You may choose your own topic for the subject of your term paper of 10-15 pages. Write me a one-paragraph description of your topic by October 1st. Here are a few possibilities:
1. Compare the ancient visual portrayals of a mythological god, human, or group (e.g., Amazons, Centaurs) with the portrayal of the same god, human, or group in Greek and Roman literature. Two good sources for visual portrayals are the web sites I handed out at the beginning of the semester, and the following reference work: Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, available in the reference room of the Classics library.
2. Choose a work of ancient literature we have not read this semester (e.g., a tragedy, Apollonius of Rhodes's epic on Jason and Medea, or the poems of Sappho) and evaluate how the author has adapted myth to suit her or his literary ends.
3. Compare one or two myths from a culture other than ancient Greece and Rome (e.g., Native American myths, Japanese myths, African myths) with myths describing similar events or persons (e.g., creation, floods, heroes) in the Greco-Roman tradition. What differences in the two cultures might explain the differences in the myths?
4. Apply one of the schools of mythological interpretation we have learned this semester to a myth or set of myths we did not get a chance to discuss this semester (e.g., myths of Bellerophon, Orion, or the Danaids).
5. Evaluate the use of myth in a modern work of literature (e.g., Shakespeare's "Venus and Adonis," or John Updike's The Centaur) or film (e.g., Ulysses, Clash of the Titans).
6. Study the same myth as it is presented in a number of different mythological handbooks and textbooks (e.g., Edith Hamilton, Robert Graves, Bullfinch, Morford and Lenardon), and evaluate how the story differs in each text. What factors might explain the differences between the various modern versions of the same myth?
See me soon to discuss your topic, and for any help or advice I can give.