Common task #1

For my common task, I worked with Anthony. Together we created an app that was about roman mythology. We researched different Greek and roman goods and compared and contrasted them. While we both did the research Anthony was the one who actually created the app but I helped with the design and with the layout.


Both roman and Greek mythology has been around for over 500 years. While they are similar in some ways, the are very different. Each religion worships different gods with different names and with different things they control. In roman mythology, they disregarded life and they mainly focused on after life. Their gods praised the afterworld and promised security and serenity. In Greek mythology, their gods were more geared toward life here on earth. Their gods focused on war heroes and warlords. In the ideas of roman mythology, life was usually disregarded while in Greek mythology, they actually praised these ideas.


The other main difference between the two religious groups was that in roman mythology, they did not give their gods nor their characters physical traits. They left of up to the reader and the believer to decide what the God looked like. They could make them look however they would like. In Greek mythology, they were very detail oriented. They all had one idea of what each God looked like. Each God was depicted in a certain way and that was how they believed them to look.


This is the link to the app: http://youtu.be/1RvbHJ4iheg


Unfortunately you can not download the app because it would violate the terms and conditions of the contract that Anthony has with Apple.


Works Cited

"Roman vs Greek." Encyclopedia Mythica:. N.p., n.d.
"Greek Gods vs Roman Gods." - Difference and Comparison. N.p., n.d.
Pope, Stephanie. Cambridge Latin Course, Unit 2. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001. Print.

Greek and Roman Gods: Similarities and Differences

NOTE: The reason why this post is so delayed is because there was a major problem with the Apple Developer Center, and as a result could not run the app, and caused the authorization check to fail.

For my project, I made an iPhone app - describing the differences between Greek and Roman mythology. This has existed for longer than we can fathom. They are another way of looking at the world. First, I'd like to talk about similarities. Now, one may think that since the Greeks and Romans were in different time periods, that there aren't many differences. However, you'd be incorrect in saying so.

Both mythologies developed 500+ years ago, and yet they're very different from each other. But still, no one knows quite how the start of this mythology came to be. Roman mythology, though, was started by native Roman citizens, and some might argue that they stole from ideas from the Greeks.

These two mythologies are similar because they are so complex and mysterious. In Greek mythology, it talks about indecipherable stories; and Roman mythology talks about battles, soldiers, and immortal beings. Clearly, there is a similarity in the stories because of mysterious and unexplainable tales.

Despite this similarly, the two mythologies have a discrete difference. Greek mythology talks about the mortals who were heroic enough that took part in perilous battles. For example, Perseus and Hercules. The Romans, however, completely ignored the thought of life on earth and said that only the afterlife was important. As you can see, the ideas of Roman mythology disregarded normal life, but the Greeks actually praised those ideas.

Another difference is that the Roman gods didn't have actual character traits and personalities. The way the god(s) looked were actually determined by the reader. But in Greek mythology, it was just the opposite - the traits were given to all the gods and goddesses. They were depicted as elegant.

Clearly, the Greeks and Romans, along with their gods and goddess, had various similarities and differences. This is what made the two mythologies so interesting to research. The YouTube link showing the iPhone app itself is here:

http://youtu.be/1RvbHJ4iheg

Unfortunately, I cannot share the actual app and have people install it, as it would violate my service agreement with Apple. But you can ask me any questions about it!

Works Cited

"Roman vs Greek." Encyclopedia Mythica:. N.p., n.d.

"Greek Gods vs Roman Gods." - Difference and Comparison. N.p., n.d.

Pope, Stephanie. Cambridge Latin Course, Unit 2. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001. Print.

Roman Invasion of Britan

I found that the invasion of Britain by the Romans very interesting so I decided to do my common task on it. The Romans were a very proud and aggressive country. They always had to show that they were the best at everything that they did. One way they displayed their country's strength was by conquering other territories: it was like a game. They conquered Spain, Greece, parts of Asia Minor, and Africa. They could not however conquer Britain. The first roman general to have tried was Julius Caesar. He invaded in 55 BC and 54 BC. He had to leave in order to stop a rebellion. Under emperor Claudius was the roman empire finally able to conquer Britain in a series of attacks begging in 43 AD and ending in 75 AD. The people were oppressed by the roman empire and frequently tried to revolt against them. Most famous were Caratacus' revolt and Boudicca's revolt. Boudicca's was the leader of the Iceni after her husband was killed by the Romans. After the Romans stole their money attacked Boudicca and her two daughters sparking the revolt. She was the first woman to lead an army of her own, containing 70,000 men. They stormed the roman town, Camulodunum, stealing food, clothing, and jewelry. The Romans, who were living in the town, hid inside a huge temple. Boudicca and her army were able to break down the doors and slaughter all the men. women, and children. Afterwards, they set the town on fire before leaving. They invaded two more Roman towns, decimating the three largest towns in Roman Britain.  The last major battle was against Suetonius who was leading an army of 10,000 men. They clashed between St. Albans and Wroxeter. The Romans stopped their advance forced the rebels to retreat. They killed 80,000 men, women, and children for their 400 hundred men that they lost. Boudicca later committed suicide and the most serious threat to the Romans was over.

My journal shows the hardship that the British people went under roman control and them resenting everything about them. There have been situations like these in the future such as the American colonist being oppressed by England or the South American colonist being oppressed by Spain. Even situations today you have people being oppressed by their rulers and revolting such as the situations in Syria. One interesting thing that I found out about this topic is that it took many invasions by the Romans in order to conquer Britain. I always thought the Romans were so strong that they could invade a less powerful country, with tribes, easily.

https://docs.google.com/a/egsd.net/presentation/d/1fI6oq2YskR3nPjM4diaxpG2y37XL5l4fJlKaKtOzrs8/edit?usp=sharing

The Egyptian Religion

The Egyptian Religion was very popular in Ancient Greece. It was a polytheistic religion that contained varying beliefs and practices. Although the tales vary, the following is the most common story of creation.

Before the gods, there was only darkness and chaos. One day, a hill rose from the darkness with the first god Atum standing upon it. When the hill finally rose, Atum coughed up the second and third gods. The god of air and the goddess of moisture. They had two children, Geb the god of Earth and Nut the sky goddess. Shu (the goddess of moisture) lifted Nut over Geb to create the night sky.

Nut and Geb had four children. Orisis, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys. Orisis became the king of the Earth with Isis as the queen. Seth became so jealous of his brother that he killed him to become the king of the Earth. Orisis was sent to the Underworld where he soon became ruler. Meanwhile Orisis’s son, Horus, overthrew Set to become the king of the Earth.

For our project, we made a board game. This board game is similar to “Candy Land” with Egyptian gods and goddesses lining the side as well as their Roman equivalents. There is also a bit of information about each god under an image of them.

"Egyptian Mythology." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2014): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

"Gods and Goddesses." Gods and Goddesses. The British Museum, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

"114 Gods of Ancient Egypt, Ägyptische Götter." 114 Gods of Ancient Egypt, Ägyptische Götter. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

"Egyptian Religion." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.

Comparing Britain, Pompeii, and Alexandria

I did my common task comparing Britain, Pompeii, and Alexandria. I wanted to do this to see how all the cities held up against one another as they all had some interesting features, and I wrote 3 diary entries considering where I would want to live and why.

Greek, Roman, and British Mythology

Greek, Roman, and British cultures were very much predominant in ancient Europe. The myths and tales of each of these countries are historically integrated in each other, in fact, it is difficult for historians to accurately pinpoint what Roman mythology was like before it was introduced to Greek mythology because of its immediate influence on the former. Most aspects of Roman mythology were not recorded, but instead kept in the memories of people who knew the stories well. This made it very easy for Roman mythology to change and distort as the Roman citizens heard of other myths. Because of this cultural integration, Greek and Roman myths became increasingly similar as the two cultures became more and more involved with each other.

Roman mythology often centered around the deification of significant Roman figures, such as emperors and heroes of war. The stories themselves often romanticize the history of Rome, and the beasts explained in such stories often appeared physically as hybrids of two or more animals. For example, the Roman harpy was a bird with the head and chest of a woman and was believed to control the winds. Ancient Greek literature also uses this animal hybridization to create creatures, but Greek monsters are built less around a story and more around an inexplicable phenomenon that needs explaining.

British mythology is more human-centric. Most of the monsters out of British mythology are humanoid in form or based off of man's best friend, the dog. Humanoid monsters, such as the green man, a man with foliage sprouting out of his face who is largely responsible for springtime, mermaids, people with fish tails that lure sailors to their doom, and selkies, seal people, seemed to have the same purpose as Greek and Roman monsters did- to explain the unexplainable or to add a sense of mystery and fear to a dangerous place. Dog-based monsters, such as Faerie dogs, which are banshee-like barking omens of death that live in the dark parts of the forest.

For my product, I will be creating a new mythological creature by taking reference and influence from these three cultures. I will begin with a phenomenon, like the Greeks, use the hybrid characteristic coined by the Romans, and the human base that the British were fond of.

I began with the question of deaths in the desert. Ancient peoples did not know much about dehydration, so I've created a beast that roams the desert in packs and picks off unprepared travelers. The species is a centaur with a tiger's body. Possible additions include tribal head tattoos, small wings behind ears, and pincer-like sharp teeth.


(Progress: I have tons of concept sketches but no working scanner at the moment, I will upload the final product and its progress as it will be done digitally! References used)


Works Cited
Hargraves, Richard, Elaine Kenzel, and Miami, FL. Dade County Public Schools. Greek And Roman Mythology: English, Mythology. n.p.: 1971. ERIC. Web. 6 Jan. 2015.
Hayman, Richard. "Ballad Of The Green Man." History Today 60.4 (2010): 37-44. Academic Search Elite. Print. 30 Dec, 2014
Morford, Mark P.O. "Classical Mythology, 8th Edition," 2007. Web. 30 Dec, 2014
"Roman Mythology." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2014): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Print. 29 Dec, 2014.