Classical Mythology

Completion status: About halfway there. You may help to clarify and expand it.

A mosaic from Tunesia showing the sea god Pontus.

Introduction

Welcome to the Classical Mythology course, a part of the School of Comparative Mythology at Wikiversity! This course provides a general introduction to the myths of Ancient Greece and Rome, including an overview of myth theories and brief looks at other mythologies, such as in Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• define myths and distinguish them from other narrative forms.
• narrate basic events of Greek mythology, such as the creation of the world through the creation of people.
• identify and describe the Olympians and other important deities.
• compare Greek and Roman mythologies to each other
• use modern theories of myth to explain ancient myths
• connect Greek and Roman mythologies to other mythologies in the Mediterranean world and beyond
• expand this course with their own independent modules about Classical Myth

Lessons

   Conceptual Overviews:

1. What is a myth?
2. Historical Background
3. The Birth of the Gods
4. Creation of Humans
   
   The Gods:
5. Zeus
6. Apollo
7. Hermes and Hephaestus
8. Love, Fertility and Power: Aphrodite
9. Warlike Women: Athena and Artemis
10. Demeter -- Vegetable Fertility
11. Dionysus -- Identity
    
    The Heroes:
12. Orpheus
13. Heracles
14. Theseus and the Minotaur
15. Oedipus and Thebes
16. Jason and the Argonauts
17. Perseus
    
    Epics of War:
18. The Origin of the Trojan War
19. Achilles and The Iliad
20. The Fall of Troy
21. The Return of Agamemnon
22. The Adventures of Odysseus
23. Odysseus in the Land of the Dead
24. The Return of Odysseus
    
    Roman Mythology:
25. Roman Myth and Legend
26. Aeneas
27. Romulus and Remus to Julius Caesar
28. The Survival of Classical Mythology

Primordials

Exams

Ready to test your knowledge? Go to the Exams section.

Instructor

This course is a collaborative project by the students of HU-301 at Capitol College. If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to contact Kenmayer.

Mythology Resources

Major Sites about Greek Mythology

• THEOI Greek Mythology includes a complete translation of Apollodorus's Library of Greek Mythology
• Greek Mythology Link an impressive collection of materials
• Greek Mythology.COM
• Greek Myth Index
• Greek Mythology article in Wikipedia

Ancient Sources for Greek myths in English Translation

• Hesiod, Theogony
• Ovid Metamorphoses
• Homer The Iliad and in a modern translation here
• Homer The Odyssey and in a modern translation here
• Vergil The Aeneid
• Aeschylus' Oresteia

General Introductions to Greek Mythology in Print

• Mark P. O. Morford, Classical Mythology, Oxford University Press, 1999.
• Barry B. Powell. Classical Myth, Pearson College Division, 2011.
• William Hansen, William F. Hansen, Classical Mythology: A Guide to the Mythical World of the Greeks and Romans, Oxford University Press, 2005.
• Walter Burkert, Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical Wiley-Blackwell, 1991. on Amazon

Theories of Myth Interpretation

• Eric Csapo, Theories of Mythology, Wiley, 2005
• Bruce Lincoln, Theorizing Myth: Narrative, Ideology, and Scholarship, University of Chicago Press, 1999
• Andrew Von Hendy, The Modern Construction of Myth, Indiana University Press, 2002
• Myth as Thought: Modern Theory and Myth
• Theories of Myth Interpretation Study Guide, Powell Classical Myth
• Nadia Sels Myth, Mind and Metaphor:On the Relation of Mythology and Psychoanalysis
• Ways of Interpreting Myth
• Theory of Myth - Monmouth College
• APPROACHES TO MYTH: THE SEARCH FOR THE UNIVERSAL THEORY
• Interpreting Myth flashcards | Quizlet
• WAYS OF INTERPRETING MYTH

References