History 4210:  Olympian Roulette Directions

Due Date:  Midnight, Tuesday, March 12.

 

  1. Pull an ostrakon out of the container.  This is your deity/group of deities.
     
  2. Look up background on your deity.
    1. Check out http://www.theoi.com
    2. You may also use  print encyclopedias in the reference areas.
    3. Check out Bullfinch's Age of Fable (http://www.bartleby.com/181/)
       
  3. Determine (and read) the primary sources for your deity (or group of deities)
    1. Start with Hesiod's Theogony https://www.msu.edu/~tyrrell/theogon.pdf
    2. Look at the bottom of the Theoi.com entry on your deity or group of deities.  
      There should be a list of translations of primary sources.

  4. Using the primary sources and secondary sources such as Theoi.com, develop a profile of your deity (or group of deities)
     

  5. The profile should contain:
    1. Names
    2. Epithets (a word or phrase used to characterize people or things.  For example:  rosy-fingered Dawn, Zeus the thunderer, etc.)
    3. What they look like
    4. Birth (where & how)
    5. Family - include marriage, romantic/sexual relationships
    6. Friends
    7. Children and your deity/group's relationship with them
    8. Roles & responsibilities - include occupation (that is:  they're the god of what?)
    9. Personality traits, including strengths & weaknesses
    10. Education - include how your deity/group was raised and learned to do the things they did
    11. What they do for fun
    12. Any pets and/or sacred animals & why those animals
    13. Do they have any special skills that separate them from other deities?
    14. Do they have a weapon and/or armor?  What do they look like and what roll do these play?
    15. Do they have any other special item that they use. 
    16. What is their relationship with humans?
    17. What do they do for fun?
    18. How are they worshipped?  Is there anything that is the same with other deities?  Different?
    19. Anything else you want to add to the profile?  Is there something you can't answer for your deity?

     

  6. Once you've developed the profile, write a 1-2 page summary of what you believe are the most important characteristics of your deity/group of deities.

NOTE:  You will not be able to find out all this information about every deity.  Do the best you can.

DIRECTIONS:

Use a word processor.  You may use Word (.doc, .docx) and Word Perfect (.wpd).  If you use a different word processor, you must save the file as a .rtf (rich text format.)  If it is not in one of these formats, I won't grade it.

The document should include:

  1. Your name
  2. The name of your deity/group of deities
  3. Your profile
  4. Your 1-2 page summary
  5. Your name.

Email the everything to me at:  KLPayne@weber.edu

Use your mail.weber.edu address - this is required by the university  when turning in assignments, sending grades, etc.

Giving Credit:  you must cite all sources you use.  You may use MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian author/date or endnotes.  NO footnotes.
Use  http://www.theoi.com as an example for citing primary sources.

Due Date:  Midnight, Tuesday, March 12.