Just in case any of you are getting the idea that my teaching style is all play and no work, here is the exam I'm giving my high school students tomorrow (and if any of you ARE my high school students, stop reading right now!):
PART ONE: IDs (1 strong paragraph each)
Choose 5 of the following themes about which to write. Discuss each theme’s importance in Greek Literature, and give two examples of the theme’s presence in our book [Edith Hamilton's Mythology].
-Fate
-Man’s Relationship to the gods
-Self-Sacrifice
-Arete
-Hospitality
-Leadership
-Justice
-Hubris
PART TWO: ESSAY (4-5 strong paragraphs)
Genesis tells us that God created man in His own image. However, the ancient Greeks created the gods in their image, so to speak. They invented the gods based on their own understanding. How is this shown in Greek depictions of the gods’ power, authority, and relationships to man and to each other? How does this affect the way the Greeks think about their gods? In other words, what are the ramifications (or consequences) of creating gods in man’s image instead of the other way around?
And there you have it, my high schoolers' exam. I got the idea for the essay question from Amy Beth - I believe she came up with that idea of the Greeks creating the gods in their image. Brilliant, eh? Ah, she's a smart cookie, that Amy.
7 comments:
Wow!!! If your students do well on this one, I will be mightily impressed, both with your ability as a teacher and with your students' academic prowess in tackling essay questions of college caliber.
Also, right now I'm feeling jealous at your ability to give essays like this and actually have time to correct them... A definite plus for you in having only a handful of students in class!
not wanting to seem stupid, but what is "arete"? it is too early to google it right now...
Come on, DJ, it's Lisa's club at college!!! Everyone knows that! Apparently Andrea's been talking a lot about Lisa's extracurricular activities at school, so now it's on the exam.
I don't have any comment relating to the post. I simply saw the wident and wanted to pass it on to the rest of you.
ujiikliv
I hope that isn't a norwegian swear and I'm going to offend someone. :)
Arete is excellence. The Greeks strove for excellence in battle, and then in every area of life. A very heroic concept.
They took the exam today, and I discovered they are slow writers. I let them do a mere 3 IDs. I haven't corrected them yet, but I glanced at them and wasn't too depressed. Their answers are not exactly collegiate, obviously, but they were pretty good (and they better be - I went over what I wanted about 30000 times).
Aaaargh!! I was trying to think of that definition because I learned it recently, but it totally eluded me and I didn't want to cheat by looking it up! Now I'll remember it for sure. :-)
Wow, awesome test. You are an amazing teacher indeed.
Oh yeah and arete is probably my favorite Greek word. Besides the basic sense of excellence, and the Homeric sense of military greatness (almost chivalry but not quite) it is the foundation for the whole idea of virtue in classical and medieval ethics, from Aristotle to Aquinas.
I love the fact that virtue was equated to living an excellent and skillful life -- that the same word describes a skilled craftsman or warrior and a good man in a moral sense -- almost like the Hebrew concept of chokmah (wisdom/skill).
It is also used 4 times in the New Testament -- once in Phillipians 4:8, twice in 2 Peter 1:5, once in 2 Peter 1:3, and once in 1 Peter 2:9 (apparently Peter liked the word as much as I do).
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