Calliope articles from May 2007

Calliope archives from May 2007

The world of epic heroes.(MUSINGS)
May 1, 2007... "Success follows those who achieve because they believe they can achieve." --Virgil, author of the Roman epic Aeneid, Book V, line 231 YOU ARE IN FOR A REAL TREAT, IF YOU HAVE NEVER READ AN EPIC. Even if you have read an epic, the...

The Iliad: at the gates of Troy.(READ ABOUT IT!)(Short story)
May 1, 2007... For nine years, the Greeks laid siege to the great city of Troy. Each side had won its share of battles. Thousands had died, but the end was no nearer. One reason was the intervention of the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus. In one of...

What is an epic? Sing through me, o muse, of that man, who wandered far and wide.
May 1, 2007... Thus begins the Greek epic poem the Odyssey. Homer, the ancient bard to whom this world-renowned poem is attributed, followed the accepted practice of poets throughout the ancient Greek world when, in the opening lines, he acknowledged his need...

Heracles and the cattle of Geryon: his tenth labor.(Play)
May 1, 2007... CHARACTERS HERACLES: Greek demigod SAILOR: crew member on Heracles' ship LOOKOUT: crew member on Heracles' ship GERYON: three-bodied monster NARRATOR INTRODUCTION Many years ago in the far-off land of ancient...

Contest: write an epic simile.(ACTIVITY)
May 1, 2007... To be considered an epic, a poem must focus on a national theme and relate enough details and events to create a sense of history and a feeling of pride in the nation's past. Epics, however, involve more than content. Wording, style,...

The story of the Mahabharata.(READ ABOUT IT?)
May 1, 2007... The Mahabharata is reportedly the longest poem in the world, containing more than 100,000 verses in 18 books. It tells the story of the descendants of King Bharata (the prefix maha means "great"), who once ruled India. One descendant is King...

Heroes in the Mahabharata.
May 1, 2007... The Mahabharata is an epic tale of conflict between two branches of a ruling family over the kingship of India. Composed in Sanskrit (the classical standard language of India), it contains many different tales, philosophical discussions, scraps...

A blazing sun maze.(ACTIVITY)
May 1, 2007... can you find the 30 words hidden in the blazing sun below? Some are proper names, and others are values found in the Mahabharata. Two are objects used by the Pandavas in battle, and one is Indra's companion. Hint: Six appear twice, and one...

Beowulf in context.
May 1, 2007... Anglo-Saxon poetry was more than entertainment. Poems were also lessons in history and culture. The poet who recited Beowulf reminded his audience of the characteristics of a good thane (in the person of Beowulf), a good woman (Wealhtheow), and...

About the poem.(Beowulf)
May 1, 2007... The story of Beowulf began as an oral poem in the mead halls of Anglo-Saxon England. Written down by two scribes around the year A.D. 1000, it survived in a single manuscript that is currently housed in the British Library. It is one of the...

Beowulf and the three monsters.(Short story)
May 1, 2007... In days of yore, the Danish king Hrothgar commanded his people to build a glorious mead hall, which he named Heorot Hall. There the Danes gathered to celebrate their victories in battle, and Hrothgar rewarded his thanes with gifts of armor and...

Alibi.(WORD ORIGINS)
May 1, 2007... Alibi This commonly used English noun is actually a Latin adverb. More than 2,000 years ago, the Romans combined their adjective alius, meaning "other," and their adverb ibi, meaning "at that place," to form alibi, "at another place" or...

Comet.(WORD STORIES)
May 1, 2007... Comet In ancient times, Persian men let their hair reach shoulder length or longer. Greek men did not. Hence, the Greeks took their noun kome, meaning "the hair of the head," and formed the adjective kometes, meaning "with long hair." To name...

Panic.(WORD STORIES)
May 1, 2007... Panic The forest can be a spooky place. The ancient Greeks were especially aware of this, as they believed that a woodland deity named Pan enjoyed making horrible noises, especially at night to frighten people. The Greeks called the fear he...

"An achilles' heel".(EXPRESSIONS)
May 1, 2007... According to Greek legend, Achilles, the hero of Homer's Iliad (see pages 4-8), was the son of the sea goddess Thetis and the great-grandson of Zeus. Achilles was renowned for his strength and bravery. His courage was partly due to his knowing...

"Apple of discord".(EXPRESSIONS)
May 1, 2007... According to Greek and Roman mythology, Eris, the goddess of discord, was so angry that she had not been invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (the future parents of Achilles) that she took a golden apple and threw it among the wedding...

The poem of El Cid.(READ ABOUT IT!)
May 1, 2007... Eleventh-century Spain was a divided country. The kingdoms to the north were ruled by Christians, while most of those to the south were ruled by Moors. Distrust and the desire for power often kept the Christian kings and princes at odds with...

EL Cid Campeador.
May 1, 2007... Knights of the realm stood watching as the Spanish prince girt Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar with a sword, placed a helmet on his head, and put a lance with a pennant in his right hand. Shouts of joy hailed the newly knighted 17-year-old Rodrigo, known...

The epic of Mali: listen to the story of the son of the Buffalo, the son of the Lion ... the man of many names against whom sorcery could avail nothing.(READ ABOUT IT?)(Short story)
May 1, 2007... Mali, a West African kingdom surrounded by many other small city-states, is the setting for this 13th-century epic. Its hero, Sundiata, will grow up to fulfill the prophecy that he will unite the city-states of Mali into an empire. As it...

Sundiata of Mali.(Short story)
May 1, 2007... At the moment of his birth, lightning and thunder fill the skies; soothsayer have already predicted that he will be a great ruler. Yet his childhood is one the fills his parents with anxiety and frustration. Sundiata crawls around the palace...

A continuing tradition: the African griot.
May 1, 2007... History shows that royal, military, and political leaders usually want the story of their achievements known. When no records exist, the incidents and accomplishments of the period quickly become vague memories that are soon forgotten. Such a...

A scrambled king.(ACTIVITY)
May 1, 2007... Unscramble the terms at right, then put the numbered letters on the corresponding blanks to discover the name of the king whom Sundiata had to defeat. 1. He was Sundiata's griot. salelakfebse -- -- 4 1 2....

Ask Calliope.
May 1, 2007... [?] In the September 2006 issue of CALLIOPE, the poster on page 40 shows Zeus as Jupiter and Artemis as Diana. Why? --Bob, Web post [!] Good observation, Bob! The poster, which was in English, dated back more than 50 years and was...

La Araucana: a powerful American epic.
May 1, 2007... Not of ladies, love, or graces Nor of knights in love, do I sing... But of valor, deeds, and prowess of the Spanish... And of a people who obey no king. --LA ARAUCANA, OPENING LINES OF CANTO I In recent years, as more emphasis...

Meet a few more heroes.(READ ABOUT IT?)
May 1, 2007... CALLIOPE's pages are too few to include even a partial overview of the many epics that have been composed and passed on from generation to generation around the world. On the next two pages are brief introductions to four not featured in this...

on the net.(Website list)
May 1, 2007... Here's a site with tons of information about epics, past and present, and numerous links to descriptions and translations of individual epics: www.poetry-portal.com/styles10.html For an overview of the epic style of writing, with links...

Books.(OFF THE SHELF)(Recommended readings)
May 1, 2007... Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo (Candlewick, 2006, www.candlewick.com) keeps the tone of the Old English epic while, at the same time, making it accessible and enthralling to 21st-century readers. Word Histories and Mysteries: From Aardvark to...

Cobblestone resources.(OFF THE SHELF)
May 1, 2007... Materials that complement this issue's theme, "Epic Heroes," and are available from Cobblestone Publishing include: Homer's World (DIG0401) Chile (FAC0212) Ashoka (CAL0001) Mansa Musa, King of Mali (FTP9909) Homer's Troy...

Star wars.(FROM PAST TO PRESENT)(James Joyce's Ulysses)
May 1, 2007... While Homer's Odyssey is not the oldest epic, it is considered he "model" epic. In 1749, English novelist Henry Fielding used the Odyssey as the source of inspiration for his masterpiece Tom Jones, which describes the adventures and travels of...

Then and now.(greek literature)
May 1, 2007... Heracles The ancient Greeks and Romans honored Heracles (Hercules to the Romans) for his strength and daring. The wall painting above was uncovered in Pompeii, the Roman town buried by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79. It...