Mythology
Fall 2014
Greek and Roman Mythology
CLCV205
Fall 2014
Small Physics Lab 111
TR 2:00-3:20pm
Professor Morgan
Office
e-mail: morgan.ann@gmail.com
Office Hours: T & W 1-2, or by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND AIMS
This course delves into the fascinating and entertaining world of Classical mythology, filled with
gods, heroes, and monsters, romance and betrayal, and war, travel and adventure. Over the course
of the semester, students will read substantial amounts of primary sources (epic poems,
Homeric hymns, Greek tragedies, etc.) and consider numerous classical and more recent pieces
of art, as well as peruse some guiding secondary scholarship in order to participate in discussions
on a range of topics concerning Greek and Roman mythology. Each class will consist of lecture
and discussion based on assigned readings of primary and secondary sources, complemented
by in class slides and images, as well as some online articles (and discussions). Students will be
assessed by their participation in class and online discussions, short writing assignments, a
creative (group) project, and two exams over the course of the semester.
In addition to familiarizing students with the major (and some minor) characters and stories of
Greek and Roman mythology, the primary goals of this course are, first, to introduce students the
range of ancient evidence available for studying mythology. Second, this course will teach
students ways of engaging with primary sources—poems, plays, sculpture, architecture, and
more—in order to have educated discussions about the role (or purpose) of myth in society. In
our readings and discussions, we will focus on questions of how myth (and its manifestations in
art and literature) reflect the norms and values of a culture, the political ideologies of a
person, and/or the historical circumstances of a place and time. Finally, a reoccurring focus in
this class will be the repetition and reuse of themes in mythology over time, including how such
topics appear in stories and popular culture in our own time.
REQUIRED TEXTS
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R. Buxton, The Complete World of Greek Mythology. Thames and Hudson (Bookstore)
Homeric Hymns, trans. Cashford. Penguin (Bookstore)
Ovid, Metamorphoses, trans. Humphries. Indiana (Bookstore)
A translation of the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer. A number of these are available and I
can recommend a translation.
o The Essential Homer, trans. Lombardo. Hackett (Has selections of both poems)
o The Iliad of Homer, translated by R. Lattimore. University of Chicago Press.
o Homer, The Odyssey, translated by R. Fitzgerald. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Note on Books: Many different versions and translations of the ancient works exist, and you are
free to use them if you prefer. Please note that spelling and line/page numbers differ from edition to
edition and that it will be your responsibility to figure out the reading assignments.
Mythology
Fall 2014
ASSIGNMENTS
Attendance and Participation (including online discussions): 15%
Writing Assignments (2 x 10%): 20%
Creative Project: 15%
Midterm Examination: 20%
Final Examination: 30%
Attendance, Participation, and Online Discussion: Regular attendance and informed
participation in classroom discussions are of the utmost importance to the successful completion
of this course. You are expected to come to every class meeting and have the assigned reading
for that day prepared ahead of time. Participation in an online discussion is also a required
aspect of this course and considered part of the participation grade. Each week and discussion
topic/questions will be posted on Blackboard along with a short reading and/or images of
mythological subjects. Over the course of the semester, you will be expected to contribute
positively to this weekly online discussion at least three times (although more is definitely
encouraged). These questions will also be designed as practice for the long essays that are part
of the final exam and should be approached as a practice opportunity to receive feedback on your
analytical writing concerning class material.
Writing Assignments: There will be two short writing assignments over the course of the semester
(2-3 pages). The specific topics for these assignments will be circulated two weeks before each
deadline, as will the formatting rules. To provide a general idea, the first assignment will be a
comparison (and contrast) of one myth between different authors and artists, while the second will
be an analysis of the appearance or reference of ancient myths in modern media (movies, television,
advertising, etc.).
Creative Project: The creative project for this class will be a group project (number to be
determined by class enrollment). Students will be asked to create a social profile for one
mythological figure that has been discussed in the class. The range of social media platforms that
can be utilized is vast, but for this project you must create two profiles from the following platforms:
Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, OkCupid, and Spotify (alternative platforms can be used, but
must be approved by me one week before the due date). The specific requirements for each of
these profiles will be circulated a few weeks before the deadline.
Midterm and Final Exams: Both exams for this class will be a combination of multiple choice,
short answer, passage and slide identification, and short essay. Additionally, there will be three
comprehensive essays that will be added to the final exam. For these essays, students will be
expected to engage with material from the entire semester and answers will be worth 10% of the
final grade.
IMPORTANT DATES
Sept/Oct: First writing assignment
October 9: Midterm Examination
Late Oct/early Nov. Second Writing Assignment
December 2: Creative Project
Mythology
Fall 2014
PROPOSED READING SCHEDULE
Week 1:
Thurs. Aug. 27: Welcome and Orientation
Introduction to the course: syllabus, assignments and structure
Introduction to myth. Contexts and Sources. What is Myth?
Read Buxton, pp. 6-41 as review
Week 2:
Tues. Sept. 2: The Beginning
Buxton: “Cosmogony” p. 44-49
Hesiod’s Theogony (ll. 116-210 and 453-506)
Ovid’s Met. Book I: The Creation
Thurs Sept. 4: Prometheus, Pandora, and the origins of humans
Buxton: “Origins of Humanity” 54-59
Hesiod’s Theogony (ll. 507-616
Hesiod’s Works and Days (ll. 42-105)
Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound (selections)
Plato’s Protagoras (selection)
Ovid Met. Book 1: Jove’s Intervention, Lycaon, The Flood, Deucalion and Pyrrha
Online discussion: Origins of Love (Plato’s Symposium vs. Hedwig song)
Week 3:
Tues. Sept. 9: Zeus and Hera, lovers of Zeus
Buxton: “Powers and Spheres of Influence” (68-72); “Rivers and Springs (188-189); Ovid
(223-224)
Ovid Met. Book 1: Jove and Io
Other readings TBD
Thurs. Sept. 11: Apollo
Buxton: “Homeric Hymns: Apollo” pp. 49-50; “Apollo” pp. 73-75; “The Muses” pp. 85-86;
“The Loves of Apollo” pp. 100-101; “Daphne” pp. 189-190.
Homeric Hymns: III. To Delian Apollo
Ovid Met. Book 1: Python, Apollo and Daphne, Apollo and Hyacinthus
Online Discussion:
Week 4:
Tues. Sept. 16: Artemis and Athena; myths of hunting and divine punishment
Buxton: “Artemis” pp.75-76; “Kallisto” pp. 99-100; “Athena” pp. 79-80; “Competing with
the Gods” p. 90
Homeric Hymns: XXVII. To Artemis; XXVIII. To Athena
Ovid Met. Book II: Jove in Arcady; Book III: Actaeon; Book VI: Minerva and Arachne,
Niobe; Book X: Atalanta
Thurs. Sept. 18: Aphrodite, Eros, and Myths of Love
Mythology
Fall 2014
Buxton: “Aphrodite” p. 78; “Divine Sexuality” p. 94; “Aphrodite’s Lament for Adonis” p.
95; Eros readings
Homeric Hymns: V. To Aphrodite
Ovid Met. Book X: Pygmalion, Cinyras and Myrrha, Adonis, the Fate of Adonis
Eros and Psyche reading (Apuleius)
Online Discussion: Competitions with the gods
Week 5:
Tues. Sept. 23: Dionysos
Buxton: “Dionysus and his followers” pp. 81-82
Homeric Hymns: Vll. To Dionysus
Euripides Bacchae (selections)
Ovid Met. Book III: Semele, Pentheus
Thurs. Sept. 25: Other male gods—Poseidon, Ares, Hephaestos, Hermes, and Pan
Buxton: “Poseidon” p. 72; “Ares and Hephaistos” pp. 82-84; “The Sea” pp. 192-193
Homeric Hymns: IV. To Hermes; VIII. To Ares; XIX. To Pan; XX. To Hephaestus; XXII. To
Poseidon
Homer’s Iliad: Book 18, lines 504-661
Homer’s Odyssey: Book 5 (beginning); Book 24 (beginning)
Ovid Met. Book 1: Pan and Syrinx; Book IV: Mars and Venus, Salmacis; Book XI: Midas
Online Discussion: Bad influence of the gods (drunkenness, centaurs)
Week 6:
Tues. Sept. 30: Other Female Divinities—Demeter, Persephone, and Hades; Orpheus and Eurydice
Buxton: “Demeter” pp. 72-73;
Homeric Hymns: II. To Demeter
Ovid Met. Book V: Ceres and Proserpina
Thurs. Oct. 2: Hades and The Underworld
Buxton: “Tantalos, Sisyphis, Ixion” pp. 89-90; “The Underworld” pp. 206-213; “Orpheus
and Eurydice” pp. 171-173
Homer’s Odyssey Book 11, lines 596-675
Ovid Met. Book X and XI: Orpheus and Eurydice, Death of Orpheus
Vergil’s Aeneid Book 6, selections
Online Discussions: Different versions of underworlds and Afterlifes
Week 7:
Tues. Oct. 7: Pretty and Not so pretty myths
Buxton: “Tereseus, Prokne, and Philomela” pp. 154-155; “Admetos and Alkestis” pp. 170171
Ovid Met. Book IV: Pyramus and Thisbe; Book VI: Tereseus, Prokne, and Philomela
Other readings
Thurs. Oct. 9: Midterm
Week 8:
Tues. Oct. 14: Fall Break
Mythology
Fall 2014
Thurs. Oct. 16: Perseus and Bellerophon
Buxton: “Perseus” pp. 104-105; “Danaos and His Kin” pp. 158-159; “Proitos, Sthenoboia
and Bellerophon” pp. 160-161
Homer’s Iliad Book 6, lines 120-245
Ovid Met. Book IV and V: Perseus
Week 9:
Tues. Oct. 21: Heracles
Buxton: “Heracles” pp. 114-123
Apollodorus Library of Mythology 2.4.8-2.5.12
Sophocles The Women of Trachis (selections)
Ovid Met. Book IX: Achelous’ Duel, Hercules, Nessus, Deianira, Hercules’ birth
Thurs. Oct. 23: Jason, the Argonauts, and Medea
Buxton: “Jason, the Argonauts, and Medea” pp. 108-113
Euripides Medea (Selections)
Ovid Met. Book VII: Jason and Medea
Online Discussion: Cinematic portrayals of heroes
Week 10:
Tues. Oct. 28: Crete, Minos, and Theseus
Buxton: “Daidalos and Icarus” and “Teiresias” pp. 92-93; “Theseus and the Heroic Athenian
Past” pp. 124-129; “Crete” pp. 194-199
Ovid Met. Europa; Book VII: Crete and Athens; Book VIII: Labyrinth and Ariadne, Nisus
and Scylla; Daedalus and Icarus
Other labors of Theseus
Thurs. Oct. 30: The Iconography and Worship of the Hero
Readings TBD
Online Discussion: Theseus v. Heracles
Week 11:
Tues. Nov. 4: Cadmus, Thebes, and the Calydonian Boar Hunt
Buxton: “Meleager, Atalanta, and the Kalydonian Boar” pp. 106-107;
Ovid Met. Book III: Cadmus, Tiresias, Echo and Narcissus, the End of Cadmus; VIII: The
Calydonian Boar Hunt, the Brand of Meleager
Thurs. Nov. 6: Oedipus, Antigone, and the Seven against Thebes
Buxton: “The House of Laius” pp. 162-166; “Eteokles and Polyneikes,” “The Capture of
Thebes,” and “Antigone” pp. 166-168
Sophocles Oedipus the King (selections)
Online Discussion: Fatal flaws and the tragic hero
Week 12:
Tues. Nov. 11: The Trojan War
Buxton: “The Trojan War” pp. 130-135; “The Iliad” pp. 135-136
Homer’s Iliad Books 1, 3, 6, 9, 15-16, 22, 24 (selections)
Mythology
Fall 2014
Thurs. Nov. 13: The Fall of Troy
Buxton: “The Fall of Troy,” “The Wooden Horse,” and “The Greeks Return Home” pp.
136-140
Ovid Met. Book XIII: After the Fall; Polyxena; Polydorus and Hecuba; Memnon
Virgil’s Aeneid Book 2, selections
Online Discussion: ???
Week 13:
Tues. Nov. 18: The Adventures of Odysseus
Buxton: “The Odyssey,” “Polyphemos,” “Aiolos,” “Circe,” and “the Underworld” pp. 140141
Homer’s Odyssey Books 8-12, 16 (selections)
Thurs. Nov. 20 (ASOR): Odysseus’ homecoming (no Class, but online discussion)
Buxton: “Odysseus’ Return,” and “After the Odyssey” pp. 143-145
Homer’s Odyssey Books 18-19, 21-23
Week 14:
Tues. Nov. 25: Archaeology and mythology—the hunt for Troy
Buxton: “Troy” pp. 200-205
Other readings TBD
Thurs. Nov. 27: Thanksgiving (No Class)
Week 15:
Tues. Dec. 2: The house of Atreus
Buxton: “The House of Pelops” pp. 148-153
Sophocles Electra (selections)
Thurs. Dec. 4: The Afterlife of Myths
Buxton: “Present and Future” pp. 244-245