Storybook: Topics Brainstorm

Topic: The Foes of Hercules
Comments: Disney's Hercules was one of my favorite movies growing up and I still enjoy watching it today. The movie combines a lot of his other battles into one, but I would enjoy reading more in depth about a couple of them.
Possible Stories: I know Hercules has had a ton of battles and I thought it would be interesting to write about a few of his biggest battles through the eyes of his victims. I really enjoyed reading Mythology's Most Wanted, and thought it would be fun for them to tell you their story of the battle from the Underworld. I was thinking about using the Nemean Lion, Lernaean Hydra, and Antaeus.
Sample Story: The story I chose to read was the Nemean Lion from the Labours of Hercules. I was familiar with this story because of the recent Hercules movie with the Rock and wanted to read more about it. I liked this story because the monster was something that can be seen today, a lion, except way more cool.
Bibliography Information:
Sample Story: Nemean Lion
Author: Peisander
Website Name: Wikipedia

(Hercules and the Nemean Lion)

Topic: Heroes
Comments: I have always been fascinated by heroes and enjoy learning about the crazy events in their lives. There are countless heroes and I think it would be easy to find at least four that interest me.
Possible Stories: The most famous mythological heroes that first come to mind are Perseus, Hercules, Thor, Odysseus, and Achilles. They are really interesting because they aren't ordinary and have rich history.
Sample Story: I read Homer's Iliad in the Un-Textbook and I really enjoyed it. Achilles was an amazing fighter and was the primary reason for the fall of Troy. I liked how it made him sound invincible and how detailed everything was. By the end of the story, I felt like I knew Achilles pretty well.
Bibliography Information:
Sample Story: The Iliad
Author: A.J. Church
Year: 1905


Topic: Creatures
Comments: There are so many terrifying creatures in mythology and I would enjoy reading more about some of them.
Possible Stories: Pegasus was one of my favorite growing up, so I would like to include him. In addition to Pegasus, I think the Loch Ness Monster, Minotaur, Hydra, and Centaur would be interesting to write about.
Sample Story: I read the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur and I found it very interesting. I thought it was crazy that King Minos refused to kill the Minotaur and instead hid it in his labyrinth.
Bibliography Information:
Sample Story: Theseus and the Minotaur


Topic: Norse Gods
Comments: The movies made by Marvel that include Thor have made me very interested in other Norse mythology.
Possible Stories: I could include stories with Loki, Thor, Odin, and maybe major battles.
Sample Story: I found the story of Thor's Duel with Hrungnir and decided to read it because I had never heard of it. This story was interesting and even explained the origin of flint on earth.
Bibliography Information:
Sample Story: Thor's Duel with Hrungnir
Author: Dan McCoy
Year: 2012-2015

Reading Diary B: Homer's Iliad

Homer's Iliad Part 2

This section wasn't quite as exciting as the first, but was still entertaining. My favorite part of this story are the relationships that the gods have with the mortal characters. Some support the Trojans, others support the Greeks, and some even support both. At some points in the story it seems as if the gods are playing a game with each other to see which side wins, using the lives of the Greeks and Trojans as game pieces. Everything that happens, happens because the gods allow it and makes each person look helpless to the mercy of the gods.

Perhaps my favorite quote, came in the section The Slaying of Hector (end) when Achilles says to Hector, "Men and lions make no oath to each other, neither is there any agreement between wolves and sheep." This really shows how much hatred Achilles has for Hector and how little he thinks of him. At this point, Achilles is only fueled by vengeance and couldn't care less about what Hector has to say.

Another interesting part of the story was in The Rousing of Achilles when the horses of Achilles began crying at the death of Patroclus. Zeus noticed the horses crying and then felt bad saying, "It was not well that I gave you, immortal as you are, to a mortal man, for of all things that live and move upon the earth, surely man is the most miserable." I found this weird because Zeus was speaking about the horses like they were Patroclus', and I thought they were Achilles horses. Homer's Iliad was a great story and created a ton of imagery. Although I filled most of the reading with images from the movie "Troy," I felt like I would have been able to visualize each scene if I had not seen the movie.

(Achilles and Hector, by Rubens)

Reading Diary A: Homer's Iliad

Homer's Iliad

When reading the first half of Homer's Iliad, I could not help but think of the movie "Troy." The first section, called Of How the War with Troy Began, left me with a few thoughts. One of which was about Helen and the other about Agamemnon. My first impression of Helen was that although she was beautiful, she was incredibly disloyal. After selecting Agamemnon as her husband, she quickly left him to run away with Prince Paris, a man she just met. Not only did she leave the man she chose to wed for a man she just met, but she left knowing the war to come. Although I feel bad for Agamemnon, he is dumb for starting a war for a woman who clearly doesn't love him anymore. The fact that Agamemnon couldn't let go of Helen and had fought for nine years to get her back is sad and is terrible leadership.

As I continued to read, I found that almost every character was childish. Paris refused to fight for the woman he stole and even put his innocent brother Hector's life in danger. Hector seems to be the only character with any honor, and was willing to die fighting for his brothers lover. Even Achilles was a baby. He cried to his mom about a girl he won being taken away from him as if a child's sibling had taken away their toy. While crying to his mom, he also wanted her to make sure the Greeks realized how important he was. Achilles acted like a spoiled child.

Overall, I really enjoyed the stories. It went into sufficient depth into most of the characters to where I could understand them as a person. There was both action and drama, and I could visualize every scene.

(Thetis and Achilles, by Tiepolo)