Summary of Homers Iliad Book XXIII

Summary of Homer's Iliad Book XXIII Achilles orders the Myrmidons to drive their chariots in battle formation, and they go three times around the body of Patroclus. Then they have a funeral feast. When Achilles falls asleep, the ghost of Patroclus tells him to hurry up and bury him, but also to make sure their bones are interred in the same urn. The next morning Agamemnon orders the troops to get timber. The Myrmidons cover Patroclus with locks of hair. Achilles cuts one long lock he had been growing for a river god back home, but since he will be dying soon, he cuts it for Patroclus, instead, and places it in his hands. After the men have brought the lumber, they go off to prepare a meal while the chief mourners deal with the pyre cutting piece on fat from sacrificed animals to cover the body. Various animals, including two of Patroclus dogs, and stallions, honey, oil, and the 12 young Trojans are killed and added to the pile. Achilles has to plead with the gods for adequate wind for the pyre, but he gets it and the fire doesnt die down until morning. They douse the fire with wine and then Achilles picks out Patroclus bones and puts them in a golden urn, with a protective layer of fat. Achilles faces the army in a circle and says its time for funeral games. The first game has the most elaborate prizes and is for chariot racing. Achilles says he will not compete because his horses are immortal, and so the competition would not be fair. The contenders are Eumelus, Diomedes, Menelaus, Antilochus, and Meriones. The other men make bets. Diomedes wins, but there is debate over second place because Antilochus fouled Menelaus. The next event is boxing. Epeus and Euryalus fight, with Epeus winning. Wrestling is the third event. Fairly typical, the prizes are a tripod worth 12 oxen for first prize, and a woman worth 4 oxen for the loser. Telamons son Ajax and Odysseus fight, but the result is a stalemate and Achilles tells them to share. The next event is a footrace. Oileus son Ajax, Odysseus, and Antilochus contend. Odysseus is behind, but a quick prayer to Athena brings him to first place, with Antilochus in third. The next contest is for the armor Patroclus had taken from Sarpedon. The fighters are to be in full battle gear and first wound wins. Telamons son Ajax fights with Diomedes. Again, there is a draw, although Achilles gives Diomedes the long sword. The next contest is to see who can throw a lump of pig iron the farthest. The prize is enough iron to last a long time making weapons and chariot wheels. Polypoetes, Leonteus, Telamons son Ajax, and Epeus throw it. Polypoetes wins. Iron is also the prize for an archery contest. Teucer and Meriones compete. Teucer forgets to invoke Apollo, so he misses. Meriones makes appropriate promises and wins. Achilles then sets up more prizes for spear throwing. Agamemnon and Meriones stand, but Achilles tells Agamemnon to sit down because there would be no contest since no one is better than he is. He can just take the first prize. Agamemnon gives the prize to his herald. Major Characters in Book XXIII Achilles: Best warrior and most heroic of the Greeks. After Agamemnon stole his war prize, Briseis, Achilles sat out the war until his beloved comrade Patroclus was killed. Although he knows his death is imminent, Achilles is determined to kill as many Trojans as possible, including Hector whom he blames for Patroclus death.Myrmidons: Achilles troops. Their name means ants and they were called Myrmidons because it is said that they were originally ants.Ajax: The son of Telamon and Periboea, this Ajax is the one most people refer to when talking about Ajax. He was one of the foremost fighters in the Trojan War.Ajax: Of Locris, son of Oileus. Bound by the Oath of Tyndareus and one of the Argonauts, he was in the belly of the Trojan Horse.Antilochus: A son of Nestor.Epeus: A son of Panopeus. A champion boxer.Euryalus: A son of King Mecisteus. Under Diomedes and Sthenelus.Odysseus: From Ithaca. One of the leaders of the Greeks who will vie with Ajax for the status of most worthy after Ac hilles. Patroclus: Loyal friend and companion of Achilles in the Trojan War. The son of Menoetius.Menelaus: Helens Greek husband. Menelaus is not considered a good fighter.Meriones: Son of Molus, a Cretan and the charioteer of Idomeneus.Teucer: A half-brother of Ajax and a son of Telamon.Polypoetes: Son of Pirithous. Co-commands the Lapiths.Sarpedon: King of Lycia, son of Zeus.Agamemnon: Lead king of the Greek forces, the brother of Menelaus.

The Benefits of a Standing Desk and Risks of Sitting

The Benefits of a Standing Desk and Risks of Sitting Standing desks offer many benefits for your health and ergonomics. Break free from the chains of sitting at a desk and stand up for yourself and your health. Health Benefits of a Standing Desk The first major benefit of using a standing desk is avoiding all of the negatives that make sitting at a desk bad for you! Sitting for long periods of time causes metabolic issues–you dont produce chemicals necessary for processing sugars and fats, and your circulation suffers. Your skeleton and muscles form a reactive frame for your body which wants to move and respond to outside forces. Additionally, your muscles need to regularly flex to support healthy functions and chemical production. Standing allows your body to adjust and move easily, flexing your muscles continuously. It also keeps your blood circulating well. Movement regulates your blood sugar and keeps your blood pressure lower. And this lets you live longer! Risks of Sitting Sitting increases your chances of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and blood clots or thrombosis. Studies have shown some dramatic effects of sitting for long periods of time. Those who sit a lot are 54 percent more likely to have a heart attack. Men who sit more than six hours a day have a 20 percent higher mortality rate; women have a 40 percent higher mortality rate. If you sit for more than 23 hours a week, you are 64 percent more likely to die from heart disease. In addition, studies have also shown that regular exercise does not counteract the effects of prolonged sitting. The only way to reduce or eliminate the negative impact of prolonged sitting is to not do it. Working at a standing desk will accomplish that for most people. Another benefit of a standing desk is that you burn more calories throughout the day. That will help with weight loss or maintain a healthy weight. Standing while working will burn one-third more calories than sitting will, which could account for an additional 500 calories burned in a day. Standing Can Reduce Pain There is anecdotal and scientific evidence to show that standing while working will alleviate back pain and other repetitive stress injuries. The problem usually comes from not using your back enough. When you sit, you dont hold your upper body with your muscles; rather, you let the chair hold you. This leads significant compression within the chest and abdominal cavities, slouching of the shoulders and rolling of the spine. These are classic causes of repetitive stress injuries and back pain. Working at a standing desk will keep your core and back muscles engaged throughout the day and improve your posture. Mental Benefits of Standing Another benefit of a standing desk is an increase in your focus, alertness, and activity level. When standing, it is easier to release restless energy. Combine that with the good circulation, stable blood sugar, and an active metabolism, and it is easier to focus on the task at hand. Standing while working will burn one-third more calories. Many authors and statesmen throughout the centuries who swear by working at a standing desk have claimed that it helps get the creative juices flowing. It also fights fatigue and improves lethargy. While this may sound like a contradiction, it is not. Standing while working helps fight off the naturally occurring slumps and bouts of fatigue that often happen mid-morning or early afternoon. Those are often related to metabolic drops after meals are processed by the body. Keeping your blood sugar level helps avoid those. Staying active and releasing restless energy also promotes a satisfying tiredness when it is time to sleep. Your mind isnt racing and your body is ready to rest.

Church In Controversy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Church In Controversy - Essay Example First, the author lays bare the flaws in the arguments for the proponents of women ordination; to do this, the author clearly explains how the arguments of the proponents of women ordination in the Catholic Church is not based on Scriptures or any Theological knowledge. Secondly, the author explains how women ordination would change the iconography of worship, making Christians to have a different view of God and a different understanding of the relationship of Jesus Christ with the Church. And lastly, the author explains how the priesthood of women is opposed to the sacramental nature of the priesthood.The author has really convinced me to accept his thesis. The main reason why I am convinced that the author’s thesis is true is that the author’s arguments demonstrate, in very clear terms, that the ordination of women is inconsistent with the Christian understanding of the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Church; also, the author has demonstrated in this articl e that ordination of women is, indeed, not compatible with the sacramental nature of priesthood. In my view, the author has not left out any important point, or any important fact or argument that is opposed to his viewpoint on this topic.The following two relevant historical and cultural circumstances can help us to understand the author's point better. First of all, the author is writing in the contemporary world where the culture of relativism and skepticism seems to characterize the people's general approach to life.

Building Certification Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Building Certification - Coursework Example The fact that this building is a type IIA construction means that the elements of the building have to be fire rated. Here is a summary of my findings and a conclusion later on the certification of this particular building.This load might vary with there being greater concentration at certain areas as compared to other areas. However, a balance is needed and can be created by having adequate means of Egress. Here is my finding on the occupant load of the building.The capacity of Egress components like the main door way capacity as well as the other entrances and exits capacities have to be standard. This particular building has several exits/entrances. The main entrance is 120 inches wide while the other two side entrances are 72 inches wide each. Occupant load of the whole floor = load of Multipurpose Room + offices + classrooms + shops + lab load capacityThese exits have to be balanced. The table below represents the standard occupant load factor.According to the standards set, the building has good egress as well as occupant load capacity. These are well distributed and the exits are sufficient to cater and allow for efficient evacuation of the building in case of an emergency.Though there is no automatic sprinkler system, the designs of the hallways as well as their capacity can handle a fire eventuality well. The load capacity of the building is balanced to the different rooms as well as the entrances. With the basic conditions met, there is no reason not to award the certificate. I therefore award a certificate.

Cleaning Humans Mess In The Waters Essay Example for Free

Cleaning Humans Mess In The Waters Essay One can not perfectly estimate how long it will actually take to clean up the oceans polluted by oil. It always depends on the techniques used, the efficiency of the people working on it, how often workers clean the oceans and the budget alloted for the clean-up. Cleaning the ocean is the less difficult part, but expects the recovery to take more than 15 years. If cleaning is the only issue, then 15 to 20 years will definitely be enough, given that all procedures are effective, all workers are responsible and serious with what they are doing and all alloted budgets are used directly to fund the oil spill clean up. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill into the Limelight We can take the Exxon Valdez oil spill as an example. On March 24, 1989, one of the most shocking and seemingly-unrecoverable environmental disasters happened in Prince William Sound, Alaska, United States. This occurrence is said to be among the worlds largest oil spills when it comes to how much oil spill is released to the waters. Prince William Sounds is a place which isnt easy to access. Because of its remote location, cleaning it was difficult. Workers who need to clean the waters had to ride in boats and helicopters to reach the place (Chandler and Streissguth, p. 5). What needed to be cleaned was 11,000 square miles of ocean or 28,000 square kilometers of water. There were 40. 9 million liters of oil, or 10. 8 million U. S gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude oil spilled into the sea. Cleaning up seemed impossible and people were hopeless, but there were bigger things at stake like lives of millions of seabirds, seals, sea otters and salmon which belonged to the sea and depended on such habitat for survival (Chandler and Streissguth, p. 6). There were indeed a lot of delaying tactics in terms of cleaning up the Exxon Valdez oil spill since it was the first time America was confronted with such a big disaster. No one was at least prepared for it. The responses to cleaning up were slow and generally inadequate. The shoreline of the waters was definitely destroyed. There was a dramatic decline in the microbial population. What were needed to start the cleanup were challenged by response management, but was in time attended by 85 aircrafts, 1,400 vessels and 11,000 personnel. Having been armed with all these, the clean up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill was started in April 1989 (Wells, Butler and Hughes, p. 217). Cleaning up oil spill can indeed be cleaned up within 15 to 20 years because considering the volume of oil spilled into the ocean by Exxon Valdez, five months was enough to partially clean the ocean and let the government stop the people from cleaning the oceans up. If cleaning up continued, the health of the workers will definitely be jeopardized. What Alaska did was to stop the cleaning in September (which was started in April of the same year) and waited for winter instead. Responses resumed in the next two years, where cleaning up was at its height during the summers. Winters were skipped because the weather was sure to help with the clean up, too. Alaska is known for more than frequent winter storms. This time, winter storms are a blessing in disguise because these were capable of removing the oil which accumulated in the shorelines. Even sub-surface oils were removed from the ocean, too. By summer, cleaning up with personnel and procedures resumed (Wells, Butler and Hughes, p. 218). Human efforts and the help from the environment was enough to clean the Exxon Valdez oil spill in approximately three years. After the efforts and responses from women, it becomes the turn of the environment. This actually happened when 378 of the 587 segments of shorelines were treated through the application of bioremediation alone. It didnt take too long a time until cleaning the oil spill only required simpler techniques like bioremediation (as mentioned earlier), manual clean up and limited use of equipment (Wells, Butler and Hughes, p. 316). If this is how long it takes for a great disaster to be cleaned up, then how can one say that 15 to 20 years is not enough? Let it be a Lesson Learned It wont necessarily take 15 to 20 years to clean up the ocean. It may reach that long enough, though, if cleaning up is still done irresponsibly. Clean-up attempts are dangerous. In fact, cleaning up may even be more destructive than the oil spill itself because physical methods and chemicals are needed to eradicate the oil from the waters. If the amount is incorrect or the physical method is done improperly, then further damage can be caused, thereby delaying the cleaning up process and recovery (Alvord and Alvord, p. 77). Oil penetrated deeply into the sea. The spilled oil stays fresh for a couple of years. In no time, it returns back to the surface. Before it even reaches the surface, the oil should be taken away from the ocean bed because it can kill nearly animals once it reaches the waters surface. This is a concern of the people who work in cleaning up the oceans, which is why the response in oil spills is relatively fast since the Exxon Valdez caused trauma to a lot of people (Alvord and Alvord, p. 77). Because of the effects of oil on marine life and the quality of sea water, people are alerted – from government, be it local or national, to local residents near the shorelines of oceans. This alert alone is enough to warn everybody about the adverse effects of oil spill. The Exxon Valdez serves as a living example to help people stop the harmful things they do to the environment. The elimination of harmful acts will surely help in reducing the required clean-up years. Whatever it is that takes 15 to 20 years is not the cleaning procedures at all, but the long-term effects of the spilled oil. Millions of marine creatures are killed and it will take decades before reproduction is active and healthy again. The food we get from the water becomes questionable while tourism and economic depression is experienced.

Overall Summary on Existing Customer Service at Morrisons plc :: Business Management Studies

Overall Summary on Existing Customer Service at Morrisons plc After analysing the results I have obtained from the questionnaire, I have concluded that the majority of the public that shopped at Morrisons felt that the customer service overall is very good. Morrisons customers feel that the customer service is generally good because they are offered a lot of assistance from staff and also are given advice if requested by the customer. There are lots of facilities designed to make a visit to Morrisons as convenient and comfortable as possible for the general public. This is one of the causes for the customer service being rated as very good by the present customers I have surveyed. Morrisons have extended opening hours, including Sunday trading. This is so that customers have more flexibility on the time they prefer to shop. This is good for the customers who work or study because they tend to be free in the evening to shop. The parking facilities for the customers at the Mayo Avenue Morrisons store, has an extensive free car parking area. This includes spaces for parents with children and also drivers who have disabilities. At Morrisons there are Cash-Point machines for most major banks. This includes HSBC bank and Lloyds TSB. This is so that customers can withdraw money at the store and do not need to travel to the bank so that they can withdraw money from their bank account. There are recycling facilities including glass, can, bottle, paper and textile banks. This encourages customers to recycle. Also customers do not have to travel to other banks in Bradford to recycle. Morrisons have their own petrol station where petrol, diesel, free of charge tyre pumps are available and also confectionary and newspapers are on sale inside the petrol pump store. The tyre pumps enable customers to check the pressure of their vehicle tyres and can also pump the tyres if necessary. The Morrisons petrol pump is open long hours so that customers can utilise the pump during the period they shop at Morrisons in the late evening. At Morrisons, there are customer cafes offering snacks and hot meals freshly prepared in-store throughout the day. This is good for the customers with a busy schedule and also those who do not like to cook. For the parents and the babies there are baby-changing rooms with facilities. There are nappy dispensers and also a machine where you can purchase nappies from the vending machine. For all customers there are toilet facilities where there are soap dispensers. For the special needs customers there are disabled toilets that are specially designed for the customers with disabilities.

Basic Statistics for Business and Economics Essay

Over the last four weeks of being in the QNT/351 course our team has learned a lot about researching a hypothesis and understanding the mean. The hypothesis testing begins with the statement and the assumption that determines the population of the mean, (Lind, 2011, p.288.). There are five steps taken which include; state the hypothesis, select level of significance for it, identify the test statistics, formulate decision rule, and take a sample to arrive at a decision. On the contrary, however, McClave, 2011 states that there are seven steps including; null hypothesis, alternate hypothesis, test statistic, rejection region, assumptions, experiment and calculation of test statistic, and the conclusion. With setting a hypothesis and testing it is important to understand the mean and how to compare it amongst two or more groups. With testing the mean with multiple groups, the data collected is used to help determine the probability of a given amongst two distinct groups being analyzed which have the same or equal variances. This info it all based off the given hypothesis and should result in proving the null hypothesis stated. When looking at the mean the distance noted between the hypothesis and the mean placed is a value given as a result of the probability of occurrence. When analyzing and testing the means of the two groups we use the variance analysis. An example of this type would be testing the means of the two groups based off statistical models and valid conclusions. Along with completing the testing of the means of the groups, we must also calculate the variance according to the distribution of the differences in means. If the standard deviation is known we can calculate the z-score by using the difference of the variance and the mean. In calculating the correlation between the two variables we see that it is crucial to know the characteristics of the coefficient. According to Lind, 2011 pages 386-389 we can calculate the coefficient of correlation. The coefficient of correlation can help dete rmine the cause as well as effect amongst the two variables. Calculating these numbers is  crucial as the results give information which help determine the level of significance of the given hypothesis. References Lind, D. A., Marchal, W. G., & Wathen, S. A. (2011). Basic Statistics for Business and Economics (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. McClave, J. T., Benson, P. G., & Sincich, T. (2011). Statistics for Business and Economics (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Misogyny in Theogony Essay

In Theogony, Hesiod expresses misogynistic notions and shows the triviality of the creation of women. Hesiod portrays the insignificant role for women. He uses marriage as a light-hearted yet serious judgment and stereotypes against all women. Hesiod explains the most misogynistic attitudes in the story of Pandora. He works misogyny into female monsters and goddesses that use their tricks on men. Hesiod displays the dominance of the male sex in his poem, Theogony. Hesiod touches on his feelings toward the idea of marriage. Referring to Theogony, he states that the man who avoids marriage arrives at an old age with no one to look after him and distant relatives share out his living. The man who finds a good wife spends a life, â€Å"that is balanced between evil and good, / A constant struggle.†(393-394) While the man who gets an awful wife lives with, â€Å"He lives with pain in the heart all down the line, / Pain in spirit and mind, incurable evil.†(395-396) Hesiod’s idea of marriage is more of a teaching process with the man as dominant and the woman is to be controlled. The very creation of women was a punishment to mankind. Out of Zeus’ anger toward Prometheus, came Pandora, the first woman. Hesiod explains the thoughts of immortal gods and mortal men as they first glanced at the beautiful creation as â€Å"sheer deception, irresistible to men. / From her is the race of female women, / The deadly race and population of women, / A great infestation among mortal men.† (373-376) The only reason women live in this world is because of the sins of one male figure. Women have no other purpose in Hesiod’s words than to be the bad that upsets the good in the world. In Theogony, Hesiod mentions the monster Echidna stern of heart, â€Å"who was half nymph with fair cheeks and curling lashes, and half a monstrous serpent, terrible and huge, glinting and ravening, down in the hidden depths of the numinous earth.† This monster that Hesiod describes seems to parallel with his image of women: beautiful but deceiving. Theogony also describes Aphrodite as a modest and beautiful goddess. Although she is the goddess of intimacy, tenderness, and pleasure, she is also the goddess of deceptions. Aphrodite claims she is the most powerful because she can influence all other gods. Hesiod wrote this poem with a lot of misogynistic thoughts in mind. The idea of marriage is irrelevant except for the matter of reproduction of strong and courageous men in Theogony. The creation of women was originally a punishment to Prometheus but Hesiod shows that this is a punishment to all mankind. Women are also often compared to monsters and evil creatures. Hesiod states throughout his poem that women are often insignificant and trivial to the lives of men.

STOP TEACHING OUR KIDS TO KILL Essays - Violence In Video Games

STOP TEACHING OUR KIDS TO KILL Essays - Violence In Video Games THEODORE KIRK STOP TEACHING OUR KIDS TO KILL By: Dave Grossman Dave Grossman is an American author who has specialized in the study of the psychology of killing, which has been termed Killology. He is a retired lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army. Biography: Grossman was born in Frankfurt, West Germany. His career includes service in the U.S. Army as a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division, a platoon leader in the 9th Infantry Division, a general staff officer, a company commander in the 7th (Light) Infantry Division as well as a parachute infantry, a U.S. Army Ranger and professor of military science at Arkansas State University. Grossman has served as an expert witness in numerous state and federal court cases and was part of the prosecution team of the United States v. Timothy McVeigh. There is perhaps no bigger or more important issue in America at present than youth violence. Columbine, Sandy Hook, Aurora: We know them all too well, and for all the wrong reasons: kids, some as young as eleven years old, taking up arms, with deadly, frightening accuracy, murdering anyone in their paths. According to the authors of Stop Teaching Our Kids To Kill, there is blame to be laid right at the makers of violent video games (called murder trainers by one expert), the TV networks, and the Hollywood movie studios the people responsible for the fact that children witness literally thousands of violent images a day. Authors Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Gloria DeGaetano offer incontrovertible evidence, much of it based on recent major scientific studies and empirical research, that movies TV, and video games are not just conditioning children to be violent and unaware of the consequences of that violence, but are teaching the very mechanics of killing. In Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence, Grossman argues that the techniques used by armies to train soldiers to kill are mirrored in certain types of video games. The conclusion he draws is that playing violent video games, particularly light gun shooters of the first-person shooter-variety (where the player holds a weapon-like game controller), train children in the use of weapons and more importantly, harden them emotionally to the task of murder by simulating the killing of hundreds or thousands of opponents in a single typical video game. Grossman uses blunt language that draws the ire of gamers- during the heights of video game controversy, he was interviewed on the content of his books, and repeatedly used the term murder simulator to describe first-person shooter games. Conclusion: In Paducah, Kentucky, Michael Carneal, a fourteen-year old boy who stole a gun from a neighbors house, brought it to school and fired eight shots at a student prayer group as they were breaking up. Prior to this event, he had never shot a real gun before. Of the eight shots he fired, he had eight hits on eight different kids. Five were head shots, the other three upper torsos. The result was three dead, one paralyzed for life. The FBI says that the average, experienced, qualified law enforcement officer, in the average shootout, at an average range of seven yards, hits with less than one bullet in five. How does a child acquire such killing ability? What would lead him to go out and commit such a horrific act?

Online English To Chinese Translation Resources

Online English To Chinese Translation Resources There are many cases in which you might need to translate from English to Chinese. Perhaps you are running a multi-lingual event, need a little guidance with Chinese homework, a native Chinese speaker learning English, or simply curious. For whatever situation, hopefully  this  list of online English to Chinese translation resources beyond Google Translate can be helpful.   English To Chinese Words When translating words, an English to Chinese dictionary can be used for this purpose. There are several online English to Chinese dictionaries, including: YellowBridge Chinese-English Talking DictionaryMandarin Tools Chinese-English DictionaryLexiconer English to Chinese Dictionary English To Chinese Phrases While words are relatively easy to translate from English to Chinese, it is much more difficult to translate phrases. Google Translate allows you to paste in text or specify a web page for translation, but the result is sometimes difficult to understand. English to Chinese phrase translators include: Babel FishBubblesHow To SayReverso Translation Services None of these online translators do a very good job of translating from English to Chinese. If results are critical, you will have to hire an English to Chinese translation service. The ideal English to Chinese translator will be a native Mandarin speaker with a good knowledge of English. Small firms which specialize in English / Chinese language pairs are also a good choice since they usually have both native English speakers and native Mandarin speakers on staff, who work together on translation projects.

Compare and contrast upper-class life in 1800 in Seoul with life in Essay

Compare and contrast upper-class life in 1800 in Seoul with life in the same era in Edo. Be sure to include information on education and leisure activities - Essay Example Seoul grew with time and made great political impact. Among the activities that were embraced in Seoul were sports. The change in socio-political status of this era impacted on the interest in leisure activities as well as the education. Seoul people later embraced activities such as arts, learning the alphabets, painting, and drawings. On the other hand, by 1800’s Edo was ruled by strict customs with the intention of promoting stability. Confucianism prevailed; ensuring that the social boundaries were strictly maintained, as in Seoul (Ebrey et al. 279-288). Unlike in Seoul, the Edo era consisted of four social orders; the samurai, the peasants, the merchants, and the artisans. The peasants produced the food necessary for life, unlike in Seoul where sports were embraced. Artisans produced non-food items while merchants amassed wealth without making goods, and were listed least socially. Before the 18th century, Japan was in isolation and the peasants and the samurai were poor and stagnated. In 1800’s, however, the education status of the people rose as the ban on western books was lifted. Scholars adopted Dutch books and learnt mathematics, medicine, and military science. Like in the Seoul, leisure and arts were embraced as