Blog 11

Describe Satan’s punishment. Why would Dante portray Satan’s punishment in such fashion?

Blog 10

From your assigned Circle(s) of Hell, describe one of the historical figures from that Circle. What was the person's major sin in life? How is the person punished? Who was the person? How did Dante know that person?

Blog 9: Augustine's Confessions

Could Confessions have been written today? Does our culture support such serious, intensive, analysis of the self and the meaning of life? Or have psychotherapy and such phenomena taken the place of self-motivated searching like that engaged in by Augustine? What role does reading play in Augustine's search?

Blog 8

Plato offers the Theory of Forms/Ideas as a solution to a number of different philosophical problems. What is one of those problems? Explain how the theory is supposed to solve the problem.

Blog 6- The Aeneid

What kind of hero is Aeneas? How do his actions compare to those of Gilgamesh, Achilles, and Hector? In what ways is his situation similar to or different from that of the other heroes?

Blog 5

The gods play a major role in the action of The Odyssey. Discuss 4 examples of direct intervention in the action as well as the code of hospitality (xenia) that the gods demanded of humans.

Blog 4

Discuss the value of loyalty within Odysseus’ world. To what extent are our main character’s loyal to one another. Offer three examples from this week's readings. (Don't forget to cite where you are getting these examples with specific page numbers from the text). What are the consequences of disloyalty? How does Homer develop his message?

Blog 3

Telemachos is often described as being unrealistically immature; on any reckoning, he must be 20 years old by the time the Odyssey opens. Does the charge of immaturity seem valid, or is Telemachos a realistic portrait of a young man in his situation? Please use at least THREE references from the story to support your position.

Blog #2

Are women important in The Iliad or are they portrayed as merely second-hand status and prizes? In other words, how does Homer portray them?

Blog #1: The Iliad

In the beginning of The Iliad, Homer tells us that the story is about the anger of Achilles. What is one part of the story that does not involve Achilles, but is a result of his anger? Why is this part important if the story is about the anger of Achilles?