II.

The assignment has TWO (2) parts; you must choose one from part one and one from part two II. THE QUESTIONS A. CATEGORY ONE Chose one (1!) of the following questions and write an essay/argument of around 700 words 1.This course has argued for the singularity of Greek religion, with the gods having human personality but mortals possessing godly traits as well, with the lines generally between the gods and men being permeable. Discuss this issue using both The Iliad and class lectures. OROROROROR 2. This course has discussed the singular trait of the Greeks to personalize and even individualize with a corresponding emphasis on free will or individuals making their own character. Discuss this issue using both the Iliad and class lectures. B. SECOND CATEGORY Choose one of the following quotations and write around 500 words. Analyze how it reveals some fundamental quality or qualities of the poem (relative gods, humankind, the character, the poem, etc.). Do not merely summarize the passage, but relate it to other material in the text. As for Introductions, Part A - begin with the book or episodes of the passage itself (ie - look up the passages!) Choice 1: From Book 6, lines 497-505 Mother tells me, the immortal goddess Thetis with her glistening feet, that two fates bear me on to the day of death. If I hold out here and I lay siege to Troy, my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies. If I voyage back to the fatherland I love, my pride, my glory dies...true, but the life thats left me will be long, the stroke of death with not come quickly. Choice 2: From Book 16, lines 506 So with their battle cries rushed each other there. And Zeus the son of Cronus with Cronus twisting ways, filling with pity now to see the two great fighters, said to Hera his sister and his wife My cruel fate...my Sarpedon, the man I love the most, my own son - doomed to die at the hands of Menoetiuss son Patroclus. My heart

is torn in tow as I try to weigh all this. Shall I pluck him up, now, while he is still alive. . .or beat him down at Patroclus hands at last. Choice 3: From Book 17, lines 100-111: And the cry [of Hector] pierced Menelaus, deeply torn now as he probed his own great heart: What can I do? If I leave this splendid gear and desert Patroclus-who fell here fighting, all to redeem my honor-wont any comrade curse me, seeing me break away? But if I should take on Hector and Hectors Trojans alone, in single combat - trying to save my pride - wont they encircle me, one against so many?. . . .But why debate, my friend, why thrash things out? When you fight a man against the will of the gods, a man they have sworn to honor - then look out. Choice 4: From Book 23: lines 352-362 Theres no great need for me to set you straight. Well you know how to double round the post...but youve got the slowest nags - a handicap Id say. Yet even if the other teams are faster, look at their drivers; theres not a trick in their whips that you dont have at hand. so plan your attack, my friend, muster all your skills or what the prize slip by! Its sill, not brawn, that makes the finest woodsman. By skill, too, the captain holds his ship on course, scudding the winedark sea though rocked by gales. By skill alone, the charioteer outraces charioteer.