan rain god Chaac (God B) and often seen illustrated with pouring water or flood images. The fact that Goddess Os name means both rainbows and destruction may come as a surprise, but unlike in our Western society rainbows are not good omens for the Maya but are bad ones, the flatulence of the demons which arise from dry wells. Chac Chel is associated with weaving, cloth production, and spiders; with water, curing, divination, and destruction; and with making children and childbirth. Four Goddesses? The Moon Goddess of the Maya mythology may actually have many more aspects. The earliest Spanish travelers in the early 16th century recognized that there was a flourishing religious practice among the Maya dedicated to aixchel or yschel. The local men denied knowing the meaning of the goddess; but she was a deity of the Chontal, Manche Chol, Yucatec, and Pocomchi groups in the early colonial period. Ix Chel was one of four related goddesses worshiped on the islands of Cozumel and Isla de Mujeres: Ix Chel, Ix Chebal Yax, Ix Hunie, and Ix Hunieta. Mayan women made pilgrimages to their temples on the island of Cozumel and placed her idols underneath their beds, asking for help. The Oracle of Ix Chel According to several historical records, during the Spanish colonial period, there was a life-sized ceramic statue known as the Oracle of Ix Chel located on Cozumel Island. The oracle at Cozumel is said to have been consulted during the foundation of new settlements and in times of warfare. Pilgrims were said to have followed sacbe (the prepared Maya causeways) from as far away as Tabasco, Xicalango, Champoton, and Campeche to venerate the goddess. The Mayan pilgrimage route crossed the Yucatan from west to east, mirroring the pathway of the moon through the sky. Colonial dictionaries report that the pilgrims were known as hula and the priests were Aj Kin. The Aj Kin posed the pilgrims questions to the statue and, in exchange for offerings of copal incense, fruit, and bird and dog sacrifices, reported the answers in the voice of the oracle. Francisco de Lopez de Gomara (Hernan Cortes chaplain) described the shrine on Cozumel island as a square tower, wide at the base and stepped all around. The upper half was erect and at the top was a niche with a thatched roof and four openings or windows. Inside this space was a large, hollow, kiln-fired clay image fastened to the wall with lime plaster: this was the image of the moon goddess Ix Chel. Finding the Oracle There are several temples located near the cenotes at the Maya sites of San Gervasio, Miramar, and El Caracol on Cozumel Island. One which has been identified as a plausible location for the oracle-shrine is the Kana Nah or High House at San Gervasio. San Gervasio was an administrative and ceremonial center on Cozumel, and it had three complexes of five groups of buildings all connected by sacbe. Kana Nah (Structure C22-41) was part of one of those complexes, consisting of a small pyramid, five meters (16 feet) in height with a square plan of four stepped tiers and a main stairway bordered by a railing. Mexican archaeologist Jesus Galindo Trejo argues that the Kana Nah pyramid appears to be aligned with the major lunar standstill when the moon sets at its extreme point on the horizon. The connection of C22-41 as a contender for the Ixchel Oracle was first put forward by American archaeologists David Freidel and Jeremy Sabloff in 1984. So, Who Was Ix Chel? American archaeologist Traci Ardren (2015) has argued that the identification of Ix Chel as a single moon goddess combining female sexuality and traditional gender roles of fertility comes straight from the minds of the earliest scholars studying her. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, says Ardren, male western scholars brought their own biases about women and their roles in society into their theories about Maya myths. These days, Ix Chels reputed fertility and beauty have been appropriated by several non-specialists, commercial properties, and new age religions, but as Ardren quotes Stephanie Moser, it is dangerous for archaeologists to assume we are the only people who can create meaning out of the past. Selected Sources Ardren, Traci. Mending the Past: Ix Chel and the Invention of a Modern Pop Goddess. Antiquity 80.307 (2015): 25–37. Print.Boskovic, Aleksandar. The Meaning of Maya Myths. Anthropos 84.1/3 (1989): 203–12. Print.Colas, Pierre Robert, Katja Christiane  Stengert, and Urlich Wolfel. The Mapping of Ix Chel: A Terminal Classic Secondary Maya Site on the Northern Vaca Plateau, Belize, Central America. Northern Vaca Plateau Geoarchaeology Project, 2006. Print.Galindo Trejo, Jesus. Calendric-Astronomical Alignment of Architectural Structures in Mesoamerica: An Ancestral Cultural Practice. The Role of Archaeoastronomy in the Maya World: The Case Study of the Island of Cozumel. Eds. Sanz, Nuria, et al. Paris, France: UNESCO, 2016. 21–36. Print.Iwaniszewski, Stanislaw. Time and the Moon in Maya Culture: The Case of Cozumel. The Role of Archaeoastronomy in the Maya World: The Case Study of the Island of Cozumel. Eds. Sanz, Nuria, et al. Paris, France: UNESCO, 2016. 39 œ55. Print.Polk, Jason S., Philip E. van Beynen, and Philip P. Reeder. Late Holocene Environmental Reconstruction Using Cave Sediments from Belize. Quaternary Research 68.1 (2007): 53–63. Print. Ã…  prajc, Ivan. Archaeological Sites on the Island of Cozumel: The Role of Astronomy in Architectural and Urban Planning. The Role of Archaeoastronomy in the Maya World: The Case Study of the Island of Cozumel. Eds. Sanz, Nuria, et al. Paris, France: UNESCO, 2016. 57–83. Print.

Stateless nation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stateless nation - Research Paper Example In this paper, much focus will be on the stateless nation of Kurds (Natali 70). The Kurds hence are a group of ancient non-Arabs that are mostly Sunni Muslims. In terms of geographical distribution, they are sparsely distributed across several states in Turkey, Iran and Iraq, while a few others exist in Syria, Armenia, and Azerbaijan (Koohzad 180). Therefore, an annotated bibliography of the Kurds will be summarized in this paper to provide a clear picture of the stateless nation of Kurds. Aristova, T. and David Testen. "Kurds." Encyclopedia of World Cultures (1996): 234-260. In the Encyclopedia of world cultures, an overview of Kurds is provided. The paper clearly provides the population statistics of the Kurds back then in 1989 (Aristove 235). It goes forth and provides their distribution in the various regions which they occupy: USSR, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia and Moldova (Aristove 245). The article also provides a brief overview of their linguistic affiliation. It continues father to give a discussion of their history plus their cultural relations. Furthermore, the encyclopedia also provides a brief yet detailed overview of their language, literacy, settlements, economy, religion and finally their culture (Aristove 256). Koohzad, M. "Kurds." The International Journal of Kurdish Studies (2008): 22 (1), 173-192. In this journal article, Koohzad provides an overview of the Kurdish culture and society. From various researches conducted by various people, the journal article manages to provide evidenced information in regard to the Kurds fiasco (Koohzad 183). It encompasses a detailed overview of the Kurdish language, the society and its history. In addition, much interest is drawn to it in regard to their anthropology. Furthermore, it provides an overview in regard to its stateless nature and some of the efforts put forth by Kurds in regard to nation building (Koohzad 191). Natali, Den ise. The Kurds And the State: Evolving National Identity in Iraq, Turkey, And Iran. New York: Syracuse University Press, 2005. Print. This book provides an evolutionary explanation of the Kurdish nationalism, showing that contrary to the popular beliefs and theories in regard to the Kurds, as it supports the fact that their nothing fixed or natural in regard to Kurdish identity or whatever nationalism they assume (Natali 67). The author of this book argues that the given nationalism of the Kurdish people might have been shaped through the existence of other nation states and the need to have their own. it goes further to explain the political, and cultural aspects of the Kurds in detail (Natali 69). Reynolds, James. "Defiance in Turkey's Kurdish heartland." 11 October 2012. bbc.co.uk. 1 April 2013 . In this article written by Reynolds James, an overview of the stateless region of Kurdish and its inhabitants it’s provided and a detailed explanation provided on why they were be ing defiant to the existing Turkish government. The article starts by the editor enquiring the identity of a certain child, of which refuted as saying he was not Turkish, and insisted he was Kurdish (Reynolds). It continues by providing a history into the birth of the stateless nation Kurds and

What the Arab States Can Do To Help Bring About Perpetual Peace Term Paper

What the Arab States Can Do To Help Bring About Perpetual Peace between Israel and the Palestinians - Term Paper Example Sadly, continued state of war is what brings Palestinians together and so they consider war to be the safer choice as opposed to perpetual peace. The Palestinian leadership has remained strong to demands they are sure will never be acceptable to Israel because they believe that negotiating peace with Israeli will probably end the Palestinian entity and it will disintegrate what holds the Palestinians together hence leading to loss of political control and cohesion. Therefore, according to Palestinian leadership, creating peace with Israel will only bring suffering to the Palestinians and so they feel safe with a perpetual state of war. 11 The rivalry between the Israeli and Palestinian has attracted the establishment of many agreements, but none has succeeded in bringing peace between the two states. Arguably, Israel and the Palestinians have mutually conflicting national interests, which are very difficult to be reconciled, and in both cases, these interests have a wide consensus. The Palestinian side focuses on an independent and autonomous state from which, it can establish a strategy aimed at eradicating Israel altogether, regain the East Jerusalem and eliminate all the settlements. On the contrary, Israeli’s side mainly stands against allowing Palestinian refugees to go back to their nation and division of Jerusalem. For this reason, Israel has been attacking and terrorizing Palestinians and killing innocent children. The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians seem to last for long especially after the failure of several peace interventions and this has attracted further research on how to terminate conflict and reconcile the two regions and specifically, what other Arab States can contribute to resolve the issue. A qualitative research methodology is conducted in assessing what Arab States should do to bring peace between Israel and Palestine. In this case, the proposal will utilize a review of

What scams are on the Federal Trade Commission's List of Top 10 Speech or Presentation

What scams are on the Federal Trade Commission's List of Top 10 Consumer Scams, and how can consumers avoid falling for them - Speech or Presentation Example However, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been able to identify these scams and provided measures to counter future occurrences. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a self-governing federal organization of the United States government and it was established in 1914 by the federal trade commission act. The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) main goal is to protect consumers and guarantee a strong competitive market by implementing a variety of consumer protection and antitrust laws. The laws are used to guard against destructive business practices. They also protect markets from any anti competitive practices and these include price fixing conspiracies and huge mergers. The agency collects complaints about companies, business practices and identity theft.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Joining A Currency Union Economics Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Joining A Currency Union Economics Essay Currency Union are a group of countries that share a single currency. There is a misconception that currency unions are a product of the 20th century globalization, but it is not true. They have existed since the times of Roman, but still they havent been adopted as a global financial system. The reason being despite it having many advantages it has few disadvantages as well. I will discuss these advantages and the disadvantages in the first part of my essay. While in the second part I will show some light on the current heated debate about UK joining the Euro Zone. Transaction cost:- The most essential advantage connected with changing to a single currency was the removal of the need to change currency . Savings are very large because of the elimination of the transaction cost connected to the exchanging currency, the taxes for countries that have most of the exports to the European counties only. The significant decrease in the cost of exports will be most useful for small scale business to achieve economies of scale. By switching to the euro, members of the EMU were expected to save as much as $30 billion a year (The Euro, the European, pp. 154), :- Daniel Portone. Investment:- As there is low transaction cost there is large amount of investment because companies now this is one of the most important decreases in the cross border investment. This has lead to large cross border investment like in France the foreign direct investment has increased from 12% to 18%. The disappearance of the cost of transaction and the introduction of the common currency makes the money market deeper and integrated. The major financial institutes are being listed in the Euro, which in turn attracts potential investors to gain confidence in different EU financial markets . The market combination provides various links to dilute the risk in the EMU. If we assume that the French and German bond and equity markets are fully integrated, it will facilitate the adjustment to asymmetric shocks (see Figure 1). When France is hit by a negative shock, companies there make losses and that drives down stock prices of these companies.- Jean Monnet.which bring the profit to germen investors ,thus the boom in germany brings profit to French . A very similar mechanism also works through the fully integrated bond market, Jean Monnet Exchange rate stability (Common Currency):- Common currency generates a platform to judge the price relationship, make price difference more noticeable and helps to equalise it across borders.- Jean Monnet .Along with the removal of the need to change currency, there is also problem with the volatility of the exchange rates also. When the rate fluctuates it also affects the profitability of the company and increasing the risk which in turn decreases the net investment into the country. Thus to stabilise the situation it is useful for a company to enter in a currency union. .. having the same currency can boost trade by a factor of three. Canada again provides the example : inspire of close proximity to the US and similarities in culture , Canadian provinces trade twelve to twenty times more amongst themselves than with the US states The common currency provides the member nation to compare the prices efficiently . The poor regions would never become richer simply by devaluing its cur rency repeatedly. On the contrary the associated high inflation would introduce economic distortion and reduce its average real income, :- Professor Alec Chrystal Free movement of workers :- Free mobility area of the labour helps the countries to prevent from an asymmetric shock which is the result of inflation in one country A and a recession in country B . If there is mobility of labour ie they can move freely this will lead to release the inflation in A and increasing employment of the people in B. For example, workers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand account for 10 percent of the employment in Singapore. Emigration has been as much as 2 percent of the labor force of the sending countries- (http://www.adb.org/Documents/ERD/Working_Papers/WP012.pdf ) The prevention of competitive devaluations and speculation:- The Monetary unions protect the member countries damaging effect of competitive devaluation of the currency which may lead to steeling the business of the other . But is any country which try to do this with the monetary unions has an adverse effect of high inflation. Other advantages of joining the currency union are as follows. The country gets an access to larger markets and thus increasing the overall income of the country. It also reduces the effect of shocks from exterior instability to an individual country. Joining the currency union is very important for those countries which lack internal control . This allows free movement of goods and sevices without any obstacles. This also keeps peace between the nation as they now that they are all interdependent on each other . the one of the most important advantage is it it will increase the tourism in the countries as there is easy movement and no currency changes . Disadvantages of currency union Loss of sovereignty: This means that country adopting the Common currency has to give up the Monetary policies to the body who is controlling the union . like in the case of European union all the 12 countries had to give up their monetary rights to the European central bank with decides the monetary policies for all the nation . Its most biggest disadvantages come during the crisis when the situation are different in all the different countries and cannot be handled in the same way. Like in a case of sudden increase in the unemployment the governments income will decrease as taxes are not paid so the government will have to increase the taxes which will lead to further disaster decrease in the interest rates during the crisis will help some but will adversely affect the other . So it is very difficult to be in an currency union . In the United States, Texas could not avoid a recession in the wake of the 1986 oil price fall, whereas demand for Sterling changed in the light of the ne w oil price, adjusting the exchange rate downwards.- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/single_currency/25081.stm Cost of adopting the new currency: The adopting of new currency will have a very huge cost to the economy. These are like Such changes include educating customers, changing labels, and training staff, changing computer software and adjusting tills.- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/single_currency/25081.stm Lower inflation and reduced transactions costs of trade provide gains, while the inability to respond to idiosyncratic asymmetric shocks generate losses.:- Andrew K. Rose1 New negative cross-border spillovers of fiscal policy:- a national fiscal expansion raises the demand for savings, ceteris paribus pushing up the long-run interest rate and discouraging investment. In an integrated capital market strengthened by monetary unification, this effect will spread to other countries, imposing a negative externality. A monetary union may also generate new negative spillovers. An increase in domestic government purchases, in affecting the demand for domestic products, raises local inflation, thereby pushing up average euro-area inflation and forcing the ECB to contract monetary policy for the entire area. Further, a national fiscal expansion may cause an appreciation of the euro, thereby undermining the external competitive position of all union members.- (http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/4305) The other disadvantages of the Monetary unions are as follows, the one of the biggest disadvantage is the difference in languages with in turn leads to the decrease in the mobility of labour Language in Europe is a huge barrier to labour force mobility. This may lead to pockets of deeply depressed areas in which people cannot find work (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/single_currency/25081.stm.). The countries in the currency union also lose the ability to cope with the external shocks. It have to leave it on itself so be rectified with in todays time is very difficult. Should Britain join euro Britain is one of the biggest financial hub in the world, which is also the worlds largest hub for currency trading . Britain does the maximum currency trading . Britain from the beginning has been independent and has been flourishing . But it was a real shock to the Britain when EMU was formed and the biggest threat . After reading the list of journals , it is very difficult to say whether or not Britain should join the Euro or not . There are many arguments and thoughts over it and would like to bring them forward to you . I would first like to bring forward all the positive aspects of the Britain joining the euro with the real facts about it . There has been a significant decrease in foreign direct investment in Britain after the formation of the EMU . Britains share of the foreign direct investment coming into Europe has fallen by a half (see Table 3). In 2001 the Netherlands received more of this investment than Britain.:- Richard Layard, Willem Buiter, Christopher Huhne, Will Hutton, London as mentioned is a important financial hub, but the pound has little to do with it. Where most of the trading is done mostly in dollars in most of the transaction , but the euro outranked the pound ,where euro was involved in 41% and pound in just 24 % of the transactions (as seen in the table 1). The other thing is that this financial centre employ about 1,50,000 people creating  £10- £15billion annual invisible exports . If the UK exercises its opt-out, long-term damage would be inflicted on the City, which will ultimately lose its pre-eminence to Frankfurt or even Paris, in part because trading in the Euro will be focused within its area of operation:- Brian Burkitt The continues increase in the instability will decrease the attractiveness of Britain has as a destination of capital flow. The stock of euro-denominated corporate bonds nearly tripled between 1998 and 2001, to 1.2 trillion Euros. This clearly shows the euro-zone has reconstructed its business which has increased the annual cross border foreign direct investment by 4 fold. Britain almost has its 50% of its trade with the EMU, which is shown in table 2, so it would be better for the UK to join the euro and thus reduce its cost of import and exports .During November 2002 the Chief Executive of Ford UK specifically stated that euro/sterling exchange rates were damaging the profits of the company:- http://www.fpma.scot.nhs.uk/euro_pros_cons.pdf The British consumers will be now able to compare prices all over Europe . This will end the phenomenon of rip-off Britain that allowed coca-cola to charge double here what it charges in Spain, or Ford to charge 43% more for a focus than in Denmark. :- Christopher Huhne . From long time the MNCs new that Britain is the Treasure Island and the consumer are willing to pay high price. Britain chance to exploit the Asia and the America is by joining the bigger currency thats the Euro

Analysis Of The Machine That W :: essays research papers

â€Å"The Machine That Won the War,† by Isaac Asimov, is a story that teaches a valuable lesson about humanity and also has an ironic twist at the end. The setting is the future of Earth, and a great war had just been won against an enemy race. Two men, Swift and Henderson, are debating over who really won the war for Earth: the giant strategy computer known as Multivac, or the men in charge of making the maneuvers and programming the computer. John Henderson is an excitable man, while Lamar Swift, the military captain, is calm but rational. While the people hailed the computer, the two really knew who the heroes were. Henderson explained the fact that Multivac was nothing more than a large machine, only capable of doing what it was programmed to do. He stated that ever since the beginning of the war, he had been hiding a secret. It was the fact that some of its (Multivac’s) data might have been unreliable. This conflict, as you will note later, helped win the war. The great computer was capable of creating a direct battle plan which Earth forces could use to attack their enemies. However, with Henderson inputting faulty data, this caused some of the battle plans to be unreliable. His internal conflict between himself losing his job and wanting to keep it made him jingle with the programming until it seemed right. This foreshadowing helps the reader to see that someone is going to have to act upon Henderson’s faults if the war is to be won. Swift, the military commander, received these battle plans that Henderson had ‘printed up’ out on the front (the front being the battle front). He, realizing that some of these plans were outrageous, had to act upon a different form of machine. Swift’s motivation for not always acting upon what was laid before him helped change the course of the war. He told Henderson that when faced with the difficult decisions, he didn’t use Multivac’s data all of the time. This conflict, making these tough decisions, helps influence the climax. The climax of the story comes when Swift tells Henderson he used a coin to make all of the though decisions instead of

Achilles and Odysseus Essay

It is not unknown that people look up to heroes and even try to emulate their actions; however, there is a relevant question that needs to be asked in order to facilitate a thorough understanding of what differentiates a hero—from someone who is merely fighting for himself. According to Aristotle’s Politics (9), â€Å"[†¦ ] he who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must either be a beast or a god: he is no part of a state. † While it may not seem to be rather obvious, but this particular line in Aristotle’s Politics tacitly implies that men who possess extraordinary characteristics and goals, such as heroes can be compared to either gods or wild animals. Since they are heroes, they do not need the help of other individuals (self-sufficient) and are detached from their community, they are not different from wild animals. While it can be said that the epic heroes discussed in this particular critique have contributed to their respective time and place, it is necessary to look at how they were able to contribute, and whether such contribution, indeed, was something deserving of praise and adoration. If one is to analyze Achilles and Odysseus in light of Aristotle’s philosophy, it would be realized that there is much more to a hero than just defeating his adversary. There is a difference with what makes a person a hero, a god, and a beast. Discussion: The Comparison Between Achilles and Odysseus According to John Miles Foley’s A Companion to Ancient Epic (77), a comparison between Achilles and Odysseus is vital in understanding not only Greek epic, but also the concept of a hero and his relationship to his community in a â€Å"specific historical time and place† (Foley 77). The difference between these two heroes is that while Achilles’ personality is monolithic, Odysseus’ personality is many-sided. It is also seen in the Iliad and the Odyssey that â€Å"while Achilles achieves his epic supremacy as a warrior, Odysseus achieves his own kind of epic supremacy in an alternative way, as a master of crafty stratagems and cunning intelligence† (Foley 79). If one is to take Aristotle’s line regarding heroes as wild animals into consideration, it will be seen that Aristotle may actually have a logical point, particularly owing to the fact that Achilles’ anger was the main cause of the countless problems the Greeks encountered as they pursued their war with the Trojans (Foley 79). According to Robin Sowerby (247), although Achilles is considered an epic hero, this does not remove the fact that he had been a compulsive hero, who had been unable to control his anger, thus, her endangered not only himself, but also his loved ones and his own country. His stubborn attitude in doing what he wanted resulted, then, in deaths and further suffering. It is not unknown that Achilles had too much pride, horrible temper, and resentment which was boiling deep within him, all of which may have clouded his judgment (Sowerby 247), thus, hindering him from properly functioning as a part of a team during the war. He fought for himself and he fought on his own; however, â€Å"it is by no means easy for one man to superintend many things; he will have to appoint a number of subordinates† (Aristotle 74) in order to get a job done properly instead of doing everything on his own. Needless to say, Achilles’ irrationality, temper, and desire to defeat his adversary alone were his weaknesses. If one is to analyze Achilles’ characteristics in Aristotle’s point of view, these would be the reasons to consider this hero as either a beast or a god; although it would seem as if Aristotle would be leaning toward the description that Achilles was a beast, rather than a god. It must be understood that to Aristotle, everyone has their own position in a state, in a community, and if an individual chooses to not act on his duty—and prefer to be disagreeable and stubborn like Achilles instead of working with other individuals toward a common goal of the community, then he is not part of that community, and therefore, he must either be a beast or a god. But if one is to analyze Achilles in light of Aristotle’s discussion, it is only logical to say that Achilles had been a hero who was more of a beast than a god. According to Aristotle (73), â€Å"passion perverts the minds of rulers, even when they are the best of men. † This statement is particularly true, if one carefully analyzes Achilles’ character. His temper and his pride has made him do horrible mistakes that cannot be undone. His passion, his will to become a warrior, to prove that he was strong and he can do everything on his own without the help of other individuals, eventually corrupted him and resulted in tragedy. Odysseus, on the other hand, is the polar opposite of Achilles. According to Douglas Olson’s Blood and Iron: Stories and Storytelling in Homer’s Odyssey (52), although he is prominently known as the man who tried to save his fellowmen and dismally failed and returned home empty-handed, the fault must not be attributed to him. It is known that the sailors he wanted to bring back to their homes perished during their journey home—but not because Odysseus was a bad leader and he was unable to handle the responsibility. It has to be clear that their own demise was their own fault; their wrongdoings had to be punished. This was an occurring theme in the Odyssey and must not be mistaken for a failure of this particular Greek hero. In analysis, if Odysseus were an irresponsible leader as people make him out to be due to the deaths of the sailors, then he would not be able to lead his country properly as a good king. In fact, before the event that they had to travel by sea, Odysseus had proven to be a very responsible leader to his crew. When his men were hungry, instead of sending them out to hunt while they were tired, he let them sleep and did the hunt himself for his men. He was able to kill a stag and carried it to their camp in order for his men to be able to eat a feast the next day (McCaughrean 32). While it seems as if he was like Achilles who wanted to do things on his own, Odysseus was different in the sense that he wanted to look out for them, and believed that they deserved to rest their tired bodies, so he let them, and hunted food for them. He was merely acting the way a leader should towards his followers, compared to Achilles who wanted to work alone and often subjected people around him to irrational bursts of temper. In Odysseus’ tale, there was no Hector to be defeated—only sailors who are disobedient and Penelope’s (Odysseus’ wife) suitors who flocked around her when they presumed that Odysseus was already dead. Although Odysseus had to be cunning in order to overcome struggles, his tale was more of a fight with principles and morals rather than a fight with swords and shields. Of course, it is largely debatable as to whether which is the far more difficult battle, but regardless of which is more difficult, the point is that unlike Achilles who preferred to work alone and refused to be a good leader, Odysseus was up to the job and understood what it meant to be a leader to his people. Odysseus cannot be deemed a god, for he knew what it was to live in a society; he knew that he needed other people despite his qualities as a hero, he was willing to lead his people, as well as fight and sacrifice for them. Summary As seen in the aforementioned discussion, Achilles and Odysseus had their own ways to fight their battles. While it is given that arguments will arise to whether such epic heroes have done the appropriate means to win their battles, it cannot be denied that Aristotle made sense when he stated that â€Å"desire is a wild beast† (Aristotle 73). It may not seem much to a lot of individuals but such a simple phrase contains a large truth that cannot be avoided. Individuals who let themselves be absorbed by their desires often find themselves weak in creating moral decisions, for desire often tempts man into doing what he wants and not what he should. As seen in the comparison between Achilles and Odysseus, one must ultimately ask: Who is the better hero? Who is the beast? Is there a god? There is Achilles who fought and won for himself, for his desire to kill his adversary, not for his people, whereas there is Odysseus, who failed to bring his men home, but he tried to lead them the best way he could. While Achilles was a beast, it cannot be said that Odysseus was a god—for Aristotle’s statement was undeniable: in order to be part of a society, must one know one’s place. It is not about self-sufficiency, it was about helping each other and knowing which position to take and fill in. A real hero, apparently, is not the one who cannot be likened to a god, for he is not self-sufficient, and he needed others; neither can the real hero be likened to a beast, for he does not merely fight for himself—he fights for others. The hero is the one who tried, failed, and yet, was still able to lead his people onward. Works Cited Aristotle. Politics. South Dakota: Nu Vision Publicationas, LCC. Print. Foley, John Miles. A Companion to Ancient Epic. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. Print. McCaughrean, Geraldine. Odysseus. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print. Olson, Douglas & Homer. Blood and Iron: Stories and Storytelling in Homer’s Odyssey. The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1995. Print. Sowerby, Robin. The Augustan Art of Poetry: Augustan Translation of the Classics. New York: Oxford University Press Inc. , 2006. Print.