INSTRUCTOR: DORA C. POZZI
PREREQUISITES: SOPHOMORE ENGLISH, 6 HS MATH.
OPEN TO ALL MAJORS.
A) The Greek civilization: an overview of its periods.
B) Roles of myth and ritual in the ancient Greek world. What is a myth?
A) Introduction to the myths of the Trojan war. The epic tradition.
B) The Iliad, Book I. The wrath of Achilles. Death and glory of the heroes. Women as property.
C) Norms governing human relationships (privileges, gift-giving, supplication, and the like) in the Homeric epic. The Iliad, Book IX (the embassy to Achilles).
D) Themes of war and themes of peace in The Iliad. The shield of Achilles in Book XVIII.
E) Compassion and solidarity: The Iliad, Book XXIV.
F) Varieties of the hero: brain and brawn. The story of The Odyssey.
A) Introduction to the myths of Heracles. The labors.
B) Reexamination of the figure of Heracles in the 5th century BCE theatre and in later traditions.
A) The family story of Theseus. His "labors."
B) The myths of Attica and Crete. The creation of a civic hero: Athens invents its history.
A) The story of Jason and the Argonauts: a "modern" hero?
B) The story in Euripides' Medea.
A) The foundation of Thebes.
B) Myths of Oedipus and his family.
C) Hero-cult and the apotheosis of Oedipus.
A) The family history of Agamemnon. The return and revenge of Orestes. The story of Aeschylus' Oresteia: the foundation of civic justice.
A) Introduction to myths of creation and Hesiod's Theogony.
B) Hesiod's Theogony: a myth of succession.
C) The great rebel: Prometheus.
D) Myth of the Ages.
E) Pandora, the first woman.
A) Myths and cult of Zeus.
B) The "Holy Marriage" of Zeus and Hera, and their offspring. Myths and rituals of Hera.
Poseidon and creatures of the sea. Monsters. Views of the afterlife. Hades.
A) Apollo. Myths and rituals. The Homeric Hymn to Apollo. Birth of the twins. The frustrated love stories of Apollo.
B) The Delphic oracle. History and examples of prophecies.
Myths of Artemis. Rituals of initiation.
A) Athena. Sons of the Earth: Athenian myths of autochthony.
B) The Panathenaic procession.
A) Hermes. Myths and cult. Distribution and privileges in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes:
The birth of Aphrodite. Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite: The birth of Aeneas. Aphrodite and Hippolytus. Rituals of Adonis. Oriental parallels.
Demeter and Persephone. Homeric Hymn to Demeter. The "mysteries" at Eleusis. Wedding rituals, roles of women in religion.
Dionysos. Myths of the introduction of his cult. Rituals. The festivals of Dionysos. The theatre of Dionysos in Athens. Euripides, The Bacchant Women.
Orpheus and Orphism. Mystery cults.
A) Roman mythology: an overview.
B) A general view of approaches to study myths and of the vehicles of the tradition of Greek mythology.
MORFORD, M., and LENARDON, R., Classical Mythology. Longman, 5th edition (1994). Chapters 1-3, 5-18, 20-22, 24-25.
APOLLONIUS OF RHODES, The Voyage of Argo. Penguin.
EURIPIDES, The Bacchant Women. In Euripides V.Transl. W. Arrowsmith. Chicago U. P.
HESIOD, Works and Days, Theogony. Transl. Lombardo. Hackett 1993.
HOMER, Iliad, transl. R. Fagles. [Required reading: Books I, XVIII, and XXIV]
STUDY GUIDE. A small volume, available at the UC Bookstore and later at the Copy Center (UC). It includes some charts and summaries, as well as review guides for each topic.
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