ELIT 116 Introduction to Mythology / Fall 2020
Instructor: Emir Benli (email: emrbenli@gmail.com/ WhatsApp: +90-532-253-7015)
Online Office hours: Tuesday 14-17:00 via Zoom
Purpose and Goal
This course is intended to introduce you to the classical mythology of Greece and Rome, and other
related ancient texts from Eurasia. First, we will go through a list of gods, demigods, heroes,
nymphs, monsters, and everyday mortals in the world of ancient Greeks to observe how myths are
central to understanding a culture's and an individual's sense of self-perception. Such a reading
would require us to see how myths and symbols sustain a culture, from everyday life to politics
and beyond. We will then comparatively look at the Roman world and how this culture transforms
ancient Greek myths to fit their own sense of identity. Observing how these texts reflected and
challenged the values, fears, and desires of these societies will be our goal. Finally, throughout our
studies of these texts we will seek the ways they informed texts of Western Literature as well as
contemporary texts and media. No previous knowledge of either Greek or Roman mythology is
presumed.
Requirements & Evaluation
Course Book/Readings/Other materials: A .pdf copy of your semesterly readings will be provided
by your instructor via e-mail at the beginning of the semester. The main coursebook is Mythology
by Edith Hamilton. You are required to download this reader, have it printed out and brought to all
our online meetings. This reader may be supplemented with some additional materials such as
YouTube links, Powerpoint presentations, download links for documentaries, graphic novels
among others by the instructor via an email sent to you each week. Any reading/visual material
that is provided by your instructor is going to be part of the course requirements.
Participation, Attendance and Pop-Up Quizzes(%30): Active participation in class discussions and
regular attendance. It is imperative that you come to class having read the work. Attendance will
be taken at the beginning of each class. Failure to attend will impact students’ participation and
overall grade.
You will each have a simple question asked to you orally twice, unannounced, throughout the
semester (not every class, twice through the whole semester) about the reading after our online
meetings on a seperate video call; these will count towards your quiz grade.
-.I will have a discussion section devoted to that week's topic in the third hour of our meeting
every week. If you are unwilling to participate in those discussions, make sure that you use the
chat box in Zoom to ask any questions throughout the lecture or make any comments. The chat
box will be saved after each class meeting and emailed to you.
-Each week you will receive an email from me about the readings, topics to be discussed together
with supplementary material for the class. Make sure that your email is the one that you check
regularly.
Midterm Exam (35%): A two-hour exam, with short and long answer as well as multiple-choice
questions, covering all readings and discussions up until the 8th week.
Final Exam (%35): Two hour exam, covering all readings and discussions for the whole semester.
Important Notes for the Class:
*As you can see your grades are not solely reliant on your midterm and your final exam. Be
attentive to your weekly readings, and please make sure to participate during the discussion
section.
*AGAIN Make sure that the e-mail that you provide is one that you check regularly.
**Use my phone to contact me through WhatsApp only (no calls please) and only in an
emergency. Otherwise, please email me your request/question and I will get back to you fast as I
could. When messaging me with this app, indicate clearly your name and the class you are in, as
I have 5 classes to teach this semester it could get messy.
Reading / Exam Schedule October 1st (Thurs) - January 6th (Wed)
Week 1 Introduction to the class. Discussion of syllabus/ Requirements for the semester.
Week 2 Introduction to Mythology in general- Why study myths? How are they different from
religions? How do they come into modern and contemporary culture?
Week 3 The Greek Conception of the Universe/ Ancient Greek History, Daily Life and
Institutions. "How the World was Created" (up to page 85)
Week 4 The Olympians-I "The Gods, The Titans and the Twelve Olympians"
Week 5 The Olympians- II " The Gods (continued), The Lesser Gods"
Week 6 The Two Great Gods of Earth (Demeter and Dionysus)"
Week 7 How Mankind was Created (from page 85 on), Earliest Heroes, Prometheus and Io,
Flower Myths"
Week 8 MIDTERM
Week 9 30.03 Artemis and the Moon Goddess Myth
Week 9 Tales of Lovers "Cupid and Psyche; Pyramus and Thisbe; Orpheus and Eurydice"
Week 10 Tales of Lovers (continued) "Pygmalion and Galatea; Daphne"
Week 11 The Quest of the Golden Fleece
Week 12 Great Adventures "Pegasus and Bellarophon; Daedalus"
Week 13 Great Heroes "Perseus; Theseus; Herakles"
FINAL EXAM – TO BE ANNOUNCED