Friday, September 27th, 2013

Dear Mythology kids,
STOP MISSING CLASS! What do you want me to say to you when you return? "It's okay that you were gone. It's okay that you went on vacation and didn't communicate with me. It's okay that you don't pay your bills on time." Do you want me to continue? STOP MISSING CLASS!

We reviewed and discussed what to expect for your "quest" on Tuesday. The following example should give you greater schema regarding the quest. STUDY and review ALL your information regarding the gods and the following nature myths: "Prometheus," "Pandora," "Daphne and Apollo," "Arachne"  and "Demeter and Persephone."  I recommend that you transfer the information from your green sheet to your flashcards. You may also create flashcards for the myths. You may use a total of 6 flashcards on the quest.

What of the end 1.Lady? 2. Was it thine the deed

 That set the fiery pinions free? Wherefore

Did Jupiter make thee so divine?  3. Hug the

Wretched casket now. If hope is pent therein

alive or dead?

1.   Identify the allusion?

2.   What is the poet asking the subject?

3.   Explain the reference to the word

“casket.”

IS MYTHOLOGY A LIE?

“Art is the lie that tells the truth.”—Picasso

Introduction: What is truth? Several of you indicated on the first day of school that you felt mythology was a lie. I have no doubt that you have a much different perspective, especially now that we have read and discussed the gods and their corresponding myths. There are several metaphorical truths found in mythological stories. In fact, few great literary works are true in a factual sense, bur their freedom from facts allows the expression of emotional truths in a way factual stories cannot.

Your Assignment:

1.Please respond to the question, “Is Mythology a Lie?” Your response will take the form of a five paragraph response.

2. Discuss truths found in three explanatory myths; you will randomly pull those myths in a few minutes. Those myths will act as the focus for each body paragraph. If you have recorded the information we have discussed in class, then writing your response will not be difficult for you.

3. You must have textual evidence to support your points. The text from the myths will be used to support the truths you choose to discuss for your paper.

4. Please remember MLA Format for your essay.

5. Please write using an ACADEMIC VOICE;  primarily in relationship to no passive verbs, no first or second person pronouns, and focus on strong word choices (NO DEAD WORDS).

May the power of Athena, Hephaestus , Hermes be with you! Please

let me know if I can assist you in any way.

Work Day: ___________________________________________________________

Writing Lab to develop first draft: ______________________________________________

Wednesday, September 25th, 2013 and PRACTICE QUIZ

Dear Mythology Kids,
If you missed class, we completed the following:
1. We finished discussing the gods and obtaining information on them. Please see the information included for you below. Please copy this information on to your green handout.

Apollo

Music competition with a character named Marsayas….flays him

Truth in lies …….lies in truth

Delphi is city-state …TRUTH…Oracle/Pythian

Python…Hera’s snake…Pythian games…..

Ares….first murderer….first to be acquitted ……cowardly……MARCH…..Romans respected Mars, much more than the Greeks respected Ares (harvest/growth)……Aphrodite….Pain, Panic and Contention ….

Cupid/Eros son of A and A…Sadistic

Aphrodite…..blooms of plants, manipulates with love, She uses Eros/Cupid to assist with manipulation …… H and A and A…magical Girdle …… causes the Trojan War…golden apple

Hermes….. steals Apollo’s cows when he is five minutes old…grass booties….tricks

2. Students received a new assignment (indicated below). The assignment is located in the homework section of your notebook; it is entitled "Modern Day God." I have included it for you below, but I have not included the example essay. It is located on the back of the explanation sheet.
3. We also discussed the primary themes found within "Daphne and Apollo" and "Promtheus and Io." PLEASE DO NOT MISS CLASS ON FRIDAY, as you are going to receive an in-class writing assignment based upon the explanatory myths and their themes.
 
Instructions for "Modern Day God" Assignment:

1.Through our class discussions, each student should have a greater understanding concerning the Olympians. Please select ONE Olympian and connect him/her to an individual from past or present society. The god you select does not need to be the same one you research regarding your “Handout” assignment.
2.All of the god's attributes do not need to be obvious in relationship to the individual chosen for connection; however, you must be able to relate at least one (obviously) attribute that both possess. Please go beyond the obvious, by focusing on intrinsic characters rather than appearance.
3.In order to obtain enough information regarding your chosen connection, you will need to complete some research. Please note the citation examples below concerning a book or Internet source.

BOOK: Carter, Joseph. The Life of Mark Twain. Scott Foreman, Pub., New York, NY.

                                1989.

INTERNET: William, Jacob. “Mark Twain.” The Mark Twain No One Knew. August

                               17th, 2001. September 11, 2008.

                                  http://coned.ceu.edu/authors/19thcentury.org

4.Please begin your response by indicating the connection between the god and your chosen individual (Introduction). Your next paragraph needs to indicate aspects concerning the god (Body Paragraph #1). The third paragraph will focus on the individual chosen for comparison (Body Paragraph #2). Finally, your fourth paragraph will justify why you elected to compare the two characters (Conclusion)

5.Please use ACADEMIC VOICE for your response.
6.MLA Format regarding structure and citations also needs to be used. Double space your response, using Times New Roman print, and 12 point font.
7. Please incorporate an image of your “modern day” comparison in your paper.



  FOR HOMEWORK and PRACTICE QUIZ: 
1. Your "Modern Day God" is due on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3rd! Please let me know if you need any assistance.
2. Your "quest" covering the gods and the nature myths will take place on  TUESDAY, October 1st.

PRACTICE QUIZ 
 Instructions for PRACTICE QUIZ: Please select the god that BEST fits each description. You will need to identify the character with both Greek and Roman names. For some questions you will need to justify your response. Some gods may be used more than once.

1. Venerate, Vigil, Valuable, Vigilante, Volume, Viscous...I love words that begin with the letter V. ______________/______________
2. I would make an excellent "shop" teacher. ______________/___________
3. I have a PhD in Statistics. __________/______________
4. I am "President Obama" of the Olympians. _____________/____________
5. I directed a documentary film on grand larceny (look this up). ___________/____________
6. I would do well working in a floral shop, as I have a "magic touch" when it comes to flowers.

_____________/_______________
7. March is my favorite month. ____________/___________
8. I always "hit my mark." __________/_____________
9. I am responsible for desecrating a temple. ____________/_____________
10. Justify your response for #9 ____________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
11. A trick was played to woo me, so "love can not live where there is no trust." ______/_____
12. Justify your response for #11. ____________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________
13. I failed to ask my wife's mother for her hand in "marriage." _________/_________
14. "Make me the most beautiful land animal." __________/____________
15. I gave my father a terrible headache the day I was born. ____________/___________
16. I was in the delivery room when my brother was born. ______________/______________
17. I am cuckoo for cuckoo birds_____________/_______________
18. "Beauty" is in the eye of the beholder. _______________/_______________
Justify your response for #18 ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
19. Payment is needed to enter here. __________/__________
20. "Know Thyself" _______________/___________________

 

Monday, September 23rd, 2013

Dear Mythology Kids,

If you missed class we completed the following:

1. We discussed the themes found within "Demeter and Persephone" and "Archne." PLEASE obtain this information from a friend, as it will be useful for a future assignment.

2. We then moved on and discussed Artemis and Apollo. I have included the information on the gods for you below. PLEASE make sure you transfer that information to your green handout detailing the gods.

Artemis and Apollo

VIRGIN!!!!!!!!

Kill for virginity….she asked her father for eternal virginity, change your mind

ACTEON is a hunter….. changes him to stag and his hounds destroy him

ORION is a hunter ….Apollo kills ORION…..

Apollo is jealous of his sister ….scorpion and it stings Orion….Artemis places Orion and the scorpion in the stars

Apollo falls in love with Daphne…VIRGIN (Artemis), REVENGE!

Apollo is competitive…..”ROCK competitive”

2^nd fav. To Zeus…..perfect

Ephesus is her city state.

Apollo is the god of "Truth." 

His city state is called Delphi

He destroys the Python that tormented his mother and then draped its skin over his throne.

The women that worked for him were called Oracle or Pythian preistesses

He had his own athletic games called the Pythian Games; they were held in honor of the Python that he killed.

HOMEWORK:

1. Please read "Daphne and Apollo" pgs. 119-120

2. Please read "Prometheus and Io" pgs.  

 

Tuesday, September 17th, 2013 and Thursday, September 19th, 2013

Dear Mythology Kids,

We completed the following:
1. Students were introduced to TWO MYTHS...Prometheus and Pandora. You have both myths in the "homework" section of your notebook. PLEASE READ them and the section in your text that corresponds to Prometheus and Pandora...pgs. 72-76
We THOROUGHLY DISCUSSED the themes and motifs found within both myths on Thursday.  PLEASE visit with someone about this discussion.

2. Journal #2 entitled  "Knowledge" and "Hope"
Please consider the following questions in relationship to the Prometheus myth. Are there things we should not know? Should there be limits to knowledge? Will knowledge solve our problems? Will an "explosion" of knowledge reduce hardship among us and make us just, virtuous, and free?  
Please consider the following quote by Freidrich Nietzsche. "Hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs the torment of man." "Talk" to me about this. Do you agree or disagree with Nietzsche? Explain why? Possibly you see his point of view, but you also view "hope" as a positive entity, as well. Please support your opinion with a personal example.

3. We continued with obtaining information about the gods, specifically Hades and Demeter.

Hades

God of Wealth (precious metals found within the earth)
You must pay to enter his domain with a coin (obolus)
Three levels...people are judged based upon HOW THEY LIVED THEIR LIFE
Just/Rhadamanthine....concept of ethics
Cerberus....three headed dog
Steals Persephone and she becomes "Queen of the Underworld"
Persephone spends four months of the year (winter) with Hades and the remaining months she is with her mother ...Persephone eats four pomegranate seeds confining her to the realm of the dead

Demeter

Goddess of the Harvest
Seasons
When her daughter Persephone is stolen by Hades, Demeter refuses to let anything grow
Zeus requests that she Persephone be returned to her mother
Demeter rarely lost her temper
Horse is created for her by Poseidon

HOMEWORK: 
1. Please read "Demeter" in your textbook pgs. 50-55
2. Please read "Arachne" found within your notebook (homework section)

See you on Monday!