In this class we will read literary versions of myths from Greece and Rome and look at representations in ancient and later art. Starting with myths of the Creation, we will move on to look at the individual gods and goddesses, their powers, and their place in ancient religion, then to the often perilous interactions of humans and gods. In the second half of the semester, we will concentrate on the heroes and heroines of mythology, ending with the Trojan War and its aftermath. The course aims to give a basic grounding in the stories and the images--to make you mythologically literate. As that analogy implies, we will also analyze myth as a system of communication and consider how these myths portray the world, the divine, and the place of men and women in relation to the gods, to nature, and to society. |