CLAS C205: Classical Mythology
Spring 2003
Prof. Tarik Wareh
TuTh 9:30-10:45
Woodburn Hall 101
Course description:
This introduction to Classical Mythology will focus on how myths, with their many layers,
provided ancient poets and dramatists with a rich repertory for ever-new performances of
the big metaphors of life. We will consider the universal and not-so-universal sides of
stories about gods and humans that expressed important messages about values and fears,
about our interior human world and the often greater-than-human forces and impulses that
act upon us.
The course focuses on Greek Mythology. Students will become familiar not only with gods
and goddesses, heroes and heroines, but with the “logic of myth” and the “culture of myth”:
how circumstances of belief, society, and politics generated ever-new expressions of myth
that suited the changing concerns of ancient poets and their audiences.
The course has three parts:
• The first introduces the Greek pantheon of gods and goddesses, exploring their
divine personalities and sacred stories. The main texts are Hesiod’s poetry and the
“Homeric” Hymns.
• In the second part (after a general introduction to the hero and the heroine of
mythology), we focus on the Homeric epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. These
poems are about “heroic” human beings facing their own mortality while engaged in
a struggle to realize their humanity. The great heroes Achilles and Odysseus are
larger-than-life, but they are also examples through which the people who listen to
the traditional epic stories try to understand themselves.
• In the third and last part, our primary texts are the tragedies produced in fifth-century
B.C. Athens. What are the tragic poets doing with the myths? How are stories and
language adapted to address contemporary concerns?
Assigned text: Stephen L. Harris and Gloria Platzner, Classical Mythology: Images & Insights,
3rd edition (abbreviated: HP)
Course requirements: Three non-cumulative multiple-choice exams (each worth 30% of
the final grade) and ten contributions to the online discussion forum (10%). Exams will test
not only facts and stories but also the broader concepts and perspectives that help us make
sense of the myths; these are presented in the textbook and in lectures and should also grow
out of your active engagement with the readings. Exam questions will include quotations
from the primary sources, requiring students to identify the speaker, situation, significance,
etc.
Course format & Advice for succeeding:
There are two important requirements for success in this course: reading the material well, and
attending the lectures as an actively engaged participant. The first requirement means going through the
reading carefully and challenging yourself to bring together in your mind some main ideas and
interesting perspectives before you come to lecture. I recommend making for yourself a written recap of
important words, main ideas, possible interpretations, etc.; the discussion forum can be very useful
for trying these out on your classmates and instructors. Before reading, it may be helpful to read
through the “Questions for Discussion and Review” at the end of each chapter of Harris & Platzner.
In lectures, use the opportunities to ask questions and contribute to discussions. A portion of each
class meeting will be set aside for discussion, and active involvement in these discussions will give
you an advantage. For both of these requirements, being actively engaged means paying attention to
what you are understanding and not understanding. When you have questions and confusions,
bring them into the in-class and online discussions, and please feel free to drop by Natasha’s or my
office hours if you need help or guidance in understanding and learning the material from readings
or lectures. Please note that Natasha and I cannot supply what you miss from lecture; it is a good
idea to make the acquaintance now of a fellow student in the course and agree to exchange class
notes if necessary.
Online resources:
Course home page:
Discussion forum:
http://www.indiana.edu/~mythol/
(includes basic course info, links to other resources, your grades, etc.)
http://oncourse.iu.edu
Schedule of Readings, Lectures, and Discussions:
Tu 1/14
Th 1/16
Introduction
The Nature & Meaning of Greek Myths
Tu 1/21
In the Beginning
text: Hesiod, Theogony
The Goddess(es)
text: Hymn to Demeter
Th 1/23
Tu 1/28
Th 1/30
Tu 2/4
Th 2/6
Tu 2/11
Th 2/13
HP Ch. 1 & 2, pp. 3-52
HP Ch. 3, pp. 57-96
HP Ch. 4, pp. 97-134
Zeus & the Olympians
HP Ch. 5, pp. 135-178
texts: Ares and Aphrodite (from Odyssey, Book 8)
Hymn to Hermes
The World in Decline
HP Ch. 6, pp. 180-197
text: Hesiod, Works & Days, lines 1-201
Apollo’s Oracle at Delphi
text: Hymn to Pythian Apollo
Dionysus
text: Hymn to Dionysus
HP Ch. 7, pp. 199-225
The Realm of the Dead: Hades
Catch-up and Review
HP Ch. 9, pp. 247-264
HP Ch. 8, pp. 227-246
2
Tu 2/18
Th 2/20
MIDTERM EXAM #1
The Hero
Tu 2/25
Th 2/27
The Heroine
War and Mortality: The Iliad
text: Iliad, Book 1
Tu 3/4
Th 3/6
Tu 3/11
Th 3/13
HP Ch. 10, pp. 265-290, 294
HP Ch. 10, pp. 294-314
HP Ch. 11, pp. 315-350
text: Iliad, from Books 2-18
text: Iliad, from Books 19-24
HP Ch. 11, pp. 351-374
HP Ch. 11, pp. 375-402
A Suffering, Cunning Hero: The Odyssey
text: Odyssey, from Books 1-9
text: Odyssey, from Books 10-24
HP Ch. 12, pp. 403-442
HP Ch. 12, pp. 442-481
Spring Break
Tu 3/25
Th 3/27
Catch-up and Review
MIDTERM EXAM #2
Tu 4/1
The Tragic Theater of Dionysus
text: Euripides, Bacchae (beginning)
text: Euripides, Bacchae (continuation)
Th 4/3
Tu 4/8
Th 4/10
Tu 4/15
Th 4/17
Prometheus
text: Prometheus Bound
Revenge to Law: The House of Atreus
text: Aeschylus, Eumenides
Oedipus and Antigone
text: Sophocles, Oedipus Rex (beginning)
text: Sophocles, Oedipus Rex (cont.)
HP Ch. 13, pp. 485-521
HP Ch. 13, pp. 521-563
HP Ch. 14, pp. 565-599
HP Ch. 15, pp. 600-617, 662-686
HP Ch. 16, pp. 687-699, 706-725
HP Ch. 16, pp. 725-753
Tu 4/22
Th 4/24
text: Sophocles, Antigone (beginning)
Antigone and Medea
texts: Sophocles, Antigone (continuation)
Euripides, Medea (beginning)
Tu 4/29
Th 5/1
Medea
text: Euripides, Medea (continuation)
Review for Final Exam
Tu 5/6
FINAL EXAM, 8:00-10:00 a.m., Woodburn 101
Instructor contact information:
Prof. Tarik Wareh (email: twareh)
Ballantine Hall 568, 856-0465
Office hrs.: Th 3:30-4:30 & by appt.
HP Ch. 16, pp. 699-705, 754-777
HP Ch. 16 & 17, pp. 777-791, 291294, 792-814
HP Ch. 17, pp. 814-841
Assoc. Instructor Natasha Zariwala (email: nzariwal)
Ballantine Hall 651, 855-6561
Off. hrs.: Tu 1-2, W 2:30-3:30, & by appt.
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