Take-home Option for Exam II

Section A: due Mon., Oct 22, at 3:00 p.m. 
Section B: due Tues., Oct 23, at 2:00 p.m. 
(in both paper and electronic form)

Directions:
    Option 1: write two 600-1000 word essays on two of the topics given below
    Option 2: write one 1200-1600 word essay on one of the topics given below
        NB: always give sources for both quotes and information; don't forget to give a word count

Topics:

1. Athens & Sparta: An NPR article recently noted: "We have got to start the process of restoring people's faith, making them believe again that this really is a democracy, and that their voice matters when decisions are being made in Washington," Edwards said during the 1998 campaign. It's a theme he oft repeated during his 2004 and current White House run.' (Adam Hochberg, "Senate Race Marked Edwards as Rising Political Star,"NPR, Oct 1, 07).
    Using this definition of democracy -- "democracy is where the people's voice matters when decisions are being made"-- and using solely the reading materials which we have covered so far, along with your notes, argue, which of the two poleis, Sparta and Athens, was more democratic and which was less [if you think both are equal in this regard, demonstrate why you think this].

2. Archaic Age: The modern archaeologist, Anthony Snodgrass, in Archaic Greece: The Age of Experiment argued that the beginning of the Archaic Age was a "structural revolution" which
 -"established the economic basis of Greek society"
-"established the main outlines of its social framework"
-"drew up the political map of the Greek world"
-"set up the forms of state what were to determine Greek political history"
-"provided much of the physical basis of Greek religion"
-"furnished the means for Greek society to defend its independence militarily" (Snodgrass, Archaic Greece)
  From the following -- Polycrates, Archilochus, Sappho, Hesiod, Phayllus, Croesus -- discuss how they reflect some of these observations of Snodgrass [pick 2 if Option 1; pick 3 or 4 if Option 2].

3. Kleos: We saw that achieving kleos and avoiding aidos was important for the Homeric heroes. Using solely the materials we have covered so far (book and web), in your essay discuss how the ways to achieve kleos and avoid aidos have morphed during the Archaic Age.