This illustrated course examines figures and stories of Ancient Greek myth through literary sources and imagery, primarily illustrations on pottery.  We look at how myths were told, retold and represented through a consideration of shifting historical and cultural frameworks.  Ideal for anyone interested in mythology, history, literature and cultural studies. 

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face

SUGGESTED READING

• Homer's Odyssey and Iliad (any translation)
• H. A. Shapiro, Myth into Art - Poet and Painter in Classical Greece, Routledge, London 1974
• W. Hansen, Classical Mythology, Oxford University Press, 2020
• Theoi Greek Mythology - theoi.com

COURSE OUTLINE

• "What is myth?" and ways of interpretation;
• Complexities and tensions between text and image;
• How Greek myth constructs order from chaos leading to the supremacy of Zeus and the range of Olympian gods under him;
• Roles of the various goddesses and female myth-figures and what they represent;
• Theban and Mycenaean saga cycles in the mythic tradition and discourse networks of Athenian democracy;
• Heroes: war, warriors and their values; monster-slaying heroes; the aristocratic ethos and intersecting discourses;
• Theories of archetypal myth-figures and events and their adequacy for analysis of Greek myths, moving from the ancient archetypal monster-vanquishing hero to a Christian adoption of Saint George;
• The rational and irrational; life, death and beyond (Dionysus and Orpheus);
• Myth as an intangible unit of cultural currency contributing to connections across cultural discourse networks such as social, political, institutional, religious, gendered, domestic etc.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

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

1. Discuss the attributes and roles of the various figures of Greek myth;
2. Identify the primary myth-figures and scenes depicted on Greek pots;
3. Discuss divergent versions of different myths and discuss why they diverge;
4. Understand and discuss the complexity of sources for Greek myth;
5. Identify types of Greek pots and their uses;
6. Critically consider the usefulness of universal theories for understanding Greek myth.