This article is based on the second overview lecture given at the Workshop. The principal aim of these survey lectures was to provide a bird's eye view of the theory of motives vis-a-vis some of the longer courses and special lectures that were to follow. Needless to say, such a sweeping overview involves compressing a vast area, thereby necessitating omission of many details. In this article, we have largely retained the flavor of the lecture, introducing various concepts, themes and conjectures from the theory of motives.