Topics for Papers

Paper #1 topic

Directions:

Write on one of the topics below:
1. One of our textbooks notes "in Homer, humans are the playthings of the gods" (Pomeroy, p 52). Argue whether (or to what extent) this is true in the book 1 of the Iliad  and of the Odyssey.

2. Compare and contrast how Achilles treats Priam in the Iliad, Book 24, with how Telemachus treats Athena (in disguise), in the Odyssey, Book 1. Conclusions?

Citing guidelines: give book and the approximate line numbers for citations for the Iliad and the Odyssey, e.g. "With these words he awoke in Achilles a longing to weep for his own father" (Iliad, 24. 500-510).


 
 

Paper #2 topic

Directions:
  • post a copy in "submit papers to this folder" in the Greek Civilization discussion folder
  • bring a paper copy to class on the date listed above
  • length: 600-900
  • for more information about the format and about the writing intensive requirements, click here
    • Write on one of the topics below:
    1. Many points of comparison can be made between the ancient Greek Olympics and the modern Olympics. Discuss some of the significant similarities and differences with regard to the athletes. What conclusions can you draw? As always, make sure you cite sources sufficiently and correctly.

    2. Many points of comparison can be made between the ancient Greek Olympics and the modern Olympics. Discuss some of the significant similarities and differences with regard to the spectators and/or the schedule of events. What conclusions can you draw? As always, make sure you cite sources sufficiently and correctly


     
     
     

     
    Paper #3 topic
    Directions: Write on one of the topics below:
    1. You have come into possession of a time portal that will allow you to visit the past (but without affecting the time continuum), but it has some restrictions. You must submit your request in writing to the portal and demonstrate that you have good cause to visit (or it may refuse your request). Based solely on all the selections of Herodotus' Histories assigned for class, determine and demonstrate which it would be better to visit the past as -- Kroisos or Xerxes. Remember, the portal is very particular about whom it lets go through and requires a request that contains good argumentation and good supporting facts.

    2.     We saw with some of the early Greek philosophers were interested in determining the causes of things apart from the gods -- e.g. Thales' hypothesis that water was the origin of all things -- in contrast to Hesiod who postulated that all originated from the gods. Using solely either the selections from book 1 or from book 7 of Herodotus' Histories assigned for class (check the numbers in brackets--the first number refers to the book, i.e. 1.2 is from book 1 & 7.122 is from book 7), determine and demonstrate which of the two Herodotus emulates more and which less.
    Paper #4 topic
    Directions: Write on one of the following topics:
    1. You have come into possession of a time portal that will allow you to visit the past (but without affecting the time continuum), but it has some restrictions. You must submit your request in writing to the portal and demonstrate that you have good cause to visit (or it may refuse your request). Based solely on the plays Antigone and Lysistrata, determine and demonstrate which it would be better to visit the past as -- Antigone or Lysistrata -- but exclude their fates as a reason for or against. Remember, the portal is very particular about whom it lets go through and requires a request that contains good argumentation and good supporting facts.

    2. We saw with some of the early Greek philosophers were interested in determining the causes of things apart from the gods -- e.g. Thales' hypothesis that water was the origin of all things -- in contrast to Hesiod who postulated that all originated from the gods. Using solely Sophocles' Antigone, determine and demonstrate which of the two Sophocles emulates more and which less.
    Paper #5 topic
    Directions: Write on one of the following topics:
    1) Aristotle, in his Politics, states "the relation of male to female is naturally that of the superior to the inferior -- of the ruling to the ruled" (1254b). Based on these three stories in Kebric, Ch. 7 (Erastosthenes, In-Laws, Diogeiton), determine and demonstrate whether the evidence in all three stories supports Aristotle's claim.

    2. Aristotle, in his Politics, later states that the male should rule because the male possesses "the rational ... element" (1260a). Based on these two stories in Kebric, Ch. 7 (Conon and Phormio), determine and demonstrate whether the evidence in both stories supports Aristotle's claim --that the male possesses "the rational ... element."


     
     

    Paper #6 topic

    Directions: Write on one of the following two topics:
    1. A key aspect of any defense in the ancient world is gaining the trust of the jurors. Evaluate Socrates' first speech in the Apology and determine to why he was unsuccessful in gaining the trust of more than half of the jurors. (Longer version: add second speech) (Citing: use page numbers from our edition; if you use a different edition, include a bibliography and use the numbers/letters at the beginning of certain paragraphs).

    2. Compare and contrast the following speeches: Socrates' first speech in the Apology and the cripple's speech in Lysias, Oration 24 (Kebric 157-159). (longer version: add Socrates' second speech in the Apology)

    3. Write a tightly argued brief outlining what the defense for Pausanias would be based on what you know about legal defenses at the time (see Kebric 232-235 for what he did). You also need to pick which court of the Areopagus to have your client tried at and give just cause for this venue.

    The five choices are:
    Areopagite: "cases of killing with intention, wounding with intention, poisoning when it caused death, and arson."
    Palladium    : "cases of involuntary homicide, charges against the man [or woman] who planned homicide when another agent carried it out, and charges of killing a slave or resident alien or a foreigner    ."
    Delphinium: "cases where a man [or woman] admitted that he killed but alleged that the act was lawful; he might, for example, say that he had caught his victim in adultery or had killed him in war, without recognizing him, or had slain him in an athletic contest."
    Phreatto    : "if a man already in exile for an offence which allowed pardon was accused of committing a further act of killing or wounding; in such a case the accused attended trial in a boat just offshore."
    Other    : "animals and inanimate objects causing death were tried by a court consisting of the king-archon and the four 'tribal-kings,' who were the heads of the four hereditary tribes into which the Athenians were divided."
    All quotes from R. Sealey, A History of the Greek City States: ca. 700--338 B.C., University of California Press, Berkeley, 1976, p. 103).

    Paper #7 topic

    Directions: Write on one of the following two topics:
    1. Both Theocritus (Idyll 15) and Xenophon (Kebric, 176-180) paint word pictures of wives. Compare and contrast these two portraits.  176-180

    2. In Idyll 15, Theocritus used words to paint portraits of different types of individuals. Compare his portraiture with that found on Greek art. For the Greek art, restrict yourself to selections from the following: Pomeroy, p. 295 and 312-315; Kebric 210 and 219.

    3. At the beginning of the semester we saw the clever/brilliant engineering accomplished by the Greeks as evidenced at the tunnel on Samos engineered by Eupalinus in the Archaic. We end the semester with a description of several other Greek engineering feats--the seige engine of Demetrius Poliorcetes and the Colossus of Rhodes. Compare and contrast these three feats.