Responses should be typed, single-spaced, totaling two pages

Setup with a standard MLA heading. You will print your responses and turn in hard copies. When writing your responses, list the question, then your response. Number the questions. Each response should be a full paragraph of 7-10 sentences. 1. In Egyptian Love Poems, is love described as a happy thing? What are some of the obstacles or barriers to love? What indications are there that love can be tragic, or at least threatening? In Egytian Love Poems, translated by Michael V. Fox, love is potrayed in both a positive and negative aspect. The poems are of a young couple being in love. The poems describe love as pleasures of desire and sex, as well as, feelings of selfishness and jealousy. In The Beginning of the Song That Diverts the Heart and My god, my Lotus.., love is depicted through imagery of nature depicting love as intimate and free to expose sexuality.

Then, romance and sexual desires arouse through I wish I were her Nubian maid. The obstacles or barriers to love surface through the next three poems. The perception of how others view your relationship, especially family members, is an apparent obstacle to love in I passed close by his house. Another barrier to love is the feeling of necessity or yearning for eachother’s presence in Seven whole days, when the boy longs for the presence of his lover for his existence. Another obstacle is jealousy and selfishness of eachother’s wants and needs in Am I not here with you? This poem shows that love can be tragic because lovers begin to compare themselves and their importance to things of regular life, which cause jealousy and selfishness. Overall, the moral of the Egyptian Love Poems is that love is beautiful, but beauty always comes with flaws.

2. In “The Great Hymn to the Aten,” and in Egyptian literature in general, why is the sun seen as a particularly important aspect of divinity? What is monotheism, and what does Akhenaten have to do with its development? The sun is an essential aspect of divinity in Egyptian literature and “The Great Hymn to the Aten” because it is the “creator and sustainer of the world”. The sun is the primary maker of life, giving the people all that is needed to live: light, warmth, growth, and supply. “The Great Hymn to the Aten” was written by King Akhenaten, which means “He who is effective for Aten”. Through this writing, Akhenaten dedicated the sun (Aten) as the one true god of the world. Akhenaten changed traditional Egyptian religion, with “some scholars” seeing the cult of Aten as an early type of monotheism. Monotheism is the belief of only one god with no Gods and Goddesses. Akhenaten took part in the development of monotheism by forbidding worship of other gods and to worship Aten as the only god and creator of the universe.

3. Describe what a cosmogony is (see “Creation and the Cosmos,” NA-a, pp. 23-28) and give textual examples from the readings that describe cosmogenesis. Cosmogony, by definition, is to describe how the world came to be a beautiful and well-ordered place; or simply put, how the world began. Mainly, these texts give insight on how people tried to make sense of their world and how, currently, society still has the same inquires. Cosmogony is present is various texts being that diverse cultures developed different ideas. “The Great Hymn to the Aten” describes the sun, which is Aten, “the creator of life” being that the sun gives the people the necessities of life itself. In Theogony, the world’s intial state and pure existence was Chaos; through the indefinite Chaos, the birth of gods came to be and life as well. In From Works and Days, it describes how Zeus cursed Prometheus, causing Pandora to be created to represent how evil was brought into the world, as well as, morality and country life laying foundation for the future.

In the Epic of Gilgmesh, the separation and reunion of heaven and earth made the creation of humankind and civilization. In On the Nature of Things, Lucretius describes the world as a motion of matter composed of atoms that are in a constant state. Cosmogony differ with every culture. 4. In “De Rerum Natura” by Lucretius, the author puts forward the philosophy of Epicureanism. Describe Epicureanism, giving examples from “De Rerum Natura” to support your answer. In addition, respond to this question: Why is this poem so important to world literature? Epicureanism is devotion to pleasure, comfort, and high living, with a certain nicety of style or balance. Epicureans believed peace of mind to be the primary goal of human life.

“De Rerum Natura” by Lucretis depict this philosophy of Epicureanism. Through the sacrifice of Iphigeneia, it is apparent that religion to a certain belief other than Epicureanism is one of evil. Epicurus is the first to proclaim that the gods do not direct them in any way. Epicurus gave the people knowledge of pleasure and its limits for balance. With Epicurus spreading that knowledge to the world, it is stated that “we are made gods by the victory”. This poem is essential to world literature becuause this is the introduction to science and logic itself, instead of the believing in things which cannot be seen.