A&H 105 Classical Mythology

Content

Are the Greek gods just? Do they have to be? Can murder be justified under certain circumstances? In ancient myth, characters like Prometheus, Achilles, Agamemnon and Hector, Oedipus and Antigone, Orestes, Electra, Jason and Medea wondered about these questions, and the why of their fates. Their questions echo in the great works of art and literature produced in antiquity and after.
This course exa­mines the origins of the concept of myth and its manifold inter­pre­tations, ancient and modern. Pro­minent themes in classic­al mythology are explored by means of ancient literary and artistic sources: from the creation of the cosmos, through the rise of the Olympians, till the heroic exploits and family sagas which touch upon historical reality. Are these stories or histories? Can they be traced in the archeology of the Aegean prehistory? How are Greek mythology and its Near Eastern counterparts of various periods linked?

Myth and religion pervaded ancient Greek and Roman civilization, and this prominent position will be discussed in topics like: cult and myth; the histories of myth; myth, society and pol­itics; myth in Roman culture; and the artistic manifestations of myth. Classical mythology’s formative role in culture and thought after antiquity is another important issue in this course.

Instructor

Helle Hochscheid, M.A.

Track

Antiquity

Period

Fall / 2011

Evaluation/Assessment

• Class participation and homework 15%
• Presentation and review 20%
• Quizzes 15%
• Mid-term Exam 15%
• Final Exam 15%
• Paper 20%

Course Material

• Mark P.O. Morford & J. Robert Lenardon, Classical Mythology, 2007 (8th ed.) Oxford University Press (ISBN 0-19-515344-8)  Mandatory
• H.W. Janson & A.F. Janson, History of Art: Western tradition, 2006: Ch. 4
• E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art
• E. Csapo, The Theories of Myth, 2005  (optional)  

Additional Prerequisites

• Other courses in track: A&H 205, A&H 206, A&H 305, A&H 306
• Related course: A&H 316

Required for

This course is required in order to take the following courses:

• A&H 205 Classical Literature: Power and Gender in Ancient Culture
• A&H 274 From Rome to the Renaissance: Byzantium and its Neighbours, 300-1453 AD
• A&H 305 Greek Art & Archaeology
• A&H 307 Topics in Antiquity

This course is an alternative requirement for the following course:

• A&H 206 Ancient History
• A&H 316 Art & Architecture of the Italian Renaissance