Studying the Influence of Classical Mythology on Art

Antoinette Brazouski
Northern Illinois University

Course

Classical Mythology: Honors FLCL 271H 3 semester hours

The honors component of Classical Mythology is intended to give students a deeper understanding of the subject and its relationship to other academic areas such as art, music, and psychology. Each student must complete a project that involves reading one or more pieces of Ancient Greek and/or Roman literature in translation.

Description

This module teaches students to use basic computer searching strategies to find images on the World Wide Web that pertain to characters or scenes from Ancient Greek and Roman mythology. The student is given the opportunity to create oral presentations that involve the use of technological equipment, including a computer, a printer, a document camera, and an LCD projector. The students may use one of the following software: Word Perfect, Word, and PowerPoint.

One of the objectives of the Classical Mythology course is to develop an appreciation of the influence of Ancient Greek and Roman mythology on art, both ancient and modern. Conversely, the inclusion of works of art in the Classical Mythology course helps the students to identify mythological characters and to remember their stories. The use of technological equipment greatly facilitates this practice.

During the class lecture/discussion of each particular topic or character, the teacher, using a document camera, an LCD projector, and a screen, can easily show pertinent works of art. Having an image on a screen when the students enter the classroom captures the studentsŐ attention. The picture may be used to review or to introduce a myth. During the lecture/discussion, the teacher may (1) go to an art website such as Artcyclopedia; (2) show slides with a projector-preferably one that shows slides through a computer (very expensive at the present time); (3) show slides that are part of a PowerPoint presentation; or (4) show pictures on an overhead projector.

When copying images from an Internet site, copyright law should be followed. To use some images, permission from the source is required. Remember to always indicate the URL of the source with each image.

For showing images during class, the PowerPoint presentation is the easiest and least cumbersome method. For each unit, the teacher should select and arrange relevant images. These images can be either slides or pictures that can be digitized and placed in a PowerPoint presentation either by the school's technical service's department or, if he or she possesses the necessary skills, by the teacher. Images found on the Internet can also be downloaded as graphics files to a computer and then transferred into PowerPoint. The following are some problems that may be encountered when slides and pictures are transferred into a PowerPoint presentation:

• Old slides may lack sufficient sharpness or be out of focus. Unfortunately, the digitizing process can cause a decrease in the quality of the original slide.
• PowerPoint is especially good since it allows the addition of the title, the artist's name, etc.; however, sometimes the addition of information results in an image that is too small to be viewed at a distance.
• Sound effects may be added, but they often distract attention from the subject at hand. Much technical expertise as well as time is required to coordinate music and images.
• Pictures that are near the binding of a book cannot be used.
• Whether Internet images, slides, or pictures are being converted, care must be taken to follow copyright laws.
• When planning to show a complete presentation, the teacher needs to have an alternative lesson plan in case the computer is down, working too slowly, or a light bulb fails.

View the attached "Class Project".

Transferability

The module, with or without modification, could be used in an art appreciation class. With little change, the module could be used to study the influence of a historical personage or a character from another area of literature on works of art. The module fosters interest in both classical mythology and art. By providing students with the necessary searching skills, it encourages them to make online visits to art museums to search for a subject, artist, or painting that especially appeals to them.