Essays and Research Papers on Ancient Literature

This 7 page paper explores the role of the goddesses Athena and Juno in “The Odyssey” by Homer and “The Aeneid” by Virgil. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

In five pages this paper examines how women refused the feminine roles assigned to them by their respective societies and cultures in a comparative analysis of the female protagonists in these plays. There are no additional sources listed in the bibliography.

A 3 page paper which analyzes a political/social/religious aspect of a passage from Thomas More’s Utopia. No additional sources cited.

In four pages this paper examines the leadership of Odysseus and Aeneas in a comparative analysis of their similarities and differences. Three sources are listed in the bibliography.

This 3 page paper compares the duties of an actual Reeve to the way Chaucer describes this character, and argues that the portrayal is inaccurate. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines how and why the central issue of Helen’s rape is not really the main focus of Homer’s The Iliad. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 4 page paper discusses the deaths of Sigurd the Volsung and the Greek hero Achilles. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 3 page paper which discusses elements concerning poetic justice in Chaucer’s The Miller’s Tale. No additional sources cited.

A 6 page research paper that draws on the Amarna Letters, which are original documents from the ancient Egyptian 18th dynasty, to discus the nature of foreign relations during the reigns of Amenhotep III and Akhenaten. Bibliography lists 8 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines what one sees as the good life after reading The Iliad by Homer. No additional sources cited.

In ten pages this paper presents summaries and discussion of these three stories from Egypt’s Middle Kingdom period. One source is cited in the bibliography.

A 3 page paper which compares and contrasts the legendary/mythic figures Heracles and Jason. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

In five pages this paper examines Odysseus’ confrontation with Kyclops (Cyclops) in Book IX and discusses how this reflects the Greek people’s desire for ‘kleos’ (glory and/or fame). Two sources are listed in the bibliography.

A 3 page paper which examines who was more responsible for the death and carnage in Homer’s The Iliad, Agamemnon or Achilles. No additional sources cited.

A 3 page paper which examines how Sir Gawain, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a warrior in the concept of the hero and the primal village. The source utilized is the student’s class notes.

In eight pages this paper examines what is meant by the hero’s quest and the purpose of his journey as Joseph Campbell described in Hero with a Thousand Faces within the context of the ancient Mesopotamian tablets Epic of Gilgamesh and in Terry Gilliam’s 1991 film The Fisher King. Six sources are listed in ...

A 3 page paper which examines why Athena helps Penelope in Homer’s The Odyssey. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

In three pages this paper compares and contrasts how the protagonists of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King (also known as Oedipus Rex) and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman satisfy the criteria of a tragic hero as Aristotle defined in his text Poetics. Six sources are listed in the bibliography.

In five pages this paper discusses what these ancient textual tablets reveal about the social, political, and gender relations of the Mesopotamian civilization. Two sources are listed in the bibliography.

In three pages this paper contrasts the heroic protagonists of the anonymously written “Epic of Gilgamesh” and Homer’s “The Odyssey.” Two sources are listed in the bibliography.

A 3 page paper which examines how Beowulf is seen as the ideal leader. No additional sources cited.

A 3 page paper which examines Chaucer’s view of the Church as seen in his tales from Canterbury Tales. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 3 page paper which compares elements in Gilgamesh and The Odyssey. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

3 pages in length. The writer briefly argues why Beowulf should be considered an epic hero. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 4 page paper explains how “Oedipus Rex” fulfills Aristotle’s concepts of tragedy: a hero who endures great suffering; his tragic flaw; the catharsis at the end of the play. Bibliography lists 3 sources.