The Romans were a very religious people. Unlike many modern faiths, however, the
Roman religion was not monotheistic; instead of believing in only one God, they believed in many.
The most important of the hundreds of Roman gods were “The Twelve Olympians,” so called because they were thought to live, at least some of the time, on Mt. Olympus in Greece. Below is a list of these gods, with their Greek names in parentheses.
The Twelve Olympians
Jupiter (Zeus) Juno (Hera) Apollo (Phoebus
Apollo) Mars (Ares) Vesta (Hestia) Minerva
(Athena) Mercury (Hermes) Diana (Artemis) Neptune
(Poseidon) Venus (Aphrodite) Ceres (Demeter) Vulcan
(Hephaestus)
Choose one of the divinities and become an expert on him or her! Research your god or goddess,
then:
I. Make a poster depicting your divinity and listing (along the side or at the bot- tom) his or her
major attributes (e.g., what he/she was the god/dess of; physical and personal characteristics,
symbols, relationship to other divinities).
II. Choose one of the following projects:
a. Rewrite one of the myths concerning your divinity, changing the setting and circumstances to
modern times.
b. Create your own myth about your divinity set in mythological times. Be sure to remain “in
character” with what you know.
c. Write a letter from your divinity (in first person) describing what life is like for him/her.
In this letter refer both to specific incidents (“the time I . . .”) and general impressions (“It’s
so frustrating being the god of . . .because . . .”).
d. Create a writing assignment of your own, approved by me first.
III. The names of “The Twelve Olympians” are often used in modern advertising.
Look through current newspapers or magazines and find three examples of
“Olympian Ads.” Bring in these advertisements.
IV. Learn the names of “The Twelve Olympians” in both Latin and Greek and the primary
responsibilities of each.
Read the presentation of gods and goddesses in your textbook. See below or 68-69 in the textbook.
You must use at least three printed sources and two sources from the internet.
PRINTED TEXT #1
PRINTED SOURCE #2 Read also and carefully the essay "The Roman Gods" by Rose Williams.
PRINTED SOURCE # 3: Two chapters from Edith Hamilton's Mythology: "The Gods," 24-46 and "The Two Great Gods of the Earth," pp. 47-62.
Suggested Websites for Research:
Theoi focuses mainly on Greek gods but is helpful and has great images
Roman Mythology from Ancient History Encyclopedia
Greek and Roman gods and goddesses
Roman Mythology Crystal Links (a focus on Roman heroes and foundation myths)
PRINTED SOURCE # 3: Two chapters from Edith Hamilton's Mythology: "The Gods," 24-46 and "The Two Great Gods of the Earth," pp. 47-62.
Suggested Websites for Research:
Theoi focuses mainly on Greek gods but is helpful and has great images
Roman Mythology from Ancient History Encyclopedia
Greek and Roman gods and goddesses
Roman Mythology Crystal Links (a focus on Roman heroes and foundation myths)
No comments:
Post a Comment