Introductory description

This module examines ancient Greek mythical narratives, symbols, and ideas in their historical, cultural and religious contexts. It studies original texts (in translation) and looks at artworks from antiquity to today, using appropriate theoretical frameworks to explore some of these fascinating stories and reflect on their enduring power. It also evaluates critically the various ways in which scholars, authors, artists, political thinkers and the public have made sense of these stories from antiquity to today, and encourages students to think how the myths might be interpreted in the present.
The module is available as a Greek text option for students with advanced Greek.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Outline

Week 1: INTRODUCTION; Theoretical approaches to myth; Introduction to the sources for Greek myth

Week 2: CREATION: Divine Order: Near Eastern & Greek Myths of Creation

Week 3: GODS: Male and Female in Myths of Creation and Near eastern parallels: Inanna & Dumuzi, Ishtar & Tammuz, Aphrodite & Adonis, Isis & Osiris

Week 4: GODS: Dionysus II: God of Communality

Week 5: HEROES: Heracles (+ how to prepare the video presentations)

Reading week

Week 7: HEROES: Athenian and Theban Myths

Week 8: HEROES: Jason & Medea

Week 9: HEROES: Achilles

Week 10: HEROES: Fall of Troy and the Returns

In addition to the above, students who take the module as Greek text option will have the following syllabus

Week 1: Hesiod Theogony 521-616
Week 2: Hesiod Theogony 807-894
Week 3: Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 1-99
Week 4: Euripides Bacchae 1-98
Week 5: Pindar Olympian Ode 3 (1-45) and 10. 15-63
Week 6 is Reading week
Week 7: Euripides’ Hippolytus 1-106
Week 8: Euripides’ Medea 1-105
Week 9: Homer Iliad 19.1-100
Week 10: Homer Odyssey 23.181-287

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• have thorough knowledge of some on the most important myths from Greek antiquity, as well as the different contexts, textual and artistic media in which Greek myths were narrated and represented.
• engage critically with the ways in which these tales have been interpreted from antiquity onwards, and consider how they might be interpreted now
• show the following intellectual skills: Critical awareness of the advantages and limitations of textual and visual material in the study of the ancient myth; The ability to evaluate the merits of different methodological and theoretical approaches to the material; The ability to select and present material clearly and with a coherent argument both verbally and in writing
• In addition, students with original Greek will develop in-depth and nuanced understanding of the language and style of original Greek texts related to each week’s theme

Indicative reading list

Audley-Miller L. and Dignas, B. (eds) (2018) Wandering Myths : Transcultural Uses of Myth in the Ancient World , Berlin: De Gruyter
Csapo, E. (2005) Theories of Mythology, Malden MA: Blackwell
Dowden, K. (1992) The uses of Greek mythology, London: Routledge
Dowden, K. and Livingstone, N.(eds.) (2014) A companion to Greek mythology, Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell
Edmunds, L. (ed.) (2014) Approaches to Greek Myth, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press,
Gantz, T. (1993) Early Greek Myth: a guide to literary and artistic sources, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press (two volumes)
Hawes, G. (ed.) (2017) Myths on the map: the storied landscapes of ancient Greece, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Hawes, G. (2014) Rationalising Myth in Antiquity, Oxford University Press
López-Ruiz, C. (2010) When the gods were born : Greek cosmogonies and the Near East, Cambridge MA and London: Harvard University Press
Powell, B. (2020) (9th edition) Classical Myth, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Buxton, R. (1994) Imaginary Greece: The contexts of mythology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Voela, A. (2017) Psychoanalysis, philosophy and myth in contemporary culture : after Oedipus, London : Palgrave Macmillan

Research element

Individual research is essential for carrying out the module's coursework

Interdisciplinary

The module is by nature interdisciplinary, incorporating the study of texts and visual art

Subject specific skills

• knowledge of some on the most important mythical tales to come down from antiquity.
• the ability to analyse the different contexts and media in which Greek myths are narrated.
• critical engagement with the different ways in which these tales have been interpreted from antiquity onwards, and consideration of how they might be interpreted now
  In addition, students will be able to show the following intellectual skills:
• Critical awareness of the advantages and limitations of textual and visual material in the study of the ancient myth.
• The ability to evaluate the merits of different methodological and theoretical approaches to the material

Transferable skills

• Enhanced research, writing, communication and presentation skills. Ability to select and present material clearly and with a coherent argument both verbally and in writing
• Experience of working alone and as part of a team to achieve individual objectives, facilitating transition from university to an independent professional environment.
• Ability to deploy electronic technologies in their learning