Week 1.2 Friday (Arachne) PDF

Preview

Summary

notes...

Description

LECTURE OUTLINE Week # 1 : Friday

Arachne

Pre-class media: “Supernatural” episode 13, Season 6 (“Unforgiven”)

Object of Contemplation Although Hesiod portrays Prometheus as a mere trickster, rightly imprisoned and tormented by Zeus’s ravenous eagle, later Greek poets radically reinterpreted the fallen Titan’s moral significance, transforming him into a champion of human liberty courageously opposed to Zeus’s tyrranical regime (CM page 106) Your answers to the prompts: 2.

3.

I. Arachne True or false: There is an “official” version of the Arachne myth.

In Book VI of Ovid’s Metamorpheses, Arachne wins/loses (circle one) the weaving contest with Minerva. The goddess is so angry that she attacks Arachne with a shuttle and ultimately transforms the mortal weaver into a spider.

My Version of the Myth of Arachne The 1) (young) 2) (lower-class) mortal Arachne has challenged the goddess Athena to a weaving contest, not realizing that the goddess would hear her. Athena accepts. 3) Can Arachne actually win? 4) Does she know this? 5) Is her tapestry better than Athena’s? Arachne weaves images of the gods in debased positions, taking advantage of their power and capacity to deceive to rape and/or seduce mortals. 6) Arachne depicts these stories because:

Athena’s tapestry depicts the gods in glory at the founding of Athens, with herself in the center position. 7) She chooses this subject because 8) Describe Arachne’s reaction to Athena’s tapestry 9) Describe Athena’s reaction to Arachne’s tapestry 10) Is there a judge for the contest? If so, who? Athena 11) does/does not attack Arachne with a shuttle, because 12) She turns the mortal into a spider because 13) And so Arachne is punished for 14) In one word, this myth is about

Worth considering: Identify one or two key differences between your version of Arachne and that of Ovid or a classmate. To what extent might your choices reflect your own life experiences? Do you think that your versions reflects your society in general? Why or why not? Your initial thoughts:

II. Dante’s Arachne The Divine Comedy was written in Italian in the 14th century. In Dante’s Purgatorio, Arachne is depicted as effigy in the pavement of Canto XII as an example of which sin? Pride True or false (circle one): Arachne is the only Classical subject mentioned in Canto XII True or false: Dante depicts Biblical figures as examples of pride. Why do you think the effigy of Arachne depicts her as “already half spider” (as opposed to preor post- transformation)?

A question you have at the end of today’s lecture:

What could you do with this question (circle one)? a. b. c. d. e. f.

Look up the answer in the textbook/ other source (has an answer you can find) Continue to ponder (doesn’t have an easy answer and interests you) Ask a friend what they think (lends itself to casual conversation) Post it to the Q&A board (this question is about the course; others may have it too) Email Professor Olson (this question is personal but fairly straightforward) Visit Professor Olson’s office hour (this question is more personal and/or hard to articulate in an email)...