10th Grade World Lit: Greek Mythology & Literature

• The text provides a guide for the 3rd quarterly examinations on World Literature for 10th grade.
• Includes notes on Greek Mythology, The Iliad, intensive/reflexive pronouns, and literary criticism.

Four Cardinal Values in Greek Mythology

• Courage is "action despite emotions"
• It involves facing challenges and choosing to continue despite obstacles.
• Temperance means "decency and civility".
• This requires withholding oneself from addictions and not acting on primal desires.
• Wisdom is "knowledge for good".
• Involves using knowledge for the common good and learning from mistakes.
• Justice is "equality and order."
• Requires distinguishing right and wrong, judging ethically, balancing outcomes, and fighting for moral good.

Characteristics of Greek Literature

• Emphasizes themes that transcend cultural boundaries.
• Resonates with human experiences across ages.
• Showcases unparalleled craftsmanship with intricate language, imagery, and complex narrative.
• Innovative ideas challenge norms and introduce new literary forms/styles.
• Showcases diverse talents through a rich variety of styles.
• Reflects philosophical inquiry and intellectual depth.
• Literature is timeless, relevant, and relatable, complex, innovative, and original.

Greek Gods and Goddesses

• Hestia is the goddess of hearth, hospitality, home, and domestic life.
• Demeter is the goddess of agriculture, harvest, and fertility.
• Hades is the god of the underworld and the dead.
• Poseidon is the god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses.
• Hera is the goddess of marriage, family, and childbirth.
• Zeus is the god of the sky, lightning, and thunder.
• Ares is the god of war, violence, and bloodshed.
• Athena is the goddess of wisdom, courage, strategic warfare, and handicraft.
• Hephaestus is the god of fire, metallurgy, blacksmithing, and craftsmanship.
• Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, and desire.
• Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, wilderness, and chastity.
• Apollo is the god of the sun, light, music, poetry, and healing.
• Hermes is the god of commerce, travel, and thievery.
• Dionysus is the god of wine, ecstasy, and revelry.
• Hesiod wrote "Theogony", "Titanomachy", "Works and Days".
• Homer wrote "The Iliad and Odyssey".
• The Apple of Discord is a plot point in Homer's works.

The Iliad by Homer

• Achilles is the legendary Greek warrior and leader of the Myrmidons.

• Agamemnon is the king of Mycenae and leader of the Achaeans.

• Patroclus is Achilles' companion and a hero of the Greeks.

• Hector is the prince of Troy and a Trojan warrior.

• King Priam is the king of Troy and Hector's father.

• Apollo's priest asks Agamemnon to release Chryseis, but Agamemnon refuses

• Achilles confronts Agamemnon who agrees in exchange for Briseis

• Achilles is convinced by Athena to give in, and withdraws from battle when humiliated.

• Paris challenges the Greeks to a duel, King Menelaus accepts.

• Helen is to stay with the winner.

• Paris is saved by Aphrodite, and King Menelaus is hit by a Trojan's arrow, leading both armies to charge.

• Patroclus convinces Achilles to let him use his armor.

• Patroclus charges the Trojans and is killed by Hector, who takes Achilles' armor.

• Hector returns Patroclus' body to the Achaean tents.

• Achilles is devastated and receives new armor from Hephaestus.

• Achilles kills many Trojans and eventually kills Hector, then drags his body around Troy.

• Priam ransoms Hector's body from Achilles.

• Achilles sympathizes with Priam and returns the body.

Intensive and Reflexive Pronouns

• Intensive pronouns emphasize the antecedent and can be removed, e.g., "I myself."
• Reflexive pronouns act as the direct or indirect object.
• Reflexive pronouns are crucial to the sentence's meaning and cannot be removed.

Literary Criticism

• Feminist criticism examines literature through gender dynamics.
• Focuses on how texts represent or challenge patriarchal ideologies.
• Examines gender roles, stereotypes, and matriarchal/patriarchal structures.
• Marxist criticism examines literature in relation to social, mainly economic, conditions.
• Examines labor, the working class, oppressors, and financial/social status.

Guide for 3rd quarterly examinations on World Literature for 10th grade. Discusses the four cardinal values in Greek Mythology: courage, temperance, wisdom, and justice. Also, characteristics of Greek literature, such as themes that transcend cultural boundaries.