Over the course of the semester we have explored a number of Greek myths. Throughout our discussion of the mythological tradition of the ancient Greeks, we have also encountered a number of themes in and across these stories. For your final paper, CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THEMES (or choose one of your own) and explore how it is dealt with in THREE different Greek myths:
Themes:
• Memory and forgetting
• Home (what is it? Why is it important?)
• Religious reverence and the power of the gods in the lives of men
• Fate vs. Free Will?
• Obligations to one's friends, colleagues, family and/or the state
• Good manners as a house guest (xenia
• Foreignness (East vs. West)
• Models of gendered behavior
• Heroic behavior?
Some of the myths that we've read in class this semester, just to give you an idea on what myths to use:
1. Creation Myths
2. Olympian gods, heroes and Greek Religion
3. Athens and its goddess Athena
4. Zeus, Olympia, and the Olympic games
5. Apollo, Delphi, and the Oracle
6. Dionysus and the Theban Saga
7. Demeter and Persephone
8. Hercules and his Twelve Labors
9. Trojan War
10. Odysseus and his Odyssey
11. The Illiad and stories about Aeneas
Structure:
1. Introduction:
a. State the theme you are going to explore
b. Tell the reader, briefly, what evidence you will be using to support your argument (i.e., which myths you will be focusing on)
2. Body (at least 3 paragraphs, 1/myth):
a. Exploration of how your theme is relevant in the 1st myth
i. Evidence from the text (at least 2 examples/myth)
b. Exploration of how your theme is relevant in the 2nd myth
i. Evidence from the text (at least 2 examples/myth)
c. Exploration of how your theme is relevant in the 3rd myth
i. Evidence from the text (at least 2 examples/myth)
3. Conclusion:
a. From your analysis, what conclusions can we draw about Greek myth and Greek life?
b. Is this theme still relevant in contemporary life and culture? If so, how is it engaged with and/or manifested?