This is a dedication page.

Transcription

1 SHREYA PATIL NICOLE ZHANG ASHLEY UPPANI JOANNA ZHENG

2 This is a dedication page. I would like to thank all of the group members that worked on this project, as we all worked our hardest and gave a great effort. Additional thanks to Ms. Miller and Mrs. Lipskin for allowing us to further create our project.

3 irony noun iro ny \ˈī-rə-nē also ˈī(-ə)r-nē\ : the use of words that mean the opposite of what you really think especially in order to be funny : a situation that is strange or funny because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what you expected The title of our book is ironic because myths are not made of facts; they are purely human belief. This contrasts sharply with the truth part of the book title, proving its irony. Daedalus, a well-known myth, describes the life and times of Daedalus, an inventor. He served as mentor to his nephew Talus for a short time but unintentionally killed him in a moment of rage. He escaped to the island of Crete with his son Icarus where he built a labyrinth to contain the Minotaur for King Minos. Although Minos was extremely pleased with Daedalus's work, he imprisoned him in a tower to prevent him from sharing the secret. Daedalus attempted to escape with Icarus using wings made from wax and feathers. Unfortunately, Icarus disregarded the warning his father gave to him to be careful and flew too close to the sun, causing the wax to melt and Icarus to fall into the water to his death.

4 first center choose a myth For our first center, we decided to choose the Greek myth Persephone. In this center, the group analyzed multiple aspects of the myth including theme, author s craft, and symbolism. All of the gathered information was put into a separate Power- Point. It has been uploaded separately.

5 first center symbolism -Winter and Fall: Persephone s tears and sadness, her longing to be back with her mother in the place of flowers (earth); her mom doesn t allow things to grow in her mourning of her daughter s leaving: One third of the year Persephone spends in the gloomy abode of Hades - one month for each seed that she tasted. Then nature dies, the leaves fall, the earth stops bringing forth. -Spring: Persephone s joy in reuniting with her mother; her mother allows things to grow. In Spring Persephone returns, and with her comes the flowers, followed by Summer's fruitfulness and the rich harvest of Fall. -Pomegranate seeds: chains, binds her to Hades. Only one thing troubled her - that she could not leave the underworld forever. For she had accepted a pomegranate from Hades and sucked the sweet pulp from four of the seeds. -Persephone: similar to other religions stories of a dying god that was brought back to life: in the story Persephone is brought to the underworld, and stays with Hades until Hermes comes to get her out of there. She is then allowed to leave the Underworld (for a limited amount of time.) This is very similar to several religions where a god/gods is/are brought back to life. (The Underworld is the place of the dead and Persephone returns to the land of the living Earth) -The Actual Myth: importance of mother-daughter bond From end to end of the earth Demeter sought her daughter. But none could tell her where Persephone was. At last, worn out and despairing, the goddess returned to Sicily This shows that a mother-daughter bond is needed otherwise both are lost. Demeter looking for Persephone, Persephone= in the Underworld wanting to return to her mother - cycle of life One third of the year Persephone spends in the gloomy abode of Hades - one month for each seed that she tasted. Then nature dies, the leaves fall, the earth stops bringing forth. In Spring Persephone returns, and with her comes the flowers, followed by Summer's fruitfulness and the rich harvest of Fall. shows that things have to die for new things to sprout.

6 first center theme The main theme is the strength of the love of a mother for her child. Demeter dropped all her work and other responsibilities and tried to track the kidnapped Persephone. The text says, The goddess knew then that her daughter was gone indeed, but she did not suspect Hades of carrying her off. She laid the blame on the innocent land That year was the cruelest mankind had ever known. Nothing prospered, nothing grew. This exemplifies what extent Demeter took the matter to, all due to her motherly love. Another theme is the concept that a married daughter is no longer bound solely to her mother and that the husband has some rightful claims on her time and loyalty. Persephone had to promise to spend one month per swallowed pomegranate seed in Hades with her husband to be allowed to spend the rest of the year with her mother. See the words in a modern Christian marriage vow about leaving parents and cleaving only to the spouse. Note, however, that the mother-daughter bond was not entirely broken or Persephone would have told Demeter to take a hike.

7 first center authors s craft Characters: -Hades -Persephone -Demeter -Zoos (Zeus) -Hermes -Aphrodite Settings -River Cyane -the Underworld Plot Events -Aphrodite orders Eros to shoot an arrow into Hades heart causing him to fall in love with Persephone -He takes her to his domain, the Underworld -Demeter searches the world for Persephone and punishes the soil when she cannot find her -The world suffers (e.g crops don t grow, weather is bad, etc) -Zeus orders Hermes to retrieve Persephone so that Demeter will stop making mankind suffer -Since she had eaten 4 pomegranate seeds, she stays in Underworld 4 months a year Point of View -Third person omniscient Word Choice She stood by the River Cyane, where Hades had cleft the earth and gone down into his own dominions. One third of the year Persephone spends in the gloomy abode of Hades... Figurative Language Personification:...her heart leaped within her. Persephone flew to her mother's arms.

8 second center video station (hercules) The second center consisted of us watching a video, analyzing the actions of Hercules and how they related to other things, and creating a Tagxedo to represent another hero or heroine s traits. Our group decided to create one representing Atalanta from her own myth. This Tagxedo may be viewed using this link: However, if your browser does not support Silverlight or does not have it installed, it can be seen below.

9 hercules analysis Penance: voluntary self-punishment inflicted as an outward expression of repentance for having done wrong guilty of killing family, completed 12 Labors (impossible tasks) Redemption: the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. Oracle gave cryptic message to go to cousin Cousin and Hera worked together to create 12 labors that are considered to be impossible Redeemed himself enough that Zeus made him a god Symbolism: 12 labors symbolize that the wrong should be punished Hercules: hope that things will get better: put under spell by Hera, killed family, underwent 12 labors and became a god Hercules: strength: had to complete 12 impossible labors How does Hercules symbolize Greek values and/or belief systems? Honor is everything: Hercules kills his family, yet becomes a god 12 labors: symbolize that the wrong should be punished. meant that Greeks had a similar thinking style

10 about the authors Shreya, Nicole, Ashley, and Joanna are all students are Arcola Middle School. Coincidentally, they all also live in the same neighborhood and went to elementary school together. All four have a decent background in mythology from both Percy Jackson and mythology books read in the past.