Hum 110 | Reed Classics | Reed Library | Reed | Perseus
Humanities 110
Spring Semester, 2002
Paper Topic #2
Due Date: Saturday, March 30, 2002, 5 p.m. in the Faculty mailboxes in Eliot.
Length: 1500 words.
1. What is the relation between Lucretius's physics and his ethics?
2. In the Book of Genesis, why is Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac?
3. In what ways does Tacitus think that the private lives of the women of the imperial family are a matter of public importance? Use at least three examples from the Annals in your answer.
4. Often in Ovids stories, desire functions as a catalyst of transformation (e.g., in the stories of Phatheon, Io, and Procne). To what extent do you find there is an "ethics of desire" in the Metamorphoses?
5. Focussing your discussion on two "heroes" from Tacitus's Annals (e.g., Germanicus or Corbulo), discuss whether and in what ways these characters exhibit Stoic virtues.
6. In consultation with your conference leader, you may write on a topic of your own devising.
Hum 110 | Reed Classics | Reed Library | Reed | Perseus