Final Exam Paper, due by December 9th

The Final Exam paper is pasted below if you missed class on Tuesday (or simply lost it). Note the due date: no late papers will be accepted since grades are due very soon after this! Let me know if you have any questions. 

Humanities 2113

Final Exam Paper: Echoes of Tragedy

On our last day of class, I asked you to respond to the following question:

“Who do you think the Oedipuses, Medeas, Jocastas, and Jasons are today? What makes them similar, and what makes them tragic? Are these people the equivalent of heroes and kings and queens? Or can tragedies be about even ‘nobodies’ today? Can anyone’s suffering be tragic with the right approach or storyteller?  Where have you heard their stories, and why do people relate to them?”

And that’s the very subject I want you to write about in your Final Exam paper. Find a modern tragedy, or a modern tragic figure(s) who you think echoes some of the tragedies we’ve read about in Hamilton, Medea, and/or Oedipus Rex. How are we telling some of the same stories, about some of the same characters, in tragedies that sound (to some extent) remarkably the same? How do modern tragedies remind us that the story remains the same…only the names and locations change? Your modern example doesn’t have to be exactly like one of the plays or myths, but it should have some slight resemblance to a character, an idea, a struggle, or a theme of those works.

Your paper should do the following things:

• Clearly explain the modern tragedy or tragic figure, and explain why you read their story as tragic, rather than just as unfortunate or sad. What makes it a story for the ages, that could teach us lessons about our own humanity through pain and suffering?
• Make a SPECIFIC connection to one of the works in class, whether one of the tragic myths in Hamilton, or one of the plays. You can do more than one, but you must do at least one. QUOTE from the text and help us see how the modern tragedy is a slight (or a clear) echo of the older work.
• Assume that you’re writing to someone who doesn’t know either tragedy, so explain it in a way that teaches your readers about it. Don’t assume, and don’t skim over the important details. Imagine yourself in the role of a teacher: what would you have to explain to make the ideas stick?

DUE NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9^th BY 5pm

For Thursday: Greek Tragedy, Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex"

Read the second play in the Greek Tragedy, "Oedpius Rex" that begins on page 71. Remember, this play is based on the events of Oedipus recounted in the "Royal House of Thebes" chapter that we read for Tuesday. Since you know the overall plot, pay attention to how Sophocles tells the story, and what he specifically focuses on that Hamilton couldn't include in her brief summary of the overall myth. 

Answer two of the following:

Q1: How does the Chorus differ in this play compared to Medea? Does it have more of an active role in this play? Or is it merely watching the play unfold from the sidelines? Does it tell us how to feel or think about the characters? Does it share privileged information with us, or is it just as clueless as we are?

Q2: When Oedipus threatens Creon with death for (in his eyes) betraying him with a false prophecy, the Leader tells him that "Quick thinkers can stumble," and that he should think carefully before acting. Oedipus responds that "when a conspirator moves/abruptly and in secret against me...I must out-plot him and strike first." What does this response reveal about Oedipus' philosophy in life? Why is he so impulsive and quick to judgement? 

Q3: Both Oedipus and Jocasta are quick to dismiss prophecy, and Jocasta even tells her husband that "In their very dreams, too, many men/have slept with their mothers./Those who believe such things mean nothing/will have an easier time in life." This is a strange passage, since it suggests that it is better not to question things or to know what they mean. Is that the true message of the play: that it's better to live with a lie than die with the truth? In a sense, do you think she has always guessed the truth, and simply preferred to lie to herself? Is happiness always based on not knowing?  

Q4: In the chapter about "The House of Atreus," we learnt that later authors, such as Euripides, claimed that "if the gods do evil they are not gods." But aren't the events of this play evil? Didn't the gods curse Oedipus to destroy his own family and ruin the kingdom of Thebes? Or does this play and its events have nothing to do with the gods at all? Is this another example of men blaming their bad decisions on the gods? 

For Tuesday: Hamilton, Mythology: Part 5, Chapters 17 & 18

For Monday's class, we'll take one more look at our Mythology book to read about the Royal Houses of Atreus and Thebes. Both of them play into two plays in our book, Agamemnon and Oedipus Rex. 

Read Part 5, Chapter 17 "The House of Atreus" and Chapter 18 "The Royal House of Thebes" (pp.354-393)--it reads quickly, so don't worry! 

Answer two of the following: 

Q1: One of the most common themes in many myths (including The Odyssey) is when people "thought [themselves] strong enough not only to deceive the gods...but to defy them openly" (349). Why do you think the Greeks were so obsessed with this plot device? Why, in a world of gods and torments, would people keep testing them?

Q2: Orestes is a bit like Hamlet, written so many centuries later: both men have to avenge the untimely murder of their fathers. However, unlike Hamlet, Orestes faces a moral dilemma that makes Agamemnon one of the greatest Greek tragedies. What is this dilemma, and why is it a riddle without a solution (unlike the Sphinx's riddle in Oedipus)? 

Q3: Hamilton reminds us that "The thirst for blood--It is in their flesh. Before the old wound Can be healed, there is fresh blood flowing" (353). Why do the innocent children of people who defy or anger the gods have to be punished for the sins of their fathers? Wouldn't this be an example of sacrifice, which the Greeks felt would disqualify any god from being a true deity? Or does this have a more allegorical meaning?

Q4: In drama, tragedy usually results when people make important decisions in ignorance, or without enough context/information to foresee the results. And yet, every story in this book has at its heart a prophecy, usually from the Oracle at Delphi, where Apollo would tell people the future through a riddle. If the characters knew the future in every story, why do they still make such tragic mistakes? Why might a prophecy be its own form of blindness in one or more of these stories? 

For Thursday: Euripides, Medea, Part 2

 NOTE: Since we're a little behind on the schedule, we're going to spend another day discussing Medea in class, so if you haven't finished it, please do! I'll give you an in-class writing over it on Thursday--not a Reading Exam, exactly--to help us discuss some of the larger issues of the play. 

I'll also allow you to turn in your Medea questions by Thursday if you haven't done them already (and many of you haven't!). So please be careful and don't fall behind at the end of the semester.

Take care and see you on Thursday! 

For Thursday, Greek Tragedy: Euripides, Medea (see note)

NOTE: Remember, I have to cancel class on Thursday due to the Interscholastic Meet, which will take over the entire building on Thursday. So we'll reconvene on Tuesday to discuss our next work, the Greek tragedy, Medea. 

If you want to know more about the backstory to this play, read pages 160-180 in Hamilton's Mythology on "The Quest of the Golden Fleece." Basically, this is the story of the Greek hero Jason's quest to obtain the magic Golden Fleece, and how Medea, the daughter of King AEetes helps him obtain it, sacrificing her own family--and literally, her own brother--to save him. According to the myths, while they were being chased by her father in ships, "Medea herself struck her brother down and cutting him limb from limb cast the pieces into the sea. The King stopped to gather them, and the Argo (his ship) was saved" (Hamilton 175). However, once they return successfully to Greece and have a few kids, Jason decides to marry for money and cast her off to start a new family. The play, Medea, is about her revenge against Jason for forcing her to abandon her family simply to be abandoned in the end. 

So read the play and then answer two of the following as always:

Q1: What is the role of the Chorus in the play? Unlike a song, the Chorus is actually a character that both talks to the audience and interacts with the characters. What relationship does the Chorus seem to have with Medea, and why is it a necessary/important voice in the drama? Think about the role of tragedy in general as we discussed on Tuesday.

Q2: How does Medea compare to some of the dangerous women in The Odyssey, such as Calypso and Circe? How does Euripides characterize her as a woman, rather than merely as a myth or a 'witch'? Are we supposed to feel sympathy for her?

Q3: Similarly, how might Jason compare to other heroes in The Odyssey, such as Odysseus and Telemachus? Is he the true victim in this play, or like Odysseus, another cunning trickster/deceiver? How much credence should we give to Medea's lament in the play that "when a man is base, how can we know?/Why is there no sign stamped upon his body?" 

Q4: In this play, we almost expect something to stop Medea from killing her children or someone to reconcile the two, almost like Zeus in Book 24 of The Odyssey. Instead, the unthinkable happens, and Jason cries out, "the gods have sent the vengeance/that you deserve to crash down on my head." Why is Medea allowed to escape without punishment or penalty? Why do only the children die in this play? Is this justice...or is it like The Odyssey, the strange will of the gods? 

Class on Tuesday: No Reading, but Introduction to Greek Tragedy

 NOTE: We DO have class on Tuesday, though there is no scheduled reading. Instead, I want to give an introduction to Greek Tragedy before we start reading two Greek Dramas to round out the class. Be sure you have the book Greek Tragedy before we start reading for our next classes. 

Your papers will be returned to you via e-mail in the next few days, so keep checking your e-mail. If you don't get my comments back by Thursday, please let me know (since it might have been blocked/gone to spam). 

See you on Tuesday! 

For Tuesday: Finish The Odyssey, Books 23 & 24 (and see Note about Tuesday's class/due date for paper)

NOTE: Remember that I changed the schedule to give you an extra class day to work on the paper. So we DO have class on Tuesday, but not on Thursday, the 27th, when the paper is now due. The paper assignment is posted a few posts down from this one.

Answer two of the following for Tuesday's class:

Q1: In Book 23, Telemachus accuses his mother of having a heart “colder than stone,” and even Odysseus claims that she has “more than…any/Other woman, an unyielding heart.” How does Penelope defend herself against these charges, and why might she have continued to test Odysseus to the very end?

Q2: After the slaughter, Odysseus, much more clear-headed, informs his son that “When someone kills just one man,/Even a man who has few to avenge him,/He goes into exile, leaving country and kin” (217-218). Do you think Odysseus is ready to act ‘heroically’ here and take responsibility for his heinous actions? Or is he still looking for a way to get off scot-free?

Q3: In Book 24, Zeus solves the problem of revenge by making the islanders conveniently forget Odysseus’ crimes. This way, they can “live in friendship as before,/And let peace and prosperity abound” (241). Is this a satisfying or even fair ending to the poem? Why do you think the gods would take such an active role in the story when they typically only advise or create illusions?

Q4: Some scholars believe that Book 24 is not one of the original books of the epic, but was tacked on by a later writer or tradition. Besides the strange intrusion by Zeus, why else might this book sound ‘off’ compared to the rest of the story?

For THURSDAY (see note): Homer, The Odyssey, Books 19. 21 & 22

 

NOTE: Class cancelled this Tuesday--these questions will be for Thursday instead. 

Q1: In Book 19, when Penelope is talking to Odysseus (as a beggar), she says:
“Of all the travelers who have come to my house,

None, dear guest, have been as thoughtful as you

And none as welcome, so wise are your words…

Eurycleia, rise and wash your master’s—that is,

Wash the feet of this man who is your master’s age.

Odysseus’ feet and hands are no doubt like his now,

For men age quickly when life is hard (176).

Readers have often wondered if Penelope recognizes her husband (after all, the dog does!). Odysseus assumes she doesn’t, but this passage is curious: does it suggest otherwise? Does she realize he’s testing her, and does she test him back? Why might it change how we read the book if she does know who he is?

Q2: At one point in Book 22, Eurymachus begs Odysseus to spare the suitors, many of whom live on the island and have families here (and after all, he is their king). He says, “We will pay you back/For all we have eaten and drunk in your house./We will make a collection, each man will put in/The worth of twenty oxen” (200). Why does Odysseus refuse this just offer? Is this justice or the will of the gods? Or is this an example of Odysseus’ hubris getting the way once more?

Q3: In the midst of the ghastly slaughter, Odysseus spares two of the servants and tells them, "Don’t worry, he’s saved you. Now you know,/And you can tell the world, how much better/Good deeds are than evil. Go outside, now,/You and the singer, and sit in the yard/Away from the slaughter, until I finish" (219). Is this how we're supposed to read the slaughter of the Suitors, as divine justice? While they have clearly done 'wrong,' so have Odysseus and the entire Greek army which destroyed "sacred Troy." Are these just more "winged words" of Odysseus, or do you feel the poet truly believes them?

Q4: How much does Penelope run the household in Odysseus’ absence? While Telemachus often acts in charge, is this really the case? What glimpses into the daily life of the household, and Penelope’s management of the suitors, do we see in Books 19-21?

Next Week & Mid-Term Paper Assignment

 Remember there's no reading for Tuesday's class, but we will have Reading Exam #4 in class over what we've read of The Odyssey so far. This will be our only class next week since we have Fall Break starting on Thursday. 

Also, I handed out the Mid-Term paper in class on Thursday, so if you missed class or misplaced it, I've pasted it below. Note the due date--not until October 25th. Let me know if you have any questions about it or how to start...though we will be discussing it in class, as well as on Tuesday. 

Hum 2113: The Greek Mythos

Mid-Term Paper: A Hero for All Time

INTRO: “Andra, the first word in The Odyssey, announces a poem about a ‘man,’ and in some ways, this is story about Man without exception…The Odyssey seeks to define what it means to be human. But the Odyssey is also the story of one, very specific, and very puzzling man. It is difficult to know what to make of him, or even pinpoint his identity…That we are dealing with an Odyssey, a ‘poem about Odysseus,’ is therefore something we have to work out for ourselves as we listen to the poet” (Graziosi, Homer).

PROMPT: Why do you think one of the first ‘hero’ stories in the ancient world is about an anti-hero? Odysseus, though heroic, isn’t necessarily a good guy. The story is about how a thief, a liar, a pirate, and a sneak escapes death at every turn to seek justice at home and save his wife and property. This story might make more sense to us if he was portrayed as a truly moral and self-sacrificing hero, but he’s not. Clearly the poet (s) knew this when they wrote the story, but this was the hero they chose. Is there a method to his madness? Why should the very true hero in literature not be a superhero like the ones we have today? Why isn’t he someone we can celebrate and emulate?

A FEW THINGS TO CONSIDER:

• Are we supposed to learn from his example? Is it easier to learn from a flawed hero than a perfect one?
• Does Odysseus grow as the story progresses? Does he learn to be ‘good’ or better?
• Is the ‘good’ hero actually Telemachus or Penelope? Why might they be seen as more heroic than Odysseus?
• Does Odysseus succeed or fail in the end? Though he kills the suitors, has he really won?
• What do you think Sappho would think (or did think) of this poem? How might her poems help us read Odysseus as a hero and a human being?
• Can a human being every really be a hero? Is trying to be a hero at all a selfish occupation that leads to hubris?

REQUIREMENTS:

• Quote from the book to support your ideas. Be sure to introduce quotes and cite the page number, like so…In Book 17 of The Odyssey, Odysseus is insulted by the herdsmen outside of his home, and was deciding “whether/To jump the man and knock him dead with his staff/Or lift him by the ears and smash his head to the ground” (152). (use slashes to indicate line breaks)
• Use ONE of the following: (a) a modern example to compare to The Odyssey. Is there a modern hero we can compare him to? Does this help us understand why he is who he is? (b) Or, use Sappho’s poems to help us read his character and the poet’s motives. If you use them, QUOTE them—don’t just summarize.
• No page limit, but since this is a mid-term, I’ll expect your best work!
• Due Tuesday, October 25^th by 5pm [no class that day]

 

For Thursday: Homer, The Odyssey, Books 16, 17 & 18

NOTE: This is our last reading until after Fall Break, since we'll have Reading Exam #4 on Tuesday. So push on just a little more, and you'll get a nice reading break...unless you want to get ahead (or need to catch up!). 

Answer two of the following...

Q1: Why does Odysseus decide to reveal himself to Telemachus in Book 16, after carefully hiding his identity from everyone else? Is it simply because Athena commands him to (though she earlier said not to show himself to anyone in his family!). Is this a heavenly command, or is he going off script? 

Q2: One of the most touching scenes in the book occurs in Book 17, when Odysseus encounters his old dog, Argus, who has seen better days. The poem spends far more time on this scene than the story might require. Why do you think this is? Why is this episode important, and how might it reflect larger events in the story? 

Q3: These books show the Suitors in much greater relief than we've seen so far in the book. How does the poet condemn their actions in these books, and what, specifically, seems to be their greatest 'sin'? Are they aware of transgressing social laws and the favor of the gods? 

Q4: Odysseus fears disloyalty above all else, and his disguise is largely undertaken to ferret out the true sentiments of his household (kind of like an episode of "Undercover Boss"!). How does he test the various people in his household, including his own wife? What does he want them to say or act to prove virtuous? Does he seem to take into account the context of their situation? 

For Tuesday: Homer, The Odyssey, Books 11, 12 & 13

We're going to read a few more books of The Odyssey this week, before taking our next Reading Exam the following Tuesday. Then you'll have Fall Break to look forward to, and can forget, briefly, all about the world of Odysseus and his epic quest. ALSO, I'll be giving you your FIRST PAPER ASSIGNMENT soon! It won't be due until after break, but I want you to have it next week so you can start thinking about it (or heck, you can even write it over the break! What else would you have to do??) 

Answer two of the following:

Q1: Eurylochus is one of the few members of Odysseus’ crew given a name, and he consistent pops up in several of the books. What role does he play in the poem, especially considering Odysseus is telling this story himself? Why does he give Eurylochus such a prominent position?

Q2: When Athena encounters Odysseus in Ithaca (Book 13), he assumes a fake identity and tells a ridiculous story of killing someone and having to steal off to Ithaca to avoid revenge. Athena listens to this and responds, "You wily bastard,/You cunning, elusive, habitual liar!/Even in your own land you weren’t about/To give up the stories and sly deceits/That are so much a part of you” (136). Is Athena praising or critiquing him here? Would you consider his disguise an act of humor, or hubris? 

Q3: In Book 11, Odysseus meets several of his dead comrades in Hades, notably people like Achilles and Agamemnon (the heroes of The Iliad). What do you feel is most significant about these interactions? What lesson to the dead have to teach him?

Q4: Over and over again, Odysseus blames the problems of his crew on the gods: “I knew then that some god had it in for us” (123). Yet remember that Zeus says in Book 1 that “Mortals! They are always blaming the gods/For their troubles, when their own witlessness/Cause them more than they were destined for!” (2). Based on Odysseus’ story in Books 9-12, who was the cause of the crews’ greatest suffering: the gods, or the men themselves? Or is Odysseus, himself, the root cause of all their suffering?

For Thursday: Homer, The Odyssey, Books 9 & 10

NOTE: Since I goofed and posted the wrong questions for Tuesday's class, I went ahead and gave everyone extra time (until Thursday) to turn in today's questions. With that in mind, I'm also going to change the schedule a little: instead of doing the Reading Exam #3 in class on Thursday (as per the syllabus), we're going to read two more short books (9 and 10) and I'll give you just one question below, which will be like a 'take home' Reading Exam. 

Answer this question for Thursday's class...

Q1: Based on the events of Books 9 and 10, do you consider Odysseus a hero? If so, what kind of hero is he? What makes him 'heroic'? Is he basically an ancient version of a modern-day superhero like Batman or Thor? And if not, what makes him miss the mark? Does he lack morality? Nobility? Vision? 

For Tuesday: Homer, The Odyssey, Books 5. 6 & 8

The handout I gave you in class on Wednesday is pasted in the questions below, in case you lost your copy (or left it behind in class!). It might prove useful in future discussions or exams/assignments! 

NOTE: The questions 2 & 3 I posted on Friday were accidental--they go to later books of The Odyssey. I posted new questions for these books, so because I goofed, you can have extra time to answer the questions. 

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Calypso is yet another "evil woman" in ancient literature, though Homer offers a much more nuanced portrait of her motives. How does she respond to the gods’ requests to relinquish her hold on Odysseus? Why might Sappho have agreed with (or even written herself!) her rebuttal speech to Hermes?

New Q2: The poem is full of "bonus material," including little songs (placed in italics in the book) and songs from professional bards/poets, such as the story about Ares and Aphrodite in Book 8. Why do you think Homer includes these little asides, which have nothing to do with the plot itself? How does it enrich our reading of the story? 

New Q3: In these books, it seems that every woman whether mortal or immortal is desperate to help Odysseus escape an evil fate. Circe, Nausicaa, Athena, and Ino (a water goddess) all line up to help him make it to safety in the land of the Phaecians. But Odysseus, rather than thanking them, seems to think they're all plotting against him, as he remarks of Ino, "Not this. Not another treacherous god/Scheming against me" (40)? Why do you think this is? Why doesn't he realize the goddesses are in his corner? 

Q4: Since The Odyssey was originally an oral poem, we get a lot of repetition (which would help the poem memorize such an epic work). What are some of the repetitions of phrases or scenes that continually reappear in the work? Besides as an aid to memorization, why do you think the poem includes these echoes? How might they also help readers of such a long and complex work?

The Odyssey: Translating “Polytropos” (many turns/twists)

“Andra, the first word in The Odyssey, announces a poem about a ‘man,’ and in some ways, this is story about Man without exception. The protagonist’s quest for knowledge, his travels, his suffering, and his determination to return to his wife and child are all themes of universal significance: the Odyssey, like The Iliad, seeks to define what it means to be human. But the Odyssey is also the story of one, very specific, and very puzzling man. It is difficult to know what to make of him, or even pinpoint his identity: as the poem builds up, line after line, we are given several details about its protagonist, but we are never told his name. That we are dealing with an Odyssey, a ‘poem about Odysseus,’ is therefore something we have to work out for ourselves as we listen to the poet” (Graziosi, Homer).

FIVE TRANSLATIONS OF THE OPENING LINES

(1) “Speak, memory—of the cunning hero,

The wanderer, blown off course time and again

After he plundered Troy’s sacred heights” (Stanley Lombardo)

(2) “Tell me, Muse, the story of that resourceful man who was driven to wander far and wide after he had sacked the holy citadel of Troy.” (E.V. Rieu)

(3) “Tell me about a complicated man.

Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost

when he had wrecked the holy town of Troy.” (Emily Wilson)

(4) “Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns

driven time and again off course, once he had plundered

the hallowed heights of Troy” (Robert Fagles)

 

(5) “The man for wisdom's various arts renown'd,
Long exercised in woes, O Muse! resound;
Who, when his arms had wrought the destined fall
Of sacred Troy, and razed her heaven-built wall” (Alexander Pope)

For Thursday: Homer, The Odyssey, Books 1 & 4

NOTE: The version of The Odyssey I ordered the class is condensed, so some of the books have been taken out. Therefore, if you have a different edition, you don't have to read books (chapters) 2 & 3. We're just reading Books 1 and 4. The questions below are ONLY for those chapters/books. 

Answer TWO of the following questions: 

Q1: Why does Athena disguise herself as an old man and approach Odysseus' son, Telemachus, in Book 1? What is she worried about, and what does she want him to do? Does he know who she really is (or rather, do we know that he knows)? 

Q2: At the beginning of the work, Zeus complains that "Mortals!...are always blaming the gods/For their troubles, when their own witlessness.Causes them more than they were destined for!" (2). From what you've read of the Greek myths so far, is this true? Are the gods blameless in victories and tragedies of humans, such as the Trojan War? Why do you think Homer has Zeus proclaim this, especially if it's not technically true?

Q3: Book 4 is fascinating in that it imagines Helen of Troy living back with her husband, Menelaus, after the Trojan War. How does the poem depict Helen at this stage of her life? Does this sound like the same woman who ran away from her husband and family in pursuit of love? Who started a war? Or is this closer to the way Sappho might have seen her? Why or why not?

Q4: Even though this is an epic poem, which tells a unified story, and not a series of love poems like Sappho's, why might Homer's work remind you of Sappho? What poem of Sappho's might fit into this work rather well and why? In other words, do you think Sappho might have been inspired by The Odyssey, or had a hand in writing it?

For Tuesday: Hamilton, Mythology, "The Trojan War" & "The Fall of Troy" (pp.253-290)

NOTE: If you missed class on Thursday, it's your responsibility to make up the Reading Exam #2 with me--so please reach out. Otherwise, you'll lose 5 pts on your final grade. 

For next week, we're going back briefly to Hamilton's Mythology to read about The Trojan War and its aftermath. This will serve as an introduction to starting Homer's The Odyssey on Thursday. I'll also introduce this work a little bit on Tuesday as well, so it doesn't take you completely by surprise. 

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Before reaching Troy, Agamemnon, the commander of the Greek armies, has to sacrifice his eldest daughter to appease the goddess Artemis. To most fathers then and now, this would be unthinkable and impossible to obey. And yet, Agamemnon goes through with it and the Greeks reach Troy. How might Sappho (or one of her poems) explain why a father would be able to kill his daughter merely for the sake of a war? 

Q2: From what you read in "The Trojan War" chapter, would you consider Achilles a hero in the traditional sense? What makes him heroic--or not? And why is the entire story really about him, even though he's not the commander of the Greeks or even the most important soldier? Why, for instance, isn't it more about Agamemnon, Paris or Hector? 

Q3: Odysseus, the hero of The Odyssey, is the most clever of all the Greeks, and it is he who comes up with the idea of the Trojan Horse. What makes this such a clever trick, and why do the Trojans agree to take it inside the city gates? Wouldn't they distrust any gift from the opposing army?

Q4: The story of the Trojan War seems to rehearse an age-old argument about fate vs. free will. Do you think anyone acts of their own free will in this story, or is it all the work of the gods? For example, does Helen choose to run away with Paris, or is she forced to? Does Achilles choose to give Hector's body back to his father, or do the gods demand it? Does Ajax kill himself out of shame, or is this again the hand of the gods? How should we read this story since the gods are so involved from the beginning to the end? 

For Tuesday: Sappho, Stung With Love, "Maidens and Marriages" & "The Wisdom of Sappho"

Remember that we'll have our Reading Exam #2 over Sappho on Thursday, so be sure to bring your book with you! For now, there's one more set of questions, and this time, only ONE question. 

Q1: Pick any two or three poems from this reading (they can be on very different pages, or on the same page) and explain why they might actually be from the same poem. That is, each poem completes the other one. Why do you think they belong together? How does each one share the same 'voice' and meaning? How does one expand and develop the other one? And how do they both make sense of each other? 

For Thursday: Sappho, Stung With Love, "Her Girls and Family" & "Troy"

Read the next two sections for Thursday's class, and remember (or try to remember) to do the following as you read:

1. Read some of the poems out loud, just to hear the 'music' of the poems...what sounds strike you as interesting of even beautiful? What calls attention to itself? 

2. Read the metaphors and imagery: think about why the poet is trying to make us see one things in terms of another (for example, the "ears all thunder" from last class...how can ears be thunder? What is she trying to convey?). This is more important than simply trying to get the 'point' or the 'message' of a poem, of which there is always more than one.

3. Try to figure out what kind of person is speaking, and to whom. Is it a mother to her daughter? A woman to her lover? Sappho to a goddess? Etc. Who else is in the "room" and how might this shape the poem?

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Many of the poems in "Her Girls and Family" concern the perspective of a mother or a wife in the ancient world. What ideas or sentiments can we relate to? What sounds like something your own mother might have told you? 

Q2: Likewise, many of these poems seem to be about jealousy and lost love, with the speaker addressing someone who has moved on from the relationship. How do the poems characterize these break-ups? Were they mutual? Bitter? Messy? Discuss a poem that seems to illustrate your answer.

Q3: The poem on page 59 which begins "Some call ships..." is one of her most famous poems. In this poem, she invokes the famous Helen of Troy, the woman who (thanks to Aphrodite) started the Trojan War. Does Sappho seem to be blaming Helen for her weakness or sympathizing with her? Why might Helen be the perfect person for Sappho to compare herself to in this poem?

Q4: Which fragment seems to you confusing and almost impossible to understand? Do you think it's because the poem is too incomplete, or are the references/images too obscure? Can you making any guesses as to what the poem might be referring to? 

For Tuesday: Sappho, Stung With Love: Poems and Fragments, pp.5-29

For Tuesday, read the poems on pages 5-29 of our book, Stung With Love, the complete poems of Sappho. These poems can be tricky to read since almost none of them are complete: most have been damaged, lost, or destroyed (more on that in class on Tuesday). Only ONE complete poem is in this book, the famous one on page 9, where she talks directly to Aphrodite. 

So when you read these poems, try to imagine the missing context or situation behind the words, and also consider what gods, myths, or stories she might be invoking in her words. Don't worry if a poem doesn't make sense to you; do your best as you read and move on to the next one, and use the questions to help you.

ALSO: Sappho was from the island of Lesbos, which was famous for poets and musicians. Later on, the adjective "Lesbian" came to mean a same sex relationship between women, but back then it did not mean this. When she talks about a "Lesbian musician" on page 17, she merely means a famous one. We'll talk more about why the meaning changed over time. 

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: In her one complete poem on page 9, what kind of relationship does the speaker seem to have with Aphrodite. Does she worship her blindly? Fear her? Act suspicious of her? Are they old friends? Similarly, how does Aphrodite seem to address her in the poem? How does she see the poet?

Q2: Most of these poems are about love or love relationships, even though it's hard to read the entire context. But according to what we have, how does Sappho write about love? Is it similarly dangerous and tragic like the stories we read last week? Is something to be sought--or to be avoided?

Q3: Which poem or poems seems to invoke Greek myths and stories? How does knowing a little bit about them help you read or understand her poem? 

Q4: Discuss a poem that seems to be missing too much context to make sense. What do you think might be missing? What clues do we have in the poem itself? What makes it interesting even as an incomplete scrap of a poem?

For Thursday: Reading Exam #1

Remember, no reading for Thursday's class. Instead, we're going to have our first Reading Exam over the material. We'll have one every other week after going through a good chunk of reading from the books in the class. There are three things I'm looking for in your Reading Exam:

1. I can tell you've done the reading for the class (most of it, anyway)

2. I can tell you've listened attentively to our class discussions and can respond to some of the ideas/conversations we've introduced 

3. You can respond to these ideas with your own opinions/ideas, while still repsonding to what you read and what we said about it

Each Reading Exam will have two questions, and will ask you to choose one and write about it using your book to support your ideas. You must quote from the book to get full credit, so I can see that you understand the general ideas in the book and can use them to support/illustrate your ideas. So again, bring your book to class! 

If for any reason you can't make it to class on Thursday, it's your responsibility to make it up. Just e-mail me and we can arrange a time for you to take it. 

ALSO: Next week we're going to start a new book by the ancient Greek poet Sappho called Stung With Love. Make sure you have this, since I'll give you reading for Tuesday's class. We'll come back to Hamilton's Mythology in a week or two, so don't sell or lose it in the meantime!

If you have any questions, e-mail me at jgrasso@ecok.edu. 

For Tuesday: Hamilton, Mythology: “Cupid and Psyche” & “Eight Brief Tales of Lovers” (pp.121-159)

Edward Burne-Jones, painting of Pygmalion and Galatea (as statue)

NOTE: We're going to skip a few chapters and go to Part Two of the book, reading Chapter 5: "Cupid and Psyche," and Chapter 6, "Eight Brief Tales of Lovers." After this (on Wednesday) we'll have our first Reading Exam, which is an open-book (1) essay question. So come ready to write! The best preparation for the exam is simply to read the chapters, do the questions, and listen to our class discussions. I pull everything from these three areas. 

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: The myth of Cupid and Psyche seems to play on the idea that "love is blind," since Psyche is never allowed to see Cupid's true form. But isn't the nature of a real relationship to truly know and understand the other person? So what lesson or idea might the Greeks have seen in this story? What do you feel it represents about love or marriage? 

Q2: Though a Greek story, "Cupid and Psyche" was only written down by Ovid, a Roman poet who lived from 43 BCE to around 17 AD. As Hamilton notes in the opening, "The writer is entertained by what he writes; he believes none of it" (121). How might we see that the story as recorded here is somewhat critical or mocking of Greek beliefs and/or the gods? Why might we read this as a "civilized" writer's version of a "primitive" story?

Q3: Why might it be significant that most Greek love stories are tragic (or have unhappy endings)? Did the Greeks not believe in "happily ever after"? Which story seems to best capture the Greek philosophy of love for you?

Q4: The myth of "Pygmalion and Galatea" is one of the most famous, and modern writers have been obsessed with it, turning it not only into a play (by George Bernard Shaw), but also a musical (My Fair Lady, with Audrey Hepburn). Why do you think this story has haunted the Western world for so long? What makes it such an interesting and/or powerful statement about love (especially as it ends happily)? 

For Thursday: Hamilton, Mythology: Part 2, "The Two Great Gods of Earth" & Part 3, "How the World and Mankind Were Created"

As before, answer TWO of the following for class on Thursday. Think about some of the ideas we discussed in class, too, and see how they might help you answer these questions or see new possibilities. 

Q1: According to Hamilton, most of the Greek myths contain "two ideas...a primitive, crude idea and one that was beautiful and poetic" (27). How might the myths of the two 'Earth' gods, Demeter and Dionysus, be an attempt to make poetry out of the raw, 'primitive' facts of nature? In other words, why might each one be an attempt to translate the cruel realities of life into something more beautiful and civilized? 

Q2: Despite their message of resurrection and immortality, Hamilton calls Demeter and Dionysus "suffering gods" and even "tragic gods." Why might this make them unique about the Olympian pantheon, and how might it explain why people were so drawn to them (more than say, Ares or Aphrodite)? 

Q3: In most creation myths, the gods create the universe and populate it with man. The Greeks, as usual, saw it differently. Why do you think the Greeks might have created the gods as upstarts, sons of the Titans out for revenge? In other words, why make the story of the gods so violent and bloodthirsty? 

Q4: The myth of Pandora has some striking resemblances to that of Eve in the Old Testament. Are they basically two versions of the same story: a woman's curiosity dooming all of mankind? Or is the Greek version somewhat different than the Bible's? Is there a more charitable or hopeful way to read Pandora's story?

For Tuesday: Hamilton, Mythology, "The Gods" (17-50)

For Tuesday's class, be sure to read all or as much as you can of Chapter 1, "The Gods," which runs to page 50. It reads quickly and isn't very dense, so you should fly through it. However, try to resist skimming it just to get to the end...read so that you understand it and can answer the questions below. I want you to bring your answers to these questions to class on Tuesday so we can discuss them (and this way, you'll have something to say). Give more than a yes/no answer, and try to 'think out loud' as you answer, even if you're not 100% sure of your answer. Try to have fun with them.

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Based on how Hamilton introduces and discusses the Greek pantheon of gods, would you say Greek mythology is a religion, or more a set of beliefs? What might be the difference? Though the Greeks obviously worshipped their gods in a sense, what might make this worship different than our own? In other words, what makes the Greek gods more complicated if we consider it as the basis of a religion?

Q2: Many scholars consider myths not as literal representations of this or that god, but as "ideological projections." In other words, many people believe that the gods are supposed to be more symbolic or allegorical. How might we see this in some of the stories Hamilton tells us? What god or goddess might represent a set of beliefs or a perspective rather than a living, immortal being?

Q3: The Greeks have a very interesting relationship with love, and most of their poems and plays revolve around this concept. We see this in the character of Eros, who is "a mischievous, naughty boy, or worse...evil his heart, but honey-sweet his tongue,/No truth in him, the rogue" (35). Why might the Greeks characterize love as sweet but evil, pretty but false? Why does love "lie"?

Q4: Hamilton is very critical of the Romans, and claims that they "were a people of deep religious feeling, but they had little imagination...They wanted useful gods" (47). Why might the Greek gods be less "useful" but more "imaginative"? Based on this, why does Hamilton feel the Greeks are ultimately a more interesting people/culture? (do we see evidence of this in the myths themselves?)

Welcome to the Course!

 This is the official blog for General Humanities I, where you can find all your class readings, questions, assignments, and other announcements. As I mentioned in class, you won't have to post or interact with this blog; it's more of a virtual bulletin board to keep you connected to the class. Check often for announcements and other material, especially when you have to miss class. 

In the meantime, be sure to buy the books for class, since we'll be starting our reading next week with Hamilton's Mythology. The books are all fairly cheap and we'll be reading all of them, so don't try to limp through the class without them. 

If you have any questions, feel free to come to my office (HM 348) any time before or after class, or during my normal office hours. Or e-mail me at jgrasso@ecok.edu. 

See you in class! 

NOTE: Don't worry about the posts below this one--they're from the Fall of 2020, the last time I took this course. Feel free to look through them, though none of the work will reflect the work I assign this semester.