Summer Camp 2020

As seen in

Poetry! (Mythic Verse, Vol. 1)

The Challenge

Summer Camp on World Anvil is an annual event in which members of the community respond to writing prompts that help to develop the worlds of their writing projects or gaming campaigns. To apply the wide ranging prompts to issues of mythology, I created poetry and essays that ranged from silly to serious in three separate, sometimes overlapping areas:

Pella Katadesmos (c. 375-350 BCE) by Dagina (presumably)

Informative:

What do we know about the gods, heroes, and stories that have been passed down to us from antiquity?
Where do the sources conflict with each other, and why?
Where are the gaps that need to be filled with speculation?

Historical:

Real world events may be reflected in myth or may have shaped the development and reception of myth, like the volcanic eruption on the island of Thera.
The technologies used in stories of myth are matters of the historical and archaeological record.
Quandaries from philosophy, like Plutarch's contemplation of the Letter E, draw deeply from the philosophers' interaction with mythological themes.
Elements of art and architecture are other ways mythology has been received.

Santorini island, Greece by NASA

"The Nine Muses - Polyhymnia (Rhetoric)" (1781) by Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder (1722 - 1789)

Creative:

In classical studies, the retelling and remixing of traditional stories is called "reception," a process going back thousands of years.
In most classical sources, Hecate was not actually the Goddess of Cheesecake.
Mysia probably didn't fall to the Achaeans without any resistance.
Amazons didn't get birthday tattoos. But what if they did?

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Prompts and Responses

These 33 poems and essays will be refined, and their content merged into new areas of the MiV site.

Write about a myth or legend relating to a famous, long-lost item.

Describe a valuable historical or ancient artifact in your world.

Describe an important religious leader in your world. How has their character changed the status quo?

Write about an apex predator in your world. How does it hunt and survive?

Describe a condition in your world caused by a drug or medicine.

Decribe an important celestial body or constellation in your world.

Describe a counter-culture in your world, something outside the mainstream culture of the place.

Write about a rank or title that represents order in your world.

Write about a building that has been reused and repurposed from its original design.

Describe a commonly found document in your world - what's in it and what is it for?

Describe a common item that is used as a secret symbol in your world.

Describe a vehicle in your world that brings joy wherever it arrives.

Describe how birthdays are celebrated in a particular culture of your world.

Write about a secret code or cipher in your world: who uses it, and for what purpose?

Describe an elite or highly specialized military unit in your world.

Write about a material that is considered sacred or culturally crucial in your world.

Describe a common old wives' tale or conspiracy theory from a region of your world. Does it hold any truth?

Write about the events of a devastating natural disaster in your world, either past or present.

Describe a location in your world that is brimming with diverse or bizarre flora and fauna.

Write about an organization in your world that has become so powerful it's above the law.

Describe a profession in your world that has always been, or recently became, illegal.

Write about the headquarters of an organization in your world.

Describe a settlement that is famous for a particular resource, product or item created there.

Describe a law enforcing organization within your world and how they operate.

Write about a food-focused event in your world and describe how it's celebrated.

Write about a technology from the history of your world - is it lost to the ages, or did it shape the world today?

Describe any condition or disease for which a cure has recently been developed.

Write about the history of a settlement that was almost entirely wiped out and was then rebuilt.

Write about a species in your world that is bred or farmed for a high-value resource.

Write about an unassuming character who secretly controls things from behind the scenes.

Describe a material in your world that is used as a source of fuel or power.

Write about a famous agreement, contract or treaty that shaped the history of your world.

Describe the events of a conflict that started due to unusual or unforseen circumstances.