A Tale of Gods and Men by Pagan Paul - Mythological Concepts Surrounding Gods, Men, Earth, Land and Death - Essay Example

The paper "A Tale of Gods and Men by Pagan Paul" is an outstanding example of an essay on literature. Greek is a place well known for its mythical stories related to heroes. The poem ‘A Tale of Gods and Men’ also revolves around such a hero Jason who resides in the skies. The poet thinks of Greek while watching the stars as the stars remind him of all the mythical creatures and heroes of the world. The poem is based on Gods of Greece in Olympus and mentions many different heroes of that era.

Also, the poet seemed to be inspired by the mythical creatures of the world rather than reality. The poet differentiates between simple Men and Gods on the basis of immortality where Gods are Immortal and Men are mortal. Also, Gods live in a mythical place in the skies known as Olympus and Men live at the Earth. On the other hand, men who are heroes are given a special place at Olympus and they do not live on earth. The poem is in-short a story of Gods and what differentiates them from Humans.

  A Tale of Gods and Men In the poem, A Tale of Gods and Men (2014), the poet describe as if he is sitting upon a high cliff and from there he is looking up towards the sky and the ocean and thinking about Greece. Greece – the center place of Greek mythology and subsequently, mythological heroes and Gods – is an important location in the poem in which the whole story is set. Similarly, Greek mythology is an evident element in the poem including many mythological characters, places, and ideas.

For example “Jason” the mythological hero mentioned in the poem as living in the skies where the Gods live. Further, the stories of Gods and heroic men were inspired by Olympus and the forests of Pan and the trees. The poet mentioned different Gods that are present in Greece mythology who fulfilled different the wishes of humans relating to different domains such as water, love, war, and so on. For example, Aries, who is the God of war, was asked to give them the strength to defeat the enemies.

The poem is full of mythological concepts surrounding Gods, men, Earth, land, and death. The distinction between Men and Gods has been made where Gods live in Olympus and so do the heroic Men. Also, men are essentially mortal while the Gods are immortal and powerful. This communicates that the Gods are mighty beings possessing power while humans are insignificant beings in comparison to the Gods who have to depend on the Gods for the fulfillment of their needs. The last stanza talks about death which is an attribute associated with Men who are necessarily immortal although heroic Men live in the skies and have a higher status.

The Poem: A Tale of Gods and Men “While Sat upon a clifftop High I look down to the Ocean and then up to the sky. My thoughts drift to a mountain, beyond the clouds of Greece, A place of Gods and Heroes, of Jason and his Golden Fleece. Olympus is the home of The Mighty Immortal, Of Whom Zeus is King both Just and then forceful. It was here inspired, that the stories where written, The tales of Monsters and magic, some lost now or hidden. Travel deeper within to the forest of Pan, Where the trees sing their secrets beyond all time and man.

Here the Nymphs live, at one with all of the Earth, They hold the keys to all laughter, to joy and to mirth. There once was a time when the mortals did sing Of old King Poseidon, Lord of River, Sea, and Spring. To Aphrodite, they prayed when love was unspoken. In search of their soul mate, they left her a token. In Temples, they told of life's worries and woes. They asked Aries for strength, to vanquish their foes. And Mothers they begged at the days final light, For Demeter to watch over sleeping children at night.

When the days grew long and the nights grew colder, The old ones would pray for peace when their time was over, When they died, and they knew that life's journey was done, They knew that their travels had only just begun. They went down below to the black River Styx, A place beyond all of life's hardship and tricks. They paid the old boatman and then took his hand, He guided them gently to the Eternal Land. To a place of beauty, of love and of Light, A place to rest, and to Earth say Goodnight.”