Abstract
A paper about the influence that Dionysus/Bacchus has had on literature, art, and music. The author examines the impact of the myth on various cultures and modern times. Includes illustrations.

From the Paper
"The myth of the Olympian god of wine has influenced cultures all the way up to present time. Known as Bacchus by Romans and Dionysus by the Greeks, this god has shown up in art, music, literature, and even in the names of many vineyards and wine cellars. This paper will first recount the myth of Dionysus, discuss his influence on ancient and modern cultures, and provide illustrations".

Tags:classic, comparison, ecstasy, god, greek, history, mythology, wine

Abstract
This paper describes the birth, parentage and life of the Greek god Dionysus, as well as his importance in ancient Greek society. The paper also describes the festival of Dionysus and the cult of Dionysus.

From the Paper
"Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Semele. He is the only god to have a mortal parent. Zeus came to Semele in the night, invisible, felt only as a devine presence. Semele was pleased to be a lover of a god, even though she did not know which one. Word soon got around and Hera quickly assumed who was responsible. Hera went to Semele in disguise and convinced her she should see her lover as he really was. When Zeus next came to her she made him promise to grant her one wish. She went so far as to make him swear on the River Styx that he would grant her
request. Zeus was madly in love and agreed. She then asked him to show her his true form. Zeus, was unhappy, and knew what would happen but, having sworn he had no choice. He appeared in his true form and Semele was instantly burnt to a crisp by the sight of his glory. Zeus did manage to rescue Dionysus and stitched him into his thigh to hold him until he was ready to be born. His birth from Zeus alone conferred immortality upon him.(2)"

Tags:tending, grapes, joy, devine, ecstasy, brutal, unthinking, rage, zeus, semele, hera

Abstract
This paper is primarily a biographical report of Michelangelo's almost 90-year-long life from his grim childhood to the early influence of the Medici family to his commission to sculpt the "David" and paint the Sistine Chapel. Also included are photos of his sculptures "Bacchus", "Pieta", "David", "Rondanini Pieta" and his paintings on The Sistine Chapel.

I.Introduction
II.Body
A.Michelangelo's Early Life
B.Bacchus and Pieta
C.David
D.The Sistine Chapel Ceiling
E.The Tomb of Julius II
F.The Medici Tombs
G.The Last Judgment
H.Michelangelo's Final Years
III.Conclusion

From the Paper
"One of the greatest artists of all time, a man whose name has become synonymous with the word "masterpiece", is Michelangelo Buonarroti. As an artist he was nearly unmatched; the creator of works of true beauty that express the full extent of the human condition. Yet, in a world where art flourished only with patronage, Michelangelo was caught between the conflicting powers and whims of the Medici family in Florence, and the Papacy in Rome. Unlike many artists of his time, his genius was recognized, but at a seemingly great cost to his personal life."

Tags:14th, artist, bacchus, ceiling, century, chapel, david, judgment, julius, last, medici, renaissance, sculpture, sistine, tomb, tombs, pieta

Abstract
This paper discusses how Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was known for portraying insolent boys and rough looking peasants within the masquerade of Roman gods and Christian saints. The paper describes and analyzes some of his more famous works such as "The Musicians", "Sick Bacchus" and "Boy Peeling a Fruit" and concludes that there was a feeling and sense of imminent terror in many of Caravaggio's works.

From the Paper
"Boy Peeling a Fruit is oftentimes associated with genre paintings however, it is different from a genre painting in the sense that the boy in the painting seems to be more refined and in control. A characteristic of this painting, as well, would be the absence of a rustic or disheveled individual (something that is characteristic of Caravaggio's paintings). Again, these are Caravaggio's secular paintings and the fact that the boy is peeling a less desirable looking piece of fruit while they are more spectacular looking pieces of fruit laid out in front of him, it suggests that there might be a moralizing theme here, though not necessarily religious: the resisting of seductive temptations. "

Tags:Musicians, Sick, Bacchus

Abstract
This paper explains that Mardi Gras can be traced back to Bacchus festivals of ancient Greece and Rome, where the carnival became popular in the middle of the second century. It also look at how it was popular in North America where the Creoles in the 1800s introduced it to New Orleans. The author points out that the New Orleans celebration includes a carnival parade of floats, which first were presented by the Comus krewe in 1857, bands and colorfully dressed marchers who belong to one of the seventy various krewes (carnival groups) in the metropolitan New Orleans of which ten have operated continuously for more than a century. The paper relates that the Rex krewe initiated the tossing of beads and toys to those who attended the parade in 1920, while greatly expanded the bead industry especially in China.

From the Paper
"Are Mardi Gras traditions viable in Asian countries like Hong Kong? Hong Kong is a free market economy, the special administrative region of China, which is highly dependent on international trade. Recent statistics show that its natural resources are limited and its raw materials and food have to be imported. It had extensive trade and investment in China even before it reverted to Chinese administration in July 1997. The Asian economic brunt of 1998 hit Hong Kong quite hard and reduced its GDP, but many see its growth as recovering at 1.8% and 3.7% in the 2000s, comparable to the four big countries of Western Europe. Per pre-2000 figures, Hong Kong's GDP consisted mostly of services at 85%, with a 4% inflation rate, 3.36 million Its chief industries were textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys, watches and clocks. Hopes could not altogether be pinned on China's regain of control over Hong Kong."

Tags:krewe, bacchas, creoles, china, beads

Abstract
This paper explains that semiotics is the study of people and their culture through evaluating the signs and symbols the culture holds as important. This paper points out that the Lebanese society is divided into numerous sects, separated from each other by recognizable geographical lines of demarcation and, perhaps even more, by fear and suspicion. The paper relates that, in the Lebanese valley of the Bekaa, not far from where Romans venerated the god of wine, Bacchus, Bedouins are busy harvesting grapes for the new vintage of Lebanese wine.

Table of Contents
Introduction to Semiotics
Background Look at Lebanon
Objects
Food Products
Clothing
Conclusion

From the Paper
"From Paterson, New Jersey, to Cairo, Egypt, a growing number of Islamic-oriented clothing stores and fashion shows are helping to promote a trendier look. Styles are even changing in ultra conservative Iran, where a dress code was imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution. These days, more and more Iranian women are replacing the chador, the head-to-toe black garment, with headscarves and loose coats and slacks. Ziane Debebu(ph) is the agent for the five Tekbir outlets in Lebanon. He says the modern Muslim woman increasingly wants clothing that reflects her individual personality and tastes, especially here in fashion conscious Beirut."

Tags:signs, symbols, sects, bekka, chador

Abstract
This paper reviews and discusses the works of Michelangelo da Caravaggio and Nicolas Poussin. According to the paper, Caravaggio and Poussin were not contemporaries but have been linked in art history because of the criticisms Poussin made of Caravaggio and because of the differences in approach seen in their aesthetic ideas and the works they produced following those ideas.

From the Paper
"These latter two works are very different renditions of their subject, though there are similarities in the symbols used. Both figures have leaves twining around their heads. The da Cortona work shows a much younger Bacchus, a child, with bunches of grapes in hand. The Caravaggio presents an adult Bacchus drunk from the wine in the goblet he holds in his left hand, and grapes and other fruit are visible in a bowl in the foreground. The Bacchus of Caravaggio is a dissipated adult, and Caravaggio renders this scene with considerable realism. The expression on the face shows how drunk this Bacchus is and how less than ideal this makes him."

Tags:convex, form, medusa, gruesome, canvas, Baroque, style, Bacchus, Ariadne

Abstract
Omar Khayyam's poem, "The Rubaiyat", is a work alive with contrast, conflict, and contradiction. Some of these conflicts are external conflicts, cultural conflicts, physical conflicts, and time. There are also the eternal, internal struggles of sin against holiness, wisdom against lack of knowledge, and faith against unbelief. This paper shows that all of these conflicts show the basic question of the poem: "What is the meaning of life?" Khayyam tries to answer this question many times in the poem. He offers several different answers, many in contradiction of each other. The paper shows that the answer he finally comes up with is one quite against his Muslim faith. It shows that the poem can be seen as an argument between the physical and the spiritual, with the strong, human, physical urges winning out over the weakness of the metaphysical.

From the Paper
"Bringing up Jesus and Moses (as well as David later on) not only brings in organized religion to the piece, but also uses them as references to pre-Islamic religions of the Middle East: Judaism and Christianity. More distinctly pre-Islamic Persian references to Jamyshd (an ancient mythical Persian king and constant presence in the poem) and to Pehlavi (the pre-Islamic Persian language) come up in the fifth and sixth stanzas."

Tags:Persia, Bacchus, Ramadan

Abstract
A paper which introduces and discusses how Michelangelo takes the humanistic and natural beauty from the Greeks concerning perfect physical humans and nudity and transforms his work for the Christian era. A brief overview of Michelangelo's childhood is also included.

From the Paper
"Consistently, his work began to show more and more influences from more ancient works. While he was often ridiculed because he was not following current trends, he persisted in his own views. He memorized certain classic poses, and used them for most of his works. The David is an example of one of his works that uses a classic pose to make it seem more strong and powerful. He no longer considered the work of art as an imitation of visible reality, nor as the image of a dream world, nor as a means of arriving at knowledge of the universe, but as an embodiment of the very essence of human life and destiny. In this vision of the cosmic law of life in man, he relates himself to the wisdom of ancient Italy (De Tolnay 64)."

Tags:Domenico, Ghirlandaio, Medici, Bacchus, The, Pieta, Saint, Peter, Basilica, Rome