1. Pre-reading Strategies

   After the class has brainstormed to list the many aspects of love, the teacher should distribute the text of Ovid’s Orpheus and Eurydice. In advance the teacher will prepare a box of props to dramatically enact a condensed version of the reading. The props needed will be the following:

   Orpheus = a Ken doll in a basic tunic, holding a cardboard lyre

   Eurydice = a Barbie doll in a basic stola; a bandage should be added to her ankle after she is bitten by the snake

   Hymenaeus = a Ken doll in a yellow cape

   A rubber snake

   Cerberus = a three headed dog made of cardboard; each head should have a covering of gummy worms

   Persephone = a Barbie doll with a crown, wearing red, perhaps with cut out flames (Later the teacher should explain that burning in Hell is not a Roman concept, although the path to the underworld certainly seems frightening.)

   Hades = a Ken doll with a crown, dressed like Persephone

   Amor = a large red heart with an image of Cupid superimposed on it

   Leves populi = cardboard ghosts

   Students will be assigned the parts of the Belides, Tantalus, Ixion, Sisyphus and the Furies; they will be given representational props. For example, the Belides will receive an empty vase, two small strainers, and a small bucket of water. They will receive brief instruction on their punishment and will be told what to do when they hear Orpheus.

   {Homework for this evening will be to do on-line research on each of the above for a complete description of their crimes and their punishments, and, in the case of the Furies, a physical description.}

   The teacher will enact Ovid’s myth using the props and will ask the students to discover the meanings of key vocabulary words that she will have listed on the white board prior to the class. The key words are these:

   Aether, -eris n (acc = aethera) upper air

   Amictus, -us m cloak

   Hymenaeus, Hymenaei m. god of marriage, deus matrimoni

   Vultus, us m face

   Fax, facis f torch, especially wedding torch

   Lacrimosus –a-um tearful, causing tears

   Fumus, fumi m. smoke

   Auspicium, auspicii n omen

   Felix, felicis lucky, favorable

   Nupta, -ae f bride

   Maritus, mariti m husband, groom

   Serpens, serpentis m snake

   Umbra, -ae f shade, shadow, ghost

   Levis populus, levis populi m ghost

   Numen, numinis n divine spirit

   Opacus –a-um dark

   Villosus –a –um shaggy

   Iungo, iungere, iunxi, iunctum to join

   Vinco, vincere, vici, victum to conquer

   Letum, leti n death

   Passus, passus m step

   Tardus –a-um slow

   Lex, legis f law

   Flecto (1) to turn

   Bracchium, bracchi n arm

   Morior, mori, mortuus sum to die

   Supremus –a-um last

   After students have enjoyed the dramatic presentation of Ovid’s text and discovered the meanings of the new vocabulary items, they will return to the text itself. The teacher will allow the students to go through the text line by line to see if they recognize any old vocabulary items. Those that they do know will be reviewed by sharing them with the class.

   Next the teacher will instruct the students to check the text for words that they can deduce meaning for because they are so similar to other words in English. These again will be shared.

   Finally the teacher will ask students to generate a list on back chalkboard of all the major characters in Ovid’s myth. Next she will ask students to generate a list of the synonyms Ovid uses for the words “ghost” and “underworld.”

   Once the class has completed these pre-reading activities, she will instruct the students to read the text in Latin, being careful to indicate by their phrasing that they know what Ovid is saying. Rereading should continue for homework so that students will come to class the next day familiar with the content and target vocabulary.

Interpretive Assessment Task

Name ____________________________________

To assess your understanding of Ovid’s myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, please complete the following reading guide.

Section I: Comprehension

Please mark the following statements true or false based upon your understanding of the reading. Only mark those statements false, which contradict the reading. Statements are not false if they seem to be conclusions drawn from the reading, rather than stated facts. Eleven of the twenty-one statements are false. Please correct these by changing key words or phrases. Note that the statements are in chronological order; you should proceed through the myth in order to find your answers.

_____1. Orpheus invited Hymenaeus, god of marriage, to his wedding.

_____2. Hymenaeus came to the ceremony, enveloped in a blue cloak.

_____3. Hymenaeus failed to bring three things to the ceremony: solemn words, happy voices, and a lucky omen.

_____4. The wedding torch smoked and sputtered during the ceremony.

_____5. The bride Eurydice, walking alone on the lawn, was bitten by a snake and died.

_____6. Orpheus mourned Eurydice on earth then traveled to the underworld to see if he could move the dead to reverse his loss.

_____7. Orpheus approached Taenaria, who ruled the unpleasant realms of the dead.

_____8. Orpheus played his lyre for the rulers of the underworld, and then begged for his wife in an elegant speech.

_____9. According to Orpheus, all mortals end up in the realm under the earth.

_____10. Orpheus asked permission of the spirits of the underworld to speak honestly.

_____11. Orpheus didn’t come to subdue Cerberus, a Medusa-like monster with three throats shaggy with fur.

_____12. Ceres joined Hades and Persephone in love.

_____13. Orpheus requested that he have the use of his wife as a favor until she’s lived eighty years.

_____14. Orpheus wanted to die himself if he could not have Eurydice back.

_____15. Several inhabitants of the underworld were moved by Orpheus’ words.

_____16. Hades and Persephone call Eurydice from among the newly deceased brides.

_____17. Orpheus accepted the condition that he could not look back at Eurydice for any reason until she had crossed the border to the upper air.

_____18. Near the border, Orpheus looked back at his wife.

_____19. Eurydice slipped back to the underworld, reaching for her husband.

_____20. Eurydice complained that her husband did not really love her.

_____21. Orpheus could scarcely hear his wife’s final words, “My love.”

Key: The false statements and their corrections follow:

2.Hymenaeus is wearing a yellow cloak.

3.Hymenaeus failed to bring solemn words, happy faces, and a lucky omen.

5.Eurydice was accompanied by a crowd of Nymphs as she walked.

7.Orpheus approached Persephone and Hades, the lord of shadows.

8.Orpheus begged for his wife in song as he plucked the strings of his lyre.

11.Cerberus’ throats are shaggy with snakes.

12.Love joined Persephone and Hades.

13.Orpheus requested the use of his wife as a favor until she’d lived a fair number of years.

16.Eurydice was summoned from the recently deceased, not recently deceased brides.

20.Eurydice made no complaint, because what could she complain of,

other than that she had been loved.

21.Eurydice’s final word was “goodbye.”

II. Section II: Grammatical Analysis

Match the nouns on the left with the adjectives on the right. Remember that nouns and adjectives in Latin agree in case, number and gender, but may not have identical endings. Refer to the text to help you make logical choices.

_____1. HaemenaeusA. felix

_____2. omenB. opaca

_____3. amictuC. velatus

_____4. aurasD. sollemnia

_____5. TartaraE. nova

_____6. gutteraF. croceo

_____7. vultusG. villosa

_____8. annosH. superas

_____9. nervisI. ultima

_____10. fumoJ. laetos

_____11. verbaK. falsi

_____12. orisL. lacrimoso

_____13. populosM. iustos

_____14. domusN. leves

_____15. nuptaO. pulsis(que)

Note to instructor: this exercise is designed not only to allow students to review noun/adjective agreement, but also to practice orienting themselves in a text rapidly. Key: 1. C 2. A 3. F 4. H 5. B 6. G 7. J 8. M 9. 0 10. L 11. D 12. K 13. N 14. I 15. E

Section III: Derivation

Find a Latin word in the text (lines 1-20 only) that is a parent of the English derivative given below. List the Latin word on the line provided and define it on the line beside. Now define the English derivative, noting the connection between the English and Latin. You may use an English dictionary if needed.

1. Lachrymose _____________________________________Latin Parent

____________________________________Meaning of Latin

English Meaning =

2. Auspicious________________________________________Latin Parent

________________________________________Meaning of Latin

English Meaning =

3. Umbrageous________________________________Latin Parent

_________________________________Meaning of Latin

English Meaning =

4. Ambiguous__________________________________Latin Parent

___________________________________Meaning of Latin

English Meaning =

5. Opaque_____________________________________ Latin Parent

_______________________________________Meaning of Latin

English Meaning =

Section IV: Homework: For further thought . . .

Respond to ONE of the following questions in ONE concise paragraph of at least SIX sentences. Cite information from the text, prior reading, on-line research, or your own prior knowledge of Roman culture and history to support your opinion.

1.How is Orpheus’ journey to the underworld like or unlike Aeneas’ journey?

2.Show how the punishments assigned to dwellers of the underworld are appropriate. Discuss at least two. Can you think of a more modern punishment that might be more appropriate for any of those Orpheus sees on his journey?

3.Why might the gods impose the “do-not-look-back” clause on Orpheus? Why would his punishment for breaking this rule be so severe? Consider Roman religion when you answer.