1.) Myths are stories about the past that nations tell themselves to remember who they are. We have encountered numerous myths in this course including Troy, the Oresteia, Aeneas & Dido, Lucretia, Cincinnatus, and Beowulf. Select two of these myths and explain the purpose of those stories. What values or events do they commemorate? What do they tell us about the society in question?
2.) From the Bronze Age to the Industrial Revolution, agriculture was the principle occupation in Europe and the Mediterranean. The form of agriculture tells us much about a society. Consider, e.g., the free farmer of Archaic and Classical Greece and the ideal of self-sufficiency (autarkeia). First, sketch the features if the Mediterranean agriculture system, including some of the problems or challenges that emerged in the course of Greek or Roman history. Finally, explain what the system reveals about the Mediterranean civilization.
3.) After the collapse of Roman administration in the fifth century, European civilization went through a number of political transformations that culminated in the formation of the national monarchies by the thirteenth century. Discuss some of the major stages in that process. Then consider: what forces supported the centralization of power under a monarch? What forces of fragmentation inhibited centralization?