The Olympics - Ancient Greek Funeral Games

Its a curious aspect of sports that even when they are part of a celebration of global peace, like the Olympics, they are nationalistic, competitive, violent, and potentially deadly. Substitute panhellenic (open to all Greeks) for global and the same could be said about the ancient Olympics. Sports, in general, could be described as ritualized warfare where one power competes with another, where each hero (star athlete) strives to defeat a worthy opponent within a setting where death is unlikely. Rituals of Compensation for the Catastrophe of Death Control and ritual seem to be the defining terms. In coming to grips with the eternally present fact of death (remember: antiquity was a time of high infant mortality, death by diseases we can now control, and almost incessant warfare), the ancients put on shows where death was under human control. Sometimes the outcome of these shows was purposeful submission to death (as in the gladiatorial games), at other times, it was ​a  victory. Origin of the Games in Funerals The[re] are a number of possible explanations of the custom of funeral games such as to honor a dead warrior by reenacting his military skills, or as a renewal and affirmation of life to compensate for the loss of a warrior or as an expression of the aggressive impulses that accompany rage over the death. Perhaps they are all true at the same time.- Roger Dunkles Recreation and Games * In honor of his friend Patroclus, Achilles held funeral games (as described in Iliad 23). In honor of their father, Marcus and Decimus Brutus held the first gladiatorial games in Rome in 264 BCE. The Pythian Games celebrated Apollos slaying of the Python. The Isthmian games were a funeral tribute to the hero Melicertes. The Nemean games celebrated either Hercules killing of the Nemean lion or the funeral of Opheltes. All of these games celebrated death. But what about the Olympics? The Olympic games also began as a celebration of death, but like the Nemean games, the mythological explanations for the Olympics are confused. Two central figures used to explain the origins are Pelops and Hercules who are genealogically linked insofar as Hercules mortal father was Pelops grandson. Pelops Pelops wished to marry Hippodamia, the daughter of King Oenomaus of Pisa who had promised his daughter to the man who could win a chariot race against him. If the suitor lost the race, he would also lose his head. Through treachery, Oenomaus had kept his daughter unmarried and through treachery, Pelops won the race, killed the king, and married Hippodamia. Pelops celebrated his victory or King Oenomaus funeral with Olympic games. The site of the ancient Olympics was in Elis, which is in Pisa, in the Peloponnese. Hercules After Hercules cleaned the Augean stables, the king of Elis (in Pisa) welshed on his deal, so, when Hercules had a chance -- after he finished his labors -- he returned to Elis to wage war. The conclusion was foregone. After Hercules sacked the city, he put on the Olympic games to honor his father Zeus. In another version, Hercules merely regularized the games Pelops had instituted.

Historical Developments And Social Changes Essay - 1295 Words

Given the fact that political theories must continually respond to historical developments and social changes, no significant political tradition worthy of its name can afford to remain in the state of stasis. The postmodern turn, which has been underway since the 1960s, has turned out to be a particularly significant challenge to established political traditions of the 20th century. In particular, such prominent theoretical frameworks as liberalism, positivism, and Marxism had to confront the postmodern challenge in a distinct manner and with varying degree of success. According to Gà ¸sta Esping-Andersen, the crucial issue facing contemporary political theorists is the status of the welfare state in the postmodern era. Indeed, the political debates of the 20th century concern the welfare state’s potential to transform the capitalist society (Esping-Andersen 93). In this respect, the idea of welfare state undoubtedly lies at the heart of 20th-century political debates considering the fact that this very term invokes the complex relationship between the state and market economy. Considering the gradual dissolution of the welfare state in the postmodern era, the problematic relationship between welfare and capitalism remains central to theoretical frameworks grappling to come to terms with the postmodern turn. Out of the three theoretical frameworks in question, liberalism was and is still is particularly invested in the idea of the welfare state.Indeed, it is with regard toShow MoreRelatedContemporary Social Theory And Functionalist Approach1457 Words   |  6 Pagespreference over other in contemporary social theory these themes consist of relationship between society and self, nature of social life, possibility, and role of social transformation, structure of social institutions and themes such as class, gender, and race. 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Peer Mentor Free Essays

In this quarter, being a peer mentor has a great impact to me, especially with the fact that the minute that I got is all international student from another country, like China, Korea, and Vietnam. At first I think mentoring people in the age range between 16 until 17 will be a really hard and tough Job, because people at that age tends to think that they know everything and usually refuse to receive a commentary or advisory from another people. They tend to do whatever they want without thinking about the consequences and sometimes very hard to approach because they think hey know everything best for them and keep everything themselves. We will write a custom essay sample on Peer Mentor or any similar topic only for you Order Now In fact all my minute are easily approachable and very fun to have chat with. At the first meeting most of them are a little bit shy to ask or to talk about their personal problem, but as time goes on they become really talkative and tell me everything that they think I would like to know, for example their grades, their living situation, etc. They share everything without I have to ask or insist them to tell me about something, which I think is very good and far beyond my expectation. As a peer mentor, I learn a lot about my minute culture and their characteristic. Furthermore, I learn how to be responsible for them and try to be a good role model for them, by being active in class and do all the homework far before its due. In conclusion, being a peer mentor this quarter Is really fun for me and have a lot of positive effects towards me, I know more people, learn how to communicate with people which Is not from my home country, learn how to approach people, and learn how to manage my time, which I think Is very Important for me, especially to be a person which is not only excel In grade but also have a good relationship and willing to serve and help other people. How to cite Peer Mentor, Papers

Managers Guide to Performance Management- Human Resource Management

Question: Describe about the Managers Guide to Performance Management? Answer: Concept of Human Resource Management Human resource management is the key function for any organization. An efficient human resource helps the organization achieve its desired objectives. Human resource management is the system of recruiting and selecting the workforce of an organization and giving them proper training and helps in developing their skills (Dessler, 2013). The efficiency of the employees is then estimated based on the measurement of their performance. Performance measurement is an important tool to understand the performance of the human resource and based on the performance they are provided with certain benefits like incentives and remuneration which motivates the employee in performing better. Performance Management Performance management is the method by which the management and the employees of an organization work together to achieve the desired goal of an organization. The organization makes a plan to achieve the desired goal use its human resource in achieving it, the performance of their employees is then monitored and based on it a performance review is prepared. The performance review helps in understanding the overall contribution of the employees in the organizational objectives (Aguinis, 2013). Performance Management Cycle We can understand the concept of performance management better with the study of the performance management cycle. Performance management is explained in the figure below: Performance Management Cycle Planning functions: Identifying the expectations of the organization. Identifying the method of measurement of results. Agreeing upon the monitoring system. Finalizing the plan (Bacal, 2012). Monitoring functions: Monitoring and evaluating the process. Taking corrective actions based on the evaluation (Cardy and Leonard, 2011). Reviewing functions: Evaluating and reviewing the annual performance. Displaying a clear picture of the organizations performance. Stages of Prerformance Management: The three stages of performance management are further described below: Planning Stage: Planning stage requires the collective effort of the managers and the employees. The following points of the planning stage are- It reviews the job description of the employee to understand the job carried out by them at present and make necessary updates if the job structure of the employee has changed. It reviews and identifies the connection between the job description of the employee and the organizations objectives. It develops the plan of work to outline the job to be completed, desired results to be achieved and setting the standards based on which the performance will be measured (Hope and Player, 2012). It identifies the important areas that are the vital objectives for performance management. These areas are determined with the effective plan of the organization which is depended on the desire of the employee to develop certain outcomes or aspects of a job. It identifies the training objectives necessary for developing the work skills and knowledge of the employees. It makes long term planning which includes several important development objectives (Nielsen and Hunter, 2013). Monitoring Stage: Monitoring stage is not just measuring the daily performance of the employees but also on the end result achieved and the affect of the employees individual behavior on the work environment. The following points of monitoring stage are- It assesses the progress made to meet the objectives of the performance. It identifies the problems which prevent the employees from achieving the desired goals and finding solutions to those problems. It gives feedback on the development related to the objectives. It identifies the changes which are related to change in priorities of the organization and accordingly the employees are assigned new duties. It determines the areas in which the employees require support from the management (Samsonowa, 2012). Reviewing Stage: In this stage, the performance of all the employees is reviewed and evaluated and based on it the performance management notes is prepared. The performance management note is useful in measuring the performance of the employees. This helps the management deal with the problems and issues of employees performance and takes corrective measures to improve it. The following points reviewing stage is discussed below: It summarizes all the tasks completed in the year and compares it with the goals set initially. The success and failure of all the tasks is taken into account. It documents all the challenges faced in a year and all the areas are subjected to development. It identifies the barriers which are discussed to achieve the goals (Torrington, 2011). Conclusion: Human resource management is the key function of a company. It is required in managing the human resource of the company through recruitment, selection, training and development of the employees. Some of the important functions of human resource management are hiring efficient employees, management of their performance, developing the organization, providing safety in health of the employees, motivating the employees with benefits and incentives and providing proper training and development to the employees (Mondy and Mondy, 2012). Here we have discussed one of the important functions of human resource management which is performance management. Performance management is the process of evaluating and comparing the performance of the employees with the standards set to achieve. Thus, to understand the performance management system we have made use of the performance management cycle. Performance management cycle has three stages which explain the way a plan is made based on the identi fication and study of the expected goals. According to the plan the performance of the workforce is evaluated and monitored and based on it measures are taken to correct any flak in performance. In the last stage of the performance management cycle the overall performance of the workers for the year is reviewed and compared and finally the cycle comes to an end. In this topic the concept of human resource management and one of its vital functions is discussed (Price and Price, 2011). References Aguinis, H. (2013).Performance management. Boston: Pearson. Bacal, R. (2012).Manager's guide to Performance management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Cardy, R. and Leonard, B. (2011).Performance management. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. Dessler, G. (2013).Human resource management. Boston: Prentice Hall. Hope, J. and Player, S. (2012).Beyond performance management. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Review Press. Mondy, R. and Mondy, J. (2012).Human resource management. Boston: Prentice Hall. Nielsen, S. and Hunter, D. (2013).Performance management and evaluation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Price, A. and Price, A. (2011).Human resource management. Andover: Cengage Learning. Samsonowa, T. (2012).Industrial research performance management. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag. Torrington, D. (2011).Human resource management. Harlow, England: Financial Times/Prentice Hall.