Classical Mythology

SAME AS V90.0404.

This course is an examination of the meaning, form and function of Greek and Roman mythology especially its transmission via the literature, art and material culture of the ancient Mediterranean world. We explore the way in which these stories operated in Greek and Roman culture and seek to understand what they were articulating in contemporary social, political, military, economic and artistic life. Consequently, a number of ancient texts will be read in translation and set against iconographic evidence from vase paintings, sculpture and architecture. The course begins by surveying the various ways in which mythology has been catalogued and studied from the ancient mythographers to Freud, Propp. Levi-Strauss, and Burkert Then ancient texts are used to explore how myth developed throughout the classical period. These will include Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod’s Work and Days and Theogony, the Homeric hymns to the gods, Greek tragedy and comedy, Virgil’s Aeneid and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The influence of mythology on the works of Chaucer, Shakespeare and in film will also be discussed. The class meets twice a week and students are expected to complete bi-weekly readings, contribute to in class discussions and a class Blackboard discussion board, sit a mid term and a final complete one essay and attend at least one related theatre performance.

Discusses the myths and legends of Greek and Roman mythology and the gods, demigods, heroes, nymphs, monsters, and everyday mortals who played out their parts in this mythology. Begins with creation, as vividly described by Hesiod in the Theogony, and ends with the great Trojan War and the return of the Greek heroes, especially Odysseus. Roman myth is also treated, with emphasis on Aeneas and the foundation legends of Rome.

Term

Section

Instructor

Schedule

Location

Spring 2022

1
Peter Meineck
TR: 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM CANT 102

Summer 2022

6W1
Andrea Pozzana
MTWR: 9:30 AM - 11:05 AM GCASL 288
6W2
Frances Merrill
MTWR: 9:30 AM - 11:05 AM BOBS LL138