Thursday, August 6, 2009

Final Exam & Miscellaneous

Final Exam: Saturday 8-10am G30 FLB


Thanks for being a great class this summer you guys! I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed getting to know all of you. I really appreciated your patience with me while figuring out how to teach this course on my own for the first time.

But, of course, I have more stuff for you :) If any of you have any remaining interest in what we've been talking about this summer, I've got a few course suggestions for you below.

CLCV course schedule for Fall 09:

CLCV 114 - Ancient Greek Culture. Kind of similar to what we've done but even more focused on the Greeks. You'll read the Iliad again in addition to Herodotus' Histories. Professor David Sansone generally teaches the course. He is the head of the department, a very knowledgeable man, and one of my favorite professors.

CLCV 131 - Classical Archaeology of Greece. I highly recommend this course despite not knowing much about the visiting professor, Dr. Stewart. Having a solid understanding of the archaeological record of the Classical period gives you more than just art history, it gives you cultural and architectural history. I would expect this course to be more on the difficult side but well worth the challenge and time.

CLCV 221 - Heroic Tradition. You'll read pretty much all of the important epics and other literature pertaining to ancient Heroes, so probably all of the Aeneid this time. Professor Traill is a wonderful professor and the Head of the Masters in the Teaching of Latin program. She is a very engaging instructor who clearly enjoys teaching the Classics. Again, it may not have the "easy" reputation of CLCV 115 but it's worth giving it a shot. You'll come away with a much deeper understanding of what we've already read and more.

CLCV 240 - Sex & Gender in Antiquity. I've never been able to take this class since it's generally a freshmen discovery course. But if you were at all interested in the little information I gave you regarding women, this would be great. I've had Tzanetou for 3 classes and loved each one.

CLCV 444 - Archaeology of Italy. Hostetter is the Roman archaeologist for the department though he mostly teaches Art History. His classes are always very difficult but Great! He has very high expectations of his students but he's a great instructor and is an invaluable source of knowledge on Roman archaeology. This would be difficult to jump into without any prior art history knowledge, but if you're willing to work hard I'm sure he'd allow you to register.



Now, what about Greek and Latin? Every TA always says, "you should take greek and latin because they will help you with your language skills and GRE scores, blah, blah, blah..." which is our way of saying, " we need more majors!".

But seriously, taking either language is a true challenge, of your patience if nothing else. It takes a lot of memorizing vocabulary. If you've never studied a romance language or German, it will be even harder cause it has this crazy nonsense called "cases" for nouns. And grading in the classes kind of sucks because generally speaking if your translation is not perfect, then it's not an A. That's just how Classicists think. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider taking a few semesters of either or both languages. They're really hard, they'll kick your ass, but in the end you really will have a stronger foundation in language skills all around because it makes you think about what the English means too. Plus, you get to learn all sorts of really goofy words that no one else knows. You read and translate languages that no one speaks anymore. And if you go far enough, you'll actually read some of the literature we read in translation this summer. So coming from an honest, working nerd... it's a serious challenge but it's worth the pain.

Thanks for a great summer and if you have any questions about any of these classes or anything else Classics related feel free to email me!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Remember Extra Credit...

Tomorrow is your last chance to earn extra credit by memorizing and reciting in front of the class one of the following:

1. Iliad 1.1-10
2. Odyssey 1.1-10
3. Aeneid 1.1-12

I'll make time for that first thing tomorrow. So far I only have one person interested.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Movie Review Instructions (Also in the Syllabus)

Movie Reviews:

Most of what we know about mythology today is from various pop culture sources. For this reason, I want you to choose 2 movies to watch and critique. The first movie should be either Troy or O Brother, Where Art Thou? Troy, because it is a modern version of the Trojan war and includes much of what is covered in the Iliad. O Brother, Where Art Thou? Because it is a modern version of the Odyssey. The second movie should be a modern adaptation of a Greek tragedy. I will provide a list of choices on Compass. It will be your responsibility to go to the library and view these movies there, or rent them to watch on your own. In your critique, be sure to include your opinion of the movie based on it’s accuracy and creative license use. What aspects of the movie did you like? What did it do well in terms of staying true to the original source? What did you not like? What did it not do well? Who seems to be the intended audience? What adjustments or changes were made to the original myths to render them as entertainment? Do you think the adaptation was successful or unsuccessful, and why? Use specific examples. DUE the LAST day of class. These should be typed, one-page single-spaced minimum.

Library Reserve Link:

<https://i-share.carli.illinois.edu/uiu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=rbSearch>

Monday, August 3, 2009

Final Exam Information & Study Guide

2 options:

1. Thursday 2-4pm in the Perry Library (4th floor of Foreign Language Building)

2. Saturday 8-10am G30 FLB

Format:
50 Questions Multiple Choice (1 point each)
10 slides* (1 point each)
3 short answer (5 points each)
1 essay** (25 points)

* Slides will be selected from my art history presentation and Apollonia's presentation.
Apollonia's - you need to be able to tell me what myth the artwork is displaying and what iconography/details led you to that answer
Mine - you need to be able to tell me what it is (i.e. kouros), what time period (i.e. archaic), etc. If it's pottery, I would also expect you to be able to tell me which type of painting it is (i.e. red or black figure)

** There are 5 possible essay topics. You will be give a choice of 2 on the day of the test.

Study Guide: Terms to Know...

Hesiod

Theogony

Hieros Gamos

Tartarus

Chaos

Ouranos

Kronos

Zeus/Jove

Cyclopes

Hecatoncheires

9 Muses

Styx

Birth of Athena/Minerva

Birth of Aphrodite/Venus

Titans

Olympians

Rhea

Gaia

Hera/Juno

Enuma Elish

Apsu

Tiamat

Anu

Ea

Marduk

Kumarbi

Teshub

Anu

Genesis

Purpose of Myth

Etiological

Genealogical

Traditional

Anthropomorphism

Ceres /Demeter

Neptune /Poseidon

Diana / Artemis

Venus / Aphrodite

Vulcan / Hephaistos

Mars / Ares

Liber / Dionysus

Hercules / Heracles

Dis / Hades

Proserpina / Persephone

Ovid

Lycaon

Jove & Europa

Arachne & Athena

Baucis & Philemon

Medea, Aeson, Pelias

Niobe & Latona

Sorrows of Hecuba

Ajax v Ulysses

Jove & Io

Apollo & Daphne

Teiresias

Perseus

Minos

Meleager

Atalanta

Althaea

Heracles

Deianira

Nessus

Orpheus

Eurydice

Pygmalion

Apollonian/Dionysian

Greater Dionysia

Ecstasy

Sophrosune

Aidos

Agon

Thaumaturgy

Theatron

Parodos

Skene

Orkestra

Aeschylus

Sophocles

Euripides

Pentheus

Dionysus/Bacchus

Thyrsus

Maenad (historical and mythical)

Cadmus

Agave

Semele

Hippolytus

Theseus

Phaedra

Antigone

Eteocles

Polyneices

Ismene

Creon

Philoctetes

Odysseus

Neoptolemus

Nietzsche

Archilochus

Hymn to Demeter

Virgil

Aeneas

Aeneid

Anchises

Eleusinian Mysteries

Mystai

Epoptes
Telesterion

Bronze Age

Archaic

Geometric

Classical

Hellenistic

Kouros

Black Figure & Red Figure pottery

Cycladic Figures

Possible Essay Topics:

In addition to its function as a paean to Zeus, what do you believe to be the purpose of Hesiod’s Theogony? To answer this question, you may want to draw upon the following: Richard Hamilton’s The Architecture of Hesiodic Poetry, Hesiod’s poetic structure and line of thought, the topics that Hesiod discusses within the poem, ancient conceptions vs. modern conceptions of creation and the gods, the Geometric art style, and any other relevant information gathered from lecture. Essentially, this question is asking you to put Hesiod’s Theogony into context: What role did it play for the Greeks, and in what way does it show us today how the Greeks conceived of the gods and their own lives?

Name two similarities and two differences between the Greek (Hesiodic) account of the creation of man and one other ancient or modern culture’s account of your choice (i.e. Enuma Elish, Kumarbi Myth, Genesis, or others mentioned in class). Why do you think that such diverse and wide-spread cultures tell similar stories when recounting the creation of man? Or, do you see important, irreconcilable differences that are perhaps overlooked in favor of interpretations that stress unity? You may want to consider the following questions when formulating your answer: What could be the reasons that nearly every society has some sort of creation account? How does the Book of Genesis figure into this discussion, and how does it factor into your own thoughts on the plethora of creation accounts? Do you believe that the great similitude between so many creation stories lends them more or less credence? Where do you think these similarities come from?

You have now been exposed to two different ancient genres: epic and tragedy. Describe two general attributes of each genre (four attributes total), and then discuss the relationship of the genres to one another with respect to these attributes. What are the similarities that exist between the two genres (e.g. depictions of the gods, depictions of mortal life, main themes, tone, structure, etc.)? How are they different, and are they so in any irreconcilable ways? What do these similarities and differences tell us about the “place” of each genre in Archaic and Classical Greek life? What did each genre do for its intended (ancient) audience? What do they do for us today? How can you relate Nietzsche’s idea of the duality of the Apollonian and Dionysian to your observations?

The gods in Homer’s Iliad and the tragedies do not always appear as benevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent beings: they are involved in the ignominious deaths of certain heroes, they sleep around, and they are even wounded. These human-like characteristics are generally inconsistent with our own cultural and religious understandings of the divine. Choose one god from the Iliad, and one god from one of the tragedies read in class (two gods total) and comment upon the effect of their overall presence and purpose within the two texts. Some questions you might consider in your answer are as follows: Why are the gods depicted with an anthropomorphism that mirrors the emotions and faults of men? Do the gods need to be virtuous in order to be worshipped? What is the relationship between gods and humans? How do the gods interact with and understand humans? What is the relationship between gods and fate? What motivates the gods’ interactions with both humans and fate?

The concept of moderation is very important for understanding much of Greek tragedy, its characters, and the effect that such plays had on their audiences. Choose two characters from one of the following plays: Euripides’ Hippolytus, Bacchae, Sophocles’ Philoctetes, Antigone. Compose an essay that discusses each of the two characters in terms of their moderate behavior or lack thereof. Some issues that you will want to consider: (1) In what particular ways do these characters act excessively in relation to the established norms that would be expected? How do we as the audience learn what the standard behaviors should be? (2) What are the consequences for these characters who act without moderation, both in terms of the plot and as they relate to your personal sympathies toward these tragic figures? (3) Can you detect a similar theme of immoderate/moderate behavior within the characters of epic genre (particularly, in Homer’s Iliad)? If so, how do you explain this consistency across genres? How does this trend deviate from what we would expect from tragedy? And, finally, (4) how does Nietzsche’s Birth of Tragedy and the Apollonian and Dionysian play into the concept of moderation in one’s life?

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Reading Material for Wednesday & Thursday

Hello!!

I need to spend less time copying... So for the readings for next week please use the website Perseus (Digital Classics Library of Tufts University). This is a huge database with a temperamental server, so I apologize. My suggestion is that you visit the site this weekend and copy and paste the documents you need to read into a Word file in case you have trouble accessing it later next week.

While you're there, check out the rest of the site. They have some pretty cool stuff :)

Wednesday:

Article by Helene Foley in the Eleusinian Mysteries (Handed out in class this week)


Thursday:
Aeneid Book One (Virgil's Aeneid)

Response 16 (Due Wednesday)

Reading Assignment: Philoctetes, Hymn to Demeter, Foley article

1. (Short Answer) How does Sophocles characterize the 3 main roles in Philoctetes? Are their characterizations consistent with what you already knew about them? What are your opinions of them?

2. (Long Answer) Based on your understanding of Foley's article, what do we know about the Eleusinian mysteries?

3. (Long Answer) You have one day remaining in this class. Drawing on everything you've learned about the ancient Greeks and Romans, how does our modern society compare? Have we progressed? If so, how? If not, why? Have we regressed? Is there any real purpose in continuing to study their cultures? Did you find anyway to relate to the material we read? If so, which works and how? If not, what do you think made it difficult to connect to?