Week 4 Story: Martyrs Imprisonned

Sitting in the cold, damp prison cell, the last thing I expected to hear was a baby's cry. At first I thought my ears were deceiving me, but the more I listened, the more sure I became that it was a baby in the prison. I strained my ears to hear more, and identified a woman, cooing at the baby to calm it down.
"Can you shut that thing up?" a guard shouted. I didn't hear a response.
Moments later, I saw the small family being marched through the prison, and they were locked away into the cell just across from my own. The mother, though she looked tired and unkempt, was obviously beautiful. It was almost as if a light radiated from her, and I felt drawn to know her. Though she was locked away in her cell, I wanted to run into her arms and have her protect me just as fiercely as she protectively held the babe wrapped in her arms.
"We'll be back for you two tonight,"the guard said. "Don't get too comfortable."
I sat quietly in my cell, staring at the woman. I was torn: waning to call out to her, but not knowing what to say.
"Miss," she whispered. "Do you have any water you could spare? My child and I have had nothing to drink for so long. I'm afraid he won't stop crying until I can feed him."
I found the water in my cell, placed as far towards her as I could, before gently pushing it across the floor.
"Thank you, my dear. What is your name?"
"Livia."
"I am Juliet and this is my son Quirinus. Why are you here? You are so young!"
"My parents were caught leading a worship ceremony of the god Bacchus within the city walls. I am being held until relatives come to take me away while my parents serve their time."
"I see." Juliet was quiet a while. "I hope your parents find the right path." I didn't know what she meant exactly, but I nodded.
"Why are you here? What could you have done?"
Juliet sighed, and looked down at her baby. "Officials demanded that I make sacrifices to their gods. But I cannot. There is only one true god, and I must worship only Him. No matter what happens in this life, I cannot jeopardize the eternal life of me and my child."
"What is the name of your god?"
"Names are not important when there is only one."
I couldn't understand why Juliet was doing this. What is the harm of sacrificing to one god when you can then just sacrifice to another? This god of hers seemed awful selfish.
"Why would you sacrifice your future? Just appease the officials."
"Livia, let me tell you a story. There was once a man who was told to do just as you have suggested I do. Stop doing what He believes in to appease mortal governments and institutions. But He understood that there are more important things than mortality."
As Juliet told me the story of this man, I was amazed by his miracles, his strength, and love.
"When He died on the cross," Juliet said solemnly, "He died for everyone. But we must stay true to Him, and never betray Him by worshiping or sacrificing to other gods. It's a small price to pay for eternal life. And if I should die for it, I am confident that he will bring me safely to Heaven."
"Juliet and son," a guard called. His heavy steps began getting louder as he walked through the prison towards my new friend.
"It is my time, Livia. Be strong. I hope you find the correct path."
As I watched Juliet and her baby taken from the cell and marched away, I was amazed at how I could have known her for so little time, but feel so connected to her.
In that moment I prayed for her, her baby, myself, and those who feel so lost. I'm not sure who I was praying to, but I felt certain someone was listening.

Prison cell of Saint Paul in Rome.
Photo by Edith OSB Source: Flickr

Author's Note: This story is based on the story of Saint Juliet. During the Roman empire, she is told she must make sacrifices to Roman gods. When she refuses, they torture her. The baby seeing his mother tortured, tells the provost that he is Christian. He throws the baby down on the steps. Seeing her child killed, she is happy to know that he is in heaven. They then kill Juliet herself. 

My story takes place before her torture. I imagined that before her torture, she would have been imprisoned. Even in her last hours, knowing that this cannot end well, she would still be hopeful, and have the desire to comfort others with the good news of Jesus. The story is told through the eyes of my imaginary other prisoner. 

Bibliography:  Saint Juliet. The Golden Legend edited by F. S. Ellis (1900).

Reading Notes: Saint Theodora, Part B

Saint Theodora Story source: The Golden Legend edited by F. S. Ellis (1900).

• Theodora has it all: beauty, piety, noble title, rich husband
• A devil is jealous, entices man to pursue her
• Man pursues her relentlessly, but she doesn't give into temptation, though she almost does
• Man hires a witch to convince her
• witch says that God can't see what happens at night. For some reason Theodora believes this. 
• Theodora invites man over, has sex with him, and he leaves her alone and heartbroken
• She is distraught by the sin she has committed against God and her husband
• Husband asks what is wrong, she won't say
• She runs away to a nunnery and ask if God knows what happens at night
• The nuns say "duh". She asks for a Bible and it falls to Quod scripsi scripsi
• Theodora disguises herself as a man (Theodorus) and becomes a monk
• The husband laments her absence. God tells him he will meet his wife on the road
• the husband sees her, but doesn't recognize her, and goes on.
• A woman in the village accuses her of fathering her child
• the monastary expels Theodorus and Theodorus cares for the child for 7 years
• During the seven years she is continually tempted by the devil, but doesn't give in. She prays or signs the cross and the devil vanishes
• The abbott rewards her patience by welcoming her back. 
• She takes the child into her cell.
• the monks overhear her and hears her say she will die, and that the child should take God as his father
• After receiving a vision that tells him the truth, the abbott discovers her dead body, and knows she is a woman
• The abbott is told by God to go find a man on the road
• Finds his husband who is on his way to see Theodora
• They go to the monastery and weep over her

Orthodox Icon Source: Mystagogy Rsource Center

Reading Notes: Saint Juliana Part A

The story of Saint Juliana, from the Golden Legends, edited by F.S. Ellis (1900)

• Saint Juliana is a good Christian woman. So when her father tells her to marry a pagan, she refuses.
• Father beats her
• "Provost" (prospective husband) finds her so beautiful, he wants to know why she has refused.
• She says she will not marry a pagan
• He says he can defy his emperor
• She says she can defy her "emperor", Jesus Christ, who is in fact immortal and therefore scarier. 
• Provost has her tortured
• While being tortured, a devil disguised as an angel comes to her
• He tells her she will be saved if she sacrifices to idols 
• She is told by a voice from God that she should hold him and demand who he is
• He confesses he is son of Beelzebub, sent to turn Christians against God
• If he doesn't turn someone against God, he is tortured by his Father
• Juliana refuses to denounce God, frees the devil
• The next day, she looks fine when she is presented before the Provost.
• The Provost tries to kill her twice, both time she is saved by an angel who converts the people in the crowd (save the Provost)
• The third time he tries to kill her, the devil comes and tells him she must have no mercy, and he vanishes to avoid being held by her again
• Before she is beheaded, she tells the newly converted crowd to pray for her
• She is killed
• The provost gets on a ship and he and his men are killed by a terrible storm

Orthodox Icon uploaded by the site: svetigora

Feedback Strategies

Article 1: Presence, Not Praise
When I first read your statement about Alfie Kohn believeing that praise raise children to work for pleasing others rather than their own sense of accomplishment, I thought about how that may be true, but I could never do that.  However, after reading this article, I think that my philosophy leans towards this way of viewing praise. I am much like the child discussed in this article that was overpraised as a child, and is now anxious about failure, and feels the need to please teachers. When the article explained presence over praise and gave the example of  the teacher watching a student draw. Just by being there, the student knows that she cares about what he is doing, but doesn't need to be praised for what he is supposed to be doing.

Article 2: The Difference Between Praise and Feedback
My favorite part of this article was the idea that questions are a way of avoiding overpraising. At first I didn't think this could help, but upon further reflection, this is a great way of ensuring that children are participating and trying hard for themselves, rather than for the praise of others. This would be good for adults too. Rather than doing the bare minimum, but asking people about their work, they have to work for their own approval.

Meme by Meme TN Source: Flickr

Topic Research: Eleanor of Aquitaine

After reading more about Eleanor of Aquitaine, I found her to be even more fascinating a historical figure than I always thought her to be. She was arguably THE most powerful woman of the Middle Ages! Not only was she a woman married to powerful men, but she was a duchess in her own right, helped orchestrate revolts (possibly murders), and she set French literary arts on the wonderfully successful path that it has taken.

For my project, I think I will write about the time in which she is imprisoned. She is tired of being unable to explore, and she realizes how limited her perspective has been (European). So she sends troubadours out into various corners of the world with instructions to witness great foreign heroes and stories, and to return with great epic poetry for her to here performed. They return and recite the stories.

Here are stories that I thought would be interesting, but I am mainly focusing on where should the troubadours be sent. I originally thought that the Middle East would be one great region for a troubadour, but thought about the time period, and I am not sure with the Crusades and Eleanor's own experience with the Crusades, if that would be a region to which she would send someone. So I will most likely change the Turkish story, but I did like this story!

Source on Eleanor: Wikipedia
Stories: The Wizard and His Pupil, Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, The Election of the King Bird

Posted by Wikielwikingo Source: Wikimedia

Week 3 Story: Broken Promises

"I think we should break up," she said.

Alex didn't know what to make of this. How could Elodie break up with him after all they had been through? They were perfect together! "Elodie, we can make this work! Just because we've hit a rough patch doesn't mean this relationship isn't worth saving!"

Elodie shook her head. "No, Peter told me that if our relationship is strained from a simple fight at Ikea, it's not worth it. We're better off apart."

"Who's Peter? And why does a guy I don't even know get to determine if my girlfriend breaks up with me?"

"You know Peter, he's my downstairs neighbor! He knows all about break ups because he's had four divorces himself! And now he's lived alone fore 20 years because he says the drama in a relationship isn't worth it. He said he could hear us fighting all night, and that it's a sign I'm better off living alone."

"Elodie, don't you see! He doesn't want you to be happy! He wants you living alone so he doesn't have to hear-"

"Alex stop! You're being ridiculous! What could he possibly gain from seeing my heart broken?" Now please go. If I ever see you again, I'm afraid I won't be strong enough to resist you, though I know now we are better off apart. You must promise me to never come back here. 

Alex felt the whole thing was hopeless. He promised Elodie never to come back to her apartment and bother her. He wandered around New York City, searching everywhere for an apartment. Everything was too expensive, or too far from work, or absolutely disgusting.

One year passed, and Alex saw an ad for the perfect apartment. Close to his job, under his budget, and great reviews online, he knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The address seemed familiar, but he didn't think much of it. He put a deposit down and signed the lease by email before anyone could grab it before him. 

Photo by Beyond My Ken Source: Wikimedia

As he approached the building, he soon realized he was walking a familiar path. He now knew where this apartment was, and remembered his promise. He wondered if it was wrong, but kept having flashbacks to rat infested living rooms and overpriced studios. He pressed on. 

When he entered the building, he wasn't surprised to see Elodie walking down the stairs, but it hurt all the same. 

"What are you doing here?" she shouted.

"I live here now," he said calmly. 

"You!?! You bought Peter's old apartment? You're my new downstairs neighbor?!?"

"Yes. I'm sorry but-"

"You promised! You swore you would leave me alone! How could you do this to me?"

Fifty years later, no one in the neighborhood could recall what ever began the fighting. But everyone was used to old Ms. Elodie and Mr. Alex fighting and shouting at each other. One day a child asked his parents what could have possibly started all this. 

"There's not really a reason, son. That's what they do. They fight. Everyone knows that."

Author's Note: This story is inspired by The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog which tells how the dog and cat came to hate each other. Just like in that story, the two start off as the perfect pair. When something goes wrong (no food for winter, a fight over Ikea furniture), one character calls it quits after being encouraged to do so by a  third character. This third character has an ulterior motive. They swear to stay apart, but a character breaks the promise, so they hate each other and fight forever after. I changed it to a couple rather than a cat and dog. But like a cat and dog, people just accept that they fight, and don't think much of there being a reason. However, I do not think that hatred is natural, so I hope that this story points out that there is almost always a reason, and we shouldn't just blindly accept hate. 

Bibliography: Story source: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa (1919).

Reading Notes: Dog and Cat Part A

• Cat and Dog originally best friends
• New experience tests their relationship
• their relationship was great during the easy seasons. 
• When things get hard, their friendship falls apart
• Serpent convinces Cat that she is better off without Dog
• This character wants to bring about sin
• Supports the destruction of love and happiness. Wants to tear relationships apart the way he did with Adam/Eve and God. 
• Dog doubts that they are better off apart, but does as Cat wants
• They swear never to cross paths again
• This seems dramatic. Cat treats it as a business agreement. Perhaps she is afraid that without the oath, neither would be strong enough to stay apart? particularly Dog?
• Cat already knows what she can do for the winter
• Dog must explore woods to find a place where he belongs
• it is always with a different species. Never fits the way he did with cat. Their strengths and weaknesses could have played off of each other. 
• Dog helps Adam, Cat and Dog at the same house
• Cat asks Adam to turn out Dog. 
• Dog wants to keep promise. Tries to leave, but Adam wants him there.
• Cat forever hates Dog for breaking the oath. 

Photographer: Birhanb Source: Wikimedia

Bibliography: The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog from Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa (1919).

Reading Notes: Jatakas!

When reading this anthology, I decided to focus my notes on The Cunning Crane and The Crab. Before this course, I never enjoyed trickster tales, because I always felt so bad for the victims. However, I enjoyed the tricksters of Aesop, and I enjoyed the twist ending of this trickster getting his due!

Here are my notes:

Author: KALX999 Source: Wikimedia

• There is a dry pool and a cool, full pool
• The crane offers to carry dying fish to the better pool
• He has to convince them first! (uses older, one eyed fish)
• The fish knows he eats their kind, but they are willing to trust him so they don't die in that pool. Perhaps they know that either way, they will die. 
• They agree to be carried. Crane eats them one by one, leaving bones beneath tree.
• He isn't ashamed of his treachery, and doesn't feel the need to hide what he's done/ He leaves the bones where anyone can see.
• Out of fish, he turns to a crab. 
• Was he hungry, or at this point, just greedy? Could have eaten somewhere else?
• Crab agrees to hold on to him with claws
• Sees bones of fish, snaps the cranes neck
• Before he does so, the crane asks for mercy. 
• Crab lies and says he won't kill him. Kills him once he is safe on the ground.
• No one here acts very courageously. Except perhaps the one-eyes fish who went first. 

Week 2 Review: Great Things to Know

I am grateful that I did this extra credit assignment because without it, I would be missing out on some great information. First of all, I had no idea you could back-up a blog! I have a blog for another class so I have now backed-up that one also. Secondly, somehow I missed the fact that we have a separate announcements page for this class, so I had no idea until now that I had been missing all of these. The two things that stood out to me in the announcements were:

1. The Monday the 28th announcement mentioned how there is a project stack. I do not understand what that is. I sent my project email, but I didn't see my name. Are those the names of people who did not send the email?

2. My favorite part of the announcements was definitely the mythical monster Venn diagram from the announcement on Tuesday the 29th! I love mythical creatures, and this is such an interesting way of visualizing them.

My face when I found the announcements.
Photo by finishings Source: pixaboy

Famous Last Words: Beginning the Finale

As this is my senior year, I feel the constant pressure to do this year "right". Take the right classes to graduate, get good grades, enjoy my friends and family while I'm still nearby, prepare for life after college etc While the first week of school was easy to live in the moment and enjoy the beginning of a new year. However, this second week I began looking to the future and considering what is most important. So I dropped my Latin minor and the Latin course I was taking this semester. This way, i can focus on the courses which are most important to me, and are more pertinent to what I may want to do in the future. This way, I am not so overloaded with translations that not only can I do better work in my courses, but I can enjoy my senior year.

My first day of school picture!
Personal photo taken by Sarah Steward

This week I also set up my on-campus interview for Fulbright. So I am spending the weekend preparing for that, while also perfecting my essays. With all of this pressure, I have found myself looking forward to this class and the assignments we are doing. With every assignment, I get a sense of accomplishment and I learn something.
I really enjoyed doing the storytelling assignment this week and the creativity I was able to tap into. I realized how much I miss creative writing. It makes me wish there was an extra credit extra writing assignment.
This was also my last week before my third job starts: teaching dance. While I am excited to meet my students, I am worried that I am already so tired. However, I think having dropped my Latin course will help. Overall, I am looking forward to next week, and more confident now than last week that I am going to accomplish a lot while also enjoying this semester!

Wikipedia Trails: Aesop to Laertius

1. Aesop: The life of Aesop is obscure to say the least. Scholars are still unsure if Aesop was a real person. Even if he was a real person, we do not know where he was from, where he traveled, and if he even wrote fables himself. However, if such a person did exist, scholars estimate he would have lived in Greece in the 6th century B.C.E. He is mentioned throughout the centuries by Greek and Roman writers alike. There are no surviving "original" manuscripts, and fables from around the world have been added to the original fables attributed to Aesop.

2. Seven Sages of Greece: From there I arrived at the Seven Sages of Greece because Plutarch wrote that he met with them, and that Aesop is apparently often included with this group. It is not agreed how many sages there truly are and who should be included in the group. However, each many was a leader of his city-state/community. They are known for the clever sayings and each have different morals and pieces of wisdom for us to learn. 

Periander of Corinth.
Photo of bust by Jastrow. Source: Wikipedia

3. Periander of Corinth: Reading the summary of who Periander was in the "Seven Sages of Greece" article made the man seem like a walking contradiction. The man was a sage who was also a tyrant. Some accounts describe him as a harsh ruler, while others praise his efforts to redistribute the wealth of Corinth. Reading his life story and then comparing it to his patronage of art and literature doesn't clear things up much. He was a man who either killed his wife, or defiled her corpse. His son ran away from him, and when the son was killed, Periander died from the grief. Yet, he is a sage of Greece and supported the writings of philosophy. What a fascinating historical figure!

4. Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers: This is the text in which the story of Periander killing his wife appears in. Written by Diogenes Laertius in the 3rd century C.E. (almost 1,000 years after the events of Periander took place), it is a collection of ten books which recount the stories of philosophers since the birth of Greek civilization. While Laertius is a great source for us, the main reason is because the primary sources have been lost and Laertius doesn't cite his sources. We are left to trust hiim without much corroborating evidence. Therefore, stories told in this collection must be taken carefully, not at face value.