What does this reveal about ancient ideas of gender and power?

This is a multistep prompt in which you have to answer each of the questions posed to you.

The first part of this prompt is to assess your overall interest and knowledge of mythology: how familiar are you with the myths we have read this first week, and what are you looking forward to learning about the most? Please carefully review the syllabus and the myths we are covering in order to answer this part of the question.

Next, consider how the gods interact with one another and with human beings. In doing so, be careful to explain your impression of them, using examples and/or quotes from the text to support your answer.

This final part of the prompt is quite complex, so please address the instances that interest you the most from this week’s reading: look very carefully at how male and female characters (this includes the gods and goddesses) are portrayed in the myths we have read this week. Do you see instances where one gender is portrayed more negatively than the other? What does this reveal about ancient ideas of gender and power? Be certain to refer to specific passages and/or quotes from the text to support your answer.

Guidelines

· Your initial response should be at least 500 words in length

· Use MLA format for any quotations or citations that you use to support your answer

Materials:

Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. Grand Central Publishing, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-446-57475-4 The Táin: From the Irish Epic Táin Bó Cuailnge, translated by Thomas Kinsella. Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN: 978-0-19-280373-3 The Poetic Edda: Stories Of The Norse Gods And Heroes, translated and edited by Jackson Crawford. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2015. ISBN: 978-1-62466-356-7 Malory, Thomas. Le Morte d’Arthur: The Winchester Manuscript, edited by Helen Cooper. Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-1995-3734-1