C.S.I. DELPHI
DUE DATE
a) Bring Evidence/ Personal Effects and a Prepared Mini-Presentation to class on the scheduled day
b) The Written Crime Report is due as part of the First-Half Portfolio
[The Wanted Poster can appear at any time between the day of the Mini-Presentation and the due date for the First-Half Portfolio, though it should be identified as your creation on the back]
GRADING AND RECOMMENDED LENGTH
This project counts as 50% of the First-Half Portfolio. Approximate length should be 4+ pages double-spaced, plus the personal effects and the Wanted Poster.
THE SCENARIO
An unidentified body has ended up at the Delphi morgue. Foul play is suspected. You are the lead investigator on the case. You discover that the victim in not a mortal but rather a god.
THE MISSION
Your responsibility is to investigate the case. When you are finished, you should hand in the small assortment of personal effects found on the body to Chief-of-Police Hinman-Smith, along with a report that outlines what you have learned about the victim and suggests the reasons why you have identified one or more individuals as the prime suspect. You should also design a colourful Wanted Posted for that suspect, since the evidence has been deemed sufficient to proceed with an indictment.

THE PURPOSE
To provide you with the opportunity to engage in significant mythological research and then to seize hold of and to interpret that information in a way that is distinctly your own.
PROCEDURE
After some preliminary reading, decide on the murder victim. The textbook and Titans and Olympians (remember there is a worksheet on this Time-Life volume due as part of the first portfolio) are both possible reference points to help with this decision.
Then, use internet and/or library resources to research your god and the suspect. Take extensive notes as you proceed. I do want you to be creative and there is certainly no need for footnoting. But the strong project will blend together careful research and thoughtful analysis into an original presentation.
Write your crime report. Although you can design your own format, my recommendation is to use the following five sections:
1) How The Body Ended Up In The Morgue
2) The Physical Evidence
3) What I Have Learned About The Victim
4) Why I Have Identified A Suspect
5) Beyond CSI Delphi
The "What I Have Learned About The Victim" section should be at least two pages long. What is most interesting or provocative about your god or goddess? You can link this biography to the murder but do no be obsessed about the crime here. Use this portion of your project as space in which to open up a deep reading of your subject. Here are some questions you might consider (though you need not weave them explicitly into your crime report):
What is the life story of this individual?
What myths are told about the individual?
How is the individual connected to or used to illustrate large themes (love, death, psychology, family, relations between men and women, relations between mortals and gods, nature and civilization, war, the meaning of life, etc.)?
With what festivals is the individual associated? What is the cultural history of the god? Was he or she apparently originally a god from outside Greece?
What personal meaning do you take from the study of this individual? Can the particular stories of this individual help you to better understand large issues and the tensions inherent in being human?
The Beyond CSI Delphi section provides you with an opportunity both to step outside the role play format and add both any analysis that does not easily fit into the crime report setup and to comment upon the assignment and your research.
The Wanted Poster ideally will be tacked up in the classroom on the day of the mini-presentation, but you can add this to our growing collection of wall art in one of the following classes if this better fits your schedule.
You should bring the victim's personal effects to class for the mini-presentation, but then make a brief list of these to be handed in with your completed crime report .
POSSIBLE SOURCES
There should be sufficient internet resources available to complete the assignment. I will list some possible sources on-line under GREEK MYTHOLOGY in the Useful Links section of the History 135 web-site. Remember not only to check search engines but also the ACADEMIC SEARCH database of the NIC Library. A subject index for the Vancouver Island Regional Library can be found at http://www.virl.bc.ca/ . This last resource may also be useful for finding a mythology book for your Second-Half Portfolio.
SOME POSSIBLE GODS
***I have only listed Greek figures below. You are welcome to choose non-Greek gods for this project if you prefer.
GODS
Aphrodite
Apollo
Ares
Artemis
Asclepius
Athena
Atlas
Cronus [or Cronos]
Demeter
Dionysus
Echo
Eris
The Fates (the Moerae): Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos
Gaia
Hades
Hephaestus
Hera
Hermaphroditus
Hermes
Hypnos, Thanatos and Morpheus
The Muses
Narcissus
Pan
Pandora
Persephone
Phaeton
Poseidon
Prometheus
Psyche
Sibyl
Uranus
Zeus
MORTALS
Achilles
Adonis
Cassandra
Clytemnestra
Daedalus
Electra
Europa
Helen of Troy
Heracles
Icarus
Iphigenia
Medea
Odysseus
Oedipus
Orpheus
Perseus
Sisyphus
Theseus
Tiresias
MONSTERS AND ANIMALS
Cerberus
Chiron
Medusa
Minotaur
Pegasus