You have until October 22 to complete this assignment, BUT… be sure to read the rules/requirements of the assignment.  Do not put this off until the last minute.

PART ONE:  Allusions in Modern-Day Products & Services

Using current magazines or newspapers, find a product or service ad that features a product or service that is itself (in name or in symbol) an allusion to Greek mythology.  (Roman names and figures are acceptable.)

Requirements/Rules:

1)      You must bring in the actual ad you find.  There are periodicals available in the Media Center for you to use for “cutting things up” if you need them. (The product/service you select must be school appropriate.)

2)      You must be the FIRST to bring in an ad for the particular product/service you found.  That means you must give the ad directly to me.  Make sure you watch me put a date and time on it.  This happens on a first-come, first-served basis, and I won’t do it during class time.  You will have to find me before or after class.  If you turn in an ad for a product/service that someone else has already turned in, you will have to go back to step one to find a new ad.  [Completed explanations with already approved ads will appear on the back bulletin board so you will have a decent idea of which ads have already been submitted.]

3)      Once your ad is approved (with my date/time stamp), you will have 2 days (or until the final due date of 10/22, whichever is first) to write up an explanation of your ad.  This explanation should be neatly written or typed.  In your explanation you must explain what the product/service is an allusion to (a reference to) and argue why that allusion is an appropriate choice for the product/ service.  You may need to do some research on the Greek mythological figure/place/etc. in order to do this.

Examples of what I’m talking about:

(The products/services talked about in these examples are OFF LIMITS.  You may not use them for this assignment.)

Product:  Mercury Car Company

Explanation:  Mercury is the Roman name for the god Hermes.  Hermes is the god of travelers, and ancient people would often pray to this god before beginning a journey.  In return, the god would then keep those travelers safe. The people who created the Mercury car company probably wanted the people buying their cars to feel safe during travel which makes “Mercury” an appropriate name.

Service:  Janus Capital Group (financial services)

Explanation:  Janus is the Roman god of beginnings and endings.  He is depicted with a double-faced head, each looking in opposite directions.  (By the way: The month of “January” is derived from this god’s name as it is the first month of the year—a beginning—and it closes the end of the last year.)  Janus is probably an appropriate name for a financial group for a couple reasons.  First, this company, like most financial companies, offers retirement investing to its clients.  Typically retirement investing starts at the beginning of someone’s career in preparation for the end of that person’s career.  Second, since it is a financial group, the company must be aware of the past and the future of the companies they invest in.  Both of these reasons draw on the dual nature of Janus.

(over)

PART TWO:  Allusions in Modern-Day Articles

Using current magazines or newspapers, find an article that includes an allusion to Greek mythology.  (Roman names and figures are acceptable.)

By the way, any article mentioning the Olympics will not work for this assignment UNLESS there is another allusion within the article.  (e.g., Olympic athletes who use steroids being equated to Icarus; see http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/barnett/2004/story/1339960p-7462664c.html)

Requirements/Rules:

1)      Locate a current (w/i the last 6 weeks) article with an allusion, cut it out or copy it—MAKE SURE THE DATE OF THE ARTICLE APPEARS ON IT (or write the date on it)!, then highlight the allusion.  There are periodicals available in the Media Center for you to use for “cutting things up” if you need them. (The article you select must be school appropriate.)

2)      You must bring in the actual article you find to show me and be the FIRST to do so for your particular article.  That means you must give the article directly to me.  Make sure you watch me put a date and time on it.  This happens on a first-come, first-served basis, and I won’t do it during class time.  You will have to find me before or after class.  If you turn in an article that someone else has already turned in, you will have to go back to step one to find a new one.  [Completed explanations with already approved articles will appear on the back bulletin board so you will have a decent idea of which ones have already been submitted.]

3)      Once your article is approved (with my date/time stamp), you will have 2 days (or until the final due date of 10/22, whichever is first) to write up an explanation of it.  This explanation should be neatly written or typed.  In your explanation you must explain why the allusion was an appropriate reference for use in that article/ad.  You may need to do some research on the Greek mythological figure/place/etc. in order to do this.

Example of what I’m talking about:

Article:  “No place for drugs in Athens” (http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/barnett/2004/story/1339960p-7462664c.html)

Explanation:  In this article, Ned Barnett writes that the athletes “who would rise too high by artificial means are falling to Earth like Icarus.”  Icarus was a Greek boy who put on wings made of feathers and wax constructed by his father, Daedelus, to fly out of a labyrinth on Minos.  When he flew, Icarus ignored the warnings of this father about not flying too close to the sun, and when he got to close, the heat melted the wax of his wings and they fell apart.  Icarus plunged to his death.  While the article is really an editorial about taking drug testing and inquiries too far—to the point of making it a “witch hunt,” Barnett uses the myth of Icarus to do two things.  First of all, he sort of makes a funny out of it by playing with the idea of “being high on drugs” and “flying high like Icarus.”  Secondly, he comments that taking drugs to reach athletic heights is just as foolish as Icarus flying too close to the sun; both end up in a crash that ruins the “flier.”

BOTH PARTS ONE & TWO ARE DUE NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 22,

but keep in mind the “first-come, first-served” requirements on both parts of this assignment.