Re-Myth

Re-Myth Project

Semester 2, 2011

You know how DJs remix songs all the time?  You will mix a re-myth.  For this project, you will tell one of the Greco-Roman myths in your own way.  You are encouraged to be creative and push the boundaries of storytelling.  Some ideas (but these by no means limit what you can do) might include:

v A blog by one of the heroes, gods or other personality in the myth

v A story written from a perspective different than conventionally told

v A short video acting out the myth

v A live performance of the myth or a telling in the style of ancient storytellers such as Homer

v An artistic work in one or mixed media telling the story as a whole or in sequence

v Or something else…

Whatever you choose to do, you must submit a proposal to me and I must approve it.  The proposal is only the first step however.

      I.            Proposal—Due the 29^th of March—Must include a paragraph outlining your project, the myth you intend to use and the resources you expect to use (human, material and immaterial).

   II.            Progress reports—Due every week following—You must document how much you have done that week (research or direct work towards)—You may choose to turn these in as a journal, portfolio or in another form but you must document your work.

III.            Final—Due no later than the final for this class—You may turn it in earlier if you choose.

Grading

Final—50% (myth—40%, sources—10%)

Progress reports—40%

Proposal—10%

Jason notes

·        Jason

o   Birth/childhood/training by Chiron

§  Ok, we don’t start w/ Jason, we start with the Golden Fleece

·        King Cadmus has two kids—Phrixus and Helle

o   Remarries and, lo, it’s a wicked step-mother

·        She convinces Cadmus to sacrifice his son and daughter to end a famine

o   Cadmus prays to Zeus

·        Day of the sacrifice, Zeus sends a flying golden ram to snatch the kids up

o   Fly off but Helle falls off and drowns

·        Land in Colchis (modern Georgia) on the far side of the Black Sea

o   Phrixus sacrifices the ram (it’s the constellation Aries) and hangs up the fleece on a tree…  Oh, and there’s a dragon

§  Back to Jason

·        Jason’s father send the infant Jason to Chiron because he fears that his brother would eliminate them

o   Fakes the child’s death

o   Raised by Chiron—Dresses in wild animal skins (usually leopard)

·        When grown, Jason sets out to return to Thessaly

·        Hera sees him—Old lady and the river

o   Loses his sandal in the river

·        Pelias, the brother, says that he will yield the throne IF Jason brings back the Fleece

§  Jason sets about building the Argo

·        Athena puts a magical wood in the prow to speak to Jason in times of danger

·        All kinds of people show up

o   Hercules

o   Orpheus

o   Twin sons of the North Wind (w/ wings)

·        Voyage out

o   Put to sea—Take turns rowing…  Except Jason and Hercules who decide to find out who is stronger

§  Row and row and row until Jason falls over exhausted and Hercules’ oar breaks

o   Land to cut a new oar and Hercules goes crazy, they leave him

o   Come to a king, Phineus, who knows the way to Cholis but cannot speak

§  Every day his meal is stolen by harpies

·        Chased off by the sons of the North Wind

o   The clashing rocks

§  Sends doves through, times it and then sends the ship through

o   Arrival in Cholis

§  King demands three impossible tasks…  But…  Hera has commanded Aphrodite to make Medea, the king’s daughter fall in love with Jason

·        Obtaining the Fleece/Medea

o   The king, Aeetes, sets Jason three tasks

1.     Plow a field using a pair of bronze fire-breathing bulls

2.     Sow the field with dragon’s teeth and deal with the result

3.     Overcome the sleepless dragon guarding the Fleece

o   Medea gives Jason a magic potion to protect him from the fire of the bulls so he plows the field

§  When he sows the dragon’s teeth, warriors pop up

·        Jason hides and throws a rock at one of them, they blame each other and start to fight—Kill each other

o   Medea puts the dragon to sleep with some herbs and Jason takes the Fleece

§  Board the Argo and set sail with Medea’s brother

o   Aeetes decided he will not let Jason leave with the Fleece and gives chase

§  In order to stop her father, Medea kills her brother, dismembers him and throws the pieces into the water forcing the king to stop and collect them… (picture)

·        Voyage home/Jason the jerk

o   Circe

o   Sirens—Out-sung by Orpheus

o   Talos

§  Giant bronze man who guards Crete and throws rocks

§  Medea casts a spell on him, makes him sleep and pulls out the nail that keeps his blood in

o   When the Argo returns, Medea goes to the king’s daughters

§  Convinces them they could make their father young again by chopping him up and throwing him into a pot

·        Demonstrates with sheep and it works!

§  Daughters kill the king and throw him in

·        But Medea left out the herbs…

o   So Jason is king and he has two sons with Medea but he does not marry her like he promised

§  Instead, he makes a political engagement with another kingdom!

§  Medea confronts Jason, he sends her away telling her that she didn’t really love him, just was made to by a goddess

§  Medea sends a cursed robe to the princess

·        As soon as she puts it on, she is burned to death

§  Medea kills her two sons by Jason and flees to Athens

o   For betraying Medea, Hera abandons Jason and he is killed by the magical wood from the Argo rotting away and falling on his head

Hercules notes, part 2

§  Chiron has a solution, goes with Hercules to the mountain where Prometheus is chained—Trades places

·        Chiron tells Hercules how to catch the boar

·        Prometheus tells Hercules which woman Zeus shouldn’t mess around with

§  Waits until winter

·        Drives the boar into a snowdrift

§  Eurystheus is so scared when Hercules returns that he jumps into a wine jar

o   Clean the Augean stables

§  King Augeas’ stables have never been cleaned and he has a herd of cows…

·        Must clean the stables in one day

§  Hercules re-routes a river and washes it all away

§  Just like the Hydra, Eurystheus says Hercules didn’t actually do it…

o   The Stymphlian Birds

§  Pets of Ares

§  Brass wings

§  Toxic dung

§  Man-eating

§  Hercules gets bronze clappers from Hephaestus

·        Drives birds mad

·        Shoots them

·        Last 6 labors of Hercules

o   Capture the Cretan Bull

§  Review Theseus and the Minotaur

§  Releases to wander Marathon

o   Steal the horses of Diomedes

§  Diomedes is a giant (and son of Ares) w/ a herd of man-eating, fire-breathing horses

§  Hercules waits until night, looses the horses and chases them up a hill

·        Then digs a trench around it, lets a river flow in—Makes it an island

§  When Diomedes shows up, Hercules fights him, kills him and then feeds him to the horses to calm them down

§  Takes them back and dedicates them to Hera

o   Get the belt of Hippolita

§  Queen of the Amazons

·        A belt from Ares given as a symbol of her queenship

§  Hercules arrives, queen aggress, no prob

·        But Hera disguises herself as an Amazon and starts a rumor that Hercules will kidnap the queen

§  Amazons storm Hercules ship, he grabs the belt and runs

o   Steal the cattle of Geryon

§  Geryon is a monster with one head, three bodies and two legs (number of arms in dispute)

§  Kills Geryon’s two headed god and then Geryon himself with an arrow

§  Starts the cows back

·        Two happenings, Hera sends a fly and he meets a race of dragon women who try to take the cattle

o   Apples of the Hesperides

o   Cerberus

§  Goes down, asks Hades

§  Must take Cerberus w/o weapons but it’s ok

·        End of Hercules’ life

o   Goes on to have many other adventures

§  Omphale

·        A princess whose brother is accidently killed by Hercules in another Hera-induced fit—Throws him over the city wall

·        Forced to serve her, in drag, doing women servant’s tasks

·        She forces him to marry her but since he was a slave, it ends when he is freed

§  The Argo

§  Antaeus

·        Giant who cannot be defeated while he touches the ground

·        Challenges people as they pass, wins and takes their heads

o   Wants to build a skull temple to Poseidon

·        Hercules figures out that he regains his strength when he is thrown to the ground, so lifts him up!

o   The Giant War (Gigantomachy)

§  The giants were created when Uranus’ blood fell onto Gaia

§  Join the Olympians against the Titans

§  But…  Over time they become unhappy with Zeus

§  Attempt to storm Olympus

·        Ares goes out first—Gets stuck in a jar

§  Hercules to the rescue

·        Olympians win

·        Ares let out of the jar

o   Meets and marries Deianira

§  Just after the wedding, they’re about to cross a river

·        A centaur named Nessus offers to take her across

o   But when they get to the other side, he takes off with Deianira

§  Hercules shoots him

§  Nessus tells Deianira that his blood is magical and will make Hercules fall in love with her all over again if his affections ever flag

·        But his blood has been infected with the Hydra blood…

§  Some years later, Deianira hears a rumor that Hercules has been unfaithful

·        Soaks a shirt in the blood and sends it to Hercules

·        Later, after the messenger leaves, some of the blood falls on the floor and melts the tiles—She tries to catch the messenger but is too late

§  When Hercules puts the tunic on, it burns him so badly that his bone is exposed in some places

·        Hercules knows he is dying but he will only go on his own terms

o   Uproots trees to build his own funeral pyre

§  Pyre lit by his nephew Iolus and his best friend Philoctetes

·        Philoctetes gets Hercules’ bow and arrows—Takes them with him to the Trojan War and kills Paris

§  As his mortal side burns, Hercules’ immortal side is taken up to Olympus

·        Reconciles with Hera

·        Marries Hebe, the Goddess of Youth

·        Hercules isn’t a god to the Greeks but he is to the Romans

o   God of athletics, exercise, training, etc.