LEARNING TASKS IN

ENG 107
(INTRODUCTION TO
MYTHOLOGY)

Submitted by:
Fatima Faye V. Daguman

Submitted to:
Mr. Rogelio Mora
 Reflection on Flower Myth Story

Self-appreciation is much needed in order to live a day with less heartache or

disappointment that could trigger more negative emotions. Self-love and
acceptance makes us stronger and much more capable to live another day with
positivity and hope for a bright future. However, too much of it would also lead
to different consequences.

The first thing that the story of Echo and Narcissus teaches us is to beware the
trap of vanity or self-adoration. Basically, don't go around thinking you're all
that. Narcissus is so attractive that he practically has to carry around a spear
to keep the girls away. The problem is that he knows how attractive he is. He
refuses to settle for anyone because he's always confident that there will be
others. When a rejected lover finally cries out for vengeance, her prayers are
heard by the goddess Nemesis, who decides to give Narcissus a taste of his own
medicine. One glance at his reflection in a pool of water and Narcissus is
helplessly captivated. Though he realizes after a while that he's fallen in love
with his own reflection, he still can't turn away. He's that impressed with
himself.

While reading the story, I imagined myself walking through the forest and came
around a bend into a clearing and there, right in front of me, is James Reid. My
head starts spinning. Did he see me? What if he sees me? Do I look okay? Does
my hair look good? Should I ask for his autograph? Maybe I can get a picture
with him. This is how Echo feels when she first sees Narcissus: instant freak-
out. Narcissus is the Greek James Reid, and Echo falls head over heels at first
sight. Being love struck on its own isn't a problem. Echo's problem is that she
can't let go of her obsession, even after Narcissus has rejected her. She clings
tightly to her desire long past any hope of fulfilling it, and that desire slowly
eats away at her until only her voice remains. And there we have it: the
inherent danger of wanting what you can't or shouldn't have.

Narcissus suffers the same fate to an even greater degree. In his case, he
becomes obsessed with his own reflection. While Echo had at least a brief
possibility of fulfilling her desire, Narcissus has no chance at all of ever getting
what he wants. The best he can do is dunk his head into the water in a futile
attempt to kiss himself. The story suggests that if he'd just been able to
recognize it was hopeless and walk away, he might have lived a bit longer.

Love makes people crazy and do things they don’t normally do. It makes people
selfish, leading to hurting more people than intended. Love shouldn’t be like
that, It should be free and given willingly to someone. It should not hurt people
and most especially, it shouldn’t hurt you. Sometimes not pursuing someone,
knowing your worth and accepting defeat is a form of self-care that everybody
needs in this world. You should only fight for someone when they’ve given you
the same amount of energy, if not, then live your life without them and never
look back.
ACTIVITY 2 – HERCULES
Emotional strength is defined as an individual's ability to feel and be open to
intense emotional experiences. It is about how a person deals with difficulties
or problems and recover from them, rather than how they react in any given
situation. Meanwhile, power of intellect is the understanding or mental powers
of a particular person.
Some people have a great power of intellect, some don’t. Some have a very
strong emotional nature, some also don’t. It’s alright, people should have
things that they have and still be proud of it because it might benefit them in
some instances. It could be their strength in the future or their weakness, it
solely depends on how they use it.
I for instance has a weak power of intellect, I’m not very creative, rational or is
much of a thinker. Although I mostly let my emotions decide for me, which is
very draining and not a good thing, I can still say that I have a strong
emotional nature because no matter how tough life can be, no matter what
struggles I face or how broken I am, I still manage to get back up and fight. Of
course, it takes some time or more to get up and be strong again after being
thrown on the ground, but I still manage to do it and finish what I need to do
despite the negative feelings that still lingers inside me.
Hercules is courageous and faced his fears. Hercules didn't become a hero just
because of his strength, he was loyal, honorable, and honest. These qualities
are why we still tell his stories today. His courage, strength, skill and cunning
are literally legendary, and were revered in ancient Greek culture. Hercules is
honored and admired as someone who repeatedly fought against and
conquered evil during his lifetime, a great demigod, fathered by Zeus himself,
doing gloriously good deeds. And I aspire to be like that someday, to be able to
face my fears or insecurities and live life without doubts or anything dragging
back to my cell. Because if you keep the negative things to consume you, it will
drain you and put you in a cycle where you’re scared, angry to yourself then
happy afterwards. It would be repetitive and you should get out while it’s still
early.
Life would be colorless, uneventful and useless if you’re full of fears, especially
if you let your fears eat you. Get up, show them how strong you are, show
them what skills you got and drive them mad. It’s okay to pause for some time,
to find your courage, your confidence or yourself, what’s important is you still
showed up and proved to anyone how strong you are, be it emotionally or
mentally. Make your life worth it and live happily.
ACTIVITY 3- PHILIPPINE MYTHOLOGY CREATION

Philippine mythology is the body of stories and epics originating from, and part
of, the indigenous Philippine folk religions, which include various ethnic faiths
distinct from one another. The Philippines mythology creation was very simple
yet very detailed and never fails to inform and entertain me. However, I
disagree to what Tungkung Langit did.
Alunsina was very lazy, selfish and easily gets jealous without any basis. It’s
very unhealthy for a woman to be like that. It’s like she’s creating her own
problems which is kind of toxic for their marriage. Tungkung Langit’s a very
loving and hardworking husband, he even courted Alunsina for how many
years which proved how patient and dedicated he is when he sets his mind into
something. I don’t think Alunsina deserves him at all, especially how she
doubted him and spied on him while he was away. It breaks my heart how
poorly Alunsina treated him yet he still loved her wholeheartedly and tried
getting her back despite her negative traits. Every girl would want a man like
Tungkung Langit, too bad Alunsina took him for granted.
Relationships shouldn’t be like that, it should make both parties happy and
assured. It needs equality and honesty for it to sail for a long period of time.
The story teaches us to be careful in every action that we will take because we
can't change what we have already done. It's difficult to take away the pain
that we caused to someone. In the vice versa, we should trust our love ones. If
we really love them, we can trust them with all of our heart. Trust is the most
needed factor to lengthen your relationship with someone else. In long distance
relationship, trust is very important to sustain your relationship. Even how
much you love that person if you don’t have trust don’t hope that your
relationship will last.
This story teaches us that jealousy can destroy the relationship of two people
even how much they love each other. This story is not only suitable for couples
but also for sisters, brothers, and any other type of relationship there is. If we
don’t control our emotions, our jealousy to others might encourage us to do
things that may cause harm to that person or even to ourselves. It can also
lead us decisions that we might regret in our entire life. Think of the
consequences first before making a decision and stick up to the decision that
you’ve chosen.
ACTIVITY 4- TROJAN WAR

For the ancient Greek, myths have been part of their life which past on through
all generation. Although blinded by their ancestor's story, they have always
believed that those myths was the foundation of their civilization, thus help
them became the center of ancient world. One of the most popular myth which
last until now is the legend of Trojan War. Trojan War became an important
myth because it is the most told story in the Greek history. Even until now
there are still arguments to prove the story.
The war started because of the kidnapping of Princess Helena, the wife of the
Spartan's king, Menelaus, by the the charming Prince of Trojan Kingdom from
France. To the Greek, this war has a very deep meaning and they are always
proud to remember it. The war shown the Greek's ability to combine both
muscle and brain.
Under the brave warrior, Achilles, Greek who before was torn into many
countries which were fighting and competing against each other, was united
with one ultimate goal to destroy King Priam's fortress. With the help of
Odysseus, Achilles has an honor mission that is to bring back the pride of
Greek which was taken after the kidnapping of Princess Helena.
In the context of the duel between AC Milan against Liverpool in tonight's
Champions League Final, Milan's coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has experienced the
price of a single carelessness. Like King Priam who let the Trojan horse entered
his fortress, Ancelotti was arrogant and let Steven Gerrard torn apart his
team's defense in the second half of 2005 final.
The effect was a total disaster. Just like the Trojan Palace which was destroyed
and cancelled the honeymoon of Prince Paris and Princess Helena. Milanisti
have to forget the glory of winning the Champions League trophy. Milan were
careless, like Trojan who were partying with the presence of the Trojan horse,
they were celebrating after they went 3-0 ahead in the first half.
The two mighty teams will again come face to face in this year's final. Maybe it
is a coincidence, Rafa Benitez and Carlo Ancelotti will play in Greece, where the
legend of Trojan horse came from. For the two side, Champions League trophy
is the only silverware they can win this year, so they undoubtedly will do
anything to win it. The trophy is like a pride they must defend, like Menelaus
who was humiliated when his wife who was his pride, taken away from him.
Liverpool and Milan surely won't let the pride of their season’s lost.
ACTIVITY 5- NORSE METHOLOGY
1. Explain the reason why the hero in Norse Mythology prefers death rather
than defend himself or achieve victory over evils.
Valhalla is an afterlife where those who die in battle gather as einherjar, in
preparation for the last great battle during Ragnarök. In opposition to Hel's
realm, which was a subterranean realm of the dead, it appears that Valhalla
was located somewhere in the heavens. The heroes in Norse Mythology prefers
death because they can prove what they are by dying.

2. Explain the reason why the Greeks had won the war in the final story of the
Fall of Troy.
The Greeks finally win the war by an ingenious piece of deception dreamed up
by the hero and king of Ithaca, Odysseus – famous for his cunning. They build
a huge wooden horse and leave it outside the gates of Troy, as an offering to
the gods, while they pretend to give up battle and sail away. Secretly, though,
they have assembled their best warriors inside. The Trojans fall for the trick,
bring the horse into the city and celebrate their victory. But when night falls,
the hidden Greeks creep out and open the gates to the rest of the army, which
has sailed silently back to Troy. The city is sacked, the men and boys are
brutally slain, including King Priam and Hector's little son Astyanax, and the
women are taken captive. Troy has fallen. But there is still hope for the
Trojans' survival – Aeneas, the son of King Priam's cousin, escapes the city
with his old father, his young son and a band of Trojan refugees. Aeneas' story
is told in Virgil's Aeneid.
Activity 6- Perseus
One of the most intriguing things about famous Greek myths is how they came
about. We will doubtless never know the origins of the Perseus and Gorgon
story for certain, but the branch of mythical interpretation known as
euhemerism, which seeks to uncover the historical basis for classical myths, is
intriguing, if often somewhat speculative in nature (as it almost certainly has to
be after so many millennia.
In the case of the Gorgon Medusa, although it is similarly speculative,
numerous mythologists have put forward the idea that the story of Perseus’
slaying of Medusa may be a sort of ‘origin myth’ created to explain the
Gorgoneion, a protective pendant worn by followers of Athena and Zeus and
displaying the ugly head of a woman, surrounded by serpents.
After he had slain Medusa, Perseus was said to have used her head as a
weapon against his enemies, since it retained its power to turn to stone those
who looked at it. Eventually, Perseus gave Medusa’s head to Athena to place on
her shield, and this, one surmises, is meant to be the origin of the Gorgoneion.
There are other theories which also see Medusa as representing a particular
religious idea. Joseph Campbell, for instance, who was probably the most
influential comparative mythologist of the twentieth century after James
Frazer, suggested that Perseus’ beheading of Medusa is mythologising of a real
historical event, namely the sack of a temple (in the 13th Century BC), during
which Greek invaders killed priestesses who wore Gorgon masks.
Herodotus, the ancient historian, meanwhile, stated that the Gorgons lived in
Libya, and it’s been suggested that they originated in a north African Berber
myth, which may have been co-opted by the Greeks.
Of course, one of the key elements of the story of Perseus and Medusa is the
important of sight and vision. Medusa cannot be looked upon: to look directly
at her is to be turned to stone. This detail has been interpreted as an example
of the misogyny we find in many of the patriarchal Greek myths: here’s a
woman so ugly that merely looking at her will literally petrify you. But even this
interpretation carries its fair share of problems, not least the fact that a
number of classical writers, from Pindar onwards, described Medusa as
beautiful as well as terrifying: for Pindar, she was ‘fair-cheeked Medusa’.