CVSP 201 Final, Spring 2004

mene eae AMERICAN UNTVERSTD 7 $ LIBKARY § OP KALIROT j rary ’ FINAL EXAM-CVSP 201 DR. SYRINE C. HOUT May 31, 2004 TIME ALLOWED: 2.5 hrs, max. Texts Read: Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, Oedipus, The King, The Peloponnesian War, The Apology, The Republic, The Ethics, On the Nature of the Universe, The Aeneid Directions: Choose ONE of the following five comparative essay questions. You need 3 texts for whichever question you choose. Make sure to have a thesis in a complete, original, and informed essay, with an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Please proofread carefully! GOOD LUCK! 1. Discuss the concept and practice of duty. How would you describe the relationship between the agent (in the form of a god or the rational mind) issuing the command and the human being executing it? What is the role of personal conviction, if any, in the matter? What is happiness according to Lucretius, Aristotle, and Plato? And what is its relationship to virtuous behavior? Compare and contrast Dido, Kalypso, and the harlot as three women with whom the resective heroes, Aeneas, Odysseus, and Gilgamesh, engage in a sexual act. Consider the following: purpose, duration of relationship, effect on both, etc. Compare three distinct views on death and/or the afterlife (as sometimes illustrated in the Underworld). What do they inform us about life on earth? Vi-gil, Lucretius, and Aristotle have very different notions of fate or predetermination versus human free will. Compare and contrast!