10/25/19 Catherine Piro PD7

10/24/19

Catherine Piro Period 7

Aim: How do the punishments of Prometheus, Io, Europa, and Polyphemus demonstrate the forces of
wrath? 

Do Now: (Independent OR with your Teams) Exercise your creative skills. Write a short poem (I
would say limerick, but it’s hard to rhyme anything with “Prometheus”) about any of the characters
from last night’s reading. Feel free to utilize (tasteful) humor, just be sure to embody the fateful
outcomes. 

For the first ten to fifteen minutes of class, everyone focused on creating poems. After that,
Mrs. Fusaro gave each group/individual the opportunity to share their creations with the rest
of the class. First, Steven shared two short, funny haikus about Polyphemus losing his eye to
Odysseus and Prometheus’ meeting with Io. Steven called on Alex, who shared a haiku about
Hera turning Io into a cow. Following that, Billy also shared his own version of Io’s punishment. 

Next, Cornelia shared our group’s poem about Europa’s story. 

The fair maid Europa, 

was liked by Zeus, who enjoyed ambrosia. 

The goddess of love and Cupid did their job

and Zeus’ heart began to throb.

Down to earth he went as a bull, 

to obtain Europa’s heart in full. 

After our group shared out, Taya and Warren presented their poems about Prometheus being
relentlessly punished for giving humans fire. Dijon wrote a poem about Polyphemus losing the use of
his only eye and not being able to gain the love of the nymph Galatea. Allan was the last person to
share his poem, which was about the punishment Io received from Zeus’ wife for his infidelity. 

Following the class sharing responses to the Do Now prompt, Mrs. Fusaro introduced a newer way
of class discussion. The class was able to share out their thoughts on a particular story based on
Mrs. Fusaro’s or their own notes on the stories. 

Europa Discussion Points

• … and then along came this handsome bull … 
• What’s with Zeus’ infidelity? 
• Why is it referred to as the “rape” of Europa? 
• Discuss the dichotomous impact of women: You have the powerful, smart, and vengeful Hera,

and then all of these weak women who succumb to their violators? 

Steven began the discussion by saying that Europa’s journey was referred to as rap because
Cupid made Zeus fall in love with her. Knowing Hera would catch him, Zeus turned himself
into a bull. When Europa mounted (the wording relates to the story being referred to as a rape) 
the bull he kidnapped her. Following Steven’s response, Mrs. Fusaro posed the question of
whether or not this was Zeus’ fault. Kevin responded by saying that Zeus frequently and
purposefully cheats with women and the women are the ones being punished. Shannon added
on by saying that Zeus never takes the blame. She related this to the view that women are
inferior and must endure and the way men behave is just how things are. This was connected
to our previous lesson about why women are seen as inferior or “bad.” Women are locked away
for looking at other men, whereas Zeus is free to look at other women. 

Mrs. Fusaro pointed out that Shannon’s comments demonstrated the importance of recognizing
the context in which stories were told. This story aids in our understanding of what permeates
into rape culture. This is seen in Europa being “roofied” by the bull’s lovely scent. Andrew
asked Mrs. Fusaro why Cupid wasn’t afraid of Zeus. Shannon mentioned that Aphrodite had
power over Zeus due to her beauty and Mrs. Fusaro said that the gods and goddesses had a
series of pranks and acts of revenge against one another. Mrs. Fusaro also told us to remove the
ideas of categories and who’s in charge as each god/goddess has the most power over their
own realms. Steven mentioned that the Greeks never put the blame on Zeus for his infidelity
and the stories were used as warnings for women (infidelity was their fault either way). They
also reinforce the idea that women are submissive. 

Mrs. Fusaro also explained the origins of bridesmaids. Bridesmaids were protectors as men
would try to kidnap the bride and steal her virginity to invade her purity and prevent marriage,
gain bragging rights, and “steal” from another man. 

Io Discussion Points 

• Women must continue to endure.
• Explains the humble, gentleness of cows. 
• Why they are tormented by flies. 
• The peacock’s “100 eyes.” 
• From a woman’s sacrifice, greatness can be born.

Mrs. Fusaro began the discussion by stating that the theme of this myth was women must
continue to endure and sacrifice for greatness. She also elaborated on the bullet about cows
by saying that the Greeks didn’t eat cows and cows were like big dogs. Dijon brought up the
point that there is a battle Royale amongst the gods, but Hermes seems loyal to Zeus. Steven
also brought up that women aren’t the only ones making sacrifices. He brought up the stories
of  Prometheus, Narcissus, and Adonis. He summarized his thought by saying loss leads to
birth and sacrifice leads to new beginnings. 

Polyphemus Discussion Points 

• An inhospitable beast, or just misunderstood? 
• Contradictory to the usual Greek theme: “With physical blindness usually comes great insight.” 
• What would shift about this story if Polyphemus was a regular, rude human? 

Our discussion about Polyphemus was cut short, but Steven mentioned that he shouldn’t be
considered misunderstood as he lacks the morality of humanity and Billy says this demonstrates
Hubris as Polyphemus said Zeus had no power over him. 

Reflection

Today, the class focused on reviewing, discussing, and analyzing the significance behind the stories
assigned as reading the previous night. While doing the Do Now activity, the class was able to review
and go back into the text in a fun, light-hearted way. In doing so, we are making the material more
permanent. Through analyzing the myths concerning Io, Europa, and Polyphemus, we are able to
gain a better understanding of not only the myth, but its significance and role during the time period
in which it originated. Acquiring this understanding allows us to fully grasp not only the meaning of
the myth, but also the history of our own society. This is especially true of the role/status of women,
which until recently, was much lower than that of men. This is exemplified in the story of Europa as
she was kidnapped and “raped” by Zeus. The study of myths also explains how traditions and customs
have permeated from so long ago. For instance, the original purpose of bridesmaids has evolved from
that of a protector to a loved one.