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The gods and goddesses worshipped by ancient Greeks and Romans belonged to particular cultural, social, and political contexts. Your task is to imagine at least one new Olympian deity who exists in the context of the modern world. How would contemporary norms affect the god’s attributes and the ways they would be worshipped? Your entry could take the form of a myth in the style of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a poem in the style of a Homeric Hymn, a portion of a play, or any number of other genres or formats.

Contest Guidelines

  • Entries must fit the theme of this year’s contest and must be in English.
  • Entries must be typed and should be submitted electronically (if possible) by a teacher or other adult (as explained below) to Dr. Adrienne Hagen at amhagen@monmouthcollege.edu. If electronic submission is not feasible, printed entries (double-sided, please) may be sent via post to the mailing address given below.
  • There is no minimum or maximum length.
  • The entrant's name and school must not appear on pages on which the text of the entry is printed. Instead, contestants should place a personal identification code (a randomly selected nine-character series) on the top left-hand corner of every page of the entry and include with their submission a separate page containing the following information:
    • author’s name, date of birth, and personal identification code
    • school name, address, and phone number
    • teacher’s name and email address
  • No more than ten entries will be accepted from any individual school, and only one entry per student will be accepted.
  • Students who wish to enter the contest without school sponsorship (i.e., if they are homeschooled or at a school that is not taking part in the contest) must have a parent or other adult submit their work, and must include on their information page an explanation for their independent submission.
  • Failure to follow these guidelines will result in disqualification.
  • All entries become the property of Monmouth College.
  • Every entrant will receive a certificate of participation from Monmouth College.
  • The winner will be announced on or close to April 15, 2021 on the contest website.
  • For further information, including a list of previous winners, please consult the contest website at http://department.monm.edu/classics/Department/FoxContest/. For information about our department, please visit https://monmouthcollege.edu/academics/classics.
  • Send any questions to Dr. Adrienne Hagen at amhagen@monmouthcollege.edu.

All entries must be sent via email or postmarked no later than March 15, 2021, and either emailed to amhagen@monmouthcollege.edu or mailed to the following address:

Dr. Adrienne Hagen, Monmouth College, 700 E. Broadway Ave., Monmouth, IL 61462

(Photo: "Handwritten" by A. Birkan, licensed under CC BY 2.0)