In ten to fifteen sentences, respond to each of the listed prompts.
Each response must include:
A discussion of one reading (see list below)
A consideration of one term (see list below)
1. Define the ancient conception of heroism. What constituted heroism, and what acts were considered heroic? In your opinion, to what degree did individuals strive to achieve heroic feats?
2. Define ancient understandings of either romantic love or platonic love. What function did this type of love serve in human relationships?
3. Outline the structure of one political system. What impact did this system have on the ancient individual and/or society?
4. Many of our texts have addressed the issue pride and its repercussions. In what way is pride characterized in at least one of these texts? What solutions to the “problem of pride” does this text offer? Finally, how might hearing/reading such stories of pride alter the identities and/or values of the audiences who received them?
5. In this class, we have encountered several texts which deal with death. Discuss the notions of death and/or the afterlife in at least one text that we have read. How does the understanding of death as presented in this text relate to the way life and life-values are portrayed? Lastly, how might this narrative have shaped the lives of those who read/heard it and in what way might their perspective on life and have been shaped?
Sources
Book of Genesis (Ch.5-9)
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Homer, The Iliad (Books I, XlX, XXII, and XXIV)
Herodotus, The Histories (Book I)
Sophocles, Oedipus Rex
Virgil, Aeneid (Books I and VI)
Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti
Ovid, Metamorphoses (Book X)
Plato, The Republic (excerpt with file down below)
Terms
Prehistoric:
Neolithic revolution
Paleolithic era
Prehistory
Ancient Near East
Creation myth
Cuneiform
Epic
Hebrews
Magna Mater
Monarchy
Omen
Theocracy
Ancient Aegean:
Aegean Dark Age
Icon
Linear A
Linear B
Palace at Knossos
Polytheism
Trojan War
Classical Greece:
Aristocracy
Aristotle
Catharsis
Chorus
Cleisthenes
Comedy
Democracy
Dionysus
Eudaimonia
Euripides
Hoplite infantry
Lycurgus
Oligarchy
Plato
Polis
Socrates
Solon
Sophocles
Tragedy
Tyranny
Ancient Rome:
Ara Pacis Augustae
Augustus
Charioteer
Consul
Dictator
Gladiator
Imperial cult
Imperium
Janus
Paterfamilias
Patrician
Pax deorum
Rex
Romulus
Senate
Triumph