Aims of the course:
- To introduce the ancient Greek and Roman myths and show how they developed and absorbed elements of different Mediterranean cultures.
- To show that individual myths are contained within a meta-narrative which has a beginning, middle and end
- To analyse the nature of the myths, common themes and what the myths tell us about the societies which created them
- To learn something of the ancient approach to religion and religious thought.
Course content overview:
The course will largely concentrate on translations of the original ancient texts and will attempt to understand the nature of myth in a non-technical and jargon free manner.
Schedule:
Orientation Week: 28 October-3 November 2024
Teaching Weeks: 4 November-8 December 2024
Feedback Week: 9-15 December 2024
Week 0 - Orientation week, preparing to study this course
By studying this week the students should have:
• Become familiar with navigating around the VLE and from VLE to links and back
• Tested their ability to access files and the web conferencing software and sorted out any problems with the help of the eLearning team
• Investigated the ICE Online Resources repository
• Learnt how to look for, assess and reference internet resources
• Used Qmail to introduce themselves to other students and discuss why they are interested in the course and what they hope to get out their studies.
• Contributed to a discussion forum in response to News item sent out on behalf of the tutor.
• Understood the format of each weekly module
Week 1 - The nature of ancient gods
By studying this week the students should have:
• A knowledge of how Greek and Romans saw their Gods
• An appreciation of how classical culture interacted with the divine
• A grasp of the henotheism, polytheism and monotheism and what differentiates a religion from a cult.
Week 2 - The nature of Creation myths
By studying this week the students should have:
• A knowledge of the key Greek texts, particularly Hesiod
• An understanding of the common elements of a creation myth
• An appreciation of ancient understanding of time
Week 3 - The Gods
By studying this week the students should have:
• Familiarity with gods Olympian, cthonic and foreign
• An understanding of the nature of ritual and prophesy in the ancient world
• An appreciation of the complementary nature of myth and religion
Week 4 - The heroes
By studying this week the students should have:
• An understanding of the basic heroic quest
• A knowledge of the main Greek heroes and the concomitant chronology and ancestry
• An appreciation of the social questions and conflicts that the myths tried to identify and explain
Week 5 - The Trojan war and the aftermath (Aeneid and Odyssey)
By studying this week the students should have:
• A good understanding of three of the most important texts in literature
• An appreciation of the effect of these texts on ancient and modern society
• An understanding of the world of Odysseus
• An appreciation of how the material studied earlier in the course comes together in the final week
Certificate of Participation
A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/assignments for the duration of the course.
What our students say
"The tutor is fantastic! The online materials are wonderful and informative. Even better, he encourages us to be active on the forums, and chimes in with comments and answers to questions there on a regular basis. The tutor moderates the weekly online seminars so that everyone has a chance to speak and answer each question without any single person dominating. I have learned so much from this course, and now have a list of extra books and articles to read that I will never finish in my lifetime!"
"It exceeded my expectations, particularly in providing context for the myths and an understanding of their development as a corpus."
"I found the content very accessible. The content covered a wide range of topics, and has allowed for more study in specific areas should the student wish to do so in the future. I think this course gives a solid grounding in the general aspects of Greek and Roman myths and legends. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in this topic and a great way of dipping their toe into academic study on the topic."
