how old is telemachus at the start of the odyssey

In Homer's Odyssey, Telemachus, under the instructions of Athena, spends the first four books trying to gain knowledge of his father, Odysseus, who left for Troy when Telemachus was still an infant. At the outset of Telemachus' journey, Odysseus had been absent from his home at Ithaca for twenty years due to the Trojan War and the intervention of Poseidon. During his absence, Odysseus' house has been occupied by hordes of suitors seeking the hand of Penelope.[3] Telemachus first visits Nestor and is well received by the old man who regales him with stories of his father's glory. Telemachus then departs with Nestor's son Peisistratus,[4] who accompanies him to the halls of Menelaus and his wife Helen. Whilst there, Telemachus is again treated as an honored guest as Menelaus and Helen tell complementary yet contradictory stories of his father's exploits at Troy.[5]

Telemachus

Telemachus (/təˈlɛməkəs/ tə-LEM-ə-kəs; Greek: Τηλέμαχος, Tēlemakhos, literally "far-fighter") is a figure in Greek mythology, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, and a central character in Homer's Odyssey. The first four books of the Odyssey focus on Telemachus's journeys in search of news about his father, who has yet to return home from the Trojan War, and are traditionally given the title the Telemachy.[1]

Telemachus's name in Greek means "far from battle", or perhaps "fighting from afar", as a bowman does.[2]

Telemachus focuses on his father's return to Ithaca in Book XV. He visits Eumaeus, the swineherd, who happens to be hosting a disguised Odysseus. After Odysseus reveals himself to Telemachus due to Athena's advice, the two men plan the downfall of the suitors. Telemachus then returns to the palace to keep an eye on the suitors and to await his father as the beggar.[6]

When Penelope challenges the suitors to string Odysseus' bow and shoot an arrow through the handle-holes of twelve axeheads, Telemachus is the first to attempt the task. He would have completed the task, nearly stringing the bow on his fourth attempt; however, Odysseus subtly stops him before he can finish his attempt. Following the suitors' failure at this task, Odysseus reveals himself and he and Telemachus bring swift and bloody death to the suitors.[7]

The Telegony was a short two-book epic poem recounting the life and death of Odysseus after the events of the Odyssey. In this mythological postscript, Odysseus is accidentally killed by Telegonus, his unknown son by the goddess Circe. After Odysseus' death, Telemachus returns to Aeaea with Telegonus and Penelope, and there marries Circe.

From the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology:

The son of Odysseus and Penelope (Hom. Od. i. 216). He was still an infant at the time when his father went to Troy, and in his absence of nearly twenty years he grew up to manhood. After the gods in council had determined that Odysseus should return home from the island of Ogygia, Athena, assuming the appearance of Mentes, king of the Taphians, went to Ithaca, and advised Telemachus to eject the troublesome suitors of his mother from his house, and to go to Pylos and Sparta, to gather information concerning his father. Telemachus followed the advice, but the suitors refused to quit his house; and Athena, in the form of Mentes, accompanied Telemachus to Pylos. There they were hospitably received by Nestor, who also sent his own son to conduct Telemachus to Sparta. Menelaus again kindly received him, and communicated to him the prophecy of Proteus concerning Odysseus (Hom. Od. i.–iv.). From Sparta Telemachus returned home; and on his arrival there, he found his father, with the swineherd Eumaeus. But as Athena had metamorphosed him into a beggar, Telemachus did not recognise his father until the latter disclosed to him who he was. Father and son now agreed to punish the suitors; and when they were slain or dispersed, Telemachus accompanied his father to the aged Laertes. (Hom. Od. xv.–xxiv.; comp. Odysseus.) In the post-Homeric traditions, we read that Palamedes, when endeavouring to persuade Odysseus to join the Greeks against Troy, and the latter feigned idiocy, placed the infant Telemachus before the plough with which Odysseus was ploughing (Hygin. Fab. 95; Serv. ad Aen. ii. 81; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 384; Aelian, V. H. xiii. 12.). According to some accounts, Telemachus became the father of Perseptolis either by Polycaste, the daughter of Nestor, or by Nausicaa, the daughter of Alcinous (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1796; Dict. Cret. vi. 6.). Others relate that he was induced by Athena to marry Circe, and became by her the father of Latinus (Hygin. Fab. 127; comp. Telegonus), or that he married Cassiphone, a daughter of Circe, but in a quarrel with his mother-in-law he slew her, for which in his turn he was killed by Cassiphone (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 808.). He is also said to have had a daughter called Roma, who married Aeneas (Serv. ad Aen. i. 273.). One account states that Odysseus, in consequence of a prophecy that his son was dangerous to him, sent him away from Ithaca. Servius (ad Aen. x. 167) makes Telemachus the founder of the town of Clusium in Etruria.

In Contest of Homer and Hesiod, it is alleged that the Roman Emperor Hadrian asked the Delphic Oracle about Homer's birthplace and parentage. The Oracle replied that Homer came from Ithaca and that Telemachus was his father by Epicasta, daughter of Nestor.[8][9]

According to Aristotle and Dictys of Crete, Telemachus married Nausicaa, King Alcinous' daughter, and fathered a son named Perseptolis or Ptoliporthus.[citation needed]

Telemachus is the subject of François Fénelon's The Adventures of Telemachus, Son of Ulysses (1699), a scathing attack on the monarchy of France.

Telemachus was the subject of numerous operas throughout the eighteenth century, most based on Fénelon's version.[10] Among the most famous of these operas were André Cardinal Destouches's Télémaque (1714), Alessandro Scarlatti's Telemaco (1718), Gluck's Telemaco, ossia L'isola di Circe (1765), Giuseppe Gazzaniga's Gli errori di Telemaco (1776), Jean-François Le Sueur's Télémaque dans l'île de Calypso ou Le triomphe de la sagesse (1796), Simon Mayr's Telemaco nell'isola di Calipso (1797), and Fernando Sor's Telemaco nell'isola di Calipso (1797).

Telemachus is one of the main characters in Ulysses, a 1706 play by Nicholas Rowe.

Telemachus is featured in the 1833 poem (published in 1842) "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

In the 1922 novel Ulysses by James Joyce, Stephen Dedalus is generally regarded as corresponding to Telemachus.

"Telemachus" is the title of Book Three of Thomas Wolfe's autobiographical novel Of Time and the River (1935).

Joseph Brodsky published the poem "Odysseus to Telemachus" in 1972.

Telemachus is a frequent character in the poetry of Louise Glück.[11]

Telemachus was the name of Carole King's cat and is pictured on the cover of her album Tapestry.[12]

Telemachus appears as the son of Ulysses in the 1981 French-Japanese animated television series Ulysses 31.


who was the last washington team to win a championship

Washington teams are widely known as some of the least successful in recent American sports, as prior to 2018, no Big Four team (the NFL's Washington Redskins, the NBA's Washington Wizards, MLB's Washington Nationals, and the NHL's Washington Capitals) had reached its sport's conference championship round since the Capitals advanced in the 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs, and no team had won a league championship since the Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI in 1992. However, in 2018, those streaks were broken when the Washington Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in game 5 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals. These teams are also known for having spectacular regular seasons followed by demoralizing playoff losses.

Sports in Washington, D.C.

Sports in the Washington, D.C. area include major league sports teams, popular college sports teams, and a variety of other team and individual sports. The Washington metropolitan area is also home to several major sports venues including Capital One Arena, RFK Stadium, FedExField, Audi Field, and Nationals Park.

The area is home to two regional sports television networks, NBC Sports Washington, which is based in Bethesda, Maryland, and Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.

The following table shows the sports teams in the Washington area with an average attendance of over 5,000 fans per game.

The Washington Redskins are the fifth-most valuable franchise in the NFL, according to Forbes magazine.[2] The football team is the most popular sports team in the area and regularly sells out the 4th largest stadium in the National Football League, FedExField, located in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.[3] In its first season in Washington after relocating from Boston in 1937, the Redskins won the NFL championship. They won again in 1942 and later played in five Super Bowls, winning three times (1982, 1987, and 1991).[4]

Washington's first professional baseball team was the Washington Olympics who played in 1871 and 1872. Several more teams played in the 19th century including the first incarnation of the Washington Senators (1891–99). A different Washington Senators team began play in 1901. The Senators played most of their home games at Griffith Stadium and won the 1924 World Series and three American League pennants.

The ceremonial first pitch got its start in D.C. in 1910 when President William Howard Taft threw out the first pitch at the Senators' Opening Day game. Every president since Taft has thrown out the first pitch in at least one important game, usually in Washington, D.C. (when D.C. has had a Major League team).

Several Negro league baseball teams played in Washington including the Black Senators and the Elite Giants. The longest lasting was the Homestead Grays. Though officially being based outside Pittsburgh, the Grays played a number of home games at their "home away from home", Griffith Stadium in Washington. The Grays won the Negro League World Series in 1943, 1944, and 1948.

The Senators moved away in 1960 and became the Minnesota Twins. This team was replaced next season by a new Senators team which played Griffith Stadium and then at D.C. Stadium (later, RFK Stadium) in 1969 until 1971 when it was relocated and became the Texas Rangers.

Washington was then without a professional baseball team for over three decades until Major League Baseball relocated the Montreal Expos to the city for the 2005 season. In the interim, the Baltimore Orioles served as Washington's home team. Orioles ownership marketed the team heavily to Washington baseball fans, even removing "Baltimore" from the team's uniform (however, since the return of baseball to the D.C. area, Baltimore is now on the uniform). The Orioles' reliance on the Washington market became a hindrance to Washington's efforts to gain their own baseball team as Orioles ownership lobbied Major League Baseball to keep a professional team out of Washington. Eventually, baseball's owners, burdened with a poorly performing Montreal franchise, were convinced to move the team to Washington with the promise of a brand new stadium fully financed by the D.C. government. Orioles' owner Peter Angelos cast the lone dissenting vote in the 28â€“1 decision. After spending their first three seasons at RFK Stadium, the Nationals began playing at Nationals Park in 2008.

Washington's first professional basketball team was the Washington Capitols who played in the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America (precursor to the National Basketball Association) at Uline Arena. That first year, the Capitols had a.817 winning percentage including a 17-game winning streak. The team began the 1948–49 season with a 15-game winning streak.[5] The Capitols folded on January 9, 1951.

An ABA team, the Washington Caps, played one season at Uline Arena (then known as Washington Coliseum) in 1969–70 and finished with a 44–40 record. The following year the team moved south and became the Virginia Squires.

On December 2, 1973, the NBA's Baltimore Bullets played their first home game at the newly built Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland and became the Washington Bullets. Despite the name change, the team continued to play many of their home games in Baltimore at the Baltimore Civic Center. The Bullets went to the NBA Finals in 1975 where they were swept in four games by the Golden State Warriors.

The Bullets' next appearance in the NBA Finals happened in 1978 when they beat the heavily favored Seattle SuperSonics in seven games. To date, this is the franchise's only league title. The two teams rematched in the 1979 NBA Finals, the Sonics won 4 games to 1.

In 1995, team owner Abe Pollin announced the Bullets would change their name out of sensitivity to the high rate of gun violence in Washington, D.C. Following a fan vote, the team became known as the Washington Wizards on May 15, 1997. Later that year, the Wizards moved into D.C. to play in the newly constructed MCI Center, now known as Capital One Arena. This new arena was constructed by Pollin. The Wizards have recently turned around a culture of losing, winning their first playoff series in 23 years in 2005 and making the playoffs the next four years under the leadership of star point guard, Gilbert Arenas.

The new MCI Center soon became the home court for an expansion Women's National Basketball Association team, the Washington Mystics. Despite having only two winning seasons and a mere four playoff wins, the Mystics excelled in another way by leading the league in attendance from 1998 through 2000 and 2002 through 2004. The team hung six banners in the Verizon Center touting themselves as "Attendance Champions". These banners were frequently criticized and in 2010 the new owner of the team and arena, Ted Leonsis, ordered them removed.[6]

Following the departure of star players like Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler, the Wizards finished with the 5th worst record in the 2009-10 NBA season. The team subsequently won the 2010 Draft Lottery and selected Kentucky point guard John Wall with the first pick, whom new owner Ted Leonsis and team president Ernie Grunfeld would build the team around in the years to come.

In the 2018â€“19 season, the District will have a team in the NBA's official minor league, the NBA G League. The Capital City Go-Go, owned by the Wizards, will play in a new arena in the Congress Heights neighborhood of southeast Washington that will also become home to the Mystics starting with that team's 2019 season.

In the mid 20th century, the Washington Lions played in the American Hockey League and other leagues at the Uline Ice Arena.
Starting with the National Hockey League's 1974 expansion, the Capitals have been Washington's professional hockey team. That first season the Capitals only won eight games earning an NHL-record low.131 winning percentage. After spending their first 23 seasons playing in the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, the Caps moved into D.C. to play in the newly constructed Capital One Arena (then known as the MCI Center) in 1997. A competitive high point came in their first season in the new arena when they defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Finals, earning a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals where they were swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings.

Among the many seasons of disappointing playoff exits from 2008-2017, a new story was written when Evgeny Kuznetsov lifted the Capitals over the Pittsburgh Penguins in OT of Game 6 in the second round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs to get to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years. Led by Alexander Ovechkin, the Capitals continued this story by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games to claim the title as Eastern Conference champions for the 2017-18 NHL season and the second title in franchise history. Then on June 7, 2018 the Capitals beat the Vegas Golden Knights in five games to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

In addition to their two Eastern Conference Championships, the Capitals have won three Presidents' Trophies and claimed 11 division titles. The team won four straight division championships as members of the Southeast Division between the 2007 and 2010 seasons, and three straight in the current Metropolitan Division, from 2015 to 2017. Four Capitals players have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame: Mike Gartner, Rod Langway, Larry Murphy, and Scott Stevens.

Washington is home to an original Major League Soccer club, D.C. United, which began play at RFK Stadium in 1996. One of the most successful MLS teams (with twelve major trophies, won domestically and at an international level), United has won four MLS Cups, including three of the first four played. They also won the U.S. Open Cup in their first year, in 2008, and again in 2013. In addition, the United have captured four MLS Supporters Shields, the most out of any MLS club in the region. D.C. United's 1997 MLS Cup victory at RFK Stadium was the only time a Washington team has won a championship within the District.[7] United plans to move to their new home, Audi Field, in 2018.
The region hosts a top-level women's soccer team, the Washington Spirit, which plays at the Maryland SoccerPlex. The team was announced as one of the eight charter members of the National Women's Soccer League, a new professional league launched by the United States Soccer Federation in 2013.

RFK Stadium has hosted two more MLS Cup championships. In 2000, the Kansas City Wizards (now known as Sporting Kansas City) won their first championship with a 1–0 win over Chicago Fire. In the 2007 MLS Cup, the Houston Dynamo defeated the New England Revolution 2–1. RFK Memorial Stadium also served as a soccer venue in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1996 Summer Olympics. FedExField has also hosted several prominent soccer games, including six matches in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. In July 2011, a match between Manchester United and Barcelona at FedExField drew a crowd of 81,807, a record soccer attendance for the D.C. metropolitan area.[8]

Washington's team in the North American Soccer League, the Washington Diplomats, played at RFK from 1974 to 1981, with a record attendance of 53,351 in a match against the N.Y. Cosmos in 1980.[9] Washington also had the Washington Whips, Washington Darts, and Team America in the NASL.

The Washington Freedom Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) team moved to Boca Raton, Florida in 2011. The team began as the Freedom in the now-defunct Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). The Freedom played at RFK for the three years of the league's existence and won the league championship in 2003, the WUSA's final year. Following the WUSA's demise, the team continued as an associate member of the W-League playing their home games at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown. The Maryland Terrapins are the greatest college sports university in America.

The following schools are located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area:

On December 20, 2008, Washington hosted its first college bowl game, the EagleBank Bowl, at RFK Stadium. The first match-up saw Wake Forest defeat Navy, 29–19.[10] After the sponsorship deal between the bowl organizers and EagleBank expired following the 2009 edition, the game was renamed the Military Bowl, thanks to a new sponsorship deal with a major defense contractor. The game left the Washington metropolitan area after its 2012 edition; it has since been played at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, which lies within the Baltimore metropolitan area.

Georgetown University began fielding a basketball team in 1907. The Georgetown Hoyas have won seven Big East tournament championships and ten Big East regular season championships. They have appeared the NCAA Final Four five times, winning the national championship in 1984.
Several NBA players got their start playing for Georgetown including Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, and Reggie Williams. The Hoyas play their home games at Capital One Arena.

Washington, D.C. is home to 22 teams flag football teams that play under the DC Gay Flag Football League which is part of the National Gay Flag Football League. In 1994, the DC League formed as an organized unit.[11] The DCGFFL won the Gay Bowl in 2003 and 2004.[12] In September 2010, DCGFFL premiered in its first season as an official league as part of the NGFFL.[13] Washington, D.C. hosted the Gay Bowl in 2016 on the National Mall.[14][12]

Fairfax, Virginia in the Washington suburbs was home to the Washington Bayhawks[15] of Major League Lacrosse.[16] The Bayhawks moved to George Mason Stadium, after playing one season at Georgetown University and six seasons in Baltimore. The Bayhawks are one of Major League Lacrosse's original six teams, created in 2001 the same year the league started. The Bayhawks have twice won championships in the MLL in 2002 and 2005. The Bayhawks began playing their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, which is in the federally defined Baltimore Metropolitan Area, for the 2009 season and changed their name to the Chesapeake Bayhawks in 2010. The Washington Power were a member of the National Lacrosse League during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. After the inaugural championship in 1987 in Baltimore (as the Thunder) through 1999 and an unsuccessful stint in Pittsburgh (as the CrosseFire), the franchise moved to Washington, D.C. in 2001. After two seasons of low attendance in Washington, the franchise moved, this time to Denver, Colorado, as the Colorado Mammoth. In Colorado they have seen success both on and off the field, culminating in 2006, when they had the highest attendance in the league, and also won the Champion's Cup.

The Washington, D.C. area is home to numerous rugby union teams, including men's, women's, college and high school. Prominent club teams include the Potomac Athletic Club, Washington Rugby Football Club, and the Maryland Exiles. These two clubs merged in 2014 as the Potomac Exiles Rugby Club The Maryland Terrapins rugby team plays in the Atlantic Coast Rugby League against its traditional ACC rivals. At the high school level, Gonzaga fields one of the strongest programs in the country, and Pride rugby (formerly Hyde rugby) gained national attention as the first rugby program at a predominantly African-American school.

The Washington, D.C. Slayers rugby league team who play in the USARL play their home games at Duke Ellington Field, 38th St NW and R St NW. The other rugby league team in the Washington, D.C. area, the Northern Virginia Eagles, play in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Washington is home to two annual marathon races: the Marine Corps Marathon which is held every autumn and the Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon held in the spring. The Marine Corps Marathon begun in 1976 is sometimes called "The People's Marathon" because it is the largest marathon without prize money.[17] The Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run is another annual race that began in 1973 and is conducted as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The Army Ten-Miler, started in 1985, is the country's largest ten-mile race with over 26,000 participants; it is held each October and its course runs through Washington, D.C. and finishes at the Pentagon.[18]

Washington hosts an annual ATP Tour men's tennis event, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park.

In July 2008, the Washington Kastles, a World TeamTennis team, played their first season in a temporary stadium in downtown Washington, D.C. finishing with a 6–8 record. In 2009, despite losing their first four matches, the Kastles won the WTT championship.[19] The Kastles were 8–6 and just missed the playoffs in 2010. In 2011, the Kastles moved to Kastles Stadium at the Wharf at 800 Water Street, SW in Washington right off Maine Avenue. The Kastles played the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons there. In 2011, the Kastles posted a perfect season of 16–0 and won the WTT Championship. The 2011 season was the 36th for World Team Tennis, and the Kastles became the first team to accomplish the feat of a perfect season. They posted a second perfect season of 16–0 in 2012, and won another WTT Championship, becoming the only professional sports team to have back-to-back undefeated seasons. In 2013, the Kastles won their first match of the season to post a record of 33 straight wins, equaling the 33 games winning streak of the 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. The Kastles won the second match of the season to set a new record of 34 straight wins by a top-tier professional sports team. Even though the Kastles lost the third and fourth matches of the 2013 season, they went undefeated for the remainder of the season to finish with a 14–2 record and won their third consecutive WTT Championship. In 2014, the Kastles moved to Kastles Stadium at the Charles E. Smith Center on the campus of George Washington University and won their fourth consecutive WTT Championship with an overall record of 12–4.[20] In the first seven years of the franchise, the Kastles have won five WTT titles.


what is the us conference of catholic bishops

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States.  Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (USCC), it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic hierarchy (i.e., diocesan, coadjutor, and auxiliary bishops and the ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter) in the United States and the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands. In the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the bishops in the six dioceses form their own episcopal conference, the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference. The bishops in U.S. insular areas in the Pacific Ocean –  the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Territory of American Samoa, and the Territory of Guam –  are members of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific.

The USCCB adopted its current name in July 2001.  The organization is a registered corporation based in Washington, D.C. As with all bishops' conferences, certain[which?] decisions and acts of the USCCB must receive the recognitio, or approval of the Roman dicasteries, which are subject to the immediate and absolute authority of the Pope.

The current President is Galveston–Houston's archbishop, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo.[2]  The current Vice President is Los Angeles's archbishop, Archbishop Jose Gomez.[2]

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops took its present form in 2010 from the consolidation of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United States Catholic Conference.  The USCCB traces its origins to the National Catholic War Council, which was founded in 1917.[3]

The first national organization of Catholic bishops in the United States was founded in 1917 as the National Catholic War Council (NCWC), formed to enable U.S. Catholics to contribute funds for the spiritual care of Catholic servicemen during World War I.

In 1919 Pope Benedict XV urged the college of bishops around the world to assist him in promoting the labor reforms first articulated by Pope Leo XIII in Rerum novarum. In response, the U.S. Catholic episcopate organized the National Catholic Welfare Council in 1919. They also created the first Administrative Committee of seven members to manage daily affairs between plenary meetings, with archbishop Edward Joseph Hanna of San Francisco as the first chairman. Headquarters were established in Washington, D.C.

After a threatened suppression of the National Catholic Welfare Council, the administrative board decided to rename the organization to be the National Catholic Welfare Conference, with the purpose of advocating reforms in education, immigration, and social action.

Episcopal conferences were first established as formal bodies by the Second Vatican Council (Christus Dominus, 38), and implemented by Pope Paul VI's 1966 motu proprio Ecclesiae sanctae. In order to fulfill the new requirements for national conferences of bishops, the American bishops established –  in 1966 – the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and its secular arm, the United States Catholic Conference (USCC).

As separate organizations with distinct responsibilities, the NCCB focused on internal ecclesiastical concerns while the USCC carried forward work in society at large. The NCCB enabled the bishops to deliberate and respond collectively on a broad range of issues, with work being carried out through various secretariats, standing committees, and ad hoc committees.

On July 1, 2001, the NCCB and the USCC were combined to form the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The merger resulted in the continuation of all of the work formerly done by the NCCB and the USCC, with the same staff.

The operation, authority, and responsibilities of episcopal conferences are currently governed by the 1983 Code of Canon Law (see especially canons 447â€“459). The nature of episcopal conferences, and their magisterial authority in particular, was subsequently clarified by Pope John Paul II's 1998 motu proprio, Apostolos suos.

The structure of the conference (USCCB) consists of 16 standing committees (whose members are bishops) and the departments, secretariats, and offices that carry out the work of the committees. The leaders of these departments, secretariats, and offices report to the general secretariat of the conference.

The membership of the USCCB consists of all active and retired Latin Church Catholic and Eastern Catholic bishops (i.e., diocesan, coadjutor, and auxiliary bishops) of the United States and the Territory of the Virgin Islands –  and the ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter –  but not the bishops of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Territory of American Samoa, and the Territory of Guam. The bishops of the latter four U.S. overseas dependencies belong to other episcopal conferences. In the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the bishops in the six dioceses form their own episcopal conference, the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference. The bishops in U.S. insular areas in the Pacific Ocean –  the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Territory of American Samoa, and the Territory of Guam –  are members of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific.

The USCCB has two semiannual meetings, in November and June.  Between these meetings, the conference is governed by the Administrative Committee.  There is also an Executive Committee, whose members include the conference president, vice-president, and secretary (all of whom are bishops).  The officers of the conference are elected for three-year terms.  The conference also elects chairmen and chairmen-elect of the standing committees.

The dioceses of the United States are grouped into fifteen regions.  Fourteen of the regions (numbered I through XIV) are geographically based, for the Latin Catholic dioceses.  The Eastern Catholic eparchies (dioceses) constitute Region XV.

Office of the General Secretary

Office of the General Counsel

Policy and Advocacy

Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development

Department of Migration and Refugee Services

Secretariat of Catholic Education

Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities

Administration and National Collections

Office of National Collections

Office of Information Technology

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops had appointed James T. McHugh during April 1967 to lead the early formation of what was later to become the National Right to Life Committee. The NRLC was itself formed in 1968 under the auspices of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to coordinate information and strategy between developing local and state Catholic pro-life groups and is the oldest and the largest national organization against legal abortion in the United States with NRLC affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide.[4] These NRLC affiliate groups were forming in response to efforts to change abortion laws based on model legislation proposed by the American Law Institute (ALI). New Jersey attorney Juan Ryan served as the organization's first president. NRLC held a nationwide meeting of pro-life leaders in Chicago in 1970 at Barat College. The following year, NRLC held its first convention at Macalestar College in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The USCCB are issuing the "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services"[5][6] that have in some cases caused doctors to refuse treatment of patients although in an emergency situation.[7]

In March 2012, regarding the federal requirement that employers who do not support contraception but are not religious institutions per se must cover contraception via health insurance, USCCB decided to "continue its 'vigorous opposition to this unjust and illegal mandate'".[8]

In June and July 2012, the USCCB promoted a campaign of events called the Fortnight for Freedom to protest government activities that in their view impinged on their religious liberty.

The USCCB platform on immigration reform includes:[9][10]

In November 2004, the USCCB kicked off the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage, a multi-year effort to promote traditional marriage values.[citation needed]

The National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage is a multi-year, far-reaching effort to promote traditional marriage values created by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2004.

Led by Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz of Louisville, and the USCCB's Office of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, as well as the Catholic Communication Campaign, the Initiative synthesizes social-science research, Catholic teaching and pastoral practice, and the everyday experiences of married men and women to bolster marriage as a social institution and Christian sacrament.

The NPIM has largely been promoted among the general public in the United States through radio and television public-service announcements.[11]

In the advertising, couples speak candidly about the everyday things done for each other to show love and commitment as they answer the question: “What have you done for your marriage today?” Viewers are then directed to visit,[12] an online repository of resources, tips and stories that can help strengthen a marriage.

The NPIM is expected to run through 2011, with the next phase including a bishopsâ€™ pastoral letter.

On September 29, 2011, the Archbishop of New York, Timothy M. Dolan, then President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) appointed Archibishop William E. Lori the chair of a newly formed Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty to address growing concerns over the erosion of freedom of religion in America.[13] During June 2017, the U.S. Bishops voted to establish a permanent Committee for Religious Liberty.[14] The USCCB Office of Religious Liberty is currently led by Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz, who also was President of the USCCB during 2013-2016.

Religious Freedom Week is held annually during early summer to coincide approximately with U.S. Independence Day on July 4 and with the June 22 Feast of Saints Thomas More and John Fisher.[15]

â€  = deceased

At the November 2010 General Meeting in Baltimore, elections were held for President and Vice President. For the first time in the history of the USCCB, and in a break from long-standing tradition, a Vice President standing for the presidency was denied the top post. In those elections, Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York, was elected President –  defeating Gerald Kicanas, Bishop of Tucson, 128–111 (54% to 46%) –  and Joseph Kurtz, Archbishop of Louisville, was elected Vice President in a runoff against Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Denver, 147-91 (62% to 38%).

The budget for 2011 is US$180 million. Money is raised by assessing the individual dioceses.[16]


what is difference between stratified and cluster sampling

The main difference between cluster sampling and stratified sampling is that in cluster sampling the cluster is treated as the sampling unit so sampling is done on a population of clusters (at least in the first stage). In stratified sampling, the sampling is done on elements within each strata. In stratified sampling, a random sample is drawn from each of the strata, whereas in cluster sampling only the selected clusters are sampled. A common motivation of cluster sampling is to reduce costs by increasing sampling efficiency. This contrasts with stratified sampling where the motivation is to increase precision.

Cluster sampling

Cluster sampling is a sampling plan used when mutually homogeneous yet internally heterogeneous groupings are evident in a statistical population. It is often used in marketing research. In this sampling plan, the total population is divided into these groups (known as clusters) and a simple random sample of the groups is selected. The elements in each cluster are then sampled. If all elements in each sampled cluster are sampled, then this is referred to as a "one-stage" cluster sampling plan. If a simple random subsample of elements is selected within each of these groups, this is referred to as a "two-stage" cluster sampling plan. A common motivation for cluster sampling is to reduce the total number of interviews and costs given the desired accuracy. For a fixed sample size, the expected random error is smaller when most of the variation in the population is present internally within the groups, and not between the groups.

The population within a cluster should ideally be as heterogeneous as possible, but there should be homogeneity between clusters. Each cluster should be a small-scale representation of the total population. The clusters should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive. A random sampling technique is then used on any relevant clusters to choose which clusters to include in the study. In single-stage cluster sampling, all the elements from each of the selected clusters are sampled. In two-stage cluster sampling, a random sampling technique is applied to the elements from each of the selected clusters.

There is also multistage cluster sampling, where at least two stages are taken in selecting elements from clusters.

Without modifying the estimated parameter, cluster sampling is unbiased when the clusters are approximately the same size. In this case, the parameter is computed by combining all the selected clusters. When the clusters are of different sizes, probability proportionate to size sampling is used. In this sampling plan, the probability of selecting a cluster is proportional to its size, so that a large clusters has a greater probability of selection than a small cluster. However, when clusters are selected with probability proportionate to size, the same number of interviews should be carried out in each sampled cluster so that each unit sampled has the same probability of selection.

An example of cluster sampling is area sampling or geographical cluster sampling. Each cluster is a geographical area. Because a geographically dispersed population can be expensive to survey, greater economy than simple random sampling can be achieved by grouping several respondents within a local area into a cluster. It is usually necessary to increase the total sample size to achieve equivalent precision in the estimators, but cost savings may make such an increase in sample size feasible.

Cluster sampling is used to estimate high mortalities in cases such as wars, famines and natural disasters.[1]

Major use: when sampling frame of all elements is not available we can resort only to the cluster sampling.

Errors: The other probabilistic methods give fewer errors than this method. For this reason, it is discouraged for beginners.

Two-stage cluster sampling, a simple case of multistage sampling, is obtained by selecting cluster samples in the first stage and then selecting sample of elements from every sampled cluster. Consider a population of N clusters in total. In the first stage, n clusters are selected using ordinary cluster sampling method. In the second stage, simple random sampling is usually used.[3] It is used separately in every cluster and the numbers of elements selected from different clusters are not necessarily equal. The total number of clusters N, number of clusters selected n, and numbers of elements from selected clusters need to be pre-determined by the survey designer. Two-stage cluster sampling aims at minimizing survey costs and at the same time controlling the uncertainty related to estimates of interest.[4] This method can be used in health and social sciences. For instance, researchers used two-stage cluster sampling to generate a representative sample of the Iraqi population to conduct mortality surveys.[5] Sampling in this method can be quicker and more reliable than other methods, which is why this method is now used frequently.

Cluster sampling methods can lead to significant bias when working with a small number of clusters. For instance, it can be necessary to cluster at the state or city level, units that may be small and fixed in number. Microeconometrics methods for panel data often use short panels, which is analogous to having few observations per clusters and many clusters. The small cluster problem can be viewed as an incidental parameter problem.[6] While the point estimates can be reasonably precisely estimated, if the number of observations per cluster is sufficiently high, we need the number of clusters

G
→
∞

{\displaystyle G\rightarrow \infty }

 for the asymptotics to kick in. If the number of clusters is low the estimated covariance matrix can be downward biased.[7]

Small numbers of clusters is a risk when there is serial correlation or when there is intraclass correlation as in the Moulton context. When having few clusters, we tend to underestimate serial correlation across observations when a random shock occurs, or the intraclass correlation in a Moulton setting.[8] Several studies have highlighted the consequences of serial correlation correlation and highlighted the small-cluster problem.[9][10]

In the framework of the Moulton factor, an intuitive explanation of the small cluster problem can be derived from the formula for the Moulton factor. Assume for simplicity that the number of observation per cluster is fixed at n. Below,

V

c

(
β
)

{\displaystyle V_{c}(\beta )}

 stands for the covariance matrix adjusted for clustering,

V
(
β
)

{\displaystyle V(\beta )}

 stands for the covariance matrix not adjusted for clustering, and ρ stands for the intraclass correlation:

V

c

(

β
^

)

V
(

β
^

)

=
1
+
(
n
−
1
)
ρ

{\displaystyle {\frac {V_{c}({\hat {\beta }})}{V({\hat {\beta }})}}=1+(n-1)\rho }

The ratio on the left-hand side provides an indication of how much the unadjusted scenario overestimates the precision. Therefore, a high number means a strong downward bias of the estimated covariance matrix. A small cluster problem can be interpreted as a large n: when the data is fixed and the number of clusters is low, the number of data within a cluster can be high. It follows that inference when the number of clusters is small will not have correct coverage.[8]

Several solutions for the small cluster problem have been proposed. One can use a bias-corrected cluster-robust variance matrix, make T-distribution adjustments, or use bootstrap methods with asymptotic refinements, such as the percentile-t or wild bootstrap, that can lead to improved finite sample inference.[7] Cameron, Gelbach and Miller (2008) provide microsimulations for different methods and find that the wild bootstrap performs well in the face of a small number of clusters.[11]


when does kanye and kid cudis album come out

Kids See Ghosts (stylized as KIDS SEE GHOSTS) is an American hip hop supergroup-duo composed of musicians Kanye West and Kid Cudi. The duo released their eponymous debut album, Kids See Ghosts, on June 8, 2018, through GOOD Music.[1]

Kids See Ghosts

In 2008, then-aspiring artist Kid Cudi caught the attention of rapper-producer Kanye West's A&R at the time, Plain Pat, who had initially met Cudi at a Def Jam meeting and picked up a copy of his demo.[2] Plain Pat went on to introduce Cudi's music to West, subsequently leading West to sign Cudi to his GOOD Music imprint later that year.[2] Following Cudi's signing to GOOD, he began heavily working with West. West first called upon Cudi to reference hooks for American rapper and mogul Jay-Z, and while in the studio Cudi and West went from working on The Blueprint 3 (2009) to West's R&B-esque fourth solo album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008).[3] Cudiâ€™s assistance on the latter includes co-writing credits and/or vocals on "Heartless," "Welcome to Heartbreak," "Paranoid" and "RoboCop."[3] Kid Cudi proved to be a prominent songwriter and featured artist on 808s & Heartbreak, with "Paranoid" and "Heartless" being released as singles respectively, while "Welcome to Heartbreak" charted as an album cut and peaked at number 87 on the Pop 100.[4]

The two continued to work on Cudi's debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009), with West serving as an executive producer. West had also produced two songs, namely "Sky Might Fall", as well as the Common-assisted third single "Make Her Say", which West is also featured on. Cudi has contributed to every West album since 2008's 808s & Heartbreak, with their 2016 effort "Father Stretch My Hands", reaching the Top 40 of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. After a brief fallout,[5][6] the two reconnected in late 2016, around the dissolution of West’s Saint Pablo Tour, which ended in him being hospitalized.[7][8][9] West abruptly canceled his Saint Pablo Tour and sought hospitalization for exhaustion in November 2016. West’s only two live appearances since have both been with Cudi, who also sought mental health treatment in the fall of 2016, for performances of “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” in November 2017 and February.[10] West, however, hasn't appeared on one of Cudi’s songs, or worked on any of his albums, since 2010's Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager.

On April 19, 2018, West announced via Twitter that a collaborative album with Kid Cudi would be released in June.[11] He followed the tweet revealing the name of the group, which also serves as title of their  debut album, Kids See Ghosts.[12][13] On April 22, again via Twitter, West unveiled the album artwork, which was composed by Tokyo-based artist Takashi Murakami.[14] The duo were originally photographed with Murakami in July 2017.[15][16] On April 25, West revealed the album would be accompanied by a short film, directed by Dexter Navy, a music video director notable for his collaborations with The Neighbourhood and ASAP Rocky.[14][17]  On June 8, their eponymous debut album was released following a live listening party in Santa Clarita, California.[18][19] Cudi revealed in July that he and West will continue to release music as Kids See Ghosts.[20]


who played gaston in beauty and the beast 1991

Gaston is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' 30th animated feature film Beauty and the Beast (1991). Voiced by American actor and singer Richard White, Gaston is an arrogant hunter whose unrequited feelings for the intellectual Belle drive him to murder his adversary, the Beast, once he realizes she cares for him instead. Gaston serves as a foil personality to the Beast, who was once as vain as Gaston prior to his transformation.

Gaston (Disney)

An original character who is not present in the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont upon which the film is based, Gaston was inspired by Avenant, a character filmmaker Jean Cocteau created specifically for his 1946 film adaptation of the story. Created by screenwriter Linda Woolverton, who based the character on some of the ex-boyfriends she dated in her past, Gaston was developed specifically for Disney's adaptation of Beauty and the Beast because the studio felt that the film could benefit from a strong villain, who is lacking in the original fairy tale. As the character evolved from a nonthreatening aristocrat into an arrogant hunter relentlessly seeking Belle's hand in marriage, Gaston ultimately replaced a female relative of Belle's who the filmmakers had originally created to serve as the film's villain.

Both Disney and supervising animator Andreas Deja initially struggled with the concept of animating a handsome villain, which had never been attempted by the studio before. Deja ultimately based Gaston's appearance on those of handsome soap opera actors in order to create a grotesque version of the Prince Charming stock character, while some of White's own operatic mannerisms were incorporated into the character. Gaston both physically and emotionally embodies hypermasculinity. In direct contrast to his adversary the Beast, Gaston is depicted as handsome with an unattractive personality. Gaston has been generally positively received by film critics, although some of them dismissed the character as an inferior, less memorable villain than some of the studio's previous efforts. Considered to be one of Disney's most famous villains, Gaston is frequently ranked within the top-tens of Disney villain rankings released by several media publications.

Gaston is one of several elements unique to Disney's animated adaptation of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale, written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.[1] Under Richard and Jill Purdum's direction, Gaston originally resembled a "foppish aristocrat" as opposed to the strong, arrogant hunter he would ultimately be revised into;[2][3] The Huffington Post described early drafts of Gaston as "a weaselly, sort of wimpy character".[4] In fact, Gaston was originally intended to resemble more of an annoying than antagonistic character, while the main villainous role belonged to Belle's aunt Marguerite instead, who plotted to force Belle into marrying Gaston.[5] This version of Gaston was abandoned along with much of the original film treatment's elements, including Marguerite,[5] at the behest of Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg.[2]

After Katzenberg insisted that development on the film be completely overhauled, the studio ultimately decided to incorporate elements from filmmaker Jean Cocteau's 1946 film adaptation of the fairy tale into their own version of Beauty and the Beast.[6] Gaston, a character who does not exist in the original fairy tale,[7] was among several elements borrowed from the live-action version of the story,[6] based on a character Cocteau himself had created specifically for his film: Avenant,[6] portrayed by French actor Jean Marais who also plays the Beast in a duo role.[8][9] Similar to Cocteau's addition of Avenant, Gaston was created for the animated adaptation because Disney felt that the story could potentially benefit from a legitimate villain, which the original text lacks,[10] in addition to instilling Beauty and the Beast with a more prominent element of danger.[11] With Marguerite completely eliminated, Gaston replaced her and ultimately became a more formidable villain.[4][5] Musicals in Film: A Guide to the Genre author Thomas S. Hischak observed that Gaston himself had been developed as "a new kind of Disney villain" because he is introduced as a harmless, comic individual who gradually changes and evolves into a much more sinister character as the film progresses.[12] With its handsome villain and liberated heroine,[13] both of whom had been developed into fully realized, multi-dimensional characters,[14] finally established, Beauty and the Beast's storyline began to solidify.[13] However, some filmmakers continued to contest whether or not Gaston was actually a strong enough villain.[15]

In addition to eliminating Belle's sisters, screenwriter and creator Linda Woolverton introduced Gaston as a "blockheaded suitor" for the heroine,[16] basing the character on boyfriends she had dated in the past.[17] Several darker elements originally conceived for the film were ultimately written out of the final version, among them the idea of Gaston himself first visiting the insane asylum in which he plans on imprisoning Belle's father Maurice.[18] After Woolverton re-wrote Belle into a more liberated Disney heroine, the animators struggled to realize the screenwriter's vision and briefly depicted the character shoving Gaston into a closet after he proposes to her, an idea Woolverton strongly contested and fought to have written out of the film in favor of Belle rejecting her suitor's proposal in a less "bitchy" way.[19] During Gaston and the Beast's climatic battle, the character was originally intended to yell "Time to die!" to his opponent, but the writers ultimately replaced this line with "Belle is mine!" in order to return some of the scene's focus to the heroine of the story, over whom the two men are fighting.[18] Additionally, Gaston's death was originally intended to have resulted from him being eaten alive by wolves after surviving his fall from the Beast's castle, suffering only a broken leg;[20] this idea was ultimately discarded and eventually resurrected for Scar's death in The Lion King (1994).[18] The writers also briefly deliberated having Gaston kill himself once he realizes that Belle will never love him, but this idea was also quickly discarded.[21] Small skulls were drawn in Gaston's eyes as he descends from the Beast's castle to confirm that he does, in fact, die from his fall.[20]

Disney hosted an open casting call for the character, which several actors attended.[22] Among the actors who auditioned for the role was Rupert Everett,[7] who Disney decided not to cast because the filmmakers felt that he did not sound arrogant enough to voice such a proud character;[23] Everett would ultimately go on to voice Prince Charming, a similar character who appears in the Shrek film series, using the critique of not sounding arrogant enough to play Gaston to secure the role.[18] American actor and opera singer Richard White was selected to voice Gaston.[22] His initial audition was first recorded on audio cassette, a copy of which was then forwarded to Disney.[24] White's feature film debut,[22] the actor recalled that lyricist and executive producer Howard Ashman guided him through discovering how he would approach voicing Gaston without telling him exactly how to do it,[25] describing having the opportunity to voice a character like Gaston as "freeing... cathartic, in a way".[25] Although White did not feel like it was necessary for him to physically "become" his character in order to voice him, in retrospect, he admits that he acted much more like Gaston during recording sessions.[22] Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune compared White's "brash" vocal performance to that of actor Howard Keel.[26]

Andreas Deja served as Gaston's supervising animator. The first villainous character to whom Deja had been assigned by Disney, the animator immediately recognized that Gaston was unique in terms of Disney villains because he was not designed to frighten both the film's hero and audience, as previous Disney villains had been.[27] In the case of Gaston, Deja stated that viewers are unable to immediately decipher whether or not the character is actually an antagonist based on his physical appearance alone.[27] White agreed that Gaston is "full of himself, of course, but he's not recognizably villainous" until his opinions and expectations of Belle are further explored.[13] Deja initially struggled with the idea of designing a "supremely handsome" villain, a specific instruction administered to him by Katzenberg, but he eventually grew to understand the concept upon studying the film's underlying themes of not judging a book by its cover and "deceptive appearances".[28][14] Deja explained, "I understood him from a story point of view, but visually was hard", and at times argued with Katzenberg over whether or not the character was handsome enough.[29] Some Disney executives also shared Deja's initial hesitation over the character's appearance.[22] Deja ultimately overcame his deliberations about the character's appearance by modeling Gaston based on handsome soap opera actors, a creative decision Katzenberg approved of, explaining to the animator "the story weâ€™re trying to tell here is don't judge a book by its cover, so Gaston has to have the opposite qualities of the Beast... no one said it was going to be easy!'".[29]

White's casting ultimately influenced Gaston's design; the animators adjusted the character's appearance after hearing White's operatic singing voice for the first time, making Gaston similarly operatic in his movements, gestures and mannerisms.[7] According to White, Gaston's early designs initially looked "much more Brutish" before the animators ultimately decided to go in a "more beautiful" direction,[22] basing the character "on a grotesque version" of the Prince Charming character.[30] Describing the design process as highly collaborative between actor and animator, White would record his lines while the animators drew his character, alternating back and forth for several months.[24] This process allowed the animators to incorporate White's acting performance into Gaston.[22] Because White continued to perform on Broadway while working on Beauty and the Beast, Disney would accommodate his stage career by hiring a studio to work wherever he was located.[24] White recalled, "The experience is kind of like an actor's sandbox. You're in a room by yourself and are invited to be as creative as you can be. Anything you could imagine â€¦ they could draw!"[24] In his book Tradigital Animate CC: 12 Principles of Animation in Adobe Animate, author Stephen Brooks observed that Deja's challenge "was to let [audiences] know that Gaston is not as courageous as everyone says he is... but also keep him a real and credible threat" since he is a villain nonetheless.[31]

Both Gaston's personality and physical appearance evolved dramatically during production over the course of two and a half years.[22][13] Originally drawn by Deja to resemble a "brute",[14] White revealed that earlier versions of Gaston varied from "fat and sloppy" to a character based on actor Errol Flynn with a mustache.[13] Deja incorporated physical attributes of several of Disney's "classic" villains into Gaston's design, specifically the wide chest and square jawline of Captain Hook from Peter Pan (1953).[32] One particular challenge of animating a realistic-looking character like Gaston was the difficulty of having him express certain emotions that would not result in him looking too "cartoony", but at the same time trying to instill the character's performance with "life".[27] Gaston's experssions were exaggerated to the point of which they exceeded normalcy, essentially "overacting."[31] Deja recalled that he was constantly "walking a fine line by drawing and animating Gaston in subtle ways, yet he also had to be able to articulate emotions like arrogance, anger and evil."[27] To make Gaston a multi-dimensional character, Deja worked to incorporate various "expressions - the sarcasm, the broadness and the expressiveness - that the handsome leading man seldom gets to show".[33] According to Den of Geek's Simon Brew, Gaston is "animated really carefully, as it would have been easy to slip, and allow us to see the less jovial, more sinister side of his character earlier."[21] Deja maintains "a real discipline here in holding Gaston back, to let the audience hook into him, before allowing his gradual slide."[21] Deja also exaggerated Gaston's proportions to help audiences believe that the character could actually physically face the beast head-on.[31] In terms of research, Deja sought inspiration from male Los Angeles residents who constantly adore themselves, observing them as they fix their hair and admire themselves in mirrors, explaining, "It was fun to observe them and bring some of that attitude to Gaston."[33][14] Creating the character's chest hair, which he exposes during his performance of "Gaston", was a fiercely debated subject among animators.[34][29] Deja described early renditions of the character's chest hair as "peculiar" in design because of the way in which it was comed, "from the inside out."[29] The final version was decided via a contest, in which the animators vied to determine who could best design Gaston's chest hair.[34] Colors were used to indicate characters' emotions and affiliations in the film; while Gaston is dressed in red to represent evil, Belle and the Beast wear blue to depict goodness.[35] Following Gaston's success, Deja would develop a reputation of animating Disney villains, continuing with Jafar from Aladdin (1992) and Scar from The Lion King (1994).[36][37]

Gaston is depicted as a very narcissistic, self-centered and superficial individual, motivated by extreme jealousy.[38][21][39] Identified as the film's villain by the Orlando Sentinel's Joy Boyar,[40] Gaston is not ugly in appearance, nor does he realize that he himself is a villain until approximately midway through the film and during "The Mob Song",[7][41] a musical number he uses to convince his loyal followers to storm the Beast's castle and kill him,[42] although traces of his villainy are first hinted after he proposes to Belle.[43] Simon Brew of Den of Geek attributes Gaston's increasing villainy to "his raging jealousy and insecurity" that ultimately "transforms him into the storyâ€™s antagonist" after he finally succumbs to "circumstance[s] of his life".[21] The character's villainy peaks after he attempts to have Maurice incarcerated, although his transformation remains far from complete.[21] Further distinguishing Gaston from the villains in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Sleeping Beauty (1959) and The Little Mermaid (1989), respectively, the character does not undergo a hideous physical transformation before he dies.[1] Mania.com's Rob Vaux observed that Gaston is "small-minded" in comparison to other Disney villains because his ideas tend to resemble those of school bullies, particularly one whose ego has been inflated "by the people around him", as opposed to "grand schemes";[32] the character has no known desire to conquer the world, lacking ambitions beyond simply marrying the woman he is attracted to.[21] The character is also void of both magical powers and political influence.[44] The Huffington Post's Lauren Duca agreed that Gaston is "more aggressively intolerable than horrifying."[45]

Beloved by nearly every character in the film, most of whom revere him as the town's most eligible bachelor,[46][29] Decent Films film critic Steven D. Greydanus agreed that Gaston initially resembles "merely the ultimate dumb jock".[43] Gaston's bodybuilder physique serves as a deliberate exaggeration upon "the stereotyped image of male beauty";[47][48] The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook author Jerry Griswold compared the character's appearance to actors Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger,[49] while the Chicago Tribune's Gene Siskel described him as a "Robert Goulet clone on steroids."[50] Tradigital Animate CC: 12 Principles of Animation in Adobe Animate author Stephen Brooks likened Gaston's exaggerated facial expressions to the way in which people "give away their lies as they try to overcompensate."[31] According to From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture author Elizabeth Bell, Gaston "functions... to contrast to the Beast", whose personality ultimately helps make the Beast a more appealing hero despite the latter character's own flaws.[48] While the Beast maintains "a heart of gold" despite being hideous in appearance, Gaston boasts a handsome exterior but remains "rotting on the inside";[51] the Beast risks becoming like Gaston on the inside if he fails to change his ways.[49] Gaston represents "the difference between outward beauty and beauty of the soul", one of the film's central themes.[11] The fact that Gaston's cruel nature is not mirrored by his handsome exterior "further emphasiz[es] the filmâ€™s message about inner beauty."[32] A visual reference to the Beast's "half-man, half-animal" appearance, Gaston's body is temporarily attached to a pig's head when he falls into a large mud puddle upon having his marriage proposal rejected by Belle.[52] Ultimately, although Gaston mortally wounds the Beast, he is still unable to kill the human who continues to thrive within him.[53] In the end, Gaston becomes the monster the Beast was originally depicted as,[51] and his failure "to transform into a New Man" ultimately results in his own death.[54] At the same time, Gaston's cowardice is demonstrated by his decision to stab the Beast in the back immediately after the reformed creature offers him a choice to walk away unharmed.[55]

From very early during the film, audiences are led to expect that Gaston's obsession with Belle will eventually drive him to battle the Beast, Belle's love interest and protector.[31] Despite their obvious differences, Gaston and the Beast boast several similarities, namely their shared interest in Belle – Gaston's climatic fight with the Beast is driven by the fact that both characters are in love with the same person, albeit differently –[21] exaggerated musculature,[49] and respective goals motivated by their own insecurities.[21] Additionally, both characters use Belle's loyalty to her father to manipulate her.[51] The scene in which Gaston sits in his large chair in the village tavern is a reference to him and the Beast's similarities.[49] Decorated with fur and horns, Gaston's chair resembles the Beast when viewed from behind.[49] In his book The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook, author Jerry Griswold observed that "given the dramatic contrast between Gaston and the Beast... the title of the film may actually refer to them alone."[49] In her book Beyond Adaptation: Essays on Radical Transformations of Original Works, author Phyllis Frus observed that the villain's subtle, entirely non-physical transformation into a more demonic version of himself forces the character to suffer a "loss of humanity", in the end justifying his ultimate death.[1] By the end of the film, Gaston has essentially traded places with the Beast, the latter of whom was originally depicted as the story's antagonist.[21] Frus elaborated, "few viewers predict that" Gaston "will finish the film snarling like an animal... before falling to his death", concluding that the character "does not need to magically turn into a beast at the end because, as a male, he is already 'beastly'."[1]

Beauty and the Beast parodies the idea of excessive masculinity, a trait shared by both Gaston and the Beast.[56] Obsessed with his own virility,[41] Gaston shares several opinions associated with "the hyper-masculine male",[48] boasting many "traditionally heroic" qualities and beliefs.[32] Representing "everything that can go wrong in the heterosexual male" according to The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook author Jerry Griswold,[49] Gaston is essentially a caricature of hypermasculinity; he proudly hunts, drinks, fights, spits, bullies and lies in addition to being shallow and ignorant, exuding what are considered to be some of the worst masculine traits.[47] Gaston intimidates and threatens anyone opposed to his ideas,[48] and actively attends male social gatherings via which he can exercise his "alpha male" status.[47] Extremely egotistical, Gaston appears to pride himself as the greatest at any task he attempts.[11] Stephen Hunter of The Baltimore Sun wrote, "at the foundation of [Gaston]'s personality is something that is merely hinted at in conventional star personas: an overweening vanity. He's in love with the face in the mirror, and the pathology of male vanity is a very '90s idea."[57]

Gaston is Disney's most chauvinistic villain to-date, although this trait is approached with humor, making him at times a comic relief character early on,[51] unlike Disney's previous villains.[43][58] According to Yahoo! Movies' Will Perkins, Gaston believes that "he’s God’s gift to women and the world."[59] Referred to as a personification of misogyny,[60] Gaston is accustomed to acquiring anything he desires,[51][21] and believes he deserves to marry Belle only because she is considered to be the most beautiful girl in his hometown, and thus "the best."[46] According to Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church author Kenda Creasy Dean, the character "only understands love as self-fulfillment, which allows him to perpetrate domination, viciousness and violence" in pursuit of it.[53] Greg Garrett, author of The Gospel According to Hollywood, determined that Gaston serves as "a reminder that what the world loves is not worth emulating".[46] Determined to win Belle as a trophy wife,[61] Gaston never attains her;[51] the character's ego is sorely bruised when his vision of a provincial life is threatened by Belle's rejection,[53] only augmenting his determination to marry her at whatever cost,[11] and bringing his insecurities to the forefront for the first time.[21] Gaston fails to understand Belle's passion for reading.[46] Gaston effectively uses his charm, good looks and a fabricated image of the Beast to rally the entire village against his opponent,[60][52] demonstrating his ability to convince others that he is a gentleman despite never actually having shown concern for anyone other than himself;[60] only Belle remains unfazed by Gaston's facade and uncovers his true nature,[62] further highlighting the heroine's strength and independence.[63] Opposed to the idea of women reading, Gaston believes that he'll be able to "cure" Belle of her thirst for intellect after marrying her,[64] although at the same time these same passions appear to heighten his interest in her.[65] The film makes sure that Gaston's opinions about women are viewed as little more than "boorish";[64] Woolverton wanted Gaston to teach young boys "how not to treat women".[19]

As a strong leader, Gaston is able to convince a large following to do as he commands and trigger conformity and bigotry in others,[66][52] although he remains incapable of implementing such ideas on his own.[52] Richard Corliss of Time observed that the character's "bigotry, for wanting to marry Belle because she’s the prettiest girl in town... corrodes into malevolence when he consigns Belle’s eccentric father to an asylum and leads the ignorant villagers on a torches-and-pitchforks crusade," which has been compared to scenes from the horror film Frankenstein (1931).[67][68] Brett Seegmiller of Medium compared Gaston's leadership skills to those of German politician Adolph Hitler because he combines "a call to action with the command to follow him... after he’s whetted our appetites for some action."[66] Additionally, author Jerry Griswold wrote in his book The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook that Gaston's hypermasculinity potentially "amounts to a resistance to his own homosexuality" (after all, he is in love with himself), comparing him to Lester Burnham's homophobic neighbor in the film American Beauty (1999).[49] Toying with gender expectations, Gaston's masculinity is depicted as ridiculous, while Belle becomes drawn to the Beast's "gentle vulnerability".[69] The Beast gifting Belle a library further emphasizes the differences between the two male characters because Gaston frowns upon reading, accusing the activity of giving women ideas and allowing them to think for themselves as opposed to solely bearing children.[1] Ultimately, Gaston and the Beast embody bad and good masculinity, respectively;[70] the characters are used "to play the New Age sensitive man off against the macho man," according to Ways of Being Male: Representing Masculinities in Children's Literature author John Stephens.[71]

Gaston debuted in Beauty and the Beast as an arrogant hunter who is determined to marry Belle, whom he considers to be the village's most beautiful woman. However, she refuses his proposal when he throws a wedding party without her prior knowledge. Belle is the only one in town who actually dislikes Gaston for the person he is inside. Thoroughly humiliated, he sulks, but when her father Maurice shows up saying that she has been captured by a hideous Beast, he comes up with the idea of having him thrown into an insane asylum, unless Belle agrees to marry him. His plan fails when Belle proves the Beast does exist, and she says that he is her friend, and that he is a better person than Gaston. He becomes jealous, snaps, and decides to gather a band of villagers to kill the Beast, playing off their fears that the Beast might wreak havoc on their village.[72] In the ensuing fight, he shoots the Beast with an arrow and beats him down, taunting him about his appearance, and still refusing to believe that Belle will not marry him. The Beast has no heart to fight until he sees that Belle came back for him, at which point he easily overpowers Gaston and intends to kill him. However, when Gaston begs for his life, the Beast decides to be the better man and have mercy, and climbs back up to Belle. Gaston then stabs the Beast in the back, but loses his balance when the Beast swings his arm backwards at him; consequently, Gaston dies from the fall.

Gaston appears in the 2017 remake as played by Welsh actor Luke Evans. During an interview with Empire magazine, Evans said that Gaston would retain his hunter background, yet would also be a former soldier in the French army. He also implied that this version of Gaston is darker than the original.[73] In the film, Gaston plays out the same role as in the animated movie, though with a few differences. Bored with his peaceful life after returning from the war, Gaston pursues Belle, determined to marry her, as she is the most beautiful girl in the village and the only one good enough for him. He also finds her independence to be a thrilling challenge, and shows obvious disgust with the bimbettes who constantly fawn over him purely because of his appearance. He accosts her at her home, subtly offering his hand in marriage for when Maurice dies, but she turns him down. Gaston sulks in the tavern until LeFou cheers him up with a song. Maurice appears, claiming that Belle has been imprisoned by the Beast. Intrigued, Gaston offers to help Maurice free her as means of gaining both Maurice and Belle's favor. Gaston comes to doubt Maurice's claims and reveals the only reason for helping him was so he could give Gaston Belle's hand in marriage. When Maurice refuses to allow Gaston to marry Belle, Gaston ties him to a tree, leaving him to the wolves. He hopes by doing this, it would coerce Belle into marrying him, as he tells Lefou that after Maurice dies there will be no one to take care of Belle except for him. Maurice later accuses Gaston of his crime, but Gaston fools the people into thinking Maurice is mad and arranges for him to be locked up in the asylum. He privately offers to put a stop to it if he lets him marry Belle, but Maurice still refuses. When Belle turns up and proves the Beast's existence with the mirror, Gaston's jealousy drives him to rally the people to storm the castle and kill the Beast but not before he orders Tom, Dick, and Stanley to lock Belle alongside her father to prevent her from warning the Beast. He confronts the Beast alone and shoots him multiple times. Belle appears and the Beast fights back, holding Gaston over a chasm, but Gaston begs for mercy and is spared. Instead of leaving, Gaston stands on a nearby bridge and shoots the Beast again, fatally. In response to the Beast's life fading, the castle begins to crumble and the bridge where Gaston is standing breaks into pieces, sending Gaston falling to his death. Unlike in the animated movie, Gaston's death is shown onscreen.

Gaston appears in Broadway musical adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, which premiered at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 18, 1994.[74] The role was originated by actor Burke Moses, who received a nomination for a Drama Desk Award and won a Theatre World Award.[75] Besides the songs "Belle", "Gaston", and "Kill the Beast" (which were from the Disney movie), Gaston performs "Me" (in which he self-centeredly proposes to Belle), "Gaston (Reprise)" (which was expanded to have Gaston and Lefou sing about his wicked plan, with Gaston also admitting he "won't feel the least bit remorseful" so long as it works), and "Maison de Lunes" (in which he recruits the asylum owner to have Maurice committed). In the Melbourne stage production of the film, he was played by Hugh Jackman.[76] Notable actors who have played the role on Broadway include Burke Moses, Marc Kudisch, Christopher Sieber, and Donny Osmond.[citation needed]

Gaston is also featured in the Marvel Comics serial for Beauty and the Beast, taking place during Belle's stay at the castle. He generally served as comic relief and effectively the "protagonist" of the village B-stories, where he is trying to come up with some scheme to get Belle to marry him, only for the triplets to interfere and sabotage his plans in order to get him to focus on them over Belle.[citation needed] He also appears in an expanded role in Serena Valentino's 2014 book The Beast Within: A Tale Of Beauty's Prince, which takes place prior to the start of the original film. In the novel, Gaston and the Beast are portrayed as childhood friends, with the curse erasing Gaston's memory of the prince.[77] He has a brief cameo in the fourth Kingdom Keepers book, where he alongside Prince John and Horned King were present with the Overtakers at Tom Sawyer Island. He also had a section dedicated to himself in the tongue-in-cheek book Villain Files alongside the other Disney Villains, with it implying that his meeting Belle was during archery practice. He also was in Descendants: Isle of the Lost, the tie-in novel to Descendants, where he had to belle as their wife and had two sons, whom he evidently named after himself due to his egomania. They also shared his egomania to some extent, but were comparatively kinder than their father.[citation needed]

Gaston has appeared in the television series Disney's House of Mouse, and was voiced again by White. The character also makes sporadic appearances in Sing Me a Story with Belle, mostly acting as a comedic foil, always stating “No one (insert action) like Gaston!" while walking by, rudely interrupting people's conversations and this phrase is frequently used as rip-offs by other characters.[citation needed] A live-action version of Gaston appears in two episodes of the fantasy television series Once Upon a Time, in which he is first portrayed by Sage Brocklebank and later by Wes Brown. The first was in the first season, where he was Belle's fiancé and attempted to save Belle from Rumplestiltskin, but got transfigured into a rose. The second time was in the fifth season, where he befriended Belle. He was depicted in a more lighter manner compared to the original movie, where it is implied that his love for Belle was genuine.[citation needed]

He is included in the 1993 video game adaptations Beauty & The Beast: Belle's Quest and Beauty & The Beast: Roar of the Beast. Although he acted as the main antagonist for both games, he also acted as an ally character in the former, using his strength to help in a task early in the game. In the Disney Princess video game, he acts as the main antagonist of Belle's chapter. Like in the film, he attempts to rabblerouse the villagers into attacking the castle. This time, however, he simply tries to convince the villagers the castle was evil and of dark magic, and thus needed to be destroyed, and to that end tried to abduct Mrs. Potts, Chip, Cogsworth, and Lumiere to act as proof. However, Belle outsmarted him. He also had a mention in Kinect Disneyland Adventures, and also appeared briefly as a disguise for the villain Misrabel in Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion.[citation needed] Gaston also appears as a non-playable character in the Kingdom Hearts video game series as an antagonist who controls an army of Heartless.[78]

Gaston has received generally favorable reviews from film critics.[66] Simon Brew of Den of Geek was very receptive towards the character: "thanks to a mix of humour, believable character development, compelling motivation and the excellent voicing work of Richard White (proving you don’t need a big movie star on voice duties), he’s an utterly compelling antagonist, and an extremely interesting one."[21] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Owen Gleiberman hailed Gaston as "a wonderful character",[79] while The Daily Beast lauded the character as "a triumphantly funny villain".[80] The New York Times' Janet Maslin described Gaston's "fatuousness" as "well conveyed" while praising White's performance, writing that the actor "do[es] wonders in bringing... Gaston to life."[81] Writing for IndieWire, Drew Taylor felt the fact that Gaston is "a strapping cad" as opposed to a witch or hideous creature contributes to making the film "a wholly unique experience".[82] Reviewing the film 25 years after its original theatrical release, Creative Loafing's Matt Brunson admitted that he "never grow[s] tired of watching the boorish Gaston".[83] The Seattle Times' John Hartl called White "hilarious" as Gaston.[84]

However, critical opinions of Gaston have been rather lackluster in comparison to those of other, more acclaimed Disney villains; reviewers generally prefer Scar, Maleficent and Jafar.[66] While dubbing Gaston's characterization "one of the movie's cleverest touches", at the same time Stephen Hunter of The Baltimore Sun felt that the character lacks the charisma of some of Disney's earlier female villains, namely the Evil Queen and Cruella de Vil from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1964), respectively.[57] Times' Richard Corliss called Gaston "a way-too-handsome galoot" and "Dudley Do-Right gone wrong."[67] Hal Hinson of The Washington Post felt that Gaston was "overbearing" because "everything about him is comically exaggerated and satirized to the point that you feel as if the cleft in his chin might swallow you whole."[85][86] In her book From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture, author Elizabeth Bell reviewed Gaston as a "Chauvinist Pig, the kind that would turn the women of any primetime talkshow audience into beasts themselves."[48] Similarly, The Media and the Models of Masculinity author Mark Moss accused the character of uttering "the most anachronistic nonsense heard on the screen for quite some time."[47] JoBlo.com reviewed Gaston as an "inferior villain", writing, "While Whiteâ€™s performance is terrific, the character itself is ultimately basic and bland."[87] Jaime N. Christley of Slant Magazine dismissed the character as juvenile and little more than the film "reducing every aspect of its source material to the level a kindergartner would understand".[88] Film critic Roger Ebert described Gaston as too "insufferable" as he "degenerates... from a chauvinist pig to a sadistic monster", but at the same time cited White among the film's "gifted cast".[89]

Gaston is considered to be one of Disney's "classic" villains,[90][45] as well as one of the studio's most famous.[59] Prior to Gaston's debut, virtually every Disney villain before him had been unattractive in appearance; Den of Geek writer Simon Brew holds Gaston accountable for changing the reputation of future Disney villains.[21] The character's villainy tends to resonate with audiences more than those of other Disney villains because fans can often identify someone similar to him in real life.[32] Medium contributor Brett Seegmiller strongly believes that "Gaston is one of the best villains in the Disney canon" because audiences both respect and fear him, as well as the best leader in his opinion.[66] MTV crowned Gaston "Disney's smarmiest villain",[13] while Thomas S. Hischak, author of Musicals in Film: A Guide to the Genre, dubbed him "one of Disney's most fiendish human villains".[12] Crowning the character the "Most Terrifying Disney Villain of All", Bustle's Mary Grace Garis praised Gaston's depiction of a misogynistic villain: "because Gaston is the walking embodiment of patriarchy at it's most comically aggressive, anyone... from a 3-year-old to a 23-year-old can look at him and be like, 'THAT. That's the enemy.'," with Gaston being easier to relate to than other Disney villains due to him lacking "magic power or political influence" and being "just your everyday alpha-male trying to mansplain to you when you're just trying to live your life".[44]

Gaston frequently appears within the top-tens of Disney villain rankings organized by various media publications; however, he is usually placed closer towards the middle of these countdowns and seldom ranks number one.[66] E! ranked the character the sixth best Disney villain.[91] TVOvermind also ranked Gaston sixth despite his lack of magical powers "because of his overwhelming douchebaggery" whose "general intolerance makes for a terrific villain."[38] On The Huffington Post's "Definitive Ranking Of 25 Classic Disney Villains", Gaston was featured at number eight,[45] while About.com placed the character ninth on a similar list.[55] Yahoo! Movies included Gaston at number 11 on their ranking of "the 12 most famous Disney villains from worst to best", awarding him "points for not only being a huge jerk, but for also trying to blackmail Belle into marrying him... and for leading a mob to kill Beast."[59] According to the Orlando Sentinel, Gaston is the 12th greatest Disney villain.[92] Meanwhile, on Babble's list of "The Top 15 Disney Villains Ranked from Bad to Worst", which ranked the characters based on scariness, Gaston was placed 10th.[41] CNN agreed that Gaston is one of "Disney's scariest villains", writing, "the only thing worse than a cocky, demanding guy who can't take a hint is a cocky, demanding guy who organizes a mob to kill your boyfriend", concluding, "He may not have looked scary, but he was obviously the movie's real beast."[93] Featured among Collider.com's "9 Most Wicked Animated Villains", contributor Matt Goldberg hailed Gaston as "a delightful caricature of an idiotic jock."[63] Facetiously, Beamly considers Gaston to be among "8 Disney villains who are better than the heroes" for catching their attention despite being an "awful and sexist" character.[94] Moviefone was less receptive towards the character, ranking him 25th out of 30 on their list of the "Top Disney Villains of All Time".[95] Oh My Disney ranked Gaston's line "The most beautiful girl in town, that makes her the best! And don’t I deserve the best?” the ninth most sinister quote uttered by a Disney villain.[96]