What does this treatment or representation tell us about the role and/or status of women in their cultures
What does this treatment or representation tell us about the role and/or status of women in their cultures.
Write a well-developed essay of 4-5 paragraphs on ONE of the topics below. Be sure to refer to the texts to support your main ideas. You might note that these topics correlate with those discussed in the Course Introduction.
Pick one of the 3 topics to write:
- Compare and contrast at least two of the epic heroes that we have studied so far: Gilgamesh, Rama (or Sita), and Achilles (or another heroic figure from the Iliad). What makes these figures heroic in the eyes of their cultures, and what does does their heroic character reveal about the priorities or values of their cultures?
- Discuss the treatment or representation of at least 2 women in at least 2 different works that we have read: Shamhat, Siduri, Sita, Briseis, Hecuba, Andromache, Medea, the Chorus of women in Medea, the women in Metamorphoses. What does this treatment or representation tell us about the role and/or status of women in their cultures?
- Choose at least two works and discuss how the divine beings regard and interact with mortals. Are the god-figures mainly caring for their creation? or somewhat fearsome? or maybe a bit of both? Which deities seem remote and unfathomable? Which more humanistic and accessible? Which are fair and understandable in their dealings with humanity? Which more capricious? These are some ideas, but you can choose the terms of your comparison and contrast.
