Pumpkin Project

LATIN II                        MYTHOLOGICAL PUMPKINS                   VALUE: 120 POINTS

1)    Choose a partner from your Latin class. You may work alone, if you prefer.

2)    Acquire a pumpkin with a vibrant orange color and firm flesh for carving, not a small sugar pumpkin, for they are sweet and have tasty flesh for pie.

3)    Chose a myth from Ovid’s Metamorphoses that is of interest to you. Read Ovid’s account of that myth.  You should also research alternative versions of the myth extant in other classical Greco-Roman authors in order to get insight into Ovid’s manipulation of the story.  Compare Ovid’s telling with that of other authors.

4)    Carve the pumpkin in a way that illustrates the entire myth or a character from the story. Remember to make a place for the candle to illuminate your mythological pumpkin.

5)    Each group will make a one page (max. length) handout out that summarizes the myth and gives some analysis of it in light of other versions. You should include primary sources – quotations from Greco-Roman literature and artistic depictions of the myth.

6)    On the day of the presentation of the pumpkin you will come to school dressed as the mythological character that is depicted in your pumpkin. You will be graded on the quality and cleverness of your costume.

7)    In a dark room you will present your pumpkin to the class and give an account of the depicted myth based on Ovid’s telling of the story.   You should also speculate why Ovid tells the story in the way that he does (5 MINUTES PRESENTATIONS).

8)    We will create a display of all our pumpkins for the school to enjoy during the Halloween season.

9) Practice your presentation of the myth for it will be record on camera. 

GRADING CRITERIA:           

            1) Understanding of the myth

            2) Use of Latin words and phrases. 

            2) Research into alternative versions (see OCD, library, or S. Ross)

            3) Handout

            4) Artistic composition

            5) Cleverness and wit in artistic depiction

            6) Your presentation of the pumpkin (5 min. Max.)

            7) Your costume

PUMPKINS, PRESENTATIONS AND CUSTOMES ARE DUE:

Wednesday, October 30.

 CHOOSE ONE DAY AND LET ME KNOW FOR THE SCHEDULE OF PRESENTATIONS. 

LATE PENALTY:  CRUCIFIXION AND/OR ZERO ON THE ASSIGNMENT