Overview
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT: There are three options. The first and third are straightforward analytical options; the second is a more creative choice that still involves critical, analytical thought.
Write 1000 - 2500 words, double-spaced on any of the three options (only one option please). Use MLA standards for any quotes.
Don’t forget writing basics. You’re making an argument. Don’t meander. Give a thesis statement. State how you’ll make your argument (which points you’ll present), back it with specific examples/evidence. Then transition to the next point. Finally, wrap it up with a summary statement. Make sure you cite original sources.
Proof-read your work.
OPTION ONE: Take one of the following myths: Apollo and Daphne, Artemis and Callisto, or Orpheus and Eurydice. Briefly summarize the myth (and cite the original source/sources you use).
Then briefly analyze it using 2 of the many methods we discussed. You might refer to the etiological method, Euhemerism, structuralism, the neo-ritualist model emphasizing biological programs of action, Freudian or Jungian psychological methods, etc… What do you think the myth is about?
OPTION TWO: Greek and Roman myths are all around us and are constantly being re-invented for a contemporary audience.
Read the following two poems:
clas-315-myth-1-1.written.a.pdf
One is an epigram by Roman poet Martial published in Rome between 86 and 106 A.D. The other is "Shapeshifter" by contemporary poet Margaret Wack (don't include the last page of a previous poem included in the Xerox). Pick one of the poems to discuss.
Analyze what the poet is doing by showing how he/she references Greek Mythology for their particular audience.
OPTION THREE: In Homer's Iliad the Trojan warrior Sarpedon lays out the essence of the heroic code, saying at 12.322-28, "seeing that death will come anyway, sooner or later, a hero fights bravely and either wins glory for himself or gives it to another."
However, Achilles has withdrawn from the fight, dooming the Greeks to defeat unless he changes his mind and re-enters the battle. He is questioning the heroic code by which he's heretofore lived his entire life. In Book 9 the Greeks send three ambassadors to try and persuade Achilles to come back and fight. Who are they? What are their arguments? How does Achilles respond to each? Does he shift his position? What finally persuades Achilles to fight?