Metamorphoses Project, Part
2:
Tracing Mythology through Time
and Place
Claude Michel, (called Clodion), Bacchus and a nymph,
c.1790
View
this image and others of Dionysos.
Divinity/Hero: Put the name of the divinity /hero here.
Group Members: Put your names here.
Part 2
Different later versions of the myth (due 2nd Friday at 5 p.m.)
Poets, painters, composers, and choreographers--from the middle ages to the present--have
found classical mythology a rich resource to draw upon as the subject of their
works. Find at least five different retellings, reinterpretations, or adaptations
of the myths associated with your divinity/hero. The five retellings should
represent at least three of the following media (art, dance, drama, film, literature,
music), and at least two versions should be by a woman. Please include a brief
synopsis or description of the work, and list the author or artist and relevant
bibliographic information, including the date the work was produced. If you can find the primary text or an image
of the myth on the WWW, please include a link to that source. (Check the Mythology
Resources Page, esp. the Voice of the Shuttle.) If the version is a short text and you cannot find it on
the Web, you may wish to type it onto your web page. If you cannot locate
it on the WWW, please photocopy it for me so that I can see what you are describing.
(Delete this paragraph when you have finished this section of the project.)
Analysis of each retelling of the myth (due 3rd Monday at 5 p.m.)
The stories about various divinities speak to different artists and different
ages for many reasons. Each member of the group will analyze one of the 5-6 versions of the myth found above--using the library and WWW resources presented in class--and
explain why this particular story was appealing to the writer or artist.
Questions to consider: How is this author,
painter, director, etc. using or adapting ancient mythic traditions? Which
version or details of the myth does it highlight? Does it differ from
the ancient version? If so, how and why? Why did s/he select this particular story? What values does this retelling
reveal? What attitudes does the artist reveal about gender, history, ethnicity,
religion, etc.? How might this myth be relevant to the culture in which
it was (re)told? In what ways has it been adapted to make it more relevant?
(e.g. How do you take a violent, womanizing warrior like Hercules and
make him appealing to a Disney audience? Why would Disney even want to
create a film about Hercules? What relevance does he have to a 20th century
audience?) Who is the target audience? Is their any sort of cultural capital
to be gained by using such mythic figures? What parallels or contrasts
are being drawn between the culture in which your piece is created and
ancient Greece or Rome? Length: if typed as a paper, 4 pages, including supporting
details about each version of the myth. You may include links and images within
the paragraphs if appropriate. Please be sure to credit the sources you
used for your analysis. (Delete this paragraph when you have finished this
section of the project.)
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Last updated 12 October 05
jgruber-miller@cornellcollege.edu