Essays and Research Papers on Greek & Roman Literature

8 pages in length. An interesting look at ceremonies, rituals, and traditions in early Greek theater. Religious practices, symbolic meanings, and more are described in great detail. The role of Dionysus is explained throughout and the setting, plot, structure, characters, Chorus, etc; of 'Oedipus the King' are used together as examples of how this work ...

A 6 page paper that looks at the issue of abuse as it is presented in Greek mythology, and focuses on the issues related to the abuse of women in a number of myths. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 2 page essay comparing the journeys of Odysseus and Aeneas.. and also making some comparative mention of how women were portrayed in each of their two epic sagas. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

7 pages in length. In this well-thought essay, the writer argues that the contemporary media is not to blame for our violent ways. Thousands of years ago, crowds jeered at public executions and fights to-the-death staged in large arenas and coliseums.. Using examples from myths such as Oedipus, The Odyssey, Aeneid, and more, it is ...

A 6 page paper discussing the second chapter of the book The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam, by Barbara W. Tuchman. The author has gone beyond good reason in the amount of information she has put in the one chapter that deals with the Trojan Horse. Her thesis appears to be that ...

A 15 page essay that examines the possibility that Dido's wound is more than her love for her lost Aeneas but rather a wound of not having children. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 5 page paper on this work by Virgil. The writer focuses on how the gods use mortals for their own designs and how mortals are essentially powerless against them. No additional sources cited.

3 page essay on this classic work of Greek mythology. Discusses the central character Aeneas and the qualities that make him a hero. 2 sources listed in bibliography.

A more-detailed, 4 page version of

A 2 page essay on fact vs. fiction in Virgil's 'Aeneid' and Plato's 'Republic.' No outside references listed.

An 8 page paper contrasting the protagonists of Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. The paper points out that both heroes fight the status quo and lose with their honor intact, but Prometheus chooses his battle deliberately and Oedipus is thrust into his by fate. Bibliography lists one source.

A six page paper analyzing the way the roles of women in Homeric society are depicted in Homer’s epics. The paper concludes that Homer echoes his culture’s conception of women as being either helpers of men or hindrances to them, but essentially insubstantial in their own right. No additional sources.

This 6 page report discusses the ancient classic “The Illiad” and focuses on the issues of revenge presented by Homer. The epic's importance, especially in “The Illiad,” lies in the fact that it advocates a certain level of consideration regarding the requirements of human interaction. Revenge is not for sale in “The Illiad” and ...

A 7 page paper which compares British author C.S. Lewis’ book, 'The Screwtape Letters,' to Plato’s 'Phaedrus' to examine the three ways in which the twentieth century Christian thinker might have revealed himself to be a Platonist. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 6 page paper which compares Socrates’ view of love, as interpreted by Plato in 'Symposium,' with the contemporary concept of love. After critical evaluation, the two viewpoints are then integrated into an example of an ideal of love, which is probed through supporting and opposing arguments. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page paper contrasting Homer’s Odysseus (from the Odyssey) with Virgil’s Aeneas (from the Aeneid). The paper concludes that the traits each author considered admirable are very much dependent on the culture which defined them. No additional sources.

A 10 page research paper on Plato’s philosophy on the soul as it relates to individual and state harmony. The author explores the idea of soul as prisoner, and the progress beyond that state. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 5 page paper analyzing why these two figures of Greek literature, more than any other literary characters of the classical period, deserve status as mythic figures. The paper argues that the figures of Teiresias and Oedipus, both featured in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, represent facets of the human condition which transcend culture and time. Bibliography ...

A 5 page paper looking at Vergil’s Aeneid in terms of the many unpleasant tasks Aeneas had to perform during the course of this epic. The paper argues that the effect of all this suffering was to imbue Aeneas with a sense of mission toward fulfilling the prophecies concerning the founding of the city of ...

A nine page paper looking at the role of the gods in perpetrating the violence that occurs in the works of these three classical authors. Specific works discussed are Homer’s Iliad, Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, and Statius’ Thebiad. Bibliography lists 13 sources.

A 3 page paper looking at the way the Roman ideals of heroism are reflected in Vergil’s Aeneid, particularly in the characters of Aeneas and Turnus. The paper argues that warfare was a means of defending and aggrandizing the state, and the role of the hero was to work toward this end, regardless of what ...

An eight page paper contrasting the philosophy behind warfare in these two classical epics. The paper argues that unlike Roman warfare which emphasizes the primacy of the state, Greek warfare cannot get past the cult of the individual; and as useful as it may be in time of peace, individuality is not a workable ideology ...

A six page paper looking at this seminal Stoic philosopher in terms of the degree to which his thought is still applicable today. The paper analyzes Epictetus’ major beliefs and concludes that although we tend to see a much wider range of life’s options than Epictetus did in the first century, many aspects of his ...

A five page comparison of these two ancient texts in terms of their views of order versus disorder. Both the Greeks and the Hebrews saw a sense of “home” as synonymous with order, yet only the Greeks were actually able to achieve it. . No additional sources.

A 3 page paper comparing the underworld visits of Aeneas in Virgil’s Aeneid to that of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey. The paper concludes that although both have elements of terror, Aeneas’ visit ends on a note of hope, while Odysseus’ does not. No additional sources.