The Celts Religion And Society Religion Essay

The Celts Religion And Society Religion Essay The Celts are traditionally ignored in world history textbooks and course, but the Celtic way of life, Celtic institutions, and the Celtic world view were superimposed onto Germanic and classical culture. The later monolithic European culture is greatly influenced by these early peoples. Most of what we know about Celtic life comes from Ireland-the largest and most extensive of the Celtic populations, the Gauls in central and western Europe, we only know about through Roman sources-and these sources are decidedly unfriendly to the Gauls. We know that the early Celtic societies were organized around warfare-this structure would commonly characterize cultures in the process of migration: the Celts, the Huns, and later the Germans. Although classical Greek and Roman writers considered the Celts to be violently insane, warfare was not an organized process of territorial conquest. Among the Celts, warfare seems to have mainly been a sport, focussing on raids and hunting. In Ireland, the institution of the fianna involved young, aristocratic warriors who left the tribal area for a time to conduct raids and to hunt. When the Celts came into contact with the Romans, they changed their manner of warfare to a more organized defense agains a larger army. It was these groups that the classical writers encountered and considered insane. The Celtic method of warfare was to stand in front of the opposing army and scream and beat their spears and swords against their shields. They would then run headlong into the opposing army and s creamed the entire way-this often had the effect of scaring the opposing soldiers who then broke into a run; fighting a fleeing army is relatively easy work. If the opposing army did not break ranks, the Celts would stop short of the army, return to their original position, and start the process over agina. Celtic society was hierarchical and class-based. Tribes were led by kings but political organizations were remarkably plastic. According to both Roman and Irish sources, Celtic society was divided into three groups: a warrior aristocracy, an intellectual class that included druids, poets, and jurists, and everyone else. Society was tribal and kinship-based; ones ethnic identity was largely derived from the larger tribal group, called the tuath (too-awth) in Irish (meaning people) but ultimately based on the smallest kinship organizational unit, the clan, called the cenedl (ke-na-dl), or kindred, in Irish. The clan provided identity and protection-disputes between individuals were always disputes between clans. Since it was the duty of the clan to protect individuals, crimes against an individual would be prosecuted against an entire clan. One of the prominent institutions among the Celts was the blood-feud in which murder or insults against an individual would require the entire clan to violently exact retribution. The blood-feud was in part avoided by the institution of professional mediators. At least an Ireland, a professional class of jurists, called brithem, would mediate disputes and exact reparations on the offending clan. Even though Celtic society centered around a warrior aristocracy, the position of women was fairly high in Celtic society. In the earliest periods, women participated both in warfare and in kingship. While the later Celts would adopt a strict patriarchal model, they still have a memory of women leaders and warriors. Celtic society was based almost entirely on pastoralism and the raising of cattle or sheep; there was some agriculture in the Celtic world, but not much. The importance of cattle and the pastoral life created a unique institution in Celtic, particularly Irish, life: the cattle-raid. The stealing of another groups cattle was often the proving point of a group of young warriors; the greatest surviving Irish myth, the TÃ ¡in BÃ ³ Cualingne, or The Cattle Raid of Cooley, centers around one such mythically-enhanced cattle-raid. There was no urbanization of any kind among the Celts until the advent of Roman rule; in Ireland, urbanization did not occur until the Danish and Norwegian invasions. Society was not based on trade or commerce; what trade took place was largely in the form of barter. Celtic economy was probably based on the economic principle of most tribal economies: reciprocity. In a reciprocal economy, goods and other services are not exchanged for other goods, but they are given by individuals to individuals based on mutual kinship relationships and obligations. (A family economy is typical of a reciprocal economy-parents and children give each other material goods and services not in trade but because they are part of a family). Religion From the nineteenth century onwards, Celtic religion has enjoyed a fascination among modern Europeans and European-derived cultures. In particular, the last few decades have seen a phenomenal growth not only interest in Celtic religion, but in religious practices in part derived from Celtic sources. For all this interest, however, we know next to nothing about Celtic religion and practices. The only sources for Celtic religious practices were written by Romans and Greeks, who considered the Celts little more than animals, and by later Celtic writers in Ireland and Wales who were writing from a Christian perspective. Simply put, although the Celts had a rich and pervasive religious culture, it has been permanently lost to human memory. We can make some general comments about Celtic religion based on the often-hostile accounts of classical writers. The Celts were polytheistic; these gods were ultimately derived from more primitive, Indo-European sources that gave rise to the polytheistic religions of Greece, Persia, and India. The Romans in trying to explain these gods, however, linked them with Roman gods as did the Romanized Gauls-so we really have no idea as to the Celtic character of these gods and their functions. We do know that Celtic gods tended to come in threes; the Celtic logic of divinity almost always centered on triads. This triadic logic no doubt had tremendous significance in the translation of Christianity into northern European cultural models. It is almost certain that the material world of the Celts was suffused with divinity that was both advantageous and harmful. Certain areas were considered more charged with divinity than others, especially pools, lakes and small groves, which were the sites of the cental ritual activities of Celtic life. The Celts were non-urbanized and according to Roman sources, Celtic ritual involved no temples or building structures-Celtic ritual life, then, was centered mainly on the natural environment. Celtic ritual life centered on a special class, called the druides or druids by the Romans, presumably from a Gaulish word. Although much has been written about druids and Celtic ritual practice, we know next to nothing about either. Heres what we can gather. As a special group, the druids performed many of the functions that we would consider priestly functions, including ritual and sacrifice, but they also included functions that we would place under education and law. These rituals and practices were probably kept secret-a tradition common among early Indo-European peoples-which helps to explain why the classical world knows nothing about them. The only thing that the classical sources attest is that the druids performed barbaric or horrid rituals at lakes and groves; there was a fair amount of consensus among the Greeks and Romans that these rituals involved human sacrifice. This may or may not be true; there is some evidence of human sacrifice among the Celts, but it does not se em to have been a prevalent practice. According to Julius Caesar, who gives the longest account of druids, the center of Celtic belief was the passing of souls from one body to another. From an archaeological perspective, it is clear that the Celts believed in an after-life, for material goods are buried with the dead. http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MA/CELTS.HTM

Eudaimonia :: essays research papers

The Term 'Eudaimonia': 'Flourishing' or 'Happiness'? I have a number of very roughly-formulated things to say about eudaimonia in this essay. I hope that focusing later on other specific aspects of NE will help me to pull all this together better. I think the problems my sources discuss are the products of contrived readings; all of those sources recognized this fact, and cleared up the confusions accordingly. At the level at which I have so far studied, the Nicomachean Ethics seems unproblematic, though demanding in the sense that Aristotle seems to find so many of his connections too obvious to explain. I mention this by way of partial explanation of the naive way that I fill out the connections that Aristotle leaves for us to make on our own. A good place to start is with Ackrill's brief characterization of eudaimonia: eudaimonia "is doing well, not the result of doing well" (Ackrill, p. 13). Even though Irwin translates 'eudaimonia' as 'happiness', I will use Cooper's translation 'flourishing' instead. The reason for my choice comes mainly from Book X, where Aristotle tells us that eudaimonia is a process and not a state (1176b5). It is easier to keep this in mind if the word 'flourishing' is used, since 'happiness' names a state, rather than a process, in English. Furthermore, there is popular prejudice, especially among philosophers, against the idea that being happy is consistent with being virtuous. Hence, the use of the word 'happiness' psychologically weights the case against the credibility of Aristotle's doctrine, since he does think that eudaimonia is virtuous action (1176b5). His doctrine is at least rendered more worthy of consideration by such critics if they are first appeased by the more neutral term. Ackrill has different reasons for thinking that 'happiness' is not the proper translation. eudaimonia is the final end. While many things may be final ends, only eudaimonia is the most final end--the "one final good that all men seek" is happiness.(Ackrill, p. 12). This is where he sees the difference; what is true of happiness is not true of eudaimonia. Happiness may be renounced in favor of some other goal, but eudaimonia may not. In suffering in order to do the right thing, one sees one's life fall short of eudaimonia. But it is comfort that is renounced (Ackrill, p. 12). If this is true, then the idea of equating happiness with eudaimonia makes nonsense of Aristotle's discussions of the virtues.

Pet Shop Boys and Beauty

Success & Jealousy in Beauty Beauty, written by Jane Martin in the mid nineteen hundreds, is an ironic play about two successful women, Bethany and Carla. Both women were the same age yet complete opposites. They also had completely different personalities and were unhappy with their lives. Martin casted and characterized them this way to illustrate a few themes. The drama was mainly centered on the theme that no one is ever happy unless they get their wishes granted. However, in these two women’s cases, getting what they wanted caused them to realize there is nothing wrong with being different.These two themes can be seen through the two character’s success, jealousy, and a genie. Bethany and Carla experienced success in Beauty. Carla was a famous, â€Å"beautiful catalogue model that was going to become a big time model soon after speaking with Ralph Lauren† (Martin 735). On the other hand, Bethany, the smart one, â€Å"received a $40,000 job offer straight ou t of college. She also published several short stories† (735). Carla was characterized as the perfect and beautiful success story, while Bethany was characterized as the ugly screw-up.However, neither person was happy in their respective positions. Carla was always annoyed, â€Å"and always hung by her fingernails in modeling. She felt like she had zero privacy, and guys would hassle her on the street and pressure her from the beginning of a relationship. She never was able to have a long relationship† (736). Likewise, Bethany did not see herself as a success story because, â€Å"she did not see herself as a beautiful individual† (736). They both envied each other’s success and looks. This alone shows the reader that the characters were very jealous of each other’s lives.Jealousy is very noticeable in Beauty, especially when it comes to Bethany. Bethany was extremely jealous of, â€Å"Carla because she looked beautiful. She represented that beautif ul person that knocks a man across a room twenty-four hours a day. Beautiful was in the major leagues, whereas pretty was in the minor leagues as a way for people to simply discover each other† (736). Bethany just considered a self a disgrace and a piece of trash. Carla explained, â€Å"Bethany is beautiful and she has the charm, personality, and is perfectly pretty† (736).Of course, Bethany places a stereotype on beautiful by saying, â€Å"it is the real deal. Carla gets discounts on makeup for no reason. Parents treat beautiful children better and they even statistically get paid more. Beautiful people can have sex any time, any place† (736). Carla, confused, did not understand why Bethany wanted to be just like her. Bethany hated Carla most of the time because of her beauty. This leads Carla to go on a rant about beauty and why it is so difficult to live and be beautiful simultaneously. Carla tells Bethany to be herself and she will have an amazing life.Bethan y begs to differ and says, â€Å"it is what everyone wants to be. Money can only make you buy things. Beauty makes you the center of the entire universe. All eyes are always on those individuals that are beautiful† (736). Carla says, â€Å"Bethany will hate her life is she was beautiful. She would be miserable and unhappy† (736). Bethany then pulls out a genie in a bottle. Bethany, determined, reiterates, â€Å"Carla’s thoughts do not matter. Carla was just lying about everything, which explains why she had no friends or a long relationship.Bethany wanted to be just like Carla, and she had a god dam genie and only one wish to make† (736). Bethany indeed used her one wish and wished that she was just like Carla. The genie is used as a symbol to symbolize the fact that Bethany got everything she wanted to be happy. The genie allowed Bethany to â€Å"walk in Carla’s shoes†. Bethany and Carla looked at each other and realized they had swapped ro les. Both women stated, â€Å"We have each other’s jewelry, legs, nail polish, clothes and shoes. We can see each other! † (737). Upset, Bethany stated, â€Å"She wanted to be beautiful, but she did not want to be Carla. (737). In the end, both women realized they regretted getting what they wanted because they both had the same thing that every other human had. They both realize that their happiness was not good because it only showed that they both just had a plethora of different problems. Beauty is practically a real life drama that actually occurs every day in the world. There are hundreds of thousands of people that are not happy with their current situations in life. Many of them just want to be so much more successful, and, in Bethany’s case, more beautiful.Too many people think that success and having good looks automatically lead to unlimited happiness. Sadly, this is a lot more false than true. People will only be happy if they are themselves and are different and unique. After reading Martin’s play, one can see that the two women are just like two people in the real world. They both have experienced success and jealousy. Too many people worry too much about their image and appearance. The genie in the play showed what happens sometimes when someone is given everything they ever dreamed of having.The genie granted Bethany’s wish so she could realize how it felt being in someone else’s place or position. Afterwards, she saw that being different was okay and actually better than she initially thought. She realized that she did not want to be anyone but herself. Overall, Beauty illustrates a real life event that teaches people a valuable lesson: One should be happy and unique because there is nothing wrong with being different. Martin, Jane. Beauty. Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, Robert Funk, and Linda S. Coleman. Backpack ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2011. 7 33-737. Print.

Cultural Differences and Interpersonal Relationships Essay

In life we sometimes experience cultural differences. In The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan shows how mother daughter relationships are affected by these cultural differences. Therefore each of the mothers and daughters has a different view on their Chinese culture. Lindo Jong is the mother of Waverly. Lindo believes that her daughter should be the best of the best at something like all the other Chinese girls she knows of. Lindo also believes that Waverly should marry a Chinese man and is in a constant argument with her about marrying an American man. Lindo believes that it is important for Waverly to marry a Chinese man so that her Chinese heritage will not die out. Throughout the book Lindo begins to warm up to the idea of her daughter†¦show more content†¦The constant argument Tan shows about being a child prodigy and her mother’s feelings about American men shows the cultural differences between Chinese and American culture. Suyuan Woo, June’s mother and an i mmigrant from Kweilin, China, had a very valuable tradition of telling stories of her past life in Kweilin and of her immigration to the United States in order to start a new better life. Another precious tradition of Suyuan was playing an old Chinese betting game called Mahjong. Mahjong was important to her because it was a game she enjoyed playing back when she lived in China before she immigrated to the United States. Suyuan would brag about her skill at the game and have a good time playing Mahjong after dinner when the woman met for the Joy Luck meetings while storytelling and sharing memories of her past life in China. June Woo, Suyuan’s Americanized daughter had a different attitude toward some of her mother’s old traditions. June believed that Mahjong was a silly game, and she couldn’t understand why her mother loved playing it so much. Throughout the book June begins to understand her mother better and the reason of why she had created The Joy Luck Club it was simply in order to keep their Chinese heritage alive. Her attitude begins to change about some of her mother’s traditions such as playing Mahjong; it was simply a way her mother keptShow MoreRelatedIntercultural Communication in Healthcare Essay883 Words   |  4 Pagesstrategy that there are many elements that effect the experience; cultural variations, personal dignity, and interpersonal relationships. An effective intercultural communication strategy improves these aspects of the health care experience. Gathering knowledge of different cultures and the beliefs, values, and language can be an effective strategy to overcoming cultural diversity and improve intercultural communication. Cultural variation means that people are different from one another. 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