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GREEK MYTHOLOGY SYLLABUS

CLA 2323 May - June 2013
Course Description: We will examine the major Greek myths in their religious, historical and cultural context, mainly through the use of written and visual ancient Greek sources, with a special focus on Homers Iliad and Odyssey. We will also consider the influence of Greek myths on western civilization, especially on popular culture, modern art and literature. Lectures: MNT 203 Mondays and Wednesdays 10:00 -13:00 Instructor: Efharis Kostala, Department of Classics and Religious Studies: ekostala@uottawa.ca Office: Desmarais Building, 10th floor, # 10119 Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays after class (13:30- 14:30) Secretary of the Department of Classics and Religious Studies: Desmarais Building, 2nd floor, # 102, phone: 613-562-5714

Texts: (Available at Benjamin Bookstores, 122 Osgoode) 1. Buxton Richard: The Complete World of Greek Mythology, Thames and Hudson, 2007 2. The Iliad of Homer Translated by Richmond Lattimore, University of Chicago Press, 1961 3. The Odyssey of Homer Translated by Richmond Lattimore, Harper Perennial, 2007

Course Requirements and Grading (see page 3 for more details) 35% 30% 35% Midterm Exam, Wednesday, May 22nd (10:00- 11:20) Assignment, Monday June 3rd Final Exam Wednesday, June 12th,

CALENDAR

MAY/JUNE 2013
Sunday Monday Tuesday
1 - Intro - The Origins of the World and Creation stories 5 6 - The Titans and their descendants. - Zeus 13 The Olympians 7 8 Anthropogony (Prometheus and Pandora) 9 10 11

Wednesday

Thursday
2 3

Friday
4

Saturday

12

14

15 The Olympians

16

17

18

19

20
VICTORIA DAY

21

22 Exam Trojan War

23

24

25

26

27 Trojan War

28

29 Odyssey

30

31

3 - Perseus - Herakles Assignment due

5 - Theban heroes. - Minos - Theseus

10 Argonauts

11

12 FINAL EXAM

13

14

15

It is advisable to come in class prepared for the lecture of the day in order to understand it better and get ahead with your reading (see p.4). It is your responsibility to consult the Virtual Campus (Blackboard Vista) where you can also find information on the lectures, the exams and the assignment.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
In order to pass this course, you have to write 2 exams and submit an assignment. A. EXAMS (MIDTERM AND FINAL) FORMAT: Multiple Choice questions based on material (including images, texts and map information) from lectures, your textbook, the Iliad and the Odyssey MISSED EXAM: Students who miss the midterm exam should have a valid and justified reason and advise me beforehand. In case of unexpected illness or any other emergency, you should contact me by e-mail or call the Secretary at 613-562-5714 ASAP and later submit a medical certificate or any other document. I will set an alternative date. Students with no valid and justified excuse will lose a 10% of their exam mark per day. I will not accept requests for an alternate exam after May 26th. B. ASSIGNMENT (see Blackboard Vista for more details and the selection of topics) You should write a paper on a topic based on the Homeric Epics. The purpose of the paper is to get your information directly from the primary myth sources, one of which should be the Iliad and /or the Odyssey. You are allowed of course to consult other primary sources and secondary sources, as well, in which case you should include them into the References List together with your Homeric Epics sources. Individual or group work: You are strongly encouraged to work in groups of 2 people. If you choose to cooperate with another student, please submit one assignment with both your names on it and indicate the contribution of each member of the group. You will be given one mark for your cooperative work. A formal essay or creative options: You have a choice of either structuring your paper as a formal essay with an introduction, a main part (arguments) and a conclusion or choosing more creative approaches such as a first person narrative, a dialogue, a short dramatic piece, an interview (or any another idea which can include media presentation). Requirements for all assignments: The paper should be approximately 1000-1200 words without footnotes. You should use a few very brief quotes to demonstrate the validity of your argument and cite all your sources appropriately. You should also provide a suitable title and a picture with comments.. LATE ASSIGNMENTS: You have to submit the assignment before or on June 3rd by 1:00 pm, in class. There will be a penalty of 10% per day for students who submit their assignment late. If you submit a late assignment you should leave it with the Secretary of the Department of Classics. Absolutely no assignment will be accepted after Wednesday June 5th. Please do not send me your assignments electronically! E-SOURCES There are several sites on the web related to Classical Mythology. The most reliable ones that also include full texts from the ancient sources are the theoi.com and Perseus. For more info on sources, see Virtual Campus. 1) Theoi Greek Mythology http://www.theoi.com/. It is dedicated solely to Greek mythology and is quite easy to navigate. For more links on Greek Mythology sites http://www.theoi.com/Links.html 2) Perseus Digital Library http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/. This site is not dedicated only to Classical mythology but covers the history, literature and culture of the Greco-Roman world. 3) Greek Mythology Link: http://www.maicar.com/GML/ . Another interesting link on Greek Myths It contains a full encyclopedia of even the most obscure of mythological characters, along with maps, generous image galleries and detailed subject and character biographies. It does not however provide full texts, but occasional excerpts.

READINGS FROM BUXTONS TEXTBOOK The Complete World of Greek Mythology 1st part: Material for the Midterm Exam (May 22nd) The Cultural Context of Greek Myth, its Nature, its Sources and Interpretations p.6-41, 223-224. The Origins of the World and the first Deities: p.44-47. For the Muses, Furies and Fates, p.85-87 The Titans and their Descendants: For the stories of Phaeton, Eos and Selene, p.93, 96 The Supremacy of Zeus: p.48-49, 68-70 Anthropogony: The challenge of Prometheus, the creation of Pandora, the flood p.54-63 The Olympians and other deities: Chapter III. For a list of the Greek Divinities and their attributes, p.69 Hera: Marriage to Zeus, the sacred cow and the peacock p.70-72, 98. Poseidon and other Sea Deities: (Proteus, Thetis, Leukothea), p.72, 94-95,192-193 Athena, relations and comparisons with Hephaistos and Ares : p. 79-80, 82-84 Apollo and Artemis p.73-77, 88, 106-7. For Niobe, see p.157, for Daphne p. 189-190 Aphrodite: p. 78, 94 Demeter and the Realm of Hades p.72-73, 170-173

2nd part: Material for the Final Exam (June 12th)

The 3 lectures after the Midterm Exam will focus on the Iliad and the Odyssey and you will get a lot of useful information that will be helpful for your assignment The Trojan War and the Odyssey: p.130- 145 151-152, 200-205, Perseus and Medusa: p. 104-105 Herakles: p.114-123 Theban heroes (Kadmos, god Dionysos, Oedipus): p.53, 61, 81-82, 162-168 Theseus, Athens and the myths of Crete: p. 124-128, 194-198 The expedition of the Argonauts, Jason and Medea: p.108-113