Did the Greek Warrior Achilles Have Children

Despite rumors of his homosexual tendencies, Achilles did have a child—a son, born from a brief affair during the Trojan War. The Greek warrior Achilles is never portrayed in the Greek histories as a married man. He had a close relationship with Patroclus of Phthia that ended when Patroclus fought in his place in the Trojan War and died. The death of Patroclus is what finally sent Achilles into battle. All of that has led to speculation that Achilles was gay. However, after Achilles entered the Trojan War, Briseis, the daughter of the Trojan priest of Apollo named Chryses, was given to Achilles as a war prize. When King of the Greeks Agamemnon appropriated Briseis for himself, Achilles expressed his outrage. Certainly, that seems to suggest that Achilles had at least a part-time interest in women regardless of whatever his relationship was with Patroclus. Achilles in a Dress? One reason for the confusion may arise from Achilles mother Thetis. Thetis was a nymph and a Nereid who tried many different stratagems to protect her beloved son, most famously dipping him in the river Styx to make him immortal, or at least impervious to battle injuries. To keep him out of the Trojan War, she hid Achilles, dressed as a woman, in the court of King Lycomedes on the island of Skyros. The kings daughter Deidamia discovered his true gender and had an affair with him. A boy was born from that affair called Neoptolemus. Thetis precautions were all for naught: Odysseus, after his own mad draft-dodging escapade, discovered the transvestite Achilles by means of a ruse. Odysseus brought trinkets to the court of King Lycomedes and all the young women took appropriate baubles except for Achilles who was drawn to the one masculine item, a sword. Achilles still would not fight—instead, he sent Patroclus into battle, and when he died in a battle in which Zeus stood by and let him die, Achilles finally put on the armor and was himself killed. Neoptolemus Neoptolemus, sometimes called Pyrrhus (flame-colored) because of his red hair, was brought to fight in the last year of the Trojan Wars. The Trojan seeress Helenus was captured by the Greeks and she was forced to tell them that they would only capture Troy if their warriors included a descendant of Aeacus in the battle. Achilles had already died, shot by a poisoned arrow in the heel, the only place in his body not made impervious by his dip in the Styx. His son Neoptolemus was sent into battle and, as Helenus foretold, the Greeks were able to capture Troy. The Aeneid reports that Neoptolemus killed Priam and many others in retribution for the death of Achilles. Neoptolemus survived the Trojan War and lived to marry three times. One of his wives was Andromache, the widow of Hector, who had been killed by Achilles. Neoptolemus and Sophocles In the Greek playwright Sophocles play Philoctetes, Neoptolemus is portrayed as a deceitful man who betrays the friendly, hospitable lead character. Philoctetes was a Greek who was exiled on the island of Lemnos when the rest of the Greeks went on to Troy. He had been injured and stranded as a result of his offending a nymph (or perhaps Hera or Apollo—the legend varies in several places) and left ill and alone in a cave far from his home. In the play, Philoctetes had been exiled 10 years when Neoptolemus visited him to take him back to Troy. Philoctetes begged him not to take him back to the battle but to take him home. Neoptolemus promised to do that but instead does take Philoctetes back to Troy, where Philoctetes was one of the men secreted in the Trojan Horse. Sources Avery, Harry C. Achilles Third Father. Hermes 126.4 (1998): 389-97. Print.---. Heracles, Philoctetes, Neoptolemus. Hermes 93.3 (1965): 279-97. Print.

Mistreatment of Land, Natural Disaster, and Drought...

The Dust Bowl was a time period in which many dust storms affected the agriculture and economy of the United States. Before the dust storms and droughts, the land being used by the farmers was already being damaged. Overuse had caused the soil to become useless, and by over-cultivating the land, farmers were no longer able to use the once fertile soil, causing a major impact on the lives of those involved in agriculture. Before the infamous Dust Bowl, the lands to the West were unknown until the exploration of Lewis and Clark. On the expedition of Lewis and Clark, they discovered and explored new land west of the Mississippi River, finding beautiful nearly unused land that was only being used by some Native Americans. When the lands were†¦show more content†¦Recently, we have had our own periods of drought and high summer temperatures, so in reality, yes, the United States could have their own Dust Bowl in this time period. However, I believe that after the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s happened, farmers were much more conscious of their actions. Because of the Dust Bowl, farmers tended to the soil with more care. For example, farmers use a method known as the Crop Rotation. Crop Rotation is the practice of planting different crops on the same land. Using the crop rotation method improves soil fertility, so that the risk of overuse similar to the 1930’s is not as high. Another exampl e of a simple method that promotes soil conservation that farmers use today is the planting of trees. Trees help prevent soil erosion with their roots and they also block the wind of possible wind or dust storms. Another method farmers use is the method of terracing. By using the terracing method, farmers decrease the amount of erosion going on. The terracing method is when farmers make short steps out of a large slope to reduce the erosion that would normally occur on such a large slope. If farmers were to not treat their land with care, then I would say that it would be completely possible to have another Dust Bowl in America, especially once you add in the time periods without rain and the highShow MoreRelatedModern History.Hsc.2012 Essay25799 Words   |  104 PagesUnited States originally pursued a policy of non-intervention, avoiding conflict while trying to broker a peace. - When a German U-boat sank the British liner Lusitania in 1915, with 128 Americans aboard, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson vowed, America is too proud to fight and demanded an end to attacks on passenger ships. Germany complied. - Wilson unsuccessfully tried to mediate a settlement. He repeatedly warned the U.S. would not tolerate unrestricted submarine warfare, in violation of

Issues with Juveniles Free Essays

Juveniles can break the law just like adults can. The difference is in the way they are treated after the fact, from the police interaction to the type of punishment they will ultimately receive. In most cases getting to the child before criminal behavior begins may stop a life of crime before it begins. We will write a custom essay sample on Issues with Juveniles or any similar topic only for you Order Now In this paper I will be going over the importance of child development, crime control, interrogation and Miranda warnings, crime prevention, deterrence, and punishment. Children that grow up in homes where the parents are not around or do not care about them are more likely to become caught up in a life of crime than the kids that have a loving family. Children that have parents that are criminals themselves will probably become criminals as well. â€Å"According to one researcher, 63 percent of boys with convicted fathers themselves had criminal convictions, compared to 30 percent among those who did not have convicted fathers†. (Worrall, 2008, p. 259) If a child does not have a positive role model to follow, they will follow the negative one. This is also true if the father is not in the home or part of their lives or if their parents are in to drugs. Lack of parental supervision, improper abuse, rejection, neglect, conflict between the parents and many other problems can also lead to behavioral issues in children. Domestic violence in the home, single family households and families with large amounts of people are also more likely to produce children that have behavioral issues as they develop. Lack of attention or negative attention is hard on a child and it has been proven to lead them to a life of delinquency. There are many steps that families can take to work on crime control before it becomes a problem. The first is parent training and education. â€Å"Just as there are good drivers and bad drivers, there are good parents and bad parents. † (Worrall, 2008, p. 261) Parenting does not come overnight. It takes time and practice and information. Sometimes the harm to children is done accidentally and knowing this, the government has started programs such as the Strengthening Families Program. The SFP was founded in 1983 and is for parents who are also drug abusers and teaches them appropriate parenting skills. Parenting classes can be done in and out of the home and appear in several forms. One such form is during pregnancy when a nurse practitioner comes to the home and gives the expectant mother information on her pregnancy and on things to expect when the child is born. Head Start programs are provided to poor African-American families so that their children are given extra help with educational needs. Research has shown that these and other programs have been successful in lowering the rate of delinquency in juveniles. The chance of child abuse is lower in families that have gone through treatment than those who have not. Mothers are bettering their lives through the programs as well so the rate of arrest is lower in the mothers and their children than those left untreated. Once a juvenile has police contact, the interaction is very different than it would be if it were an adult. There are several rights that a juvenile has to protect them. The first right is the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution states: â€Å"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. (Bartollas Miller, 2008) Juveniles have the same rights to privacy that adults do. If the police want to search a juvenile or their home or vehicle they must provide a search warrant unless the juvenile waived their rights, consented to the search, or got caught in the criminal act they were committing. Interrogation of a juvenile, confessions, and Miranda Warnings go hand in hand. Juveniles, as well as adults, are to be read their Miranda rights at the time of arrest. These Miranda Warnings give the juvenile six rights including: the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, an attorney provided if they are unable to afford one, whatever the juvenile says to the police is fair game to be used later in court, if a juvenile starts talking they may stop at any time, and whatever the juvenile says to persons other than the juvenile officer or court personnel may be used against the juvenile if they are tried as an adult. The juvenile officer is responsible for providing the juvenile with these rights and must protect the interest of the youth. â€Å"A juvenile officer’s role in the interrogation process is the protection of the juvenile’s rights by initial explanation and subsequently by stopping the interrogation if it is so requested by the juvenile. Participation by the juvenile officer in the interrogation of a juvenile renders the confession and evidence discovered as a result thereof inadmissible [sic] in a subsequent adult prosecution. (McCarver, 2006) All questioning of the juvenile must be done by law enforcement. â€Å"The admissibility of a juvenile’s statement taken in the presence of the juvenile officer is determined from the totality of the circumstances on a case-by-case basis. The court will evaluate the juvenile’s age, experience, education, back ground, intelligence and whether the juvenile has the capacity to understand the warnings given to him, the nature of his Fifth Amendment rights and the consequences of waiving those rights. (McCarver, 2006) If a juvenile is tried as an adult they must have been made aware before his confession that it is possible that he may be tried as an adult and anything that any statements he makes can be used against him. Any officer that questions a juvenile must specifically state that he or she may be certified to be tried as an adult. â€Å"In the absence of an attorney, the confession of a juvenile which results from a custodial interrogation may not be used against the juvenile unless oth the juvenile and his parent, guardian or adult friend were informed of the juvenile’s rights to an attorney and to remain silent, and the juvenile must be given an opportunity to consult with his parents, guardian, adult friend or attorney as to whether he wishes to waive those rights. † (McCarver, 2006) Deterrence or prevention is very important in keeping juveniles out of trouble. In my opinion, one of the most effective preventative measures for preventing juvenile crime is community-based programs. These programs, such as, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Bully Prevention Program, and Functional Family Therapy allow youths to be part of the community in a positive way. â€Å"An eighteen-month evaluation found that compared with a control group waiting for a match, youths in the mentoring program were 46 percent less likely to start using drugs, 27 percent less likely to start drinking, and 32 percent less likely to hit or assault someone. † (Bartollas Miller, 2008) In single parent homes where the parent works it is hard to keep tabs on your child at all times. Getting them into a program will keep the youths occupied and out of trouble in a perfect world. With the statistics listed community-based programs are effective and do a good job of reducing juvenile crime. There are many, many programs like these I listed. The problems that arise are a lack of funding and volunteers. It is important for the communities to sponsor and volunteer for these programs or they really cannot complain about children running the streets, learning negative behaviors, and committing crimes. Another effective preventative measure is programs like the Chicago Area Projects. The projects have three basic goals: Frist, they provide a forum for local residents to become acquainted with new scientific perspectives on child rearing, child welfare, and juvenile delinquency. † (Bartollas Miller, 2008) Second, they open up lines of communication between the community and the institutional representatives of the larger community, the ones that help influence the local youth. Third, they allow local adults to come in to contact with local youths, â€Å"especially those having difficulties with the law†. (Bartollas Miller, 2008) This and programs like this one have the local communities take responsibility or the youths before they are sent to the juvenile justice system. The adults in the community can speak on behalf of youths in court and they organize programs to keep the youth out of trouble. If a child is distracted in a positive way, they are less likely to act out in a negative way. When punishment is needed, probation is usually the answer. Probation is the number one sentence in the juvenile court. â€Å"About 400,000 youths are placed on formal probation each year, which amounts to more than 60 percent of all juvenile dispositions. † (Bartollas Miller, 2008) This number has increased greatly since 1993. Probation is a judicial disposition under which youthful offenders are subject to certain conditions imposed by the juvenile cou rt and are permitted to remain in the community under the supervision of a probation officer. † (Bartollas Miller, 2008) Juvenile probation focuses on programs for the offending youth in order to keep them out of jail. A probation officer is assigned and will work with the juvenile to help meet the conditions of their probation. Some think that the purpose of juvenile probation is to give the child a second chance. This is not necessarily correct. The main focus of juvenile probation is provide programs and services so that the youth will learn to stay out of trouble with the law in the future. There are several reasons why probation is the most desirable alternative to jail time. Juveniles are able to remain free of incarceration but society has protection from further law breaking. â€Å"It promotes the rehabilitation of offenders because they can maintain normal community contacts by living at home, attending school, and participating in community activities. † (Bartollas Miller, 2008) It also costs less and allows the juvenile to avoid the negative impact of confinement. While treated differently than adults in most cases, juveniles still break the law and encounter the justice system. Juveniles are afforded the same rights as adults but are handled in a way that usually allows them to have a second chance and become a productive member of society. While stopping a life of crime before it begins is the more favorable approach, it is not always a possibility. In this paper I have discussed child development, crime control, interrogation and Miranda warnings, crime prevention, deterrence, and punishment. How to cite Issues with Juveniles, Papers

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill free essay sample

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was one of the most infamous industrial environmental disasters ever. On April 20, 2010, a marine oil-drilling dig called the Deepwater Horizon exploded, releasing hundreds of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This explosion resulted in the loss of human life, massive environmental damage, and widespread damage to the livelihood of people living along the Gulf Coast. The organization with the largest share in the oil drill, BP (Beyond Petroleum), is still facing consequences of this spill and lost millions of dollars as well as national support. The Obama administration also received criticism for not responding to this crisis quickly enough. This monstrous oil spill created environmental, health, social, and economic problems that were unprecedented, and the rippling effects of the spill are still being felt today. To fully understand the story behind the incident that incited massive worldwide ramifications, one must get a better understanding of the company in charge of the oil rig and what their fault was. BP, which stands for Beyond Petroleum, is, as they state, â€Å"one of the world’s leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, lubricants to keep engines moving, and the petrochemicals products used to make everyday items. † (BP, 2013). This now world-leading petroleum company was created in 1908 in England, and has since expanded to employ over 83,000 people in 30 different countries, and has broken records with its quarterly net income of $16. 86 billion in the first quarter of 2013. On their website, BP states that they have â€Å"five values that express [their] shared understanding of what [they] believe, how [they] aim to behave, and what [they] aspire to be as an organization. † These values are, in order: 1. Safety: â€Å"We care about the safe management of the environment. † 2. Respect: â€Å"We respect the world in which we operate. 3. Excellence: â€Å"[We] are committed to excellence through the systematic and disciplined management of our operations. † 4. Courage: â€Å"We explore new ways of thinking and are unafraid to ask for help. † 5. One Team: â€Å"We put the team ahead of our personal success and commit to building its capability. † To understand how at fault BP is for this spill, we must look into what exactly the explosion was and the main events contributing to the spill, as well as how BP may have gone against their own regulations in their protection and cleaning schemes. The Deepwater Horizon was a 9-year-old drilling rig in the Mississippi Canyon Block 252 of the Gulf of Mexico. It was a semi-submersible, mobile, foating, dynamically positioned rig that could operate into waters up to 10,000 feet deep. The machine, shown below, was built by Hyundai and owned by Transocean, and the rig was chartered to BP from March 2008 to September 2013. The oil well it was drilling in was 35,050 feet deep, in about 5,100 feet of water. The well is located 41 miles off of the coast of Louisiana. BP, the principal owner of this well (known as the Macondo Prospect), owned a 65% share, while Anadarko Petroleum Corporation owned 25% and MOEX Offshore 2007 owned 10%. A waterline view of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig prior to explosion. The majority of the rig’s mass is below water. On April 20, 2010 at about 9:45 pm, high-pressure methane gas from the well expanded into the drilling riser and rose to the drilling rig, where it ignited and created a huge explosion that engulfed the platform. This explosion killed 11 out of the 126 people on board, and injured 17 others. The oil rig burned for 36 hours until it sunk, and hydrocarbons from the explosion continued to leak into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days. A statement from BP read â€Å"The accident involved a well integrity failure, followed by a loss of hydrostatic control of the well. This was followed by a failure to control the flow of the well with the blowout preventer (BOP) equipment, which allowed the release and subsequent ignition of hydrocarbons. Ultimately, the BOP emergency functions failed to seal the well after the initial explosions. † (BP, 2010). Immediately following this explosion, a series of investigations took place by a list of teams of investigators. The two most prevalent investigations were made by a team of investigators sent by BP and the White House Oil Spill Commission. The investigations brought up a plethora of reasons for the spill and focused on a number of different failures that led to the explosion. Both investigations cited that two pieces of machinery which were built to isolate hydrocarbons from entering the well—the annulus cement barrier and the shoe track barriers—failed to do so. This resulted in hydrocarbons entering the well and the control of the well being lost. The investigations also cited that although well integrity had not been established, the BP team leader accepted a negative-pressure test, the results of which were taken from a process that is not the BP preferred method. The White House investigation differed from the BP investigation, however, because the White House panel was able to place blame where they felt was necessary: on BP and its contractors. The report issued by the White House Oil Spill Commission reads â€Å"Whether purposeful or not, many of the decisions that BP, Halliburton, and Transocean made that increased the risk of the Macondo blowout clearly saved those companies significant time (and money). † (Oil Spill Commission, 2011). The report faults the communication between BP and its contractors, as its contractors were short of effective training, and the key engineering capabilities of the rig personnel. Who was truly responsible for this incident? BP took the blame, but was it really entirely their fault? Here’s a list of the companies involved in the process and their respective responsibilities for the accident. BP: Beyond Petroleum was the general contractor for this oil rig, and therefore naturally the bearer of the heavyweight responsibility. The responsibility of the total operation of the Deepwater Horizon was run by BP and they were therefore responsible to oversee all activity that would affect the safety and effectiveness of the drilling process. Transocean: Transocean is the world’s largest offshore drilling company, and was the owner of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Transocean leased the rig to BP for the span of March 2008 to September 2013, and they were given the responsibility of monitoring safe working practices and the protection of the personnel on board. Halliburton: Halliburton is a company that offers a broad array of oilfield services and products to oil and gas customers worldwide. Halliburton was a contractor as well as the cementer for the project. Halliburton’s job was to establish the cement barrier for this Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. Halliburton came under fire after an investigation reported that the initial fault of the accident occurred in the annulus cement barrier. Cameron International Corporation is a Fortune 500 company and a global provider of pressure control, processing, flow control and compression systems, as well as project management and aftermarket services for the oil and gas and process industries. Cameron was the builder of the rig’s BOP (blowout prevention device). This device failed to seal the well, which caused continuous spillage of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days. Although BP did take responsibility verbally and politically for the oil spill, the company proceeded to file $40 billion worth of lawsuits against these three companies. But exactly how at fault was BP for this? Shouldn’t they have suspected something like this may happen? Was this just a freak accident, or was this a chain reaction of mismanaged events? Interestingly enough, it was the latter. BP led a series of mismanaged and misinterpreted operations prior to the explosion. Apparently, a lead was spotted on a crucial piece of equipment in the oil rig’s blowout preventer just weeks before the explosion, and both BP and Transocean were notified about it. In an interview for 60 minutes, one of the employees on the rig named Mike Williams stated that a reason that much of the normal drilling process was not adhered to was because there was a large amount of pressure to speed the project up to maximize profits. â€Å"Pieces of a rubber annular were round in the drilling fluid and brought to the attention of management, yet they deemed this unimportant. † (Williams, 2010). Also, the White House Oil Spill Commission reported that regulators of the rig didn’t have sufficient knowledge to recognize poor management and decision making by the companies in charge of the rig. While these examples of mismanagement and carelessness should have been caught by a more educated eye, they went unnoticed. The results of this oil spill were widespread and disastrous on many fronts. The spill was damaging from fronts concerning financial issues to business problems, to human health risks, and (most prevalently) the environment. As of March 2013, BP has already paid $14 billion in clean-up osts for the damage as well as $10 billion in compensation for companies and surrounding habitats. The spill was absolutely massive; here’s a list of some of the stats from the spill. * 4. 9 million barrels of oil (205. 8 million gallons) spilled from the Deepwater Horizon well into the Gulf of Mexico. * 62,000 barrels of oil leaked per day when the well first broke. * Roughly $400 million worth of oil was spilled. * You could drive a Toyota Prius around the Earth at the Equator 184,181 times with the oil that was lost by the spill. * 13,208 homes could have been heated for one year using the lost oil. (Popular Mechanics, 2010) The National Wildlife Foundation recently issued a report suggesting the environmental effects of the oil spill are far from over. The federation’s report gave grades to environmental concerns that the federation has tracked during the past three years. These concerns included: * Poor coastal wetland condition: 1,100 miles of shoreline were oiled, including coastal wetlands that were already rapidly eroding. The federation recommends fining BP and using the money to restore barrier islands and paying for sediment diversions. Poor conditions for sea turtles: Over 1,700 sea turtles (predominantly the Kemps Ridley turtles, the most endangered species of sea turtles in the world) were stranded in just two years after the spill, which is over three times the biannual rate of stranding. Approximately $1 billion of BP fine money has already gone to turtle-driven causes. * The report gave â€Å"fair† ratings to the conditions of the bottlenose dolphin and the deep sea coral: Although an estimated 650 dolphins and several deep-sea coral colonies were killed because of the accident, the money BP has given for recovery have significantly improved conditions. The report gave â€Å"good† ratings to the conditions of shrimp and brown pelicans. According to the report, the populations of these two marine-centered animals shifted very slightly due to the oil spill, although the report did point out that 826 brown pelicans were collected from the spill area, 577 of which were either dead or later died. A diagram of the geographical extent of the spill. 1,100 miles of Gulf Coastline was affected by this spill, most predominantly in Louisiana. The oil rig was located just 41 miles off the coast of Louisiana. In addition to the extreme amounts of direct consequences this oil spill had on surrounding areas, it also had many indirect consequences that BP was not forced to pay for. Fishing regions in the gulf coast area were destroyed, and many commercial fishermen in the area were thus forced to look elsewhere for jobs. Mental health and tourism in the gulf coast area was hit especially hard; after Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon spill pushed many in the area over the edge into a state of anxiety and depression. There is a constant feeling of pain, grief, and fear of the future shared by the residents of cities and towns bordering the Gulf Coast, as well as a declined interest to visit there because of oil-ridden beaches and waterfronts. This BP disaster has brought valuable lessons to the workfront involving large companies and the environment in which they work. First and foremost, big businesses cannot view their projects and operations as separate from the communities they serve. The BP oil disaster brought to light how economic advantages in speeding up an operation may lead to complex and unthinkable disasters. Of course, accidents happen – and they always will. But accidents like this, when at the root of it is greedy American speed-consumerism, must be taken as a lesson rather than just as something a company needs to â€Å"clean up. † When looking at this spill, the American people and the American big businesses, as well as people and businesses around the world, should take a step back and think about how their accelerated greed and profit management could end up disastrously, both for the environment and for the economy.