1) Share and discuss your homework responses.
1. What is the purpose of Greek and Roman mythology?
To show us the way the human race thought and felt back then.
2. What is the first written record of Greece called, and who was the author?
The Iliad, was the first written record, by Homer
3. What do the myths show us about the early Greeks?
They centered their thoughts on themselves and cared about fact above fantasy.
4. Why did the portrayal of Zeus change over the years?
Zeus portrayal changed when people’s values changed
5. What is the Theogony, and why is it important?
How everything came to be and it’s important because it explained everything
2) Choose one of the ancient Greek or Roman sources. Describe this source. How has this source been important throughout history? How is this source still important today? Why?
The Iliad is the first Greek written record by Homer, who also wrote the Odyssey. It describes the Greeks back then, what they thought and how they perceived the world around them. It is important because it gives us an account of the life of a Greek at that time.
3) Share and discuss everyone’s research. What do these sources have in common? What do they, as a whole, say about Greek and Roman mythology?
The sources all speak about their daily life and the god they believed in. Greek and Roman mythology was just an explanation about the world around them and it was centered around mankind in general.
4) What myths exist in our own culture? What ancient sources exist to support these myths? What sources today might someday be considered important sources that support our myths? Explain.
Current that exist today are Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas), Bloody Mary, and Jack the Ripper. Sinterklaas is a traditional holiday figure based on Saint Nicholas, who was a Christian saint know to give secret-gifts. Mary I of England was given the name Bloody Mary by her opponents after her execution and gave her the sobriquet "Bloody Mary". Jack the Ripper is the best known name given to an unidentified serial killer believed to have been active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888 and was also called "the Whitechapel Murderer" as well as "Leather Apron". Sources today that might become important are history books, biographies, and the internet.