Week 2 Journal
Hours 0–1.5: In Class
Thursday, August 30 11:00–12:30 pm :
Today in class, we took our first quiz on Oedipus Tyrannus and the stories of Narcissus and Echo. To prepare for this test, I reviewed the notes that I took while reading the texts. Those included the names of central characters, events, and scenes that seemed crucial to the plot of the texts. I wrote and rewrote the names of Liriope, Tiresias, Juno, Jupiter, and Jocasta, who I suspected to be chosen for one of the questions, and luckily, I was asked to recall Jocasta’s name. I also took it upon myself to review specific words and details of our daily discussions that had Greco-Roman roots such as peripeteia, anagnorisis, and noscerese. Again, peripeteia and anagnorisis were included in some of the questions during the Quiz and I was prepared for those particular questions. I was not, however, prepared for the questions

that asked me who was the first person to come to Oedipus as a Suppliant in the beginning of the text, nor was I prepared for the question of the city where Oedipus was crowned king. I simply inferenced that the answer to the first question was a priest and was correct. When listening to the Question of Oedipus’s kingdom, I was taken completely aback. My mind raced, yet I could not remember focusing on such a detail during the entirety of my reading. I simply chose Boeotia, Thebes as an answer because I remembered a generalization about many Greek Myths were typically in this region of Greece.
When reflecting on the results of this quiz, although I was lucky enough to have answered the questions correctly, I realize that simply reading the texts and skimming class notes is not necessarily the best way to prepare for these weekly quizzes. Obviously, our quizzes and performances on them are a reflection of the level of preparedness that we exhibit each week in preparation of the class. I feel that because we are quizzed on the readings, class discussions, as well as class notes, we are being asked to review much more material and are benefitting moreso. If we were simply quizzed on one aspect, we may be inclined to slack on other aspects of our education. I enjoy the class quizzes and accept the challenge of not knowing what I could be asked, because it reveals to me the points of my studies that I am lapsing in my studies.
Later that class period, we reviewed the five biggest questions people ask themselves and the life narrative. Dr. S. explained that there were essentially 4 perspectives on human ability to control their life narrative. My classmate brought up the point that a person’s religious orientation would typically determine your perspective on the matter. Those who had a heavily religious background might be inclined to select the fate/destiny perspective that states that all persons are destined to have a particular fate that was established by a deity of some sort. People who are more religiously oriented would typically select either this or the perspective that throughout our lives, there is no particular destiny in store for a person, but a religious influence could result in the individual’s success or failure. The remaining options of complete free will and biological determinism have no religious input, and therefore those who have less of a religious take on life may be inclined to select one of these options.

Hours 1.5–4.5 At Home
Sunday, September 2 4:07 pm-7:00 pm:
Read Classical Mythology in Context (CMIC)pp. 3–35.
According to to the author, what is Classical Mythology?
According to the author, Classical Mythology is the study of myths: the stories that the Greeks called muthoi. Additionally, a majority of classical mythological studies are devoted to Greek studies from the Archaic and Classical Periods. The author also states that, to understand Classical Mythology, we must revisit the roots of the words Classical and Mythology, taking into consideration what the word Classic implies. She writes that, in one sense, the word implies that something is exemplary and embodies central ideals. However Renaissance scholars have often used it to describe Greek and Roman works because they see their works as pinnacles of success in many ways. In a more modern sense, a classic refers to exceptionality as well. It can refer to a movie, work of art, or another thing that exemplifies characteristics of a certain group or idea. The definition has not changed much from its old perception.

Do you agree with her reasons for studying classical myths in the 21st century (pp.33–35)?
I do agree with her statement that studying classical myths can lead to a development of multidisciplinary tools. Studying it helps us learn to examine writing, communication, and human interaction in general. Human beings have changed mentally from the times from the Ancient Greeks, but through studying the classics, we can identify how exactly they have changed and what aspects may remain the same. We can also examine some of the ideals and qualities that our ancestors held dear. Although we may have given up on some of their traditions or developed some of our own, we remain human nonetheless. Classical Mythology opens our perceptions to understand the choices we make and the things we hold dear. We can analyze how classical civilizations cherished their ideals and social customs. Whether they be something of great importance such as disrespecting a marriage or something trivial such as washing a guest’s feet, we learn how humans have change and deal with a these things though studying classical myths.

The author additionally states more reasons for studying Classical Mythology from examining philosopher Mary Midgley. She gives more existential reasons for studying Classical Mythology such as learning how human beings live and love more when we understand our connectedness to others. In this regard, her reason can be open to interpretation because our perceptions of love are difficult to equate to the feelings of Grecian people simply based on the dramatic myths supposedly crafted from Homer and other Anonymous writers in Eras before the common era.
Hours 4.5–6: In class
Tuesday, September 4 11:00–12:30 pm
The central question for today’s lecture was: How do we experience/ participate in stories and myths beyond hearing or reading them? Before listening to my classmates, I speculated on how i have personally celebrated stories and myths. I envisioned how I had acted in several plays in Middle school and how in many cases, a common way to celebrate stories and myths is to reenact them in the form of plays, dramas, or other reworkings of the task. During my previous semester at Howard university, I took a class called Greek Mythology and for one of my assignments, I elected to direct a reworking of book 14 of the Iliad. Although I had not realized it at the time, that was one of the ways that I was experiencing and participating in the myth itself by visualizing how the event could take place in my current environment. This simple reworking and the multitude of my other classmates were experiencing the myths and stories that they elected to rework and transferred the story’s characteristics to modern day.
This realization along with the continued discussion revealed the additional forms that we humans celebrate stories and myths. Our plays, dramas, reworkings, movies, and holidays typically contain traditional themes that we wish to pass on to each subsequent generation. I realized that throughout time, we humans have retold the stories and myths that we find essential or important in various forms. Whether they be holidays, entertainment, art, or other forms of social bonding, these stories seem to be essential to human traditions and growth. Some of the ways that we show our appreciation for these stories are with meals, reenactments, social gatherings, prayer, thought, religious ceremonies, customs, and traditions.

We found that some stories did not even have to be factual to be seen as important. This example is seen in the Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Marvel, DC, and Anime supporters who hold gatherings such as Conventions, cosplay, and such to share their enjoyment for these stories and ideals.
Hours 6–9: At Home
Wednesday, September 5 10:23–1:20
Read Book 11 of Homer’s Odyssey. What happens after you die?
This question has been studied for all of humanity and yet none have proven the factual details of what happens after death. Whether this is because no one has been able to return from death or because people remain unwavering in their faith, we do not know. Some religions believe that a person’s spirit lives on after the body’s decay and may burn forever in the fires of hell or go to a divine realm of everlasting happiness. Some people believe wholeheartedly in the scientific approach to life where, once the body and brain dies, the person’s existence dies as well. There are many variations of this, depending on a group’s respective beliefs. People will continue to debate what the truthfully happens after death, but a person’s faith will be the deciding factor behind how an individual perceives death.
Personally, I am unsure of what happens after death. I believe in a higher power of some sort, and yet I believe in the logical and factual scientific approach to explaining human life. I feel as if asking a student their perception of this question is to no logical avail. Students are still under the welfare and influence of their parents. They do not have the level of experience and religious independence necessary to learn the answer themselves. I believe that the only people able to genuinely answer this question needs to have witnessed a considerable amount of religions and cultures in order to make an informed decision about their own religious beliefs. From the day that they were born, children are subjected to the religious teachings, traditions, and practices of their guardians and if they are lucky, they may witness the religious practices of of people with disparate views of their parents.

The ancient Greek perception of death, based on this myth, suggests that the Greeks believed in the passing on of their spirits to the Underworld. The mythological religion suggests a belief in multiple deities as well as the influence of divine intervention in their daily lives. The impression was that the deities were capable of human emotions such as jealousy and rage, although divine wrath was more so indiscriminate and drastic. Of course, these were simply myths and that brings to light the question of what was the genuine religious beliefs of the Greeks listening to of these myths. Did they believe that these stories and tales had some relationship with events and the intertwining stories of Greek Mythology? They obviously cherished these stories because they continued to retell these stories over generations and honored dramatics.