Suggested Readings

It is the expectation and hope of the Instructor that the student will have read all (or at least some) of the items listed for each week before that class actually meets. This will mean that the student will have a sense of what the basic outline of the myth or mythological character is, will have read some at least of the ancient sources about that character (This is, after all, a course in a language and literature department, and the literature in itself interests your Instructor, at least), and will perhaps have problems or questions that can be addressed efficiently. The Instructor welcomes questions at any time: better to say you aren't following some thing and get a clarification, than to have the course move on into deepening perplexity. The readings also form the basis for the quizzes and exams. The quizzes basically test whether you have read and discovered the major facts in a chapter or topic; the midterm and final test whether you can organize and compare on a larger scale so that you can see the significance of sets of myths and themes.

 

NOTE: If you have the FOURTH EDITION of the Powell text, then use the alternate reading list, keyed to the Fourth Edition. Below is the new FIFTH EDITION (June 2006).

 

Week 1

INTRODUCTION. Books and Course rules.
"What is mythology?"
Basic Principles: Some Ancient Ideas (etymology, aetiology, meteorology)

- Powell, Chapter 1, pp. 1-15;

Week 2

Myth Tools (follow the Myth Tools handout. Be sure to look at the photos under Iconography)

- Powell, pp. 353-357 (Danaë); p. 174-175; 666-677 (Daphne). pp. 635-642; 650-653 (Aeneas, Numitor & Amulius, Rhea, Romulus & Remus)
- Powell, (Xenophanes) pp. 141; 675-676; (Euhemerus) pp. 680.
.

Week 3

CREATION

- Powell, Ch. 4: pp. 101-103 (Enuma Elish).

 

Week 4

HESIOD'S STORY. THE TITANS. THE THIRD GENERATION (Zeus and the Olympians)

- Powell, Ch. 3: pp. 66-68; Ch. 4: pp. 78-94. (Hesiod).
- Powell, Ch. 4: pp. 88-97

 

Week 5

THE THIRD GENERATION (Zeus and the Olympians). THE FIVE AGES OF HUMANITY. PROMETHEUS.

- Powell, Ch. 5, pp. 112-129; 131-135. Ch. 6:, pp. 141-151 (Zeus and his children).

THE SEA: POSEIDON

- Powell, Ch. 7: pp. 159-162; and pp. 355-362 (Medusa)

Week 6

APHRODITE (Gilgamesh, Adonis & Aeneas)

- Powell, pp. 204-206; 329-340 (Gilgamesh); 256-260 (Adonis)

ATHENA. (Athens and the Contest with Poseidon. Arachne.)

- Powell, pp. 222-226; 496-498 (Argo); pp. 355-359 (the Gorgon).

Week 7

A POSEIDON STORY: (Minos and Pasiphae, Ariadne, Theseus & Hippolytus):

- Powell, pp. 428-439; 254-258 (Cybele & Attis, Aphrodite & Adonis)
- Powell, Ch. 15, pp. 402-406; Ch. 16: pp. 442-459 (Theseus, Ariadne, Phaedra, Minotaur)

Week 8

APOLLO (Cassandra, Cumaean Sibyl, Coronis, Asklepios)

- Powell, pp. 162-177; 582-589 (Cassandra, Orestes).

THE AFTERLIFE, I: THE GEOGRAPHY OF HADES.

- Powell, Ch. 11: pp. 297-309.

Week 9

THE AFTERLIFE, II: THE CULT OF DEMETER AT ELEUSIS

- Powell, Chapter 9, pp. 228-246.

DIONYSOS. Death, Communion, Resurrection. (Myth)

- Powell, Chapter 10, pp. 265-290

Week 10

DIONYSOS

- Bacchanalia (Livy, on the Senatusconsultum de Bacchanalibus 186 B.C.)

Week 11

DEATH AND RESURRECTION. ORPHEUS and Eurydice myth. Orphic Cults and Practices (Spiritual purity)

- "Orphic" lamellae [Text in Handouts, "Orpheus" ]
- Powell, 300-306.

Week 12

HERAKLES: THE TWELVE LABORS

- Powell, Chapter 14 (pp. 369-404 only)
- "Twelve Labors of Herakles" in Handouts

Week 13

SAGA: THE TROJAN WAR. Causes: The House of Pelops. Atreus & Thyestes. Agamemnon and Menelaus. Tyndareus and his family. Achilles, Patroclus.

- Powell, chapter 19 (pp. 536-552; 555-560)
- Powell, Chapter 20 (pp. 571-574; 577).

Week 14

LOOSE ENDS. COURSE ASSESSMENT.

Course Assessment Instrument 

The FINAL EXAM will be held as follows:

8:00 section: Wednesday, May 22, 8:00 a.m.
12:00 section: Wednesday, May 22, 12:45 p.m.