Edith Hamiltons M y t h o l o g y Honors English 10: Summer Reading Assignment

The stories in Edith Hamiltons Mythology represent some of humanitys earliest attempts to understand life and to make sense of the world. For many centuries, people have been surprised by the power of these tales of gods, goddesses, heroes and monsters. My hope is that those who do not know the classics will gain(an) idea of what the writers were like who told them who have been proved, by two thousand years and more, to be immortal. -- Edith Hamilton You will not be reading and taking notes on the entire book, so be sure to cover only the following sections. I will check your notes and give you a quiz in the second week of school. For each item, jot down just enough to demonstrate that youve read the book, and complete sentences arent necessary.

Notes
* Introduction Describe the Greek and Roman imagination. What is the importance of the Iliad? What is the Greek miracle? How do the Greeks compare to the Egyptians? What is the terrifying irrational? How did Zeus change over time? * Chapter 1: for each, you should be able to match the Greek name to the Roman name and define (for example, Aphrodite: goddess of love). Zeus (Jupiter) Poseidon (Neptune) Hades (Pluto) Hera (Juno) Athena (Minerva) Apollo (also Apollo in Rome) Aphrodite (Venus) Ares (Mars) Hermes (Mercury) Artemis (Diana, Hecate) Eros (Cupid) The Underworld The Elysian Fields Styx and Lethe rivers Demeter (Ceres) Dionysus (Bacchus) Pan Saturn over

Make a brief outline for each of the following stories: * Chapter 2: the story of the seasons, and Persephone (Proserpine). * Chapter 3: the creation, Zeus, Titans, Giants, plus Pandoras Box. * Chapters 3 & 4: Prometheus * Chapter 5: Pygmalion & Galatea * Chapter 8: Daedalus & Icarus * Chapter 9: Perseus * Chapter 10: Theseus * Chapter 11: Hercules * Chapters 13 & 14: The Trojan War, The Fall of Troy * Chapter 18: Oedipus, Antigone * Chapter 20: Midas * Chapter 21: Amazons, Arachne, Hero & Leander, Orion, Sisyphus

Pronunciation Guide for Selected Names: Aeneas: Ih-NEE-us (The Ih-NEE-id) Antigone: An-TIG-a-nee Aphrodite: Afro-DITE-ee Arachne: A-RACK-nee Ares: AIR-eez Artemis: ART-ah-miss Athena: Ah-THEE-nah Bacchus: BOCK-iss Daedalus: DEAD-uh-les Demeter: Di-MEE-tur Dionysus: Di-oh-NEE-sus Elysian: Ah-LEEZ-ee-in Eros: AIR-os Galatea: Ga-LAY-tee-ah Hades: HAY-deez Hecate: HECK-ate Hera: HAIR-ah Hermes: HER-meez Lethe: LEE-thee Odysseus: Oh-DISS-ee-us (The ODD-ah-see) Oedipus: ed-a-pis Persephone: Per-SEFF-oh-nee Perseus: PER-see-us Prometheus: Pro-MEE-thee-us Proserpine: Pro-SURP-ah-nee Pygmalion: Pig-MAYli-un Sisyphus: SIS-a-fiss Theseus: THEE-see-us

Copies of Edith Hamiltons Mythology are available at local book stores and Amazon.com; a few copies may be borrowed from the KFLMC or from Mr. Frengel.