The Greek Festival of Thesmophoria

The Greek Festival of Thesmophoria In ancient Greece, a festival used to be held in about 50 cities or villages, to honor the goddess who taught mankind to tend the soil. There was no question but that the festival was part of the goddess worship. That is, it wasnt just a secular, condoned over-indulgence event. In Athens, the women met near the mens assembly site on the Pnyx and in Thebes, they met where the boule had met. The Date of Thesmophoria The festival, Thesmophoria, was held during a month known as Pyanopsion (Puanepsion), in the lunisolar calendar of the Athenians. Since our calendar is solar, the month doesnt exactly match, but Pyanopsion would be, more or less, October into November, the same months as the Canadian and U.S. Thanksgivings. In ancient Greece, this was the time of the fall planting of crops like barley and winter wheat. Asking Demeters Help On the 11-13 of Pyanopsion, at a festival that included role reversals, like women electing female officials to preside over state-sponsored feasts [Burton], Greek matrons took a break from their usually homebound lives to participate in the autumn sowing ( Sporetos) festival of Thesmophoria. Although most of the practices remain a mystery, we know that the holiday was a bit more involved than our modern versions and that no men were allowed to participate. The matrons probably symbolically relived the anguish Demeter suffered when her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades. They also probably asked for her help in obtaining a bountiful harvest. The Goddess Demeter Demeter (the Greek version of the Roman goddess Ceres) was the goddess of grain. It was her job to feed the world, but when she discovered her daughter had been kidnapped, she became so depressed she wouldnt do her job. Finally, she found out where her daughter was, but that didnt help much. She still wanted Persephone back and the god who had abducted Persephone didnt want to return his lovely prize. Demeter refused to eat or feed the world until the other gods arranged a satisfactory resolution to her conflict with Hades over Persephone. After her reunion with her daughter, Demeter gave the gift of agriculture to mankind so we could plant for ourselves. Thesmophorias Ritual Insults Before the Thesmophoria festival itself, there was a preparatory night-time festival called the Stenia. At the Stenia women engaged in Aiskhrologia, insulting each other and using foul language. This may have commemorated Iambes successful attempts to make the grieving mother Demeter laugh. The story of Iambe and Demeter: A long time she sat upon the stool without speaking because of her sorrow, and greeted no one by word or by sign, but rested, never smiling, and tasting neither food nor drink, because she pined with longing for her deep-bosomed daughter, until careful Iambe- who pleased her moods in aftertime also- moved the holy lady with many a quip and jest to smile and laugh and cheer her heart.- Homeric Hymn to Demeter A Fertility Component of the Thesmophoria During the Stenia prelude to the Thesmophoria or, at any rate, sometime before the actual festival, it is believed that certain women (Antletriai Bailers) placed fertility objects, phallic-shaped bread, pine cones and sacrificed piglets, in a possibly snake-filled chamber called a megaron. After the uneaten pig remains had begun to rot, the women retrieved them and the other objects and placed them on the altar where farmers could take them and mix with their grain seed to ensure an abundant harvest. This happened during the Thesmophoria proper. Two days may not have been enough time for decomposition, so some people think the fertility objects were thrown down not during the Stenia, but during the Skira, a midsummer fertility festival. This would have given them 4 months to decompose. That presents another problem since the remains might not have lasted for four months. The Ascent The first day of the Thesmophoria itself was Anodos, the ascent. Carrying all the supplies they would need for 2 nights and 3 days, the women went up the hill, set up camp on the Thesmophorion (the hillside sanctuary of Demeter Thesmophoros Demeter the law-giver). They then slept on the ground, probably in 2-person leafy huts, since Aristophanes* refers to sleeping partners. The Fast The second day of the Thesmophoria was the Nesteia Fast when women fasted and mocked each other, again using the foul language that may have been a deliberate imitation of Iambe and Demeter. They may also have whipped each other with bark scourges. The Kalligeneia The third day of the Thesmophoria was the Kalligeneia Fair Offspring. Commemorating Demeters torch-light search for her daughter, Persephone, there was a night-time torch-lit ceremony. The bailers ritually purified, descended to the megaron to remove the decayed matter thrown down earlier (either a couple of days or up to 4 months): pigs, pine cones, and dough that had been formed in the shape of mens genitals. They clapped to scare the snakes away and brought back the material so they could place it on the altars for later use as, especially potent fertilizer in the sowing of seed. *For a humorous picture of the religious festival, read Aristophanes comedy about a man who tries to infiltrate the women-only festival, Thesmophoriazusae. It is called Thesmophoria, because Demeter is called Thesmophoros in respect of her establishing laws or thesmoi in accordance with which men must provide nourishment and work the land.- David Noy Sources Interpreting the Athenian Thesmophoria, by Allaire B. Stallsmith. Classical Bulletin 84.1 (2009) pp. 28-45.Eratosthenes and the Women: Reversal in Literature and Ritual, by Jordi Pmias; Classical Philology, Vol. 104, No. 2 (Apr. 2009), pp. 208-213.Womens Commensality in the Ancient Greek World, by Joan Burton; Greece Rome, Vol. 45, No. 2 (Oct. 1998), pp. 143-165.

Knowing How and When to Correct Students in Class

Knowing How and When to Correct Students in Class A crucial issue for any teacher is when and how to correct students English mistakes. Of course, there are a number of types of corrections that teachers are expected to make during the course of any given class. Here are the main types of mistakes that need to be corrected: Grammatical mistakes (mistakes of verb tenses, ​preposition use, etc.)Vocabulary mistakes (incorrect collocations, idiomatic phrase usage, etc.)Pronunciation mistakes (errors in basic pronunciation, errors in word stressing in sentences, errors in rhythm and pitch)Written mistakes (grammar, spelling and vocabulary choice mistakes in written work) The main issue at hand during oral work is whether or not to correct students as they make mistakes. Mistakes may be numerous and in various areas (grammar, vocabulary choice, the pronunciation of both words and correct stressing in sentences). On the other hand, correction of written work boils down to how much correction should be done. In other words, should teachers correct every single mistake, or, should they give a value judgment and correct only major mistakes? Mistakes Made During Discussions and Activities With oral mistakes made during class discussions, there are basically two schools of thought: 1) Correct often and thoroughly 2) Let students make mistakes. Sometimes, teachers refine the choice by choosing to let beginners make many mistakes while correcting advanced students often. However, many teachers are taking a third route these days. This third route might be called selective correction. In this case, the teacher decides to correct only certain errors. Which errors will be corrected is usually decided by the objectives of the lesson, or the specific exercise that is being done at that moment. In other words, if students are focusing on simple past irregular forms, then only mistakes in those forms are corrected (i.e., goed, thinked, etc.). Other mistakes, such as mistakes in a future form, or mistakes of collocations (for example I made my homework) are ignored. Finally, many teachers also choose to correct students after the fact. Teachers take notes on common mistakes that students make. During the follow-up correction session, the teacher then presents common mistakes made so that all can benefit from an analysis of which mistakes were made and why. Written Mistakes There are three basic approaches to correcting written work: 1) Correct each mistake 2) Give a general impression marking 3) Underline mistakes and/or give clues to the type of mistakes made and then let students correct the work themselves. Whats All the Fuss About? There are two main points to this issue: If I allow students to make mistakes, I will reinforce the errors they are making. Many teachers feel that if they do not correct mistakes immediately, they will be helping reinforce incorrect language production skills. This point of view is also reinforced by students who often expect teachers to continually correct them during class. The failure to do so will often create suspicion on the part of the students. If I dont allow students to make mistakes, I will take away from the natural learning process required to achieve competency and, eventually, fluency. Learning a language is a long process during which a learner will inevitably make many, many mistakes. In other words, we take a myriad of tiny steps going from not speaking a language to being fluent in the language. In the opinion of many teachers, students who are continually corrected become inhibited and cease to participate. This results in the exact opposite of what the teacher is trying to produce: the use of English to communicate. Why Correction Is Necessary Correction is necessary. The argument that students just need to use the language and the rest will come by itself seems rather weak. Students come to us to  teach  them. If they only want conversation, they will probably inform us, or, they might just go to a chat room on the Internet.  Obviously,  students need to be corrected as part of the learning experience. However, students also need to be encouraged to use the language. It is true that correcting students while they are trying their best to use the language can often discourage them. The most satisfactory solution of all  is to make  correction an activity. Correction can be used as a follow-up to any given class activity. However, correction sessions can be used as a valid activity in and of themselves. In other words, teachers can set up an activity during which each mistake (or a specific type of mistake) will be corrected. Students know that the activity is going to focus on  correction  and accept that f act. However, these activities should be kept in balance with other, more free-form, activities which give students the opportunity to express themselves without having to worry about being corrected every other word. Finally, other techniques should be used to make correction not only part of the  lesson  but also a more effective learning tool for the students. These techniques include: Deferring correction to the end of an activityTaking notes on typical mistakes made by many studentsCorrecting only one type of errorGiving students clues to the type of error they are making (in written work) but allowing them to correct the mistakes themselvesAsking other students to remark on mistakes made and then explain the rules by themselves. A great technique for getting teacher pets listening instead of answering each question themselves. However, use this with caution! Correction is not an either/or issue. Correction needs to take  place  and is expected and desired by students. However, the manner in which  teachers correct students  play a vital role in whether students become confident in their usage or become intimidated. Correcting students as a group, in correction sessions, at the end of activities, and letting them correct their own mistakes all help in encouraging students to use English rather than to worry about making too many mistakes.

US Cultural Wars Gone Global Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

US Cultural Wars Gone Global - Article Example In this article, the issues of cultural differences have been featured in two main ways. The first aspect is the American culture versus Ugandan culture. Secondly, is the concept of Sexual minorities, which include LGBT versus the sexual majority. In the article, Emily Cody discusses the move that was made by the Sexual Minority Uganda (SMUG) to file a case against American Minister Scott, with the assistance of the Alien Tort Statute. In the subsequent sections of the paper, the author illustrates the legal brief of the case and how they have experienced discrimination on all meaningful parts of their lives. The article resonates with the current occurrences in Uganda and some other parts of Africa. In Uganda, homosexuality has been criminalized. This law stems from the understanding that such sexual orientations are not Africans and therefore are not acceptable in African society. The article brings about the concept of validation and how some of the religious concepts by individual Americans are used to promote hatred towards the Sexual minorities. In the article, one is able to understand the legal red tapes that validate oppression of the LGBT. The references being created by the oppression is drawn from the legislative measures that have been taken by the Ugandan government which condemns gays and lesbian on the grounds of cultural intolerance.

Stuart Davis, American Painting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Stuart Davis, American Painting - Essay Example The essay "Stuart Davis, American Painting" explores Hotel de France, painted by Stuart Davis. We can also see some part of the street. Accordingly, this painting was made at Paris, France particularly in the area of Montparnasse during the stay of Stuart Davis in that place in 1928 to 1929. The purpose of the painting was to convey the American artist’s feeling of great pleasure in the city’s being the only one of its kind. The work of Davis is a painting which is particularly oil on canvas. Oil on canvas is a series of things that are done in order to achieve a particular result of painting with a dry insoluble substance, usually dust or powder that was usually reduce, as by pounding or grinding, when suspended in a liquid vehicle becomes a paint that are tied with a medium of drying oil. This kind of painting is especially particular in Europe. Traditional oil painting techniques often begin with the artist sketching the subject onto the canvas with charcoal or thinn ed paint. Back to the painting of Davis, the work is a still life. This painting is a still life or the work of art depicting a subject matter, typically is a common place in Paris. The painting is a still life since it is man-made. In case that there is happening in the painting, it might be that people who are coming to and fro of the painting, we can see people who are standing near the window of the painting. There might be also people walking on the street, a sales representative with a big smile standing just in front of the kiosk.

Main Cause Of Environmental Issues In China Environmental Sciences Essay

Main Cause Of Environmental Issues In China Environmental Sciences Essay Population problems are one of the worlds most important social problems, and they are the cores of many contemporary social problems. Also, population problems are closely connected to environmental issues, and the earth is threatened by them. There are different kinds of population problems which China is facing now, and the problems of Sole child policy have begun to show: First, the overpopulation problem; second, the population aging problem; third, the decline of population quality problem. The statistics show that China has the biggest population in the world, and there are probably 1.3 billion people in China. In addition, the speed of population growth is amazing that the average annual growth rate is up to 0.57%. Large population and weak carrying capacity are the basic national conditions of China at this stage, and it is difficult to change in a short time. The population problem is a long-term problem in the primary stage of socialism in China, and it may lead to limited resources, less sustainability of the earth, and the poorer population quality. These results are all main causes of environmental issues in China, and the Chinese government has paid attention on these problems. Why China has too much population? The first reason is that China has low cost of having children. The lower cost of having children in the place, there will be the higher density of population. The geographical feature in China is that the western part is high, and the eastern part is low. The highest Tibetan Plateau in the western region has average 4,000 meters of altitude above sea level, and to the eastern coastal areas, it is less than a few hundred meters. This terrain condition is affected by Pacisic monsoon, which makes the rains concentrate on May to December. Also, the growth of crops needs moisture and temperature, and May to December in China has both heat and rain in the same period, these make China suitable for food planting, especially for the cultivation of high-yielding rice. In such areas suitable for the cultivation of rice, there will be more grain output in the same proportion. Using food as a unit of account to calculate, China has a lower cost of dependents. Therefore, a larger number of depen dent will make the population density be larger. The secondly reason can be that China has different cultures and different religions. Ancient Chinese thought that no offspring was a big problem, and in order to carry on the family line, they needed early marriage and childbearing traditions. Also, they were desired for sons, and they would not stop having babies until a son was born because they thought sons could support the parents when they got old. In addition, there can be another religious factor such as the East Asian religions restrict abortion. These directly cause that each family has many children, which is a basis of overpopulation in China today. The third reason of why there are many people in China is that after the liberation, medical conditions greatly improved, and the survival rate of babies was highly improved. Also, Chairman Mao in that period suggested that more people would have more power because of the demand of labor for the technology backward and lack of military power that time. In brief, these three reasons show that China has a huge population base, and with the growth of the population every year, it leads to overpopulation in China, which results in a series of environmental issues now. Why overpopulation in China causes environmental issues? With the growth of population and the improvement of product tools, the depth and breadth of the usage of the nature are perpetually expanded, and humans interference on ecological environment is bigger and bigger. When peoples business activities reverse natural original balance and coordination, and the nature cannot make up itself for the damage by human activities, there will be a series of ecological environmental issues. It can be reflected through many aspects such as limited resources, serious pollution, and decease in biodiversity. Because the population is becoming bigger, the demand of industry for resources and economy in China is becoming bigger. However, the industry is like a double-edged sword, and at the same time it brings prosperity and civilization, it also brings negative effects. Due to various reasons, Chinas not very large industry destroys natural ecosystems, and increases environmental pollution. From a domestic perspective, as city as a center, the range of environmental degradation is still expanding; soil erosion and desertification degree aggravated; resource destruction and waste is widespread, and some important resources gap gradually widened. Environmental pollution and degradation become one of the main factors restricting the sustainable development of Chinas economy and threatening the health of people. In 2002, the worlds forest coverage rate is 31.3%, but China is only 14%. Due to the irrational use of pasture, the grassland shows degradation, desertification, and salinization trends, and the average grass yield decreased by 30%-50%. In the arid and semi-arid areas, precipitation is far below evaporation, and vegetation is sparse and the ecology is fragile. The mild human activity is likely to lead to land degradation and desertification. China is one of the worlds most serious soil erosion countries, and serious soil erosion and desperate short of water resources eventually led to the devastating floods and Southwest drought in 2010. In northern China, the desert, Gobi, and desertified lands have reached 1.54 million square kilometers, accounting for 16% of the total land areas. Also, the biodiversity is continuously decreased. According to Stancheva, she said that: All of the previously described effects of overpopulation on the environment lead to the destruction of the natural habitat of many wildlife species (Stancheva). Chinas biodiversity is very rich, and higher plants and biological species account for 10% of the world. However, biodiversity is under a double threat from population growth and environmental degradation. Nearly half a century, China has more than 1,000 kinds of species extinction, which include about 200 species of higher plants. 15%-20% of plants and animal species are endangered, including about 4,600 species of higher plants and 400 kinds of wild animals. In addition, because of overpopulation, the industry activities become more important, which brings population. The air pollution is very serious, and the quality of atmospheric environmental in more than 500 cities cannot reach international standards. The pollution comes mainly from coal-fired release of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, smoke, dust pollution, and automobile exhaust pollution. In addition, the quality of water environment is deteriorating due to industrial wastewater discharge. The levels of pollutants in the water environment is far more than national quality standards, even infiltrating contaminated groundwater, which leads to the situation that local residents have no water to drink. Also, the emissions of solid waste are increasing, but the treatment rate and comprehensive utilization rate is not high. Finally, the noise pollution in the city becomes a major hazard. National regional environmental noise pollution rate is among the highest in the world. In general, higher demand for industry activities causes a series of environmental problems such as the lost of forest, the soil erosion, the decrease in biodiversity and pollution. Also, higher demand for industry activities is a result of overpopulation. Therefore, overpopulation is an indirect factor of environmental problems. The solutions for environmental problems caused by overpopulation The first solution is that accelerate the progress of science and technology to improve the sustainability. The government must enhance Chinas resources alternative capacity and ability to regenerate; the government also needs to enhance the assimilative capacity of the environment to reduce waste emissions. The second solution is improving education and health situation, and enhancing peoples quality. Environmental issues are very close to peoples quality problems, and sustainable development requires changing the traditional values of the environment to make everyone shoulder the responsibility to promote human harmony with the environment. The third solution is insisting on the national policy of family planning to reduce the burden on the environment. It is necessary to strict control of population growth, and to make the population growth rate in the level of which economic power and the supply of resources can withstand. The final solution can be improving resource utilization and reducing resources wasted. To conserve resources not only needs to reduce waste of resource consumption, but also must reduce the waste of resource development. At present, China has a serious waste in resource development. Also, strengthening the management of resources and improving resource utilization are an important part of the coordination of relations between people and lands. In conclusion, overpopulation is one of Chinas population problems, and if the government and people do not pay attention on it and do not have some solutions for it, there will be a huge damage to the environment.

Last Chance for Eden

Last Chance for Eden This documentary Last Chance for Eden is a about nine men and women discussing the issues of racism and sexism in the workplace and even giving their own experience and own opinions. Throughout this entire documentary each person expresses how they feel or their experience but some admit that cannot do that in public. I notice that even though we are in the 21st century people like to believe there is equality.But when asked to someone of color they openly comment there is not such thing. Ignorance is probably in those who say â€Å"There is no racism in the United States. † Shockingly, it obviously still exist but not many will admit to it. People are open to talk about race, however some tend to feel a little uncomfortable and refuse to go deeper into discussion for fear of saying the wrong thing. Someone in the documentary had stated â€Å"People will talk about race; but not racism. † Which is pretty much true.I feel as if someone were to bring up the topic ‘race' it is easily discussed but then when asked about racism ‘racism' that is when the room becomes quiet and feel as if they cannot really fully express their own opinion about racism for fear of being in a conflict of a sort. However those who participated in this discussion in the documentary they obviously did not hold back and fully explained what it is really like to be a person of color. The others who are ‘white Americans' feel as if they cannot really see the racism or think the other participants who are from a different background are treated just as they are; normal Americans.However they fail to see the reality of it; one man stated â€Å"People want to hear what it's like to be black and male, and I tell them. Then they go ‘Well, I was poor too. I got stopped by the Cops. ‘ What purpose does it serve to bring that up? It makes me feel like I'm being told to just shut the fuck up and get on with your life. That's the way it feels. † They like to think everybody experiences the same thing, when really it could be the same situation but a completely different turn out.A woman argues saying, they cannot be called â€Å"American† for the image of an â€Å"American† has been created long before there was equality. They say they would not be seen as just â€Å"Americans† but more of whatever their ethnicity is. A Woman even states she would call herself a U. S. citizen, but not an American, she feel that the â€Å"American image† has already been identified. As I said before, some people are probably blind to notice that there are exceptions to those who have the exact image, than to those who don't.

What Is So Fascinating About I Believe Essay Topics?

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