A. Answer four (4) of the following questions in very brief essays (10 points each).
I. Explain how the myth of Persephone might reflect rituals of female initiation. Include in your answer a very brief description of how the myth reflects each of the three stages proposed by theorists for rituals of female initiation. Defend your conclusions with specific examples from the myth.
II. The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche proposed that there was a dichotomy in ancient Greek culture between the Apollonian and the Dionysian. Explain very briefly what this means and why the dichotomy is appropriate given the attributes and domain of Dionysus.
III. Identify two features of the underworld presented by Vergil in his Aeneid that are different from the land of the dead as presented in Homer's Odyssey and explain what the source of each of these features may have been.
IV. Identify two of Vladimir Propp's functions in the myths about Heracles. Defend your conclusions with specific examples from the myths.
V. Explain how using the rationalist school of myth interpretation we might explain the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.
B. Identify three features that you think are typical of ancient Greek heroes and give examples of how each of the heroes we have studied this semester (Perseus, Heracles, Theseus, Jason) demonstrates each of those features (30 points).
C. The most shocking feature of Euripides' Medea is that she kills her own children. Explain how Medea defends and explains this action throughout the play. Defend your conclusions with specific examples from the text of the play (30 points).