Intellectual Heritage 51, Fall Term 2003

First Paper Topic:  The Greek World

Due:  Tuesday, September 30, 2003

Please write a 3-4 page (750-1000 word) paper on one of the following topics.  If you would like to write on another topic, please consult with me before starting.

1. Men go to war in both Thucydides’Äô History of the Peloponnesian War and in the Iliad.  Pericles’Äô Funeral Speech in Thucydides gives some of the reasons men fight (chapter 42); Sarpedon, in Book 12 of the Iliad (lines 320-342, p. 74), gives his own reasons to Glaucus.  Compare these passages in a discussion of why men fight, adding other passages if you wish.

2. Discuss the shield of Achilles (18.504-661, pp. 109¬‚113).  Why is it placed here, and what connection does it have with the events of the narrative?

3. Write an essay on similes in the Iliad:  How do they affect our understanding of the characters and the action?  Use a selection of passages that allows you to discuss the similes in some depth.

4. Discuss three passages where "honor" is important in the Iliad.

5. Why does Thucydides present the Plague narrative directly following the Funeral Speech?

6. What is the relationship between the individual and the city in the Funeral Speech of Pericles?

Please try to submit this paper electronically, sending it to the Digital Drop Box area of Blackboard.  Please make sure it is virus-free before sending.