Magical potions and medicinal concoctions frequently appear in Greco-Roman mythology. Asclepius, Demeter, Medea, Nessus, and Helen are just a few figures who make use of potions and medicines in myths. Analyze the appearance, characteristics, and special qualities of these concoctions in myth. Do they appear in certain scenes, alongside certain types of characters, or have similar traits and functions? Is there a difference between those that use medicines and those that use other types of magical potions? If so, does this reveal anything about ancient society/religion/culture/etc.? Identify the connections between mythology and ancient Greco-Roman beliefs through the abilities, features, and lessons learned from magical potions and medicines. In short, identify how and why medicinal and magical potions are important in mythology and what they can tell modern viewers about ancient Greco-Roman culture. Students will be graded on their ability to make use of ancient sources and evidence from myths to support their thesis and make connections to ancient culture. Your thesis should directly answer the question in the prompt that you selected. Your outline should consist of clear main points that prove your thesis and do not overly summarize myths. Additional advice: Remember, the comparing and contrasting of X and Y is not the point of the paper. You have to use comparison and contrast to support a significant claim (＝ thesis) about X and Y. This should NOT be written as an opinion paper. DO NOT use of the first- or second-person is not permitted (I, we, you, etc.). DO NOT write ″this paper will…″. For paper 4, students are required to have at least four ancient sources. For an explanation of what qualifies an ancient source, see the FAQ at the bottom of the Sources for papers (with FAQ at bottom) page. Feel free to use more than 4 sources if you wish. Additional sources can be a modern, scholarly article or book, ancient text, or your textbook, but can NOT be a website unless approved by the UI library’s site.
