Now that we've created the Greek cosmos and put Zeus in charge, and have made some progress on developing some mythical literacy, it's time to transition to the notion of heroism. All next week we'll focus on the exploits of the greatest Greek hero of them all, Heracles (Roman name: Hercules), as well as the kinds of stories that propagate his legends, all in an effort to understand the concept of the hero.
For Wednesday, September 18, please do the following:
(1) Review the Heracles section of the D'Aulaires reading from this summer (pp. 132–147) for a general overview/refresher on the hero's life, career, and death.
(2) Read the Heracles section of Apollodorus' Bibliotheca or Library (pp. 38–53), which was distributed in class. The Library is a Greek text dating from the 2nd century CE, and I'll be interested to see what you make of it.
(3) Read also Apollodorus' account of the creation at the front of your packet (pp. 5–7), which will probably seem both strange and familiar after our week of Hesiod.
As you do your reading, please consider the following questions:
- How does the Daulaires' Heracles narrative resemble or differ from that of Apollodorus?
- How does Apollodorus' creation story resemble or differ from that of Hesiod?
- To judge only from the Apollodorus in front of you — that is, don't Google him or his work — what kind of text is he writing? What is the nature or purpose of his text?
DC
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