Hercules' 12 "Heroic Labors" By Caroline Kepler

Recently in class we read and analyzed The Iliad, which is an Epic Poem Written by Homer detailing the Trojan War and its key players. In the sections of the book that we analyzed, Achilles who was a demigod living on earth and the hero of the epic, displaying qualities such as strength, loyalty, and bravery. In Greek mythology there are several other heroes who were born from Gods and lived out most of their lives as heroes on earth. For example Hercules, son of Zeus and Alcmene, lived and completed heroic tasks in the mortal world and only made it to Olympus after his death.

Hercules' most notable achievement was his completion of 12 "heroic labors". These tasks were picked by the Mycenaen King Eurystheus as punishment for Hercules killing his 2 sons and wife, while under a spell from Hera. His first task was to slay a lion that was terrorizing the people in the hills of Nemea. He trapped the lion in a cave and strangled it, from that day on he wore the lion's pelt as a cloak. For his next task Hercules received help from his nephew, Lolaus, they traveled together to the city of Lerna. Together they slayed the 9 headed Hydra, a snake-like creature who lived under water and guarded the entrance to the underworld. Hercules cut off each of the Hydra's heads while Lolaus burned each wound with a torch to stop the head from growing back again. Next, Hercules had to capture Diana's sacred pet, a red deer with golden antlers and bronze hooves. It was believed that anyone who tried to take her pet would be killed, but when Hercules explained his situation she allowed him to move on without punishment. Hercules' next 2 tasks were less taxing than his previous ones, but no less important. At Mount Erymanthus he captured a wild man eating boar with a giant net, stopping it from attacking people nearby. His second task was mainly assigned to embarrass him. He had to clean the dung out of King Augeas stables in one day and he did so by flooding the barn using 2 nearby rivers. Hercules completed his next task with the aid of Athena. Carnivorous birds had set up homes in the trees in the town of Stymphalos and with the noisemaker, that Athena gave to him, he was able to frighten the birds away. For his next labor Hercules drove a rampaging bull from the island of Crete to Eurystheus, who then released the bull into the streets of Marathon. Like his previous labor, for Hercules’ eighth task he captured and brought Eurystheus 4 man-eating horses of the Thracian King Diomedes, who Eurystheus dedicated to Hera and then set free. Hera later got in the way of Hercules completing his ninth labor, which was to get the belt of the Amazon queen Hippolyte. Hera disguised herself as an Amazon Warrior and spread rumors that Hercules intended to kill the queen. Hippolyte was planning on giving Hercules the belt, but once the warriors got wind of the rumors they attacked Hercules to protect their queen. Fearing for his life Hercules killed Hippolyte and took the belt from her dead body. Hera’s interference didn’t stop there, while Hercules was try to complete his next task, stealing cattle from a three-headed, six-legged monster Geryon, she did all that she she could to prevent him from succeeding. Her actions were unsuccessful and Hercules made it back to Mycenae with the cows.  Similar to his second task, Hercules received help from Prometheus, a mortal, and Atlas, a God, to complete his eleventh task. Together they stole Zeus’ wedding gift from Hera, which was a set of golden apples guarded by a group of nymphs known as the Hesperides. This was not an easy feat to accomplish, but he was able to complete the mission with the help of his allies and after showing the king the apples he returned the them to their rightful home in the Gods’ garden. For Hercules’ twelfth and final task he had to kidnap Cerberus, who was the 3 headed guard dog at the gates of Hades. He wrestled the beast to the ground using his superhuman strength and after presenting Cerberus to Eurystheus he was able to return him unharmed to the entrance of the underworld. After Hercules completed his 12 “heroic labors” he lived out the rest of his life in the mortal world performing heroic acts that were small in comparison to what he had previously done. When his life in the mortal world came to an end Athena came down in her chariot and and carried him up to Olympus, where he spent the rest of eternity living with the Gods.

Late Nights by Bailey Kellenberger

 11:01 pm. She walked up the broken stairs and to the rusty cage door that lead to her mournful apartment. As her skeleton-like hands grasped the icy doorknob, the off-white door creaked open. Her fat, tabby cat shrieked and darted away. Home. This was her home whether she liked it or not. Oddly enough her cold and dark apartment, which often smelled like wet moss, made her feel safe. She threw her shoulder bag onto the coffee table and proceed to remove her muddy converse. Suddenly she developed an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Was someone there? She called out but she heard nothing. She tried to ignore her feeling, after all, she was probably just being dramatic. She put the teakettle on the burner and reached for the sugar in the cabinet when she felt a hot breath on her neck. She was frozen. Who was there? She spun around quickly on her heels hoping to catch whoever was there off guard. No one was there. Her mind was playing tricks. The piercing sound of the kettles whistle shocked her back into reality. She prepared her tea, grabbed her favorite book that she had read and reread and read again, and sat in the corner chair near the window. Just beyond the walls of her apartment, she could hear stray dogs howling at the silver, crescent moon. She heard, in the distance, the song of a broken hearted drunk man and faint sirens echoed throughout the city. As she was stuck within her thoughts and earl gray tea, two hands covered in leather gloves wrapped themselves around her mouth and neck. She was pulled to her feet. Tea splashed upon the molded floor as the mug bounced to a stop in the corner of the room. She wanted to scream, to call out for help but her mouth was gripped so tightly and her brain couldn’t seem to remember what words were. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for whatever was to happen next. The gloved hands pushed her forward, trying to get her to move faster. She heard the familiar sound of her door opening. The rope was thrown upon her hands and fastened quickly. Finally, it hit her. She was going to die. She kicked her legs and tried to break her head free from her kidnapper but it was no use. Whoever this was, was strong. In an instant, her mouth was covered in duct tape and her legs bound as well. Was she still in her apartment? Had they moved? Why couldn’t she call out for help? Heavy footsteps intruded the thoughts that raced through her mind. She tried to open her eyes only to find out that the night had fallen so dark she could no longer see anything... including her perpetrator. She began to cry and attempted to scream but the tape was wrapped so tightly causing her to wince in pain. The offender sat her upright and began to look through her things. She felt something the brush up against her leg. It was her tabby cat. The footsteps step toward the cat. The cat bowled. Hands grabbed her hair. 

5:15 am. The alarm rang. Time to get up. 

Click here to see part 1

The Importance of Seeing our World in Shades of Gray (By Chris Hwang)

From birth, many of us are taught to view the world through a binary lens. What this means is that we are taught stark contrasts such as good vs. bad, right vs. wrong, happiness vs. sadness, and perhaps even winning vs. losing. I don’t quite know why this is so but it’s probably because it’s much easier for us and also our parents and elders to classify any type of complex situation into black and white. While this is an effective learning strategy for young children, some of us carry this simplistic, binary view of life into adulthood which can limit our creativity, reasoning, and our ability to see “the big picture.” Many of us get caught up in the act of “splitting” where we are too quick to classify people, groups, religions, and countries as good vs. bad, right vs. wrong, believers vs. non believers, and friend vs. foe. Simply put, some of us never learn to see the middle ground, the shades of gray. This has become even more apparent and problematic in the presidential race where Republicans and Democrats are pitted against each other and we are forced to choose. The unfortunate consequence is more splitting of our American people.

Fortunately for me, athletics have expanded my vision so that I am able to recognize that our complex world isn’t just black and white and that some type of middle ground always exists. Since third grade, I have always identified as a student athlete. The many lessons that I have learned from wrestling and lacrosse have shaped my character both on and off the mat and field. I have learned many values of resiliency, hard work, dedication, passion, leadership, teamwork, loyalty, and humility. Most importantly, I have learned the merits of recognizing that life isn’t just black and white.

Wrestling is one of the oldest and purest sports. It is a sport in which two athletes dual each other on the mat. At the end of a match, only one hand will be raised. That is, the hand of the victor. To most spectators, the outcome is black and white. One wrestler always wins and one always loses. That is a binary view of the sport. However, the competitive wrestler learns that a middle ground exists and that failure can breed success.  Wrestling has taught me to integrate the positive with the negative. In my earliest days as a wrestler, I lost most of my matches. The agony of defeat consumed me. My parents could re-tell dozens of stories of me balling my eyes out and wanting to quit. I internalized those defeats to the point where they crippled me. However, those defeats turned out to be blessings in disguise. In time, I would learn that losses serve to expose my weakness while allowing me to appreciate and learn from my opponent’s strengths. That newfound perspective fueled my passion to improve my technique and made me more competitive. Sure, nobody likes to lose but I learned to view the losses as gifts and opportunities. In short, I learned to see and appreciate shades of gray.

To this day, I remind myself that success is not just measured by the number of state titles, lacrosse goals, or the number of wins and losses. Life’s success and failures should never be black and white. That is limiting. Success should be measured by our ability to continuously improve ourselves by capitalizing on our failures as well as our successes. We all have the ability to achieve greatness if we train our eyes and minds to “let in the gray.” 

Sparta High School Proudly Presents... By Juleanna Green

“Stay Gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.”

• S. E. Hinton, The Outsiders

Many people know these famous words from S.E. Hinton’s novel, The Outsiders. It’s the story of a young American, Ponyboy, who grew up on “the wrong side of town.” He was a Greaser- the poor, greasy-haired community opposite the Socs- the wealthy, well-to-do community. The novel is told in Ponyboy’s point of view, as he recalls the troublesome events that follow him and his friends.

What many people don’t know, is that Sparta High School is putting on a theatrical performance of The Outsiders this fall. Double-casted (two different casts) with three performances each, the cast and crew have been hard at work to make this a worthy production. Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to some of the cast members (being in one of the casts myself), about their feelings about, thoughts on, and relationship with this play.

¨We all read the book,” began Jamie Corter, who plays Cherry in the performance. ¨And we all kind of have our own interpretation of what the book was, and now you can visually see it.¨ Many of the other cast members present agreed. ¨When you’re reading it,” added Kaela Panicucci, who plays Darry, ¨you get to connect with the characters, and then as a play you get to become the characters, and it just strengthens the connection you have with the text.¨

Speaking of connections between the book and the stage adaptation, everyone came to the same conclusion; you have to play these characters as they are already known. Corter even said, ¨People know these characters so well that you have to play them like people know them… When we did Stage Door, I could take any interpretation I wanted on my character, because no one knew who it was. But with [The Laramie Project] and this, people know. In Laramie, they were real people, so you had to be that person. But with this one, they could very well just be people we know, because people know them so well.¨

I asked the actors how they got into their characters (and how they relate to them in their own lives), to which Claire Riley responded, ¨I have the face of a horse¨ (she plays Ponyboy). She did then go on with a more intimate and personal response, saying that, ¨They're not that different from kids today, you can see the relationships that they have and the friendship that they share, even through all the tough times that they go through, and that's always gonna happen. You’re always gonna have those people in your life that you can lean on and depend on even through tragedies.¨

“Yeah, like I’ve never been in a gang before,” added Steven Sullivan, who also portrays Ponyboy, in the cast opposite of Riley’s. “But I have had a close group of friends and based on the relationship the Greasers have I’d say that that’s pretty similar.” And I think that goes to show just how much people do appreciate the story of Ponyboy and his friends. Even if you’ve never been in a gang, or if you’ve never been wrapped up in a murder, or if you don’t use the exact same vernacular (which most of us don’t), you can understand the value of friendship and family, and appreciate how they come to light in this book. You can connect to the characters and (some) of the issues they face everyday.

“When we read the book we didn’t really know that we were going to be performing it,” commented Henry Silberstein, who plays Dallas. “For some of us it’s been, however many years. So it’s kinda cool from your growth, from reading it to now, and also seeing the movie.” Because Sparta students read The Outsiders in their 7th grade year, it has been awhile since most of the cast has read it. However, that is why one of our casts will have the opportunity to perform the show for the current 7th grade students (because those students are reading it this year). On the same day, November 2, 2016, the other cast will be performing immediately after school for all staff members, to make it easier for them to attend.

¨Do it,¨ said Nina Strowe, who plays Randy, when asked what she would say to people to get them to come see the show. “This has been my favorite show to perform,” said Panicucci. “I second that notion,” replied Corter. According to Sullivan, “There’s not a dull moment.” So whether you loved the book, hated the book, or just don’t remember the book, come and see this fantastic show!

The performances of The Outsiders for the public will be on Thursday, November 3 at 7:00pm, Friday, November 4 at 7:00pm, and two shows on Saturday, November 5 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. The cast is as follows: Steven Sullivan, Claire Riley, Sofia Cook, Isabelle Baptista, Henry Silberstein, Tomas Torres, Jamie Corter, Sofie Mase, Will Maloney, Lorenzo Rendina, Kaela Panicucci, Elizabeth Bottoni, Nina Strowe, Julia Miller, Josiah Sutton, Heather DiPiano, James Wang, Aaron Lopez, Brittany Galvin, Sylvia Kloian, Taylor Muse, Noelle Vallario, Lauren Spinetta, Christian Cuadrado, Juleanna Green, Sarah Pineau, Emma Rust, Ron Jilla, Taylor Brady, Brianna Murphy, Natalie Strouse, Alex Schuessler, Lomaani Ranasinghe, and Vida Codjoe.

English Class: A Poem by Kamryn Foster

Writing and reading; reading and writing.
Filled with kids who have a passion and are finding.
Others who think the same way they do,
Who are not mathematically inclined, the studies say it's true.

Supposedly we're taught to take a test and get the answer right,
But to this system I will forever fight.
Let the kids be creative and express themselves, I'll say
And the Board'll say no and keep the subject at bay.

English is the class where you can actually think for once
And in this room you won't hear grunts
For we all enjoy the period where you can be yourself
And let your creativity show - so go ahead and grab a book off a shelf.

A Quick Synopsis of Greek Mythology (by Eve Curras)

When I was eleven years old, my older brother and Mom became obsessed with a series new to them, called Percy Jackson & The Olympians.  My brother doesn't often read, so I knew this series would be good.  I quickly became just as obsessed, and Percy Jackson is still one of my favorite book series to date.  The novels are about a young boy who is thrown into a world of gods and goddesses, magical creatures and beasts, and most significantly: demi-gods.  He comes to find that he himself is a demi-god (meaning half-god) and that he is the son of Poseidon, the god of the Sea.  The series entails Percy and his friends attempting to survive and navigate their way through a world like ours, with the exception of a few centaurs, lightning bolts and flying, winged shoes here and there.  This series is what sparked my love for Greek mythology, and I quickly became engrossed in this world that at the time I believed did not differ much from my own.  (Okay, maybe I still believe in gods and goddess, you never know!)

In class we are reading The Iliad, an ancient Greek poem, that much like the Percy Jackson series intertwines Greek mythology with an epic storyline.

To truly understand Greek Mythology, you must understand the main players.  

There are the 3 main gods:

1. Zeus, the King of the Gods & God of the Sky

2. Poseidon, God of the Seas

3. Hades, God of the Underworlds 

Together, they make up The Big Three.

(Zeus/Left, Poseidon/Middle, Hades/Right)

There were a total of 12 gods and goddesses who overthrew the Titans, members of the second generation of divine beings.  They were known as The Olympians.

Including The Big Three, there are 9 other gods and goddesses who contributed to the defeat of the Titans:

-Hestia, Goddess of Family & Domestic Life

-Hera, Goddess of Marriage

-Ares, God of War

-Athena, Goddess of Wisdom

-Apollo, God of Music & Medicine

-Aphrodite, Goddess of Love

-Hermes, Messenger of the Gods

-Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt

-Hephaestus, God of Fire, Blacksmiths & Sculptors

These 12 made up the major deities of the Greek pantheon.  They were led to victory over their predecessor gods, the Titans, by Zeus.  In any novel, story, or epic that is written using Greek mythology, those names will most certainly be mentioned.  I can only hope this helped some students understand the myths and major players of Greek mythology a little bit better.

Music and Literature:

by Derek Campbell

As most of us know, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan won the 2016 Noble Prize in Literature. This was a ground-breaking event, as he was the first musician to receive the award. It just goes to how people's interpretations of literature can go many ways. However, novels and poems are more closely related to music than what meets the eye. Here is a list of some famous artists with songs that were based upon books/poems:

- IRON MAIDEN:
Iron Maiden has been known to delve into books and historic events for song inspiration. Some of these include:

- THE TROOPER:
Released in 1983, the song is describing the Crimean War (and specifically the Battle of Balaclava). The song has also been traced to Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem The Charge of the Light Brigade, to which both describe the Brave 600 English soldiers who marched into the gruesome and brutal battle who made the decision to die for their country



- BRAVE NEW WORLD:
Delving into the realm of science fiction, the main inspiration of this song was Brave New World, a 1932 classic from author Aldous Huxley. Both describe a futuristic, totalitarian pseudo-utopia/dystopia in London. Apparently, Lead singer of iron maiden Bruce Dickinson reread the book and decided to make a song about it. Fun fact, the title "Brave New World" can be traced to Shakespeare's last play ( The Tempest, 1612) "How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, that has such people in't!"







-METALLICA:
Metallica is a heavy metal band that started in the 80's, but just because the music's loud doesn't mean there isn't meaning in the songs. Some of which include:

-ONE: 
Released on the album ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, this is my all-time favorite song from that album. It is a story about a soldier in war who has a mortar go off in his face. He survives, but sadly with out arms or legs and he also loses the ability to hear, see, taste, and smell. Wondering what kind of life this is, he uses morse code to spell out the words "K-I-L-L-_-M-E...". James Hetfield (guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter) based this song on Dalton Trumbo's novel Johnny Got His Gun. In fact, there is one line passage in particular that I believe represent the message of the song perfectly:



"How could a man lose as much of himself as I have and still live? When a man buys a lottery ticket you never expect him to win because it's a million to one shot. But if he does win, you'll believe it because one in a million still leaves one. If I'd read about a guy like me in the paper I wouldn't believe it, cos it's a million to one. But a million to ONE always leaves one. I'd never expect it to happen to me because the odds of it happening are a million to one. But a million to one always leaves one. One"

-THE CALL OF KTULU/THING THAT SHOULD NOT BE:
Although these are two separate songs, they both take from the same piece of literature. Metallica has made it known that popular horror author H.P. Lovecraft was a large influence to the band, and these songs are a way of honoring the author. Both of these songs are based on one of Lovecraft's most famous novels The Call of Cthulhu. The story is about a man and his uncovering of notes about a mysterious underwater deity known as Cthulhu, and then the horror that follows. The first song (which goes by a similar title) is entirely instrumental, but the title itself reveals something. The book states that mentioning the name Cthulhu will bring him closer, which is why the "Ktulu" is purposely misspelled (for fear of the beast). The second song, Thing That Should Not Be, is paying homage to the character Cthulhu (still avoiding the word itself in the song/title). This can be seen in the main chorus of the song:

Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Great old one
Forbidden site
He searches
Hunter of the shadows is rising
Immortal
In madness you dwell

(the shadow rising is also based on a Lovecraft story, The Shadow over Innsmouth)








-FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
This Metallica classic is a song about the futility of war and directly relates to Ernest Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls (which was based on a poem from 1623 by John Doone). The novel is about an American sent to take out a bridge under the control of a Fascist Army during the Spanish Civil War (which is evident in the song)



-RUSH:
Rush is oldest out of all the previously listed bands and said to be a major inspiration to them. Their songs are powerful, and usually contain something of a message ins them. Examples include:

- 2112:
This song is a seven part anthem that is approximately 20 mins long, and tells a story in different parts (much like chapters in a book). This song itself can be called a short story (as the printed version of the song contains unsung narration) and highly suggest listening to it and reading the story. This song was supposedly inspired by the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand (which tells the story of dystopian future and another dark age, similar to that in the song




- THE STARS LOOK DOWN:
A more depressing and unsatisfying tale, this is based on the novel The Stars Look Down by A.J. Cronin. It tells the story of a pre-WW1 miner actively seeking change in his dangerous occupation, but loses hi battle for change and parliament and his wife in the process (to which the miner continues his work as a miner, defeated). This song was written by the band's drummer Neal Peart, to which he took this personally (as he had lost his wife to cancer), issuing the statement "This seemed to express a fitting view of an uncaring universe."



-TOM SAWYER:
This is a song based on Mark Twain's novel by the same name (really doesn't need an explantation)

And there are many more songs like this out their. It just goes to show you that some songs aren't just words, and that you way need to pick up a book to fully comprehend the meaning of a song...