Individual Project Analysis

I chose to do my individualized project on the comparison of the two Greek goddesses, Aphrodite and Hera.  I first discussed each of the goddesses in detail, from their birth, to their powers, to their families, etc.  I then compared the two goddesses personalities, characteristics, and stories.  Lastly, I looked at the comparison of both Aphrodite and Hera to God.  All of this was written in a paper, which included pieces of artwork depicting each goddess.  I think that the artwork really enhances the paper because it gives myself, and also the readers, a feel of what things may have actually been like in ancient times.

Preparation for this project definitely took a significant amount of time.  I first started researching the two goddesses before I wrote my prospectus.  At that time, I had found just enough information from websites and books to be able to get a good idea of what I would be writing about.  Then, about a week and a half before this was due, I started doing more extensive research, finding more websites and books containing the information that I thought was important to include in the comparison.  Through these websites and books, I was able to find general background information about the two goddesses, such as their birth, their families, etc.  I was also able to find a wide selection of stories that depicted both Aphrodite and Hera and the use of their powers.  In addition, some of these websites contained great pictures that I was able to include in the paper.

One thing that I did not include in this paper was a discussion of the different types of artwork of both Aphrodite and Hera.  In my prospectus, I stated that I was going to do this, but as I got more in depth with the project, I was unhappy with the material that I had found.  To me, it just seemed as if the information wasn’t very real and it was just made up.  Therefore, I decided to leave that part out of the paper since I didn’t feel comfortable using it.

Now that I look back, I have really enjoyed doing the research on these two goddesses.  We had talked about each of them briefly in class, but I had no idea how great they really were.  I found myself amazed by some of the information that I came upon and often questioned the fact that it was myth.  Now I am glad I know that these two brilliant and powerful women played a huge part in the history of Greek mythology.

I plan to put this paper and images on my website, so it is a little less like a paper and more of just an information piece about Aphrodite and Hera.  I truly enjoyed doing this project and have learned a lot from it.  I definitely did a lot of research to prepare for the individualized project and I feel as though it fully meets the requirements.

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This work has been submitted by Lindsay McCann for Issues and Ideas 402 at Monmouth College.