Directions:
Option 1: write 3 600-900 word essays on the topics given below
Option 2: write 2 900-1200 word essay on two of the topics given below.

1. The audience a story is directed to affects the shape and tenor of the story, e.g. a recent NYTimes article [reg. req'd.] about the upcoming national presidental election noted: 'A ... tactician ... told me, ''The big question is: What is the information that I have that indicates someone is a Democrat or Republican? And then it's all about talking to those people and giving them information packaged in a way to get them to buy your brand''' (italics mine). Examine how the audience for the following Greek myths and the following Norse myths have shaped these myths. For the Greek myths examine one or two of the following: a) the selections from Hesiod in Powell, Ch 4-5, and b) the selections from Homer in Powell, Ch 6-7. For the Norse myths use two or three from Leonard, Ch 2 & 4-5. Leonard may have some helpful information about the context of these selections in the introductions to them; Powell has some helpful information on Homer & Hesiod (62-65), on the time period (24-26) and on Greek males (30-34).

2. We have seen how the Greeks came up with various theories of myth interpretation as a way of dealing with what they perceived to be problems with their mythology. In your essay, use one of the following approaches (philosophical [Xenophanes'] or allegorical--physical, psychological, moral, or historical [Euhemerus']) to evaluate the myths from one or two of the following cultures (African [Leonard, Ch2, & 4-5], of India [Leonard, Ch 2 & 4], and Sumerian/Mesopotamian/Hittite [Leonard, Ch 2 & 4, and Powell, Ch 4]). In your introduction, state sufficiently, but succintly what the theory is, and, in your conclusion, evaluate how effective the theory is in interpreting non-Greek myths.

3. We have seen that many of the myths reveals information about how their respective cultures view females--their tasks, their relationship with males, and their place in society. Discuss with regard to two of the following: the Greek myths in Powell, Ch 7, the Norse myths in Leonard, Ch  4 & 5, the Native American myths in Leonard, Ch 2 & 5.