User:NickAnun/sandbox

History & Pop Culture Artifact
God of War

The title of my artifact is God of War, a video game created in 2005 solely based on Greek mythology. Set in an alternate universe of Ancient Greece, Kratos, a once spartan captain goes through an adventure filled with guilt, determination, and redemption in order to be forgiven for his past actions.

Research 1
The Relationships Between Citizens and Gods

The topic for my research paper one was relationships and practices between the citizens of Ancient Greece and the gods that they looked up to. Each god was attached to a certain attribute that they were then known for.

Zeus, the God of the Sky

Hera, the God of Marriage, Mothers and Family

Poseidon, the God of the Sea

Ares, the God of War

The Temple of Zeus

Carved by the famed sculptor, Phidias (5th century BC) in Olympia, Greece. This statue was erected in honor of Zeus and is considered to be one of the classical Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. According to the 1989 World Book, it was 40 feet tall. Zeus was carved from ivory then covered with gold plating and was seated on a magnificent throne of cedarwood, inlaid with ivory, gold, ebony, and precious stones. In Zeus' right hand there was a small statue of Nike, the goddess of victory, and in his left hand, a shining sceptre on which an eagle perched.

Research 2
A Typical Day in Ancient Greece

The topic for my second research paper was the ideal day of someone who lived in Ancient Greece. An article from eyewitnesshistory.com, included a passage from an ancient greek reading that described Xenophon, a student of Socrates, point of view of a typical Greek day.

"Why, then, Socrates, my habit is to rise from bed betimes, when I may still expect to find at home this, that, or the other friend whom I may wish to see. Then, if anything has to be done in town, I set off to transact the business and make that my walk; or if there is no business to transact in town, my serving boy leads on my horse to the farm; I follow, and so make the country road my walk, which suits my purpose quite as well or better, Socrates, perhaps, than pacing up and down the colonnade [in the city]. Then when I have reached the farm, where mayhap some of my men are planting trees, or breaking fallow, sowing, or getting in the crops, I inspect their various labors with an eye to every detail, and whenever I can improve upon the present system, I introduce reform.

After this, usually I mount my horse and take a canter. I put him through his paces, suiting these, so far as possible, to those inevitable in war, - in other words, I avoid neither steep slope, nor sheer incline, neither trench nor runnel, only giving my uttermost heed the while so as not to lame my horse while exercising him. When that is over, the boy gives the horse a roll, and leads him homeward, taking at the same time from the country to town whatever we may chance to need. Meanwhile I am off for home, partly walking, partly running, and having reached home I take a bath and give myself a rub, - and then I breakfast, - a repast that leaves me neither hungry nor overfed, and will suffice me through the day."

Research 3
 Works And Days, Hesiod 

The topic for my third research paper based on the primary sources we have obtained is the poem, Works And Days by Greek Poet, Hesiod.

Summary

Hesiod and his brother Perses were given a farm for them to grow and produce agriculture. Perses uses up all his wealth with wasteful thoughts and actions and has come back to Hesiod to acquire more wealth. Being a smart brother, Hesiod believes that if Perses acquires more wealth, he will simply waste all of it again. He then proceeds to teach Perses the values of work and generating your own income. Perses who consulted with the corrupt judges, convinced them by bribery, to deprive Hesiod of his inheritance. In the text, the “Five Ages of the World” was touched base on. The moral of the story is that “he who is willing to work will always get by.”

Significance

Stories similar to this, have influenced the citizens of Ancient Greece and their beliefs in terms of respect to not only one another but to the gods they believe in. Also the importance of their actions as their outcome may or may not be rewarding, regardless if it was good or bad. A similar mythological story involving Prometheus stealing fire from Zeus resulted in Prometheus being chained onto a rock for his entire immortal life but having an eagle eat his liver and experiencing the pain of that as a punishment in itself. Also the emphasis of the value of hard work as the citizens of Ancient Greek are no stranger to. With prior knowledge of how men worked to improve and maintain their city and the woman constantly working hard to care of the house and the families, it proves that the citizens of Ancient Greece are very hard working people who understand the value of their efforts.

Research 4
 Rating 

As the title implies, this video game is all about war and the elements that come with war. Rated at M for Mature, God of Waris one of those games to keep an eye on. According to Common Sense Media, this game is NOT for kids but rather for its target audience of ages 17 and older. Common Sense Media also states that

"Parents need to know that this is an extremely violent game (cut scenes show severed and exploding heads, spears thrust through enemy throats, and buckets of blood). There are topless goddesses and an implied group sex scene. Also, the game centers around a complicated protagonist, a ruthless Spartan warrior haunted by his past actions."

With the opportunity for both parents and children to rate this game, both parties give it a four our of five stars and left an optional review. User voiceofreason says, '''Second best game so far of this year. Teens should be able to handle it.'''

"The only thing stopping God of War from being the game of the year so far is the perfection that is Resident Evil 4. The combo-heavy gameplay moves far beyond the hack and slash tedium of most action titles, the magic is varied without being needlessly complex, and your abilities improve based on your skill. The puzzles are excellent; even the typically cliched crate puzzles are different enough to be interesting. Now, on to the content. Yes, God of War features blood, gore, dismemberment, nudity, sex, and the slaughter of innocent bystanders. However, none of this is extreme or gratuitous; it all serves to explain Kratos' character. He is an animalistic hedonist, gone almost insane from the stress of battle, the pain of loss, and the desire for Aries' downfall. While they may not be able to understand the subtleties of Kratos' personality, most teens should be able to handle this game. Overall, God of War is a beautifully violent story told perfectly, and filled with some of the best gameplay I've seen in a long time. It will likely be the PS2's best game of 2005."

Research 5
Accuracy 

 Clothing 

Babies of Ancient Grece wore little to no clothing at all. If anything they wore pieces of cloth to act as a diaper and if it was cold, the mother would wrap them in a thicker cloth. Children would often wear cloth wrapped around their waist to resemble some sort of "short". Greek men often wore tunics made of a thick linen or wool, baring their legs most of the time with only leather sandals as footwear even though most men went barefoot. Since men of Ancient Greece were off fighting in a war, most men just wore their tunics along with some armor and their weapons. Greek women wore a long piece of cloth wrapped around their bodies and pinned a certain way to make the cloth stay. Overtime the ways on pinning changed as some cloths were positioned differently, some covering the body with the left side open, some covering the chest but revealing the shoulder and commonly the use of the belt to keep the garment in place.

God of War portrayed the clothing of Ancient Greece well as the both men and women are dressed accurately according to the time period. The men, including the Greek Gods, were wearing tunics and if the character was a bit more revealing, a piece of cloth was wrapped around their waist. Most men in the game wore leather sandals of some sort and those who were fighting battle often wore dramatized armor along with their weapons. The women of the video game were very revealing as the main female characters of the were usually only there for the sex, that being said they wore piece of cloth but with their chest either completely revealed or some revealed. Aphrodite is a good example of this as her purpose was to seduce Kratos and ultimately have him. Being seen on the bed, she was very revealing along with two other female characters. However Kratos's wife and Athena are two female characters that accurately portrayed female clothing of the time period as the tunics they wore covered most of their bodies and pinned a certain way. Krater's son, who is barely seen in the video game can be seen wearing a piece of cloth around his waist as he clings onto his mother most of the time.