CLAS 2007
Roman Myth and Religion
Winter 2012
Mondays and Thursdays
8:30 – 9:50 in A 250
Dr. Ilse Mueller
 Office: H 339
 Tel. 474 3450 X 4423
 Email: ilsem@nipissingu.ca
 Office Hours: Thursdays 10 - 12
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Course Description
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This course examines the origins and evolution
of religious thought and practice in ancient
Rome from its mythic foundation to the triumph
of Christianity in late antiquity. Roman myth is
examined in detail and situated in its appropriate
historical, social, political, and religious contexts.
Special attention is paid to the relationship
between myth, politics, and religion as well as to
the influence of mythic and religious traditions
from other Mediterranean cultures on Roman
religious thought and practice. This course may
be credited towards Religions and Cultures.
Course Books
1. T.P. Wiseman, The Myths of Rome,
Exeter 2004,
 2. Lucius Apuleius, The Golden Ass.
 3. Additional Primary source material will
be made available on the website
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The Course Website
Dr. Mueller’s Home Page:
http://faculty.nipissingu.ca/ilsem/imhome/
 Check the website regularly for
announcements, readings, lecture notes,
assignment details and DUE DATES,
 Lecture notes (outline and important
terms) will be posted for review
 Links to related sites for research and
interest
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Grade Distribution
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Assignment# 1 (Primary Source evaluation)
Due Jan. 31
4 Quizzes (3 will count) 5 points each
Jan 19; Feb 9; Mar 1; Mar 15
Research Essay – part 1: annotated bibliography
due Mar 19
Part 2: Research Essay – due April 5
Final Exam (in exam period)
Participation, attendance, preparedness
15%
15%
25%
35%
10%
How to succeed in this Course
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Attend classes regularly
Complete your reading assignments before each
class
make notes as you read; ask questions!
Take notes in class and go over them once on
the same day and again before the next class
Start your assignments early; ask questions if in
doubt on anything
Hand in your assignments promptly on the due
dates
Engage with the material
Lecture Outline
1. What is a Myth?
 2. Our Sources for Roman Myth and
Religion
 3. The Context of Roman Myth:
Geography, Time Line
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What is a Myth?
mythos (from the Greek) = Word, speech, public speech; narration,
news, intelligence; conversation, talk; thought, project, plan; advice,
order; report, tale, story; affair, occurrence.” (Oxford Classical
Greek Dictionary)
Plato made a distinction between mythos and logos – mythos became
associated with traditional (irrational) stories as related by poets –
distinct from logos as a rational account
Myth = “Traditional narrative embodying ancient popular belief or
idea; fictitious person or thing; widely held but false idea.” (OED)
In short – a traditional story that has been handed down (orally) from
one generation to another in any given culture
Traditional (from Latin tradere – to hand over)
Types of myths
(modern categories)
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Divine myths: characters and settings are outside human
experience, example: the gods are immortal, Mount Olympos, the
Underworld
Legends – characters and settings may be within human
experience
characters are heroes or outstanding human beings, events fare
back in time but with historical connection to the present time and
to historical places
Not important whether true or not
Fairy Tales – characters and settings mixed - monsters, magic,
instead of exceptional human beings – the underdog (most unlikely
to succeed) i.e. Cinderella
Many myths are a combination of all three
Roman myths are primarily legends
The function of myths
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Stories had importance for the community
Aitiological (aetiological) they explain something
examples: story of Trojan hero Aeneas explains the
founding of the Roman race (story of Aeneas),
Story of Romulus and Remus: founding of the city of
Rome;
Tale of the Rape of the Sabine Women: explains alliance
between Sabines and Romans; promotes Roman virtues
regarding family and marriage
Explanations of temple building, import/creation of a
given cult, rituals, religious practices, cult places,
founding of colonies, names, origins of festivals, and
much more.
Myth, Religion, and Ritual
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Myths are not simply entertaining stories
Myths are integral to religious life in the ancient world
Myths are tied to religious ritual (esp. to sacrifice)
What came first? The Chicken or the egg? Myth or ritual?
Myths explain the foundation of civic identity (i.e. Athena
in Athens; Mars in Rome etc.)
Myths integral to a culture’s history and identity
What Can We Learn From Greco-Roman
Myth?
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the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Greeks
and Romans.
How the Greeks and Romans understood the world
around them and their place in it.
The moral and social values of Greek and Roman
cultures
The influence of Greek and Roman myth and religion on
later religious, intellectual and cultural developments.
Aspects of the human psyche and of human social,
cultural, and intellectual life in general.
Roman Legends: what Romans considered important
about their history, identity, their values and ideals
How Do We Study Roman Myth
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By collecting and analyzing all the surviving evidence
relating to myth from ancient Greece and Rome
By setting myths in their appropriate historical context
(i.e. Myths change over time – see Wiseman)
Setting myths in their proper socio-political contexts (i.e.
who benefits)
Setting myth in their cultural milieu – comparative
mythology (i.e. analogous myths from other cultures)
Considering the multiple variations of the same myth
Note: How we approach the study of myth depends
upon our scholarly intentions and objectives.
Our Evidence
Primary and Secondary Sources
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Primary Sources = Evidence from the time and place under
investigation
Note: Always base your arguments and observations upon
PRIMARY SOURCE EVIDENCE – WHY?
Secondary Sources = Scholarly articles and monographs (i.e.
books) on a specific topic by authors of later periods, primarily (for
our purposes) modern scholars. Secondary Sources represent
findings, theories, arguments that are based on the authors’
examination and interpretations of the primary evidence.
For scholarly purposes you MUST ONLY use scholarly articles and
books that are peer reviewed.
Note: websites such as Wikipedia do not represent scholarly
articles and are NOT ALLOWES to be used for your
assignments in this course.
Sources for Greco-Roman Myth
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Ancient Literature (i.e. poetry, drama, novels, and more)
Ancient mythographers (ancient Greek and Roman
scholars who selected and collected myths known to
them – i.e. Hesiod, Apollodorus
Historiography (i.e. the works of ancient writers of
history)
Philosophical texts – Often deal with questions of
religion and myth and man’s place in the universe
Material culture (i.e. Art, Architecture, Sculpture and
other works of art; votive items etc.)
Epigraphy (i.e. inscriptions; curse tablets, coins, etc)
Literary Sources: Some Examples
Greek Myths
Homeric Epics: The Iliad and The Odyssey (ca. 750
BCE – 700 BCE)
 Hesiod: Theogonis, Works and Days, Catalogue of
Women (ca. 700 BCE)
 Archaic Lyric Poetry: Alcman, Sappho, Alcaeus,
Anacreon, Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides, Pindar,
Bacchylides
 Tragedy: the Athenian Playwrights: Aeschylus,
Sophocles, Euripides
 Mythographical Compendia: i.e. Apollodorus, The
Library (ca. 180 BCE – 100 BCE)
 Historians: i.e. Herodotus, Histories (ca. 484 BCE –
425 BCE)
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Greek and Roman Myths
Ancient Geographers: i.e. Strabo (ca. 64
BCE – 24 CE) The Geography, and
Pausanias, Description of Greece (ca. 2nd
Century CE)
 Philosophical Writers: i.e. M. Tullius Cicero
(106 BCE – 43 BCE), De Natura Deorum
 Christian Polemics: i.e. Tertullian (ca. 150
CE – 230 CE), Apologeticus, St. Augustine
(ca. 354 CE – 430 CE), City of God
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Visual Sources:
Vase Paintings: Orestes’ purification
(Sculpture) Romulus and Remus
and the she wolf
POTTERY
Satyr Feast/Orgy (associated with the god Dionyius)
www.library.thinkquest.org
Questions?
Go to the bookstore and buy the books
 Reading for Thursday: Chapter 1 of
Wiseman
 Questions for Chapter I:
 1. What is the purpose of Chapter 1?
 2. Who is Flora – what is her history and
what does it tell you about Roman myths?
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