ASSIGNMENT RIBRIC
Before answering this question please read each journal reading one by one. Each question asks about a specific piece of art or literature, and your task is to respond to that question using a specific example from that visual art or literature. So for journal 1 you should see the question: How do Medea’s sentiments in this excerpt from Euripides’ tragedy reflect the real state of women in ancient Athens? You will then need to write one paragraph in the answer box that analyzes how this specific sculpture represents the burial beliefs and life cycle for Ancient Egyptians.
Journal 1: How do Medea’s sentiments in this excerpt from Euripides’ tragedy reflect the real state of women in ancient Athens?
Answer: The women according to the playwright, the women of Egypt at the time of Athens lacked citizen rights. Medea mentions that the women were maltreated and expected to pay their dowries in marriage. This is made wrong by the men having the freedom to have concubines but the women are forced to stick to their husbands. From Medea, the state of the women is that of misery. No education and early marriages were the practices that ensured the women were kept in the dark.
Journal 2: How can the influence of Aristotle’s Poetics (Reading 5.8) be seen in Hellenistic sculpture like this frieze from the Altar of Zeus?
Answer: Aristotle is a poet who had great influence in works of art. This influence is seen in the artwork, the Altar of Zeus. The artist of this work attempts to achieve realism. As discussed by Aristotle, the artist makes the images look like they want to move out of the wall(Lazarus, 2016). In addition to that, the artist employs expressionism with good balance, motion, and diagonal forces.
Journal 3: In what way(s) does the sarcophagus from Cerveteri express continuity with Greek culture? In what way(s) is it different?
Answer: The Sarcophagus from Cerveteri depicts a husband and a wife. This image speaks a lot about the Etruscans culture of respect towards women. The women in this culture were accorded respect and were treated equally to the men. The roman culture has borrowed this practice of equal treatment of women from this image. The difference between the sarcophagus and the Roman culture is that the sarcophagus heavily involved women in works of art, unlike the roman culture.
Journal 4:What can we infer about pre-Augustan Rome from the style and content of this excerpt from Cicero’s On Duty?
Answer: From the content of the Cicero’s On Duty article, communication plays a great role in politics. He states that diplomacy was a better option for Rome that the declaration of war. In the case that war is inevitable, and then it should be to achieve peace. He also explains that in the quest for the nation’s needs people were prone to lose their lives.