Classical Mythology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Classical Mythology - Essay Example He writes: "As a guiding principle I believe that every poem must be its own sole freshly created universe, and therefore have no belief in 'tradition' or a common myth-kitty... To me the whole of the ancient world, the whole of classical and biblical mythology, means very little, and I think that using them today not only fills poems full of dead spots but dodges the poet's duty to be original." (Larkin 1983:69) Larkin has a right to his view but from what we have witnessed, literature from Renaissance till today is in awe of Greek and Roman mythological characters. And when we discuss mythology, we simply cannot ignore the role played by Homer in reinforcing myths. And one of his key epics dealing with images of classical mythology was Iliad. In this paper, we shall focus on the role of heroism in ancient world with reference to Iliad and how a modern hero borrows from ancient definition of a hero. Homer's Iliad presents the oldest yet most enduring picture of hero and heroism. Who is a hero and what constitutes heroism are questions that Iliad answers but in a manner which may not appeal to modern sensibilities. For us today, hero is a man of who is sensitive, courageous and responsible with compassion for the community. However apart from courage, no other attribute mattered for construction of a heroic figure in Greek epics of ancient times. Homer follows tradition when he creates heroe s and develops a heroic code in his work Iliad but there are occasions where the poet tried to deviate from conventional picture of a hero and from these deviations emerge a new and more reformed image of heroism. A modern day hero borrows from ancient picture of a hero in terms of enduring courage. However a serious distinction must be made here. When we talk about modern hero in this paper, we are only referring to modern mythical heroes like superman and Spiderman and not necessarily heroes in ordinary literature. This distinction is made because while in the ancient plays, heroes were people with extraordinary courage and strength, in modern literature, a protagonist is called a hero and he can be as weak or flawed as any ordinary person. Fishwick explains this difference in these words: "Different ages and cultures vary the heroic personality, but all heroes are true to their age. Whatever their situation, the motives they urge are elementary, the morality they advocate is obvious. History is not very effective without people, and people are ineffective without leaders. The search for heroes is inherent in human nature. Pre-literate societies allow men, heroes, and gods to stand on a footing of tolerable equality. In remote areas of the world men are still deified in their own lifetime. The idea of aloofness in super-human power comes late in history." (Fishwicck, 1954: 3) Homer's ideal hero may have many shades but he is invariably a traditional image of ruthless ambition and unbridled courage at least for most of the epic: "Everywhere can be found, reshaped according to shifting cultural standards, the ideal hero, chevalier sans pear et sans reproached, the crafty hero, the boaster, the grim and aging warrior, the slightly buffoonish hero, the aged king, the warrior virgin, the wise counselor, or the young reckless fighter." (Cedric H. Whitman: p. 26) Homer's heroes most notably, Achilles and Agamemnon were products of a society that weighed a man's worth in terms of public honor.

Functional Analysis of Capsim Business Simulation Essay

Functional Analysis of Capsim Business Simulation - Essay Example In addition, the paper analyses how each of the functional unit integrates and interacts with other functional units. Finally, the paper provides my recommendations for a business leader in managing a $40 million manufacturing business. The simulation provides a rare chance in experiencing how managing a full business while utilizing the benefits of reports helps in showing the correlations existing between the outcomes in a business and the management decisions (Forgang, 2004). The units of the simulation include production, marketing, finance, research & development (R&D), Human resources and (TQM) total qualities management (Bossche, Gijselaer & Milter, 2011). Production involves the behaviors that firms exhibit at the market places in regards to the creation of goods along with services. This is mainly done for the purpose of satisfying their consumer wants (Dusseau & Wilson, 2010). The production managers involved in a business should engage in comprehending the relationships th at exist between the business inventory levels and their carrying costs along with their market shares (Dusseau & Wilson, 2010). They should also understand the relationship existing between their production capacities and the number of excess hours that their employees have to work to achieve their goals (Sitomer, 2010). This is because a business may end up incurring losses in their operations when their expenses in catering for the overtime hours worked and the cost of this labor exceeds their earnings (Clawson & Haskins, 2006). The production managers in a business will be responsible for producing beneficial results through their efforts of automating the production processes and increasing their manufacturing capacities (Forgang, 2004). Marketing, in a manufacturing environment, refers to the processes through which businesses indulge in creating value for their customers while at the same time building strong relationships with them (Wankel, Arthur & Stoner, 2009). It also in volves creating solutions along with relationships that will either be of long or short term benefit to the business (Dusseau & Wilson, 2010). The marketing manager in a business will be responsible for comprehending the relationship that exists between their margins on prices along with contributions and prices along with demand (Forgang, 2004). They will also be responsible for understanding the relationships existing between the promotions of their budget along with increasing awareness for the business products. The marketing manager and his team should be charged with the task of establishing the business sales budget and accessibility to these funds (Sitomer, 2010). The marketing department in a business may be affected by the new products that are being launched by the research & development departments since they had not been accounted for in their operations and are unknown in the market (Wankel, Arthur & Stoner, 2009). The activities of these departments can also be affect ed by a business’s production capacity along with the costs it incurs in its operations (Dusseau & Wilson, 2010). Finances in a business are used as measures for ascertaining whether a business is making profits on its investments or not. Finances in a business are mainly affected by their time values since they change on a day to day basis (Sitomer, 2010). Businesses allocate their money and assets to certain uses but under conditions of uncertainty or certainty (Bossche, Gijselaer