Gorgon's head on a silver coin
Classics 215:

Mythology

Spring 2004

The god Apollo on a gold coin of Syracuse
image courtesy of Edgar L. Owen, #3803

Topics for "Final" Papers, i.e. Papers # 6 & #7


Due 5 pm on Monday, May 3 for 2 pm class
Due 10:30 am on Friday, May 7 for 1 pm class

Directions: Choose from the following topics (always cite correctly and sufficiently):

1. Compare and contrast Odysseus in the movie and in Homer's Odyssey, using solely the episode with the Cyclops as your evidence.

2. In both the movie and the epic, song plays a pivotal role. Compare and contrast the contents and role of the following songs in both the movie and the epic:*
the song "I am a man of constant sorrow" by the Soggy Bottom Boys in the movie (click here)
Odysseus' "song" , i.e. Odysseus' recounting of his travels to the Phaeacians (Powell, 569-584)

3. The Coen brothers have a blind "prophet" appear early in the movie and proclaim a prophecy. How is the prophecy (and its effect) similar yet different from the prophecies that we have seen in Greek legends (e.g. Jason, Perseus, Oedipus)?*

4. What scene/scenes in the epic are most like the conversion scene in the movie and why? What is the significance of the connection, if any? Use class discussion and Powell for the Odyssey.*

5. Compare and contrast the "men" of Odysseus in the movie and the epic from the viewpoint of character. Use class discussion and Powell for the Odyssey.*

6. Compare and contrast the relationship of Penelope and Odysseus in the movie and the poem with regard to cheating and detail the significance of the similarities and differences. Use class discussion and Powell for the Odyssey.* (You may only write on this if you do not write on Penelope and Odysseus in paper 5)

7. Certain female roles are significantly different in the movie in comparison to the epic, e.g. the Sirens in the movie are a combination of Circe and the Sirens in the epic. Discuss why, in the movie, Calypso has been left out and why Penny doesn't want Odysseus back (till much later) whereas Calypso is in the epic and Penelope always wants Odysseus back. Use class discussion and Powell for the Odyssey.*

*If you wish, you may use a text of the Odyssey or the following internet translation (click here) or the script of the movie (click here)
Citing: Print version: Standard bibliography at the end of the work; book and line numbers at the end of sentences, i.e. (Bk 1, 113-135).