Monday, January 23, 2012

Dear Mythology Kids,
What did I miss today?

1. We reviewed the Heracles myth and discussed specific questions.
2. I then distributed the quizzes and each student recorded the particular questions that they are required to answer.
3. JOURNAL #9 "Disastrous Disney"
We watched the frist 15 minutes of Disney's Hercules and identitied errors in relationship to the Hercules myth and errors regarding mythology in general.
4. We began our discussion regarding TROY

Homework:

1. Your Quiz covering Heracles is due on WEDNESDAY If you missed class, please stop by my room so I can give you the particular questions you will be answering.
2. Your mythological allusions quiz that was not completed in class last week is also due on WEDNESDAY. I returned the quz to each student, as we did not have time durng class to complete it. Please make sure you finish it for WEDNESDAY!
3. You will have a quiz on FRIDAY covering the introductory material covering Troy!

In order to be prepared for Friday's quiz, please familiarize yourself with the following:
1.Did the Trojan War actually take place? If so, what was the cause?
2. Why is Henrik Scheilmann important to Troy?
3. Explain Scheilmann's archaeological approach? Why was it inappropriate?
4. How is the "Mound of Hissarlik" significant to Scheilmann?
5. Eris' golden apple....How is it relevant to The Iliad's plot line?
6. How does The Iliad begin?
7. Why are the events within The Iliad relevant to events within The Odyssey?
8. Make sure you can define the term "epic."


THIS IS THE HANDOUT used in our class discussion regarding Homer's Iliad. Please cut and paste it as a Word document and ten place it in your binder. We started working on this in class, but we did not complete it; we will do so on Wed.

Introduction:
What is an epic?

The Iliad is about:



Ilium:

Acheans:

The Odyssey is about:


Did the Trojan War actually take place and what was the cause?

Who discovered the ancient city of Troy?

“Road Map:”

“Schliemann's scar:”

Using a well read copy of The Iliad as his reference guide, he chose a spot on the Asian coast of Turkey called the Mound of Hissarlik, and began digging for the famous city of Troy. In the course of four years, he uncovered nine successive cities built on top of each other. The sixth city he declared the “City of Troy,” or as Schliemann called it the “Burnt City.” Later archaeologists through carbon dating and additional archaeological discoveries, proved that Schliemann's choice was accurate. What was once thought to be myth had been proven historically correct.


What we know about Homer.....

Many scholars have asked the question, “Were the epic poems of The Iliad and The Odyssey written by one poet or were they collective efforts on the part of several poets?” We will never know the answer to this question. Most scholars agree that “a Homer” existed, that he lived in the 8th or 9th century B.C., and that he was a well-known poet. Some references to Homer indicate that he was blind, which has been interpreted as a “sign of his greatness.” We know that Homer had a strong command of the written language, and that at one point he could see. His love for beauty and gory details are too advanced, especially for someone who might have been blind his entire life. He lived about 500 years after the events at Troy; therefore, the story he told was not original with him, but had been passed down in the oral tradition of the times.



Allow me to share two excerpts from The Iliad with you.

“...the spear of bronze went through

Below the brain and shattered the white bones,

Dashed out his teeth, and filled his eyes with blood;

And blood he spurted gaping through his mouth

And nose; and death's dark cloud encompassed him.”

Book XVI, lines 345-350



“Then answered Hector of the flashing helm,

His strength all gone: 'I beg thee by my life,

Thy knees, thy parents, leave me not for dogs

Of the Acheans by the ship to eat,

But rather take abundant stores of bronze and gold-

My king and queenly mother will give it thee-

And render back my body to my home,

So that the Trojans and the Trojans' wives

May give me due meed of fire in death.'



But scowling at him swift Achilles said,

“Do not entreat me, dog, by knees or parents ,

I only wish I had the heart and will

To hack the flesh off thee and eat it raw......”

Book XXII, lines 317-330

Posted by Crampton at 7:09 PM