Eng lit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Eng lit - Essay Example Victorian era, Rudyard Kipling’s â€Å"Man Who Would be King† from the later Victorian era and George Orwell’s 1984 written in the period known simply as the 20th century. Beginning with William Blake’s short poem â€Å"London†, written in 1794 and included in his collection entitled Songs of Experience, traces of political unrest can be found as the scenes and sounds of a walk down the London streets are reported. The first hints that something is not right within the city can be found in the first lines of the poem, â€Å"A mark in every face I meet, / Marks of weakness, marks of woe† (3-4). These comments wouldn’t necessarily suggest a poor political situation, except that the signs of decay and desperation are seen in every face encountered as the speaker walks down what is presumed to be an average London street. This is reinforced in the second stanza as the speaker says, â€Å"In every cry of every man, / In every infant’s cry of fear, / In every voice, in every ban, / The mind-forged manacles I hear† (4-8). In this, it is apparent that someone is controlling these people, although it remains unclear if the ‘mind-forged manacles’ are of their own creation or someone else’s. However, because of the inclusion of infants, who cannot possibly be imposing harsh times on themselves as well as the mention of bans, which are posted laws, it is indicated that the hardships being experienced are imposed from a higher source, such as the government. This is again reinforced in the third stanza when the speaker indicates that the decay of the city has reached even as far as the churches: â€Å"How the chimney-sweepers cry / Every blackening church appals† (9-10) and the city’s defenses as â€Å"the hapless soldier[‘s]† sigh is made visible as it â€Å"runs in blood down palace-walls† (12). Throughout the poem, then, although no specific mention is made of issues affecting the people, the affects are nevertheless made clear. Something is not working

Fantasy literature for children Essay Example for Free

Fantasy literature for children Essay Q (1). Fantasy literature means new ideas and deals with new images, fantasy includes literature, myths, legends, fairy tales, stories of super natural beings with super natural powers, fantasy creates an imaginative world in which the super natural is natural and plays a perfect part essential to the story to complete it, such literature is enjoyed by the children and adults. An example of such literature is L’Engle’s â€Å"A Wrinkle in Time† which can be read by both children and adults. This books heroine is Meg Murry who is an unhappy and clumsy high school student, she with her friend Calvin and her brother Charles undertake an adventurous journey into time and space to rescue her father from the evil force that is attempting to rule over the universe; her greatest drawback is her anger, impatience and lack of self confidence, during the travel and experience she learns to overcome her faults while rescuing her father. The symbols mentioned in this story are (1) The Dark Thing, it is the dark and cold symbol of evil forces that Meg,Calvin and Charles must fight in rescuing her father, the Dark Thing is evil and in the book there is constant battle between good and evil, and good is always successful over evil; (2) The second symbol is the IT, it is the bodiless brain of Camazotz, it controls all the creatures living in that planet, it identifies with the dark thing with its pulsating and revolting rhythm, it is the main body of evil in the planet, it is war of good and evil and love is successful over evil. 3) the book also has good symbols and one is Aunt Beast, she has many tentacles, she is tall and has fur all over, she is from the planet Ixchel and loves to look after travelers as she looks after Meg when during her travel she brushes with the dark thing, Aunt Beast is full of love but she is always in the dark as she has no eyes and has no idea of light or vision she shows her love and emotions by touching with her tentacles. The major theme of the book is Cosmology, other theme is human life and space travel to other planets and constant war of good against evil and ultimately love and goodness are successful. All these symbols show individuality. Meg rescues her brother Charles from IT through the power of love, LEngle makes her characters to travel through space and into other planets and there they communicate with each other without spoken language, the author is trying to show that speech is not the only way to communicate, and the universal theme is the struggle between good and evil, light against darkness, the author also emphasizes inadequacy of words, as sometimes feelings cannot be explained completely with words. All the symbols help Meg to learn the lessons of life as she cannot be aware of everything, she has learned patience, and she has also learned to understand situations as there is explanation for everything even if sometimes we do not understand the world. Q (2) Poetry appeals to the young people in many ways, as it is a way to express the feelings in words, and helps to understand others feelings also, poetry is called literary art, young people read and write poetry as it is away of relaxation, young people like poetry as it can be sung and people love to write songs; there are different kinds and styles of poetry. A study was conducted by Ann Terry in 1974 which shows what type of poetry is liked by children of different ages of elementary school, humorous poems appealed to a large age range of students, they mostly liked poems with musical qualities and disliked poems that they could not understand maturity plays an important part in understanding poetry, four of the poems were narratives, students of all ages did not like this type of poetry, twenty five poems were not popular poems and were not liked, the students liked rhymed poems. The use of poetry in the classroom is very beneficial as reading and learning poems helps the student’s language development, as it evokes emotions it encourages creativity, poetry develops reading habit and helps to increase vocabulary, poetry is a literary art it is a way to relax, it appeals to the young as it can be made into a song and the teenagers love romantic poetry. It is used in the classroom to teach young students to learn, like the alphabet song is used for teaching young students. Q (3) The â€Å"Monkey Island† written by Paula Fox, is a short novel about an eleven years old boy named Clay Garrity, who is left to live on his own as his father looses his job and cannot find another so he simply walks away from his only child and wife, they go to live in a welfare home as his mother is pregnant she disappears one day and Clay is left alone in the streets of New York , soon he finds Buddy and Calvin in a park and they become a family. If Clay leaves the streets he may never find his parents again and if he stays on the streets alone he might not survive as dangers are eminent. According to evaluation criteria it is a short and simple novel, and it is written for all ages as all can enjoy reading it, the book deals with the darkness and dangers of the night the child has to face, as Clay is left alone to survive he reaches a park where homeless people live and this is scornfully called ‘The Monkey Island’. Clay is a sensitive child who is facing harsh realities of life; he has to face hunger, fear and illness, he gets pneumonia and is in the hospital for ten days and then sent to a foster home and is reunited to his mother and baby sister. According to evaluation criteria this novel intrigues the mind of the child and young adults the title also fascinates the child; it is a simple straight, short novel which shows the harsh realities of life faced by the eleven year old. This novel has all the qualities of a good literature for children, in the view of evaluation, as the features of the book help to analyze the pure and clear title of the book that is composed into a quality literature for children and young adults. Q (4) The answer to this question, ‘who should write science books for children’ has an unlimited answer. Basically scientists should write science books for children, writers who write science books for children should be very clear in explaining and they should use accurate facts and figures, complicated writings scare the children as a result the child looses interest and shies away, science should not be complicated, facts must be presented in such a way that the child is encouraged to indulge in furthering reading. Every topic must have pictures to explain. The science books should be based on topics of universal and international appeal, so that it can be read by all the children over the world without clashes of cultures; the authors should write the text that is within the reach of the understanding power of the child; as illustrations immediately attracts the young mind it also sharpens the appetite of the child’s mind to grasp more and read more. The authors suited for writing science books for children should be aware of the needs and intellectual level of the young mind, therefore they should write about things that are interesting to the imagination of the child’s mind, as scientists are best suited to write science books for children they should emphasize and lay stress on meaningful observations, as it helps the student to master his patience through daily observation classes and become a good observer which is the main part of learning science, which also produces a spark of inspirational power to the reader. The science book must inform the reader not only of facts but must explain the beauty of complicated physical life; science books that teach the child to develop scientific language skills are of great help, in helping the child to discover the natural world around us. Authors who write scientific books for children must use easy and graceful language, they must have expertise on descriptive powers of the verbal text, and the design of the book cover is a source of great attraction for the child, writers must depend on illustrations for explanations, the book should be non-fictional and based only on facts that can be understood by the intellectual level of the young readers, accuracy of facts is the main point on which science books can depend so that a child does not have a con fused orientation of science. Authors who write with such accuracy and are careful in presentations and explanations in the books that are for the young mind, are suited to write science books for children, the books must present simple things for children to do alone and in a group as well, then there are things that the child must work on with the help of parents and together they create fun in learning for all ages, the last part of the book must have questions to be answered by the child, so that the child starts thinking about science around us in this world, and the science book should be appealing to the imagination of the child’s mind, the seventh edition of the text is a tool that can help the writers to be updated in research and utilization of technology, these help resources help to make the most of media available with text, as C. D. ROM; and online activities must be encouraged which help greatly in learning. Q (5) Books for children and young adults are banned and censored due to many reason s in some cases it creates awareness to avoid clashes of cultures and beliefs and sentiments of certain society. There are many reasons for banning a book; it depends on the material of contents which are not ‘anti Christian’ or the language used is objectionable and against the religious beliefs, these can be unsuitable for the young mind, books can be banned due to many reasons such as political reason or social grounds, or books are banned when a certain group of people or an influential person considers it to be controversial, immoral or inappropriate, corrupt, vulgar, violent or wicked, generally if the book contains socially unacceptable ideas, such books are banned as these views are made public. These books sometimes contain racial differences such racial slurs, some books contain depressing and alien material which is not good for the development of the young mind; some facts of history show disrespect to adults and elders which is not acceptable to the society, some books confuse fantasy with reality which is very confusing to the young mind, books depicting witchcraft su ch as J. K. Rowling’s book is under challenge as it creates confusion in the mind of the young, as the book mixes reality with fantasy and witchcraft. Parents play a significant part in banning books as they according to their own thinking accept or ban certain books and they also have their own reasons and view points, parents tend to over protect their children and think that reading certain bad books will lead the child to do bad things which may not be the case, some books are banned if the young try to copy certain acts mentioned in the book which are not acceptable in society, such as suicide stories. The text book on ‘through the eyes of a child’ is an introduction to child literature and is an excellent source of literature for children, no person can justify banning a book it simply depends on personal views and reasons. Today the society has changed and many controversial books are now regarded as classics, today people cannot be stopped from thinking, if thinking is allowed, they will speak and if they speak will write and what is written can be printed and published. Society has changed with time and people are becoming liberal minded and have started accepting books that were once banned. Every person has a right to freedom of thought, the young adults and children have the freedom to read and express their opinions and thoughts, people have different thoughts and these thoughts are valuable only to the individual himself but putting ban on such opinions will deprive the human race and society of its freedom rights. Today the society plays a great role in the development of the mental capabilities of the young, as thinking changes the society has also changed and allows the child some freedom, writing books for children and young adults is not an easy task as the writer has to see through the eyes of the child. Writing books for children and young adults is not an easy task as one has to see through the eyes of the child, books are ways to help the young to understand and appreciate their world. Today books are an integral part of young and children and adults alike each in their own capacity. The society has become more open minded, as less content is censored for viewing by the young, it is preferred that children be informed about all issues related to individuals and society itself, this is done so that children be able to have an understanding which would lead them to formulate their own opinion, excess to all information is important so that may be promoted amongst the young.

Folate-conjugated Therapeutic Agents for Arthritis

Folate-conjugated Therapeutic Agents for Arthritis IN VIVO STUDIES Consistent performance of a controlled release formulation upon dosing is critical to a quality product. In vivo evaluation of any drug delivery system is quite essential because many factors like pH of different biological organs, enzyme systems and variable affinity of carrier system for the various biological fluids including the tissues are expected to influence its performance. These factors affect the in vivo biological distribution and the drug release profile from a novel carrier system. In vivo studies are important in evaluating the bioavailability of drug from the designed formulations. Screening of the anti-inflammatory activity The screening methods for the evaluation of anti inflamatory activity have been classified as follows :- A. Nonimmunological methods 1. Evaluation of acute inflammation Carrageenan induced paw edema model (Winter et al.,1962) Histamine induced hind paw method. Carrageenan granuloma pouch technique. 2. Evaluation of chronic inflamation Formaldehyde induced arthritis. B.  Immunological methods 1. Adjuvant induced arthritis Complete Freunds adjuvant induced arthritic model. 2. Collagen induced arthritic model. 3. Borrelia burgdorferi induced arthritic model. C.  Miscellaneous U.V. erythema inflamatory model. MATERIAL AND METHODS Male albino rats In vivo study was performed on the albino rats (av.wt.100 ±20 g).The animal studies were conducted with the permission of Institutional Animal Ethical Committee of Dr. Hari Singh Gour University, Sagar (M.P.). Animals were housed in plastic cages in the thermoneutral environment, and were supplied with feed pellet and water ad libitum. Induction of arthritis Carrageenan induced arthritis method was selected for present study (Winter et al., 1962). Carrageenan acts as phlogistic agent which causes the formation of edema due to stimulation of release of various proinflamatory agents like prostaglandins, histamine and serotonin, bradykinin. tachykinins, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species etc. BIODISTRIBUTION STUDY The rats were divided into four groups with each group comprising of three animals and labelled properly. After induction of arthritis plain drug suspended in PBS (pH 7.4), ETX-NPs and f-ETX-NPs in a dose equivalent to etoricoxib of 0.5 mg/kg body weight were administered through tail vein to albino rats. After 6 hr following administration of formulation, blood of animals was collected from retro orbital plexus of the eye, the rats were sacrificed and various organs such as liver, lung, kidney, spleen and arthritic knee joint were isolated. The organs were weighed, washed in PBS (pH 7.4) and stored at -20 °C until further required. Table 7.1 Data of biodistribution of etoricoxib in albino rats after i.v. administration of formulations Organs System Distribution of % injected dose /whole organ or tissue at 6 hr Blood Plain drug 53.17 ±2.11 ETX-NPs 29.23 ±1.39 f-ETX-NPs 24.39 ±1.10 Liver Plain drug 17.0 ±2.10 ETX-NPs 18.21 ±2.43 f-ETX-NPs 21.25 ±2.11 Spleen Plain drug 10.69 ±1.13 ETX-NPs 12.43 ±1.47 f-ETX-NPs 11.45 ±1.25 Kidney Plain drug 9.08 ±0.49 ETX-NPs 6.60 ±0.65 f-ETX-NPs 6.20 ±0.68 Lung Plain drug 2.76 ±0.28 ETX-NPs 4.81 ±0.53 f-ETX-NPs 6.60 ±0.71 Non-inflamed joint Plain drug 0.106 ±.02 ETX-NPs 0.11 ±0.02 f-ETX-NPs 0.104 ±.017 Inflamed joint Plain drug 0.11 ±0.020 ETX-NPs 0.35 ±0.058 f-ETX-NPs 1.42 ±0.049 Each value is expressed as mean  ±SD (n=3) Figure 7.1(A) % concentration of etoricoxib in blood after 6 hr of i.v. injection         Figure 7.1(B) % concentration of etoricoxib in liver after 6 hr of i.v. injection Figure 7.1(C) % concentration of etoricoxib in spleen after 6 hr of i.v. injection Figure 7.1(D) % concentration of etoricoxib in kidney after 6 hr of i.v. injection Figure 7.1(E) % concentration of etoricoxib in lung after 6 hr of i.v. injection Figure 7.1(F) % concentration of etoricoxib in noninflamed joint after 6 hr of i.v. injection Figure 7.1(G) % concentration of etoricoxib in inflamed joint after 6 hr of i.v. injection PHARMACODYNAMIC STUDY Carrageenan-induced Paw edema in rats This model is based on the principle of release of various inflamatory mediators by carrageenan. Edema formation due to carrageenan in rat paw is biphasic event. The initial phase is attributed to the release of histamine and serotonin. The second phase of edema is due to the release of prostaglandins, protease and lysosome. Assay was performed by single subcutaneous injection of 1% (0.1 ml) carrageenan as phlogistic agent and inflamation was determined by measuring change in the volume of inflamed paw , using a well calibrated plethysmometer (UGO,BASILE 7140, Italy). The carrageenan edema test was performed for drug loaded BSA nanoparticles as described by (Winter et al., 1962). Albino rats selected for the present study were weighed, numbered and left paw was marked with ink at the level of tibiotarsic articulation, so that every time, the paw was dipped into the plethysmometer up to the fix mark to ensure the constant paw volume. Basal paw volume was measured plethysmographically by volume displacement method using Plethysmometer (UGO Basile 7140 Italy ) by immersing the paw till the level of tibiotarsic articulation The weight of each animal was taken, averaged and were found to be around 120 g .The day time was chosen for the study to avoid any significant changes in the circardian rhythyms. Animals were divided into four groups (n=3) including one controlled group starved overnight with water ad libitum prior to the day of experiment. Test formulation of drug loaded BSA NPs (0.2%w/v) and plain drug suspended in PBS (pH 7.4) in dose of 0.5 mg/kg body wt. was administered through iv route to albino rats of respective groups excluding control group. The co ntrol group was injected with normal saline (PBS, pH 7.4). After administration of test formulations of drug loaded NPs of BSA, the rats were challenged by a subcutaneous injection of 0.1 ml of 1% solution of carrageenan into the sub-plantar side of the right hind paw. The paw volume was measured every hour till 4th hr and subsequently readings were taken at 8, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48 and 72 hrs after challenge. The increase in paw volume was calculated as percentage compared with the basal volume. The difference of average values between treated animals and control group is calculated for each time interval and evaluated statistically. The percent Inhibition for each group was calculated using the formula as follows. Vcontrol -Vtreated % inhibition of edema = -χ 100 Vcontrol Where Vcontrol =mean edema volume of rats in control group, Vtreated mean edema volume of each rat in test group. The results are reported in the Table 7.2. A graph was plotted between % inhibition of edema Vs time ( Figure 7.2). Table 7.2 Screening Data for anti-inflamatory activity of plain drug solution, drug loaded nanoparticulate system and ligand conjugated drug loaded nanoparticulate system using carrageenan induced paw edema model. Time (hr) % Inhibition of edema Plain drug solution Drug loaded nanoparticulate system Ligand conjugated drug loaded nanoparticulate system 1/2 15.14 ±1.9 6.71 ±0.81 7.54 ±1.1 1 24.21 ±2.8 10.32 ±1.7 18.91 ±3.3 2 37.42 ±3.8 12.54 ±1.8 23.01 ±5.2 4 41.53 ±4.2 19.37 ±2.1 38.41 ±4.2 8 32.27 ±3.5 26.57 ±3.2 47.50 ±3.9 12 21.59 ±2.2 46.91 ±3.9 62.35 ±6.9 24 12.01 ±1.8 28.12 ±3.4 55.01 ±8.3 36 7.37 ±0.79 19.97 ±2.6 48.72 ±7.6 48 ND 12.10 ±1.9 24.59 ±3.3 60 ND 7.53 ±0.87 18.15 ±2.8 72 ND ND 7.78 ±0.89 ND= Not detectable; each value is expressed as mean  ±SD (n=3) Figure 7.2 Plot of % inhibition of edema Vs time Statistical analysis Results were expressed as mean  ±standard deviation (SD) and statistical analysis was performed with PSS 10.1 Chicago (USA). The biodistribution parameters were calculated with the help of (pk analyst) scientific programme from Micromath Inc. (UK). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION In vivo studies are important in evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of designed dosage forms and also help in establishing the correlation between the results obtained from the in vitro experimentation to that of in vivo conclusions. In order to understand the fate of drug loaded NPs in vivo, the biodistribution of drug in various major organs was investigated. The amount of drug in the body depends upon its release, distribution metabolism and excretion from body. The concentration of drug in inflamatory knee joint was found about 3 folds higher in case of drug loaded NPs and about 10 folds higher in case of folic acid conjugated system as compare to the free drug administration. These results evidenced the site specific targeting of drug in inflammatory region. Concentration of drug in blood was found to be 53.17 ±2.11 % in case of plain drug solution, while in case of ETX-NPs and f-ETX-NPs it was found to be about 29.23 ±1.39 % and 24.39 ±1.10 % respectively of the whole injected dose which proved the sustained effect of formulations. The concentration of drug in liver was found to be 17.0 ±2.10%, 18.2 ±2.43% and 21.2 ±2.119% of the whole injected dose in case of plain drug, ETX-NPs and f-ETX-NPs respectively. Slight increase in the amount of drug (although very less) in various organs from formulations ETX-NPs and f-ETX-NPs suggested the RES uptake of nanoparticulate formulations in those organs. Concentration of drug in inflamed joint was raised up to 3 fold in case of plain ETX-NPs and 10 fold in case of f-ETX-NPs as compared to plain drug administration. This proved the targeting efficiency of nanoparticulate formulations both uncoupled as well as folate conjugated nanoparticles. The % inhibition of edema was found to be significantly higher from f-ETX-NPs as compared to the ETX-NPs and plain drug .The folic acid (folate) attached to the surface of NPs might have carried the NPs to folate receptors over expressed on the activated macrophages that is responsible for the release of various inflamatory cytokines including prostaglandins (PGs). CONCLUSION The above data suggested that the development of folate-conjugated therapeutic agents in treatment of arthritis may further enhance its site specific drug delivery at inflamed joints and may also be used as sustained drug delivery system in rheumatoid arthritis.

Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault Essay -- Fairy Tale Children Story

Charles Perrault’s classic fairy-tale Puss-in-Boots has been admired and loved by children and adults alike for centuries. This engaging tale features a walking, talking cat who goes out into the world to make his young master’s fortune. It is an adventure of the side-kick hero, of the loyal friend and devoted underling who has only his own exquisite wit and industriousness to help him on his quest. It is also a story with one of the most enigmatic and perplexing protagonists in fairy-tale culture. Puss is a feline who embodies ancient cat symbols in a uniquely paradoxical fashion; he is a female entity in a male character as well as a magical and demonic totem who is perceived as such by only a select few. Cats have always had a powerful feminine aspect to their image. This is little surprise considering the number of ancient cultures who associated cats with goddess worship. The Egyptians placed a cat’s head upon their goddess Bast, both the Greeks and Romans made cats attributes of their virgin huntress goddesses Artemis and Diana, and the Norse goddess Freya drove a chariot drawn by cats (Walker 367). As Hans Bierdermann comments, one can see â€Å"the frequent feline metaphors in misogynist expressions and clichà ©s: ‘a cat fight’ between two women, a ‘catty remark...’† (60). One may then ask about Perrault’s motives behind using a female symbol in the creation of the male Puss. Upon close inspection of the text, the need for the feminine cat becomes evident, and is addressed right at the beginning of the story. The cat must immediately be seen as a relatively useless thing, incapable of the heavy labour needed to generate a reasonable living, unlike the mill or the ass bestowed upon the two ol... ...e Meanings Behind Them. Trans. James Hulbert. New York: Facts on File Inc, 1992 Julien, Nadia. The Mammoth Dictionary of Symbols: Understanding the Hidden Language of Symbols. London: Robinson Publishing, 1996. Morgan, Jeanne. Perrault’s Morals for Moderns. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc, 1985. Opie, Iona, and Peter Opie. â€Å"Puss in Boots.† The Classic Fairy Tales. New York: Oxford University Press, 1974. 142 - 146. Perrault, Charles. â€Å"Puss-in-Boots.† Folk and Fairy Tales. 3rd ed. Ed. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek. Ontario: Broadview Press Ltd, 2002. 155 - 159. Walker, Barbara G. The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. New York: Harper & Row, 1988. Zipes, Jack. â€Å"Of Cats and Men.† Out of the Woods: The Origins of Literary Fairy Tale in Italy and France. Ed. Nancy L. Canepa. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1997. 176 - 193.

Environment Human Health

A few solutions that has already been implemented is recycling (the reduce and reuse affect), use sees chemicals such as coal, or gasoline, and to educate more people about what is going on with our planet. When did our planet create recycling? Recycling dates back to BBC to current day. Over the centuries we have grown and matured in how to recycle. This includes how we collect rainwater to how we dispose of our bowels. During and after the World War II, the United States became more involved in recycling.Instead of constantly dumping waste into landfills or into our water source we started to make our oils and gasoline more economically safe. In our gasoline and oils we took out chemical that killed most children and that chemical was lead. Lead was very common in homes dated before the late ass's. It was used in paint. Most children are attracted to color and are prone to putting things into their mouths. In older homes when paint started to chip and children saw it they would pul l it and put it into their mouths.This caused a lot of deaths and poisonings. The United States helped to reduce this by banning the use of lead paint in the early ass's late ass's (Wendy Koch LISA, Today 5/18/2012). In order to inform our nation of what was happening to young children, we had o educate them. The United States communities have provided education programs that are active in the community to help establish problems such as the lead poisonings and air pollution.Problems such as this will only be addressed to areas where resources such as television, Internet or newspapers are available. If a country lacks these supplies they will not know what can harm them or what is harming our planet. This video The Link between Air Pollution, Lead Poisoning and Aggressive Behaviors stood out to me the most because this is something that concerns me the most. The fact that a lot of people around the globe are not educated about what happens in our environment can become detrimental to our planet.

Pythia (the Oracle of Delphi)

Portrait of a Priestess By: Joan Breton Connelly The historical figure referred to as the â€Å"Oracle of Delphi,† in ancient writings by Aeschylus, Aristotle, Diogenes, Euripides, Herodotus, Plato, Plutarch, and Sophocles, was the â€Å"Pythia,† or â€Å"Priestess† of the temple of Apollo at Delphi; located in a cave on mount Parnassus, beneath the caspian Spring. The Pythia was a respectable position for a women among the ancient greeks. Several women were selected to succeed the position of Pythia over the span of the temples practice from 1,400 BC-393 A.D. I will be focussing on one in particular, whose experience changes the requirements of the position. The Pythia was known for her prophetic visions, said to to be inspired by the God Apollo. Ancient from all around Greece would travel to Delphi in hopes to hear a prophecy from the Pythia that be would be reflect favorable on their future. The myth was that the fumes from the Caspian Spring inspired her visi ons. Three male priests would accompany her, and interpret her hysterical, unintelligible babble to the visitors.Modern historians and scientists theorize that a hallucinogenic gas from a seismic crack in the mountain intoxicated her, and was the cause of her erratic behavior. However, scientist extensive scientific research has been performed on the location and been found contradictory and inconclusive on both sides. There is no documented procedure on how they selected the Pythia, but it is assumed that she was selected upon the death of her predecessor and chosen from a guild of priestesses. She was always a young, respectable virgin, native to the area.Once she was selected she had to leave her family, forfeit her personal identity, and sever all communication with those she’d previously known. The benefits were that she would receive monetary compensation, position, attend public events, and own her property. They also appeared to select women upon aptitude rather than position in society. One Pythia could be well education and aristocratic, and another could be from the working class. At the Height of the Temples popularity there were up to three Pythias in residents.They would alternate between sessions, because the activity left them exhausted and delirious. It was said that the Pythias life was shortened from the strenuous occupation. After an incident where a Pythias was been attacked and killed for giving unfavorable prophecies, they increased the number. The Pythia I’m choosing served in 300AD, she was attacked and raped in the temple. Upon this incident the priests were forced to make a decision on the policy of the requirements of a priestess, because she was no longer a virgin. They changed the policy which opened the opportunity up to married women as well.I would like to write about this incident, because she was not only violated, but in jeopardy of losing her job, being exiled, and possibly killed. Once a year the Pythia would undergo a cleansing ritual, where she would bathe in the Caspian Stream. The procedure was extremely detailed and strict. I think this would be an awesome incident to write my monologue about. The importance and specificity of the ritual makes it an important event in her life. Also bathing in the toxic spring could also present an interesting opportunity to intoxication, and visions.The Pythias personal life, (I can only imagine) was one of deep sadness and extortion. She may have had high hopes for the position, she may not have wanted to serve at all, but it was not a position that would be socially acceptable to refuse. Not only did she have to lose her family and her identity, but she had to forfeit any chance of getting married and having children. She was in a temple, that was essentially a converted cave, and constantly hyped up on hallucinogens. It was basically an ancient form of prostitution. The temple made money off of her â€Å"prophecies† while her mind and bo dy was slowly destroyed from abuse.The danger of attack, rape and death were very real to her in everyday life. I can only imagine the state of her mind, and her misery. She was dealt a hand that appeared glamorous from the outside, but was misleading. The source of the Pythias visions remain a mystery, which I find both exciting and troubling. If it were true that the woman selected to be Pythia received divine visions from the God Apollo my conjecture about her personal life would differ greatly than if she were a drugged, captive woman who was forced to live a desolate life. I think the mystery of the Pythia, is what makes it so intriguing even to this day.