My name is Jonathan Valverde i’m eighteen years old and i’m attending New York City College of Technology as a freshmen, the major I selected was Construction Management. As an individual I have various different things that interest me, such as my favorite sport soccer, where I play the role of center attacking midfield and it’s my job to assist the attackers of the team.  The history channel, for the shows that I can watch for hours and lose track of time but yet learn more about various different events and beliefs.  Lastly video games, a childhood hobby that will remain a staple for the years to come. In addition to some of these hobbies one thing that stands out and astonishes me the most is Greek Mythology. The fascinating stories of the gods and heros, such as the God of Gods Zeus, the terrifying Medusa, and the heroic adventure of Hercules. It all intrigues me and each story has its own significant meaning to me as an individual.

Even if you were not familiar with Greek Mythology you have most likely heard of the name Zeus. According to the Greeks and their ancient stories Zeus, known as ‘The king of the Gods’ was an immortal god and commander in chief. However Zeus does not start out as being the king of gods, he escapes the wrath of his father Cronus and years later battles him alongside his siblings the olympians. This was known as the battle between the Olympians vs Titans, he acquires the power of lighting which ultimately results as being the deciding factor of victory and the God of Mount Olympus. Later Zeus’s own siblings the Olympians betray him even after saving them, they were going to overthrow him but he survives the encounter and punishes all of them in different ways. At the end a raging Zeus drowns the world killing everyone except two surviving humans who built an ark. This is one of the better known stories of the ancient greeks for obvious reason, this was a way the greeks explained what was occurring in the real world when science did not yet exist. The significance of this particular story is the idea of betrayal, how the people you once helped could turn their back on you without any regret. In a personal level I once was betrayed by a particular group of people, who I saugh out to help but then rather than when I needed help they insist on carrying on without helping me. In another level being a Catholic, there is an eerie parallel between the greek story and the old testament. The nine days and nights of rain and how all mortals die except for two by devising a ark. All in all the story of Zeus is fascinating and I see myself always going back to read it once in awhile.

Greek mythology some of the best stories ever told. Next is the story of the terrifying Medusa, once a beautiful woman which had her fate become a horrifying monster. In the beginning Medusa a young beautiful individual is to worship Goddess of war Athena a virgin. She is then raped by Poseidon god of sea and she alone is punished for losing her virginity. She is transformed to a hideous beast without warning and her world is changed forever, and given the power to turn anyone who looks at her to stone and vanished to a garden to be isolated. Eventually a demigod by the name of Perseus goes on an adventure to challenge Masuda for the fate of his mother. He is given assistance by his father the one and only Zeus, he is given the famous winged sandals, a magic bag for Medusa’s head, and a reflective shield. In the end the battle between Perseus and Medusa we are told with one slice to the head Perseus cleaning removes Medusa head from her body. This story can be related to many people including me, being a victim of something whether big or small than being punished for doing nothing at all and the one who actually did do something receives no punishment at all. In my lifetime there has been different occasion in which this has occurred to me in different levels. From being blamed for breaking something I had nothing to do with at home to being punished in class for throwing a paper ball across the room just because it came from my direction. Overall the Medusa story is a great story the greeks told on the power of the gods of humans.

Lastly is the great adventure of Hercules, the greatest warrior of greek mythology. It tale starts of with Hercules the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, and the enviness towards Hercules by Zeus’s wife Hera. Hera sends madness to him in his sleep and thinks his own wife and two children are his enemy and kills them. He soon awakes from this madness to find himself with his family blood and stains on him and the guilt he has. From here his adventure unfolds for him to purify himself he must go on a quest and perform a series of twelve labors each becoming of greater difficulty . The idea of nature is evident throughout the labors, they range from fighting a massive lion to fighting a beastly snake. His last labor we see Hercules travel to to the underworld to Hades and battle Cerberus a three headed dog with only his bear hands. But it has even a greater idea, that humans can go to the underworld and come back. Finally we see Hercules commit his final act, Hercules own undoing is burning on a funeral fire and Zeus then makes his son a God. I always see myself going back and reading this story, from reading each individual story to watching a film on it. The concept of redeeming yourself from something negative is big in the real world to many individuals. There are times where I want to redeem myself from something bad I have done to satisfy my own mind, for instance in a soccer match I may have given up the ball and the other team scored because of me, due it being my fault I wanted to take penalty later in the game so i can redeem myself to the team but more importantly my own guilt i had throughout the match. The significance and idea of people envying you will always exist but you as an individual are able to control the outcome.

Greek mythology some of the most astonishing stories ever told by the greeks to make sense of what nature did when science did not yet exist. Zeus the God of Gods the one who controlled the other gods and mortals kind of Mount Olympus, helped his siblings the olympians to later be betrayed by them. The terrifying Medusa who once was a beautiful incnet woman to have her innocence taken away from her and being the one is gets punished for it while the accused is not punished demonstrating the power the gods. Hercules and his twelve labors, the enviness of his mother committed him to murder his own loving family and is set to challenge twelve labors each increasing in difficulty, ultimately to have him commit his own undoing and ascending into the Mount Olympus. All three stories I am able to connect to and see the other side of the story, whether fighting for your life or having your innocence taken away. In short Greek mythology has been an intriguing subject that I will keep on continuing to read various different stories.