Zeus and Arnold Schwarzenegger - Essay Example

Zeus and Arnold Schwarzenegger The modern human figure that I would compare with Zeus the Greek god is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Generally there are a number of similarities between Schwarzenegger and the Zeus in terms of their physical strength, body type, behaviors, lifestyles, public image as well as personal strengths and weaknesses. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the greatest legendary film actors and record holding bodybuilder who is currently serving as the Californian Governor. Just like Zeus, Arnold has a powerful physical appearance and public image. For example, both of them are extremely tall, strong and are also regarded by the public to be powerful leaders. The Greek god Zeus was nicknamed thunderbolt because of his supposedly powerful physique and authoritative leadership. A vigorous man of about 45years old, Zeus was known for his muscular body build and solid wide shoulders, his short dark beards, deeply masculine voice as well as his domineering strength and authority. Zeus also had a wide sphere of influence including the skies, clouds, rain, lightening and thunder. On the other hand, Arnold Schwarzenegger is also over 6 feet 4 inches tall with a powerful physique, dark hair and eye brows. He has not only excelled as an actor and model but is also successful in politics and leadership as evidenced by his winning of the seat of California governor. Before he became the Californian governor, Schwarzenegger served as the President of the Council of physical fitness and sports, a position he was appointed to in 1990. Lastly as a republican politician, Schwarzenegger has delivered a number of powerful speeches at powerful events such as the 2004 Republican National Convention. With regard to their behavior, lifestyles, attitudes and personal weaknesses, both Zeus the Greek god and Arnold Schwarzenegger also share a number of significant similarities. For example, although Zeus was regarded a powerful divine ruler, he lacked moral perfection and had many relationships with beautiful women. Zeus also had many children from his promiscuous and polygamous affairs and is seen as untrustworthy for selfishly using his charm for his personal ends. Some of his seduction techniques included disguising himself as other thins and kidnapping his victims. Like Zeus, Arnold Schwarzenegger was also a man of contradictions. He publicly admitted having multiple extramarital affairs with eventually led to separation with his wife Maria Shriver. The former actor and world class bodybuilder admits having cheated on his wife with a number of women including Brigitte Nielsen(actress) and Ms Mildred Baena who is his family’s longtime housekeeper. Another significant similarity between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Zeus is that he fathered a child with his housekeeper and kept I a secret for over a decade. Lastly, Schwarzenegger’s untrustworthiness is also evidenced by his own admission that he previously used steroids during his participation in a number of sports and competitions.  Athena the Greek goddess and Condoleezza Rice The characteristics of Athena the ancient Greek goddess reminds me of Ms Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state. Most of the similarities between the two figures are based on their intellectual wisdom, role in warfare, young age, beauty, quick wittedness and skills in many arts. Athena was the ancient Greek goddess of intellectual wisdom who was not only thought to be logical but was also decisive, rational, urban and practical. With regard to appearance, both Athena and Condoleezza Rice are youthful, beautiful and nicely built with graceful body movements. The former secretary of state also resembles goddess Athena in a number of her lifestyles, attitudes, behaviors, strengths and weaknesses as well as their personal histories. For example as the goddess of crafts and skills, Athena was skilled in traditional Greek weaving and other crafts such as pottery and quilting. She also had extreme wisdom and not only enjoyed learning and reading books but she also had an impressive power of wits and vocabulary beyond her years. She was also had the patience to adapts to into any environment social surrounding. On the other hand, as an archetype of goddess Athena, Condoleezza is able to express many skills and talents. This is particularly attributed to he childhood experiences when she was growing up in the racially segregated Birmingham in Alabama. For example, apart from a career as a political science professor, Ms Rice is an accomplished pianist and she is also fluent in many languages including French and Russian. After her successful career in politics as the first female secretary of state in the United States, Condoleezza Rice returned to her former career as a professor of political science at Stanford University. Another important attribute that indicates the similarity between Athena and Condoleezza Rice is their common public images. Although powerful and strong, both Greek goddess and Condoleezza Rice do not see themselves as bringing change to the status quo but rather they believe in taking their rightful place in the society. She is opposed to dismissive attitudes towards women and girls and is generally more interested more in ideas than emotional feelings or people. Athena also thrived in many careers that helped her develop her mind and she had a clear vision of what she wanted to achieve in life. For example, she was confident, poised, devoted and succeeded in developing her intellectual career at a young age. Athena was consequently able to significantly contribute to the existing social order of the ancient Greek. On the basis of her personal relationships and attitudes, Athena seldom had close female friends and rather preferred to develop relationships based on social roles as opposed to emotional connections. Like Athena, Condoleezza displayed youthfulness, great intellect and idealism throughout her career as a university professor as well as during her time as the secretary of state in the former Bush administration. She proved to be extremely logical, courageous and was also a strategic political thinker who believed in just warfare as evidenced in her role in the Iraq war. Lastly, Condoleezza is always associated with Men but is not very interested in lovers or marriage. Instead of Athena’s body armors and other weapons of war, Condoleezza walked wearing power suits and carries laptops.   Read More