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Part Two Chapter 2 Eight Brief Tales of Lovers

1. How does the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe explain the deep red color of the mulberry bush?

2. How does the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice explain the sweetness of the nightingale’s song?

3. How does the myth of Ceyx and Alcyone explain the idea of Halcyon days?

4. How does the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea illustrate the power of love?

a. Why does Pygmalion decide to remain a bachelor?
b. Under what circumstance does he fall in love?
c. How does Pygmalion act after this?
d. Who helps Pygmalion in his desire to have the woman he loves?
e. How does this story end?

5. How does the myth of Baucis and Philemon illustrate nature as a symbol of eternal love?

6. Explain the myth of Endymion.

7. How is the myth of Daphne related to the laurel leaf as a symbol of victory?

8. A myth says that Greek flowers emerge from the bottom of a well in Ortygia. If a wooden cup is thrown into the Alpheus in Greece, it will reappear in the Arethusa in Italy. How does the myth of Alpheus and Arethusa explain these myths?