EXAM: GREEK MYTHOLOGY
Greek Mythology Essay
**** FIRST DRAFT DUE: FRIDAY, DEC. 14TH **** FINAL DRAFT DUE: WEDNESDAY, DEC. 19TH
CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TOPICS AND WRITE A THREE-PAGE PAPER.
1. FATE AND CHOICE
Although the Greeks believed in fate as an overpowering force, they also believed that it was human choice that led individuals to their fate. As Dumbledore says to Harry Potter at the end of The Chamber of Secrets, “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” We are born with certain traits and abilities, but what we become is also a result of our choices.
Choose three stories which illustrate this idea and explain their similarities and differences. (examples: Achilles, Agamemnon, Theseus, Heracles, Hector, Cassandra, Clytemnaestra, Orpheus, Icarus, Dedalus)
2. A gift can be a curse
Cassandra, Pandora, and Helen are three of the most famous women in ancient Greece. Although each one has a different story and is motivated by different reasons for her actions, all three women are punished for and by their gifts: Helen, for her beauty; Cassandra, her wisdom; and Pandora, her curiosity. Explain how this paradox, that our greatest qualities can also be flaws, can help us to understand the position of women in Greek myth and Greek society.
Choose three stories (either the above examples or others—Medea, Semele, Iphigenia, Antigone) which give us insight into WHY women are viewed with such contradictory impulses.
3. The overwhelming and destructive power of love and/or family
As we know from the story of the House of Atreus (and from our own lives), love can co-exist with fierce hatred. This love/hate duality is often complicated by the force of past events or betrayals.
Select three stories and explain what they show about the different Greek views of love. (examples: Clytemnaestra, Agamemnon, and Aegisthus; Medea, Jason and Glauce; Helen, Paris, and Menelaus; Odysseus and Penelope; Orpheus and Eurydice; Antigone)
When you prepare and write this essay, remember that an “A” paper will do the following:
▪ Be sure to have a thesis, or a key point you want to make about WHY these stories contain the messages that they do.
Example: The Greek view of women as second-class citizens, but necessary to survival, comes up consistently in the stories of Pandora, Helen, and Cassandra.
▪ Make an insightful connection between the three myths chosen.
▪ Have a clear introduction and conclusion.
▪ Remain focused on your thesis.
▪ Use evidence for your ideas with specific examples from each story you are discussing (you do not need quotes, but if you choose to use language taken from a handout or our Mythology book, you MUST cite it properly).
▪ Explain why these ideas may be relevant to our lives today.
▪ Use Times New Roman, 12 point, double-spaced font, with proper heading and a title.
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