Humanities 110

Paper Topics | Fall 2001 | Paper 2

Due Date: Saturday, October 6, 2001, 5 p.m. in the Faculty mailboxes in Eliot.
Length: 1500 words.

1. "Perses, you take all this to heart, Listen
   to what's right, and forget about violence.
   The Son of Kronos has laid down the law for humans.
   Fish and beasts and birds of prey feed on
   Each other, since there's no justice among them.

   But to men he gave justice, and that works out
   All to the good. If you know in your heart what's right
   And come out and say so, broad-browed Zeus will
   Give you prosperity. But if you bear false witness
   Or lie under oath, and by damaging Justice
   Ruin yourself beyond hope of cure, your bloodline
   Will weaken and your descendants fade out. But a man
   Who stands by his word leaves a strong line of kinfolk.

   Justice is one of Hesiod's central concerns in both the Theogony and Works and Days. To what extent does Hesiod show that Zeus's actions in the Theogony are just?

2. In his response to Croesus, Solon asserts that "man is entirely a creature of chance." (Histories, p. 14). To what extent does this opinion comport with the world view of Herodotus?

3. Contrast Sappho's assessment of women in Fragment 16 with that of either Semonides (Fragment 7) or Hesiod (either Works and Days 58-128 or Theogony 573-620)

4. Compare the ideals represented by either the New York Metropolitan kouros, the Kritios Boy or "Cleobis and Biton" with those of the poetry of either Archilochus, Anacreon or Alcaeus.

In addition to consulting with your conference leader, you can get help with all stages of the writing process from peer tutors at the Writing Center. You can find links to the Writing Center hours on the Drop-in Tutoring Schedule website. Extra tutoring help will be available in the week leading up to paper due dates.