Reed College
Reed College

Humanities 110

Introduction to the Humanities

Paper Topics | Spring 2001 | Paper 1

Due Date: Saturday, February 17, 2001, 5 p.m. in the Faculty mailboxes in Eliot.
 Length: 1500 words. Write on one of the following questions:

  1. Many of Livy's stories revolve around rape (e. g. the rape of the Vestal Virgin, the Sabine women, and Lucretia). How and why does Livy use these stories in constructing his history of the rise of Rome?

  2. Explore the way in which religious belief or practice is made to serve political purposes in Livy (see, for example, Book 1, pp. 52-53) and the Ara Pacis Augustae.

  3. Upon introducing himself to Dido, Virgil's epic hero announces,

    . . ."I am pious
    Aeneas, and I carry in my shipsmy household gods together with me, rescued
    from Argive enemies; my fame is known
    beyond the sky. I seek out Italy,
    my country, my ancestors born of Jove." (I: 535-540)

    To what extent is this passage representative of Virgil's view of the hero and his purpose? To what extent does Virgil complicate this picture of Aeneas' heroic office? If so, where and why? (Comparisons between Achilleus and Aeneas might be helpful in thinking about this topic.)

  4. Livy and Virgil were contemporaries; both were working on projects to provide evolving conceptions of Roman identity based on a vision of its ancient roots. Compare their representations of Aeneas. What are some of the most significant ways in which their treatment of this material differs? In what ways does each work complicate an understanding of the relation between 'myth' and 'history'?

  5. Livy writes: "I shall find antiquity a rewarding study, if only because, while I am absorbed in it, I shall be able to turn my eyes from the troubles which for so long have tormented the modern world..." (p. 1) What do you see as the most important implications of this view of the historian's craft for the shape and tone that Livy's text take?

  6. In the Portland Art Museum is a painting by the artist Francesco di Giorgio that appears to depict the Meeting of Dido and Aeneas from Book 1 of the Aeneid. Go to the museum and look at the painting. Write a paper analyzing the relationship of the image to the text. How does each tell the story differently?

    (The Portland Art Museum is open Tues-Sat from 10-5 and Sun from 12-5. The usual fee for students with ID is $6.00. However in the two week period before the paper is due, admission for Hum 110 students will be $2.50. The painting is located in the permanent collection. Take the stairs from the main lobby to the second floor; the painting is on the right hand wall in the room to the right of the large open landing.)

  7. In consultation with your conference leader, write on a topic of your own devising.