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Classical Mythology

Spring, 2014

General Information and Syllabus COURSE COORDINATOR: Associate Professor Parshia Lee-Stecum Email: ppls@unimelb.edu.au PRINCIPAL INSTRUCTORS: Parshia Lee-Stecum K.O. Chong-Gossard Email: koc@unimelb.edu.au COURSE OVERVIEW This subject will focus on mythical narratives from the ancient Greek and Roman traditions. Students will explore some of the central patterns and themes in classical mythology. These include narratives of birth and creation, war and the warrior, fire and flood, animals, gods and humans. We will explore how these symbolic themes are incorporated into a diverse range of myths, including stories of the birth of the cosmos, Zeus’ rule over the world, the foundation of cities and peoples, and hero myths in which men confront monsters. We will also be concerned with the story of Troy, which is the quintessential Greco-Roman myth, and the many classical tales of metamorphosis. We will engage directly with these narratives in the surviving literary sources (especially epic and drama), and in classical art, which is a major source for the Greek and Roman myths. ASSESSMENT SUMMARY A primary source analysis of 750 words worth 15% (due February 21) A research essay of 1,750 words worth 40% (due on April 4) A take-home exam of 1,500 words worth 35% (the topics will be given out on April 30, the exam is due on May 2) Seven online quizzes of ten questions each worth 10% (completed bi-weekly beginning in Week Two) Hurdle requirements: Students must participate in no fewer than 12 of 15 weekly online seminars. Students must complete a minimum of 6 online quizzes. All pieces of written work (primary source analysis, research essay and take home exam) must be submitted to pass this course.

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QUICK WEEKLY UNIT GUIDE

WEEK Date Topic

1 01/13-01/17 Introduction to Classical Mythology

2 01/20-/01/24 Cosmogony

3 01/27-/01/31 Aitiology

4 02/03-02/07 Gods

5 02/10-02/14 Heroes: Quests and Trials

6 02/17-02/21 Heroes: Wars and Wanderings

7 02/24-02/28 Monsters and Animals

8 03/03-03/07 Gender and Cross-Dressing

9 03/17-03/21 Metamorphosis: Crime and Punishment

10 03/24-03/28 Metamorphosis: Escape and Apotheosis

11 03/31-04/04 Rape

12 04/07-04/11 Murder

13 04/14-04/18 Disaster

14 04/21-04/25 Conclusion: Beyond Classical Mythology

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DETAILED UNIT GUIDE 1. Week One: 01/13-01/17

Introduction to Classical Mythology What is a myth? What is mythology, and how have the myths of the Ancient Greeks and Romans been understood? This unit provides an introduction to the difficult issue of defining ‘mythology’ and to some of the most influential interpretative approaches to classical mythology from the past century. The unit also introduces the major themes to be addressed in the subject and the requirements of study.

Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology, Characters and Scholars Lectures:

Introduction to Classical Mythology Introduction to a Myth

Overview of Key Themes

What is Mythology? Approaches to Mythology

Roundtable Discussion:

Hercules and Cacus Reading:

Livy, The Early History of Rome, trans. A. De Selincourt (Harmondsworth, 1971). Ken Dowden, ‘How myths work: the theories’, from The Uses of Greek Mythology (London, 1992).

Seminar (synchronous class): Our first live class will be an opportunity to introduce ourselves and to discuss the problems of defining myth and consider different approaches to understanding the relationship of mythology to society.

What constitutes a myth and what is the relationship between mythology and society? Seminar Reading: Powell, B. ‘The Nature of Greek Myth’, in Classical Myth (Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1998), 1-15.

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2. Week Two: 01/20-01/24

Cosmogony In this unit we will look at those myths that are concerned with the creation of the cosmos, and the birth of the gods. The primary text will be Hesiod’s Theogony which gives a poetic account of the formation of the cosmos from primo rdial chaos, the separation of earth and sky, and the generation of the early divinities, culminating in the birth and rise to power of the Olympians under the reign of Zeus. Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology Lectures:

Introduction to Cosmogony Beginnings Background to Hesiod’s Theogony Cosmogony and Theogony in Hesiod

Creation and the Generations of Gods Generational Conflict The Olympian Order

Roundtable Discussion:

Cosmogony Reading:

Hesiod, ‘Theogony’, trans. Dorothea Wender, from Hesiod and Theognis, (London, 2000). Powell, B., ‘Myths of Creation: the Rise of Zeus’, from Classical Myth, (Upper Saddle River, N.J., 1998). 75-97.

Seminar (synchronous class): This class will be based around a close reading of the primary text, Hesiod’s Theogony. After a general discussion of the presentation of creation in the poem, we will consider how this myth describes both the establishment of the Olympian order (the order of Zeus) and the creation of more monstrous beings.

What are the underlying forces that drive creation?

What are the characterising features of Zeus and the Olympian order that he establishes?

What are the principle roles of monsters and the monstrous in Hesiod cosmogonies?

Seminar Reading: Hesiod, ‘Theogony’, trans. Dorothea Wender, from Hesiod and

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Theognis, (London, 2000). Clay, J. S. ‘The Generation of Monsters in Hesiod’, Classical Philology 88.2 (1993), 105-116.

3. Week Three: 01/27-01/31

Aitiology The aetiology of an ancient city expressed the identity of its citizens and their perceived place in the world. These foundation stories outline the relationship between the gods and the community, the social structures which hold the city together, and the ideals (or on occasions anxieties) of its peo ple. This unit examines the most common forms of foundation myth from antiquity, including immigrant myths, autochthonous origins, and divine foundation. Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology Lectures:

Background: Aitiology in the Classical World Perspectives Key Themes in Aitiology

Autochthony Immigrant Foundation

Roundtable Discussion:

Aitiology: Foundation of Cities Reading: Apollodorus, Library 3.14.1-6, trans. J. Fraser. (London, 2002). Livy, The Early History of Rome, trans. A. De Selincourt (Harmondsworth, 1971). Champion, C., ‘Imperial Ideologies, Citizenship Myths, and Legal Disputes in Classical Athens and Republican Rome’, in Balot, Ryan K., ed. A Companion to Greek and Roman Political Thought , Vol. 32. (Malden. M.A, 2009).

Seminar (synchronous class): This class re-examines the Athenian myth of autochthony and compares it to common myths of immigration and colonisation.

What are the significant differences between an autochthonous origin and an immigrant one expressed in the myths?

Do these myths idealise their respective cities, or do they highlight ambivalence and anxiety about the relationship of citizen (and city) to the land?

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Does the role of the gods differ in each case?

Seminar Reading: Apollodorus, Library 3.14.1-6, trans. J. Fraser. (London, 2002). Loraux, N. ‘Autochthony: An Athenian Topic’, in The Children of Athena (Princeton, 1984), 37-71. Dougherty, C. ‘It's Murder to Found a Colony’, in C. Dougherty and L. Kurke (eds.) Cultural Poetics in Ancient Greece (Cambridge, 1993), 178-98.

4. Week Four: 02/03-02/07

Gods The most powerful figures in classical mythology are the gods. There were many gods, great and small, in the Greek and Roman worlds, although the most important of these were the Olympian gods: the greatest of the gods who were thought to dwell on Mount Olympus under the rule of Zeus/Jupiter. In this unit we explore the how these Olympian deities are represented in classical mythology, the relationship between the gods of Greco-Roman religion and those of myth, and whether the gods of myth are shown to be concerned with morality. Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology Lectures:

The Gods in Greek and Roman Religion

The Olympian Gods Immortality

Power Morality

Roundtable Discussion:

Councils of the Gods Reading: Ovid, Metamorphoses, trans. Allen Mandelbaum in The Metamorphoses of Ovid (New York, 1993), 1.1-451. West, D, The Aeneid, (London, 1991) 1.1-132. Lattimore, R. The Odyssey of Homer (New York, 1967), 1.1-102. Kullmann, W. ‘Gods and Men in the Iliad and the Odyssey’, Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Vol. 89 (1985), pp. 1-23.

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Seminar (synchronous class): This class will focus on two of the mythic narratives (from the poems of Homer and Ovid) that describe the gods in council. We will examine the motivations of the gods in these myths and, in particular, whether a concern for morality factors into divine decisions and action. What motivates the gods in these texts, and are their motivations diverse? How are the relationships among the gods characterised?

How is the relationship between the gods and morals characterised? Are the gods concerned with morality, and is there a distinction drawn in

these passages between divine and mortal morality?

Seminar Reading: Ovid, Metamorphoses, trans. Allen Mandelbaum in The Metamorphoses of Ovid (New York, 1993), 1.1-451. Lattimore, R. The Odyssey of Homer (New York, 1967), 1.1-102.

5. Week Five: 02/10-02/14

Heroes: Quests and Trials The figure of the hero occupies a central place in classical mythology and culture. Beginning a two-week section on heroes, this week’s unit examines the mythic heroes who embark on quests, face trials and slay monsters. We will seek to identify the most significant characteristics of these heroes, the actions they perform, and the meanings of the quests and trials they undertake. Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology Lectures:

The Hero in Classical Mythology Divine Parentage/Ancestry

Heroic Action: Quests Heroic Transgression Divine Support

Roundtable Discussion:

The Hero and the Quest: Heracles and Jason Reading: Diodorus Siculus, Library of History (Books III - VIII), trans. Oldfather, C. H. (Cambridge, M.A., 1935). Pindar, ‘Pythian 4’, from Pindar: Olympian Odes, Pythian Odes (Cambridge, M.A., 1997).

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Miller, D., ‘The Framework of Adventure’, from The Epic Hero, (Baltimore and London, 2000).

Seminar (synchronous class): This class will focus on, arguably, the greatest of the classical mythic heroes, Heracles (know to the Romans as Hercules). We will attempt to identify the characteristic actions of the hero, and what defines his ‘heroism’. We will also examine the elements of Heracles’ nature and behaviour in these myths that are ‘transgressive’. What makes Heracles a ‘hero’?

What is the relationship of Heracles to the gods and to mortals? Does Heracles choose the quests and trials he undergoes, and does this make

any difference to his heroism? Can some of the behaviours narrated in the cycle of myths about Heracles be

termed ‘transgressive’, and, if so, does this transgression have a purpose in those myths?

Seminar Reading: Diodorus Siculus, Library of History (Books III - VIII), trans. Oldfather, C. H. (Cambridge, M.A., 1935).

6. Week Six: 02/17-02/21

Heroes: Wars and Wanderings There are some mythic heroes who do not quest or fight monsters but instead define themselves as heroes by fighting each other on the battlefield. These warrior-heroes affirm their heroic status by killing others of their kind and are most closely identified with the great wars of classical mythology: the Seven Against Thebes campaign and, best known of all, the Trojan War. In this unit we examine the depictions of these heroes, compare their qualities and behaviours to the questing heroes we studied in the previous week, and explore how the context of war changes the nature of heroism in these myths. We also examine several myths that describe a period of displacement and wandering for heroes who survive the wars. Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology Lectures:

The Generation of Warrior Heroes

kleos apthitōn

Community and Individual Gods and Heroes

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Wanderings

Roundtable Discussion:

Heroes of War Reading: Lattimore. R., Iliad of Homer (1961), Bk 22. Virgil, Aeneid, Fairclough trans., (London, 1969). Van Nortwick, T., ‘Aeneas, Turnus, and Achilles’, Transactions of the American Philological Association 110 (1980), 303-314.

Seminar (synchronous class): In this class we examine the Greek warrior hero, Achilles as described in the Iliad. In particular we focus on his deeds on the battlefield (in Book 21) and set this within the wider context for war suggested by the images on Achilles’ shield (described in Book 18). What makes Achilles’ actions exceptional?

Based on his actions in Book 21, what defines Achilles as a hero? What generates Achilles’ kleos?

How does the shield represent war?

How does the context depicted on the shield relate to Achilles’ actions in the war? Does its image of war modify our view of Achilles as a hero?

Seminar Reading: Homer, Iliad 18.368-616, 21 Scully, S. ‘Reading the Shield of Achilles: Terror, Anger, Delight’, Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 101 (2003), 29-47. Edwards, M. W. Homer: Poet of the Iliad (Baltimore, 1987), 278-286.

7. Week Seven: 02/24-02/28

Monsters and Animals A large number of monsters populate classical myths. Often they are the foes of heroes whom, in some ways they resemble. Like heroes, monsters mix categories, crossing boundaries and blurring divisions between divine and animal or human and animal worlds. In addition to monsters, a variety of more recognizable animals feature in key roles in classical mythology. Those roles are frequently defined by the relationship of the animal to humans (as companion, slave, or threat). This unit will explore the nature and roles of monsters in classical mythology and juxtapose this with the mythic representation of common animals from the everyday life of the Greeks and the Romans focusing on the examples of the horse, the dog and the snake. Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology

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Lectures:

Monsters in Mythology Monsters and Heroes Animals: Horses Animals: Dogs Animals: Snakes

Roundtable Discussion:

Monsters: Minotaur and Polyphemos Reading: Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, trans. Oldfather, C. H. (Cambridge, M.A., 1935). Apollodorus, The Library, trans. Frazer, J.G. (Cambridge, M.A., 1921). Plutarch, Lives, Vol. I., trans. Perrin, B. (Cambridge, M.A., 1914). Lattimore, R., The Odyssey of Homer (New York, 1967). Posthumus, L., Ch. 5: ‘Agents of transformation: the function of hybrid monsters’, Hybrid monsters in the Classical World: the nature and function of hybrid monsters in Greek mythology, literature and art , Thesis (MPhil (Ancient Studies))—University of Stellenbosch, 2011, accessed September 23, 2013 http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6865

Seminar (synchronous class): In this class we examine and compare the thematic significance of horses, dogs, snakes, and monsters in a number of mythical narratives. After discussing the narrative roles of these figures, we will also briefly explore an ancient attempt to interpret and rationalise myths about incredible animals from the work of a Hellenistic (c.late-fourth century BCE) writer Palaephatus. What threat do different monsters seem to represent, and is there

significance in how they are defeated? What use is made of animals in myth? Are they enemies to man, symbols of

the human condition, manifestations of the “other”? What are the characteristics of certain animals that make them particularly

useful in myth?

What do Palaephatus’ (often odd) rationalizations contribute to our understanding of animals in classical mythology?

Seminar Reading: Homer Iliad (selections from Books 16, 17, 19, and 24) Euripides Trojan Women (two choral odes) Virgil Aeneid (selections from Book 2) [the Trojan Horse, and the snakes that kill Laocoon] Homeric Hymn to Apollo, lines 281-373 [the Python and Typhoeus] Homer Odyssey 17. 259-327 [the dog Argos] Ovid Metamorphoses 3. 138-257 [Actaeon]

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Pseudo-Apollodorus Bibliotheca and Epitome selections [Minotaur, Gorgon, Pegasus, etc.] Palaephatus Peri Apiston selections

8. Week Eight: 03/03-03/07

Lecture: Cross-dressing (PLS) Men dress up as women, and women dress up as men all the time in Greek myth. The buff masculine heroes Heracles and Achilles both spent time in drag; the Lydian queen Omphale wielded Heracles’ club . Do we laugh or sneer at such images? This unit explores how cross-dressing is explained at different times and contexts in ancient literature and art, and how ‘gender’ can be represented as a ‘costume’ in some classical myths. Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology Lectures:

Interpretations of Cross-Dressing Costume and Performance Achilles on Scyros

Hercules and Omphale

Roundtable Discussion: Mythic Cross-Dressing: Hercules and Omphale

Reading: Ovid, Heroides, H. Isbell trans. (London, 1990). N.Kampen, 'Omphale and the Instability of Gender' in N. Kampen ed. Sexuality in Ancient Art (Cambridge, 1996), 233-46.

Seminar (synchronous class): In this class we examine myths of male heroes who dress as women, focusing on the myths of Achilles (on Scyros), Heracles (with Omphale), and Pentheus (under the power of Dionysus). We will discuss in particular the motivations for cross-dressing and what the adoption of this dress might tell us about the construction of gender and the nature of mythic heroism.

Is it funny when heroic men dress up as women or is it dangerous and tragic? How do different authors (and genres) explore the motivation for dressing up

as the other sex?

What do these myths suggest about the construction of gender through clothing and gesture in the classical world?

Are our expectations of how men and women should ‘act’ similar to the attitudes explored in ancient myth?

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Seminar Reading: Selections from Euripides’ Bakkhai; Propertius’ Elegies; Ovid’s Heroides; Statius’ Achilleid; Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Kampen, N. B. ‘Gender Theory in Roman Art’, in D. E. E. Kleiner and S. B. Matheson (eds.) I Claudia: Women in Ancient Rome (New Haven, CT, 1996),

9. Week Nine: 03/17-03/21

Metamorphosis: Crime and Punishment Myths of shape-changing are very common in antiquity. But the nature of the change, and the reasons for it, are startlingly various. This unit focuses on those tales of metamorphosis as punishment, usually (although not always) inflicted by the gods. What do transformations like those of Niobe, Arachne, or Tereus, Procne and Philomela suggest about justice (or injustice), the relationships of mortals and gods, and how the impulse to ‘crime’ is perceived in the ancient world? Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology Lectures:

Metamorphosis and Ancient Views about Change Ovid’s Metamorphoses Key Themes of Metamorphosis Punishment

Crime

Roundtable Discussion: Crime and Punishment: Procne, Philomela and Tereus

Reading: Ovid, Metamorphoses (6.412-674), M. Innes trans. (London, 1995). Gildenhard, I. and Zissos, A. ‘Barbarian variations: Tereus, Procne and Philomela in Ovid (Met. 6.412-674) and Beyond’, Dictynna, Vol. 4, 2007.

Seminar (synchronous class): This class compares the harrowing myth of Procne, Philomela and Tereus to the tale of Niobe as we seek to determine what tales of metamorphosis indicate about conceptions of crime and its effects.

Who are the criminals in these myths, and who are the victims? What are the impulses which lead to crime/offence and how are they

generated?

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Do the particular forms of metamorphosis tell us anything about the crime and its consequences?

How do the metamorphoses in these two myths differ, and how might those differences be explained?

Seminar Reading: Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.146-317 [Niobe] Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.412-674 [Tereus, Procne and Philomela] Forbes Irving, P. M. C. ‘Birds’, in Metamorphosis in Greek Myths (Oxford, 1990), 96-127.

10. Week Ten: 03/24-03/28

Metamorphosis: Escape and Apotheosis The change in physical form narrated by myths of metamorphosis is often accompanied by a change in the quality of being, whether it is a translation from mortal to divine or an escape to a supposedly carefree and secure state. By examining some very different tales of metamorphosis (the transformation of Pygmalion’s statue into a flesh and blood woman, the apotheosis of Heracles on Mount Oeta, the escape of Daphne, and others), this unit discusses relationship between physical change and what we today would call psychological or spiritual transformation. Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology Lectures:

Change for the Better Rescue

Reward Becoming Human Apotheosis

Memorialisation

Roundtable Discussion: Creating Life: Pygmalion

Reading: Ovid, Metamorphoses, trans. M. Innes (London, 1995). Segal, C., Ovid's Metamorphic Bodies: Art, Gender, and Violence in the ‘Metamorphoses’, Arion, Third Series, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Winter, 1998), pp. 9-41.

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Seminar (synchronous class): This class examines myths of metamorphosis that describe the movement from and from human to divine (comparing the myths of Heracles and Romulus). How is the transformation into a divinity described? What is required to

make the actual transformation happen? Are these changes into a ‘higher’ state unambiguously for the better?

How do these myths discuss the relationship between life and death/ human and divine?

How does apotheosis in these myths compare or contrast with the transformation from inanimate object to living being described in the myth of Pygmalion?

Seminar Reading: Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.159-280 [Hercules] Livy, Ab Vrbe Condita 1.16 [Romulus] Feldherr, A. ‘Metamorphosis in the Metamorphoses’ in P. Hardie (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Ovid (Cambridge, 2002), 163-79.

11. Week Eleven: 03/31-04/04

Rape Rape is a disturbing, but common, feature of many Greek and Roman mythic narratives. Sexual violence or the threat of rape is at the heart of many foundation myths, like the Roman ‘Rape of the Sabine Women’; it is found in aetiologies of natural phenomena, such as Daphne’s transformation into the first laurel tree; and divine rape of mortal women results in the birth of many Greek and Roman heroes (Heracles, Romulus and Remus). In this unit we will consider how we can best approach and understand this difficult theme, and examine how narratives of rape function in classical myths. Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology Lectures:

Mythological Rape

The Victims Key Themes of Rape Narratives

The Meaning of Rape in Myth

Roundtable Discussion: Creating Life: Pygmalion

Reading:

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Ovid, Metamorphoses, trans. M. Innes (London, 1995): Daphne (1.444-570); Io (1.580-630); Callisto, (2.405-531); Coronis, (2.596-611); Medusa (4.753-803). Richlin, A., ‘Reading Ovid’s Rapes’ in A. Richlin (ed.) Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome (Oxford, 1992).

Seminar (synchronous class): This class considers the way that some of these myths of rape are rewritten by the Roman author Ovid.

What might these myths have meant to the Roman reader, and what do they mean to us today?

Is it possible to read these myths and ‘ignore’ the sexual violence as a narrative strategy or as simply more acceptable in antiquity?

What power dynamics are created between the protagonists in these tales? Does Ovid’s retelling of these myths take a kind of perverse ‘pleasure’ in

dwelling on the lurid and disturbing details?

Seminar Reading: Ovid Metamorphoses 1.452-747; 2.401-535; 2.833-875; 5.341-678 [Apollo & Daphne; Jupiter & Io; Jupiter & Callisto; Jupiter & Europa; Hades & Proserpine; Alpheus & Arethusa] Richlin, A. ‘Reading Ovid’s Rapes’ in A. Richlin (ed.) Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome (Oxford, 1992), 158-79.

12. Week Twelve: 04/07-04/11

Murder In Greek and Roman myth, there is a proliferation of stories about mortal men, and very often women, who murder their spouses, children, parents, or other family members. This unit explores how myths of murder within the family were represented in a range of ancient literary texts: tragedy, epic, history, and elegy. We will examine the concerns, even anxieties, which these myths might expose about family relationships and conflict within the home and society.

Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology Lectures:

Myths of Murder Categories of Murder

Motive Method and Opportunity Case Study: Clytemnestra

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Roundtable Discussion:

Murder Case Study: Clytemnestra Reading: Aeschylus, ‘Agamemnon’ from The Oresteian Trilogy, trans. P.Vellacott (Harmondsworth, 1956), lines 1343-1576. Aeschylus, ‘The Choephori (or The Libation Bearers)’ from The Oresteian Trilogy, trans. P.Vellacott (Harmondsworth, 1956), lines 585-650. Euripides, ‘Electra’, from Euripides: Medea, Hippolytus, Electra, Helen , trans. Morwood, , (New York, 1997), lines 965-1246. Foley, H. P. Female Acts in Greek tragedy (Princeton, 2009), 201-41.

Seminar (synchronous class): This class examines the theme of murderous women in some specific ancient texts: tragedy from 5th-century BCE Athens (Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles), and prose and poetry from early imperial Rome (Livy, Ovid, Statius).

Why do these mythic women kill? Are there any common patterns of motivation?

Do the victims have anything in common? Are these women depicted as ‘monsters’, and if so what makes them

monstrous? Is sympathy for the murderer (and/or their motives) created in these

versions of the myths?

Seminar Reading: Aeschylus, Agamemnon (lines 1343-1576) and Libation Bearers (lines 585-650) Euripides Electra (lines 965-1246) Euripides Medea (lines 764-823, 1021-1080, 1236-1419) Ovid Metamorphoses Book VIII. 415-543 [Althaea] Sophokles Elektra (lines 516-625, 1398-1435) Ovid Heroides 14 [the Danaids] Statius Thebaid Book 5: 43-329 [the Lemnian Women] Livy History of Rome 1.46-48 [Tullia]

13. Week Thirteen: 04/14-04/18

Disaster Great global catastrophes and the downfall of entire civilisations feature in many Greek myths, while other narratives explore more common, everyday ills the plague all mortals. Many mythical catastrophes and ills are wrought directly by the gods themselves, who may have personal or moral reasons for causing widespread destruction. In this unit we shall explore the significance of myths of

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flood and famine, the myth of Pandora and the ills of the human condition, and the great catastrophe of war as exemplified by the Trojan War. Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology Lectures:

Woes of the Human Condition

The Ills of Mortality: Pandora Famine Flood

War

Roundtable Discussion: War: Destruction of a Society

Reading: Lattimore. R., trans., Iliad of Homer (1961), 24.705-77. West, D, trans., The Aeneid, (London, 1991), Book 2. Andrews, P. B. S. ‘The Falls of Troy in Greek Tradition.’ Greece & Rome 12 (1965), 28-32.

Seminar (synchronous class): This tutorial examines the mythology of catastrophe by focusing on Hesiod’s telling of the myths of Pandora and the Ages of Man

What do the myths of Pandora and the Ages on Man reveal about the relationship between gods and humans and the natural world?

What do these stories tell us about the gods’ attitude to humanity? What attitudes to the past and present are implicit in the stories?

Do these myths envision any possibility of progress and improvement or is it unremittingly pessimistic?

Seminar Reading: Hesiod Works and Days 42-201 Clay, Jenny Strauss 2003. Hesiod’s Cosmos (Cambridge, 2003), Chapter 5, “The Two Prometheuses.”

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14. Week Fourteen: 04/21-04/25

Conclusion: Beyond Classical Mythology This week we will re-visit the main topics of the subject, review the key themes of the myths we have examined, reconsider the approach to defining mythology, and explore some later manifestation of Classical myth. Unit Content: Flip-Book: Terminology Lectures:

Key Themes of Classical Mythology The Family Resemblance Definition Mythology Now

The Reinterpretation of Myth

Roundtable Discussion: Mythologies

Reading: Kluckhohn, C., ‘Recurrent Themes in Myths and Mythmaking’, Daedalus, Vol. 88, No. 2, (Spring, 1959), 268-279.

Seminar (synchronous class): In this class we will revise the main themes of the subject, reflect upon the knowledge and understanding of classical mythology you have gained over the course, and talk about strategies for the take home exam. What do you think have been the key features of the myths we have

examined in this course? Do you think a single definition of mythology is possible, and, if so, what

would it be? What might be the advantages and disadvantages of a comparative or cross-

cultural approach to the study of mythology?

Where is mythology today?

Seminar Reading: Kluckhohn, C., ‘Recurrent Themes in Myths and Mythmaking’, Daedalus, Vol. 88, No. 2, (Spring, 1959), 268-279.

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ASSESSMENT SUMMARY: A primary source analysis of 750 words worth 15% (due February 21) A research essay of 1,750 words worth 40% (due on April 4) A take-home exam of 1,500 words worth 35% (the topics will be given out on April 30, the exam is due on May 2) Seven online quizzes of ten questions each worth 10% (completed bi-weekly beginning in Week Two) ASSIGNMENT DETAILS:

1. PRIMARY SOURCE ANALYSIS (15%)

The Primary Source Analysis is due February 21. It is a writing assignment of 750 words. The question is as follows: Write a brief analysis of how Earth (Gaia) is characterised at Theogony, lines 154-66 (from ‘For all these, who came from Earth and Sky…’ to ‘For he was the first to devise unseemly deeds.”’) Tip: Pay particular attention to how Earth is compared and contrasted to Sky both in her own words to her son and in the narrator’s voice. Consider what the characterization of Earth suggests about the cosmos and the natural world. You should chiefly address the set lines (154-66) in detail, and make sure you keep to 750 words. Assessment Criteria for the Primary Source Analysis Task: What is expected from your paper: Concision. This task tests your ability to provide clear analysis of the text within a very strict word limit. Use of appropriate primary evidence. Your analysis should directly employ appropriate citation of lines from the set passage (Theogony, 154-66) to explain and support the points you make. Prioritisation of most important points. This task does not ask you to be comprehensive (to say everything it is possible to say about lines 154-66). Rather you should identify what you think are the main characteristics of Earth as presented in this passage. Your ability to identify the most significant characteristics is part of what is being tested in this exercise. Clarity of expression and presentation. As with all assignments for this course, the Primary Source Analysis is an exercise in the clear communication of complex

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ideas and arguments. These need to be expressed in clear and correct English and presented in a manner that directly conveys your meaning. What is not expected from your paper: Background detail. Do not provide any background on Earth/Gaia, Hesiod, the Theogony generally, the Archaic Greek society that produced the poem, etc.. That sort of contextual detail is unnecessary for a task such as this, and there is simply not the scope within 750 words to provide this background and still complete the analysis required successfully. Essay structure. This is not a structured essay task (i.e. with an introduction, developed main paragraphs and conclusion). While you need to make your points very clear, and you should certainly avoid bullet points or other abbreviated styles of presentation, you are not expected to form each point into a full paragraph. Bibliography. While you are free to use secondary sources that you believe appropriate, you are not required to consult sources for this task beyond the tutorial reading for Week 2 and, most importantly, the Theogony itself. If you do choose to use secondary sources, however, you must cite them correctly according to the Style Guide for this subject.

RESEARCH ESSAY (40%)

The mid-semester essay is due April 4. It is a writing assignment of 1, 750 words (not counting footnotes and bibliography). The questions to choose from are as follows: 1. Is the narrative of the unfolding cosmos in Hesiod’s Theogony an explanation of the contemporary world of the Ancient Greeks? 2. Are the heroes of Greek mythology so exceptional as to be more akin to gods than humans? 3. Do the myths of the Trojan war express a positive purpose for warfare, or are its consequences unambiguously tragic? 4. What do myths recounting the origins of ancient cities express about those cities and their citizens? Compare and contrast the origin myths of at least three different cities in the ancient Greco-Roman world. 5. Free choice question. In this subject you may do an essay on a topic of your choice, provided that you have it approved in advance of submission by the course instructor (no later than two weeks prior to submission). Prior to consulting the instructor you should frame a question that you are going to answer, and write a few sentences about what you plan to do. Try to do this earlier rather than later in

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case there are problems with your proposed essay topic. Assessment Criteria for the Research Essay Task: What is expected from your Research Essay: Engagement with scholarship (secondary sources). You should seek out, read and integrate appropriate scholarship into your argument. You can use the bibliography included here as a starting point for your reading, and should seek advice from the instructor if you are having trouble finding material relating to the question, texts, myths or themes that your essay is addressing. Some tips on you to use secondary sources appropriately can be found in the Essay Guide for this course. As a rough guide, you should aim to utilise at least six relevant secondary sources in the final essay, and may use more. In order to find and integrate this scholarship you will likely also need to consult a larger number more sources as several of these may not prove finally relevant or make it into you submitted essay. Interpretation and argument. While this is a research essay, it also requires you to provide your own arguments in answer to the question based on the reading of primary texts and secondary sources you have undertaken. These arguments are not expected to be original (although they may be), and may in some cases be similar to the arguments and conclusions you are citing from secondary sources. However, the citation of the conclusions of scholars are not sufficient in themselves to prove your argument and answer. You need to provide the primary evidence and explain the reasons for these conclusions (i.e. provide arguments) as well. While you need to take great care about the strength and basis of your arguments, in some cases you may indeed find that you can support contentions from your own arguments based on primary sources in the absence of support from secondary sources. Use of primary evidence to support arguments. Demonstrating how primary evidence supports your arguments (whether or not those arguments are or aren’t based on secondary sources) is also critical to this essay task. For most of the available questions, your most important primary evidence will be either textual (poems, plays, writings of other sorts) or iconographical (sculptures, architecture, etc.). You need to be familiar with these sources. But you will also need to be selective in their use, identifying and referring to only the specific details of the evidence that are relevant to your question and arguments. This is another extremely important skill in this discipline and in the study of humanities generally. Essay structure. Your Research Essay must be a structured essay answer to one of the questions above. It should follow a clear paragraph structure and each main paragraph should have a clearly identifiable contention supported by primary evidence, secondary sources and your own interpretive arguments as appropriate.

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Clarity of expression and presentation. As with other assignments for this course, the Research Essay is an exercise in the clear communication of complex ideas and arguments. These need to be expressed in clear and correct English and presented in a manner that directly conveys your meaning. Bibliography and footnote citation. Your essay must have a bibliography and employ footnotes to cite secondary sources where used. Footnotes and bibliography must follow the Chicago Style (a useful online guide to this and other can be found as part of the University of Melbourne Library ‘Re:cite’ tool: http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/recite/citations/chicago/generalNotes.html?style=3). Note: Footnotes and bibliography are not included in the final word-count for this task. Note: More information on all of the above is provided in the Essay Guide for this course. What is not expected from your paper Description. You should avoid simply describing the subject matter, texts, iconography or myths relevant to your question. Any context or descriptive material should be included only as it is required to support your contentions and arguments. In effect, material is only relevant, and should only be included, if it is part of your argument. Some judgement is required here. But be critical with your own work. If there is any material that clearly is not necessary to explain your contentions or support your arguments in answer to the question, edit it out. Comprehensiveness. You are not expected to present every possible argument for your answer to the question, to approach the question from every possible perspective, or even to provide every possible piece of supporting evidence for the contentions and arguments you do focus on. In the scope of this essay, you can adequately develop only 5 or 6 key contentions as part of your overall answer to the question. You need to prioritise the strongest arguments that support your answer. For this task it is far more effective to present a few key arguments that are well developed and supported than many arguments that are under-developed or left with inadequate supporting evidence.

3. TAKE HOME EXAMINATION (35%)

The Take Home Examination will be released on April 30 and is due on May 2. This is a writing task of a 1500 words.

Students answer 1 (one) question in essay form (1500 word limit).

The paper will offer a choice of 6 (six) questions.

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Students may choose and answer any 1 (one) of these six questions.

Assessment Criteria for the Take Home Examination Task: What is expected from your Take-Home Exam Essay: Interpretation and argument: This task requires you to provide your own arguments in answer to the question. This should be based on the reading of primary texts and secondary sources that you have undertaken over the course of the semester, and your interpretation of these. These arguments are not expected to be original (although they may be), and may in some cases be similar to the arguments and conclusions you have discovered in your readings. The questio ns are designed to be answered with reference only to readings and materials available on the LMS subject site (i.e. your required readings etc.) as well as your notes and what you have learnt in the seminars. However, you are still required to acknowledge where it is similar to someone else’s argument through citations. Keep in mind that when supporting your own opinion, cited conclusions from the secondary readings are not in themselves sufficient to prove your argument. You need to provide the primary evidence that supports their and your conclusion, and explain the reasons for these conclusions (i.e. provide arguments) as well. In some cases you may find that you can support contentions from your own arguments based on primary sources alone. However in these instances you need to take especial care about the strength and basis of your arguments.

Use of primary evidence to support arguments: Demonstrating how primary evidence supports your arguments (whether or not those arguments are or aren’t based on secondary readings) is also critical to this essay task. For most of the available questions, your most important primary evidence will be either textual (poems, plays, writings of other sorts) or iconographical (paintings, sculptures, architecture, etc.). You need to be familiar with these sources. This includes the questions related to, and citing specific passages or images, in which case you will need to be familiar with the context of this evidence and consider any other primary evidence that might assist or strengthen your answer about that specific passage/image. But you will also need to be very selective in the use of primary evidence, identifying and referring to only the specific details of the evidence that are relevant to your question and arguments. This is another extremely important skill in this discipline and in the study of humanities generally and a significant part of the test provided by a time and word limited task such as this one.

Essay structure: Your Take-Home Exam Essay must be a structured essay answer to one of the questions on the paper. It should follow a clear paragraph structure and each main paragraph should have a clearly identifiable contention supported by primary evidence, secondary readings and your own interpretive arguments as appropriate. The formatting of your essay must follow the guidelines outlined in the Style Guide.

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Bibliography and footnote citation: While there is no research expectation for this task, you are free to use (and expected to access) the secondary works provided as required readings for each week and available on the LMS subject site or in the printed reader. If you use any of these secondary works, your essay must have a bibliography, and employ footnotes to cite them. Footnotes and bibliography must follow the Chicago Style (a useful online guide to this and other can be found as part of the University Library ‘Re:cite’ tool: http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/recite/citations/chicago/generalNotes.html?style=3. Additional information about citing primary sources can also be found in the Style Guide. Note: Footnotes and bibliography are not included in the final word count for this task. What is not expected from your paper: Research: The questions are designed to be answered from the materials available on the subject LMS site or the weekly readings, supported by your notes and what you have learnt from the seminars, and your answers will be marked with this in mind. There is no expectation that you will undertake further research or additional reading to complete this task. There is no expectation of a minimum number of secondary citations (although note that, if you do draw upon any secondary sources, including those that are part of the weekly readings, you must always cite them: see Bibliography and Footnote Citation, above). Description: You should avoid simply describing the subject matter, texts, iconography, or myths relevant to your question. Any context or descriptive material should be included only as it is required to support your contentions and arguments. In effect, material is only relevant, and should only be included, if it is part of your argument. Some judgment is required here. But be critical with your own work. If there is any material that clearly is not necessary to explain your contentions or support your arguments in answer to the question, edit it out. Comprehensiveness: You are not expected to present every possible argument for your answer to the question, to approach the question from every possible perspective, or even to provide every possible piece of supporting evidence for the contentions and arguments you do focus on. In the scope of this essay, you can adequately develop only 4 or 5 key contentions as part of your overall answer to the question. You need to prioritise the strongest arguments that support your answer. For this task it is far more effective to present a few key arguments that are well developed and supported, than many arguments that are under-developed or left with inadequate supporting evidence.

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BRIEF STARTER BIBLIOGRAPHY

For further reading, consult our LMS page

Introduction and General Bremmer, J. (ed.) Interpretations of Greek Mythology (London, 1987) Buxton, R. Imaginary Greece: the Contexts of Mythology (Cambridge and New York, 1994) Coupe, L. Myth (New York and London, 1997) Dowden, K. The Uses of Greek Mythology (New York and London, 1992) Graf, F. Greek Mythology: An Introduction trans. T. Marier (Baltimore 1993) Morales, H. Classical Mythology: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2007) Woodard, R. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology (Cambridge, 2007)

Cosmology Edwards, G. P. The Language of Hesiod in its Traditional Context (Oxford, 1971) Frazer, R. M. The Poems of Hesiod (Norman, OK, 1966) [ Kirk, G. S. The Nature of Greek Myths (Harmondsworth, 1974) Clay, J. S. Hesiod's Cosmos (Cambridge, 2003)

Heroes and the Trojan War

Whitman, C. Homer and the Heroic Tradition, Cambridge, MA, 1958) Beye, C. R. The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Epic Tradition (Garden City, NY, 1976) Edwards, M. W. Homer: Poet of the Iliad (Baltimore, 1987) Griffin, J. Homer on Life and Death (Oxford, 1980) Latacz, J. Homer: His Art and his World trans. J. P. Holoka (Ann Arbor, MI, 1996) Martin, R. P. The Language of Heroes: Speech and Performance in the Iliad (Ithaca, NY, 1989) Mackie, C. J. Rivers of Fire: Mythic Themes in Homer's Iliad (Washington, DC, 2008) Miller, D. The Epic Hero (Baltimore and London, 2000) Owen, E. The Story of the Iliad (Ann Arbor, MI, 1966) Redfield, J. M. Nature and Culture in the Iliad: The Tragedy of Hektor. Durham, NC, and London, 1994) Thomas, C. G and Conant, C. The Trojan War (Westport, CN, 2005) Winkler, M. (ed.) Troy: from Homer's Iliad to Hollywood Epic (Malden, MA, 2007)

Aitiology Dench, E. Romulus’ Asylum: Roman Identities from the Age of Alexander to the Age of Hadrian (Cambridge, 2005) Fox, M. Roman Historical Myths: the Regal Period in Augustan Literature (Oxford, 1996) Grandazzi, A. The Foundation of Rome: Myth and History trans. J. M. Todd (Ithaca, NY, 1997) Loraux, N. Born of the Earth: Myth and Politics in Athens trans. S. Stewart (Ithaca, NY, 2000) Loraux, N. The Children of Athena: Athenian Ideas about Citizenship and the Division

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Between the Sexes (Princeton, 1993) Malkin, I. The Returns of Odysseus: Colonization and Ethnicity (Berkeley, 1998) Wiseman, P. Remus: A Roman Myth (Cambridge, 1995)

Murder

Barlow, S. A. ‘Stereotype and Reversal in Euripides’ Medea’, Greece & Rome 36.2 (1989), 158-171 Burnett, A. P. Revenge in Attic and Later Tragedy (Berkeley, CA, 1998) Foley, H. P. ‘Medea’s divided self’, Classical Antiquity 8.1 (1989), 61-85 Foley, H. P. Female Acts in Greek Tragedy (Princeton, NJ, 2001) [See Chapters III.4 “Tragic Wives: Clytemnestras”] Fulkerson, L. ‘Chain(ed) Mail: Hypermestra and the Dual Readership of Heroides 14’, Transactions of the American Philological Association 133.1 (2005), 123-145 McHardy, F. ‘Women’s influence on revenge in Ancient Greece’ in F. McHardy and E. Marshall (eds.) Women’s Influence on Classical Civilization (New York, 2004), 92-114 Neuburg, M. ‘Clytemnestra and the Alastor (Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1497ff)’, Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica, 38.2 (1991), 37-68 Newton, R. M. ‘Ino in Euripides’ Medea’, American Journal of Philology 106.4 (1985), 496-502 Slater, P. E. The Glory of Hera: Greek mythology and the Greek family (Princeton, NJ, 1968) Sorkin Rabinowitz, N. Anxiety Veiled: Euripides and the traffic in women (Ithaca, NY, 1993) [See Chapter 4: “Vindictive Wife, Murderous Mother: Medea”] Wheeler, G. ‘Gender and Transgression in Sophocles’ Electra’, Classical Quarterly 53.2 (2003), 377-388

Cross-Dressing

Bullough, V. L., and Bullough, B. Cross Dressing, Sex, and Gender (Philadelphia, 1993) [See Chapter 2: ‘Mythology and history in the ancient world.’] Cyrino, M. ‘Heroes in D(u)ress: Transvestism and Power in the Myths of Herakles and Achilles’, Arethusa 31.2 (1998), 207-41. Heslin, P. J. The Transvestite Achilles: gender and genre in Statius’ Achilleid (Cambridge, 2005) Janan, M. W. The Politics of Desire: Propertius IV (Berkeley, CA, 2001) [See Chapter 8: ‘Hercules in Rome (4.9)’] Lindheim, S. H. ‘Hercules Cross-Dressed, Hercules Undressed: Unmasking the Construction of the Propertian Amator in Elegy 4.9’, American Journal of Philology 119.1 (1998), 43-66 Raval, S. ‘Cross-dressing and ‘gender trouble’ in the Ovidian corpus’, Helios 29.2 (2002), 149-174 Trimble, J. F. ‘Greek Myth, Gender, and Social Structure in a Roman House: Two Paintings of Achilles at Pompeii’ Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome.The Ancient Art of Emulation: Studies in Artistic Originality and Tradition from the Present to Classical Antiquity (2002), 225-248 Supplementary Volume 1, Wheeler, S. M. ‘Changing Names: The Miracle of Iphis in Ovid Metamorphoses 9’, Phoenix: Journal of the Classical Association of Canada 51 (1997), 190-202

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Metamorphosis

Brown, S. Ovid: Myth and Metamorphosis (London, 2005) Glenn, E. M. The Metamorphoses: Ovid’s Roman Games (Lanham, MD, 1986) Johnson, P. J. Ovid Before Exile: Art and Punishment in the Metamorphoses (Madison, WI, 2008) Segal, E. ‘Ovid’s Metamorphosis of Myth’ in G. K. Galinsky (ed.) Perspectives of Roman Poetry: A Classics Symposium (Austin, 1974) Solodow, J. B. The World of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina, 1988)

Rape

Deacy, S. and Pierce, K. F. (eds.) Rape in Antiquity: Sexual Violence in the Greek and Roman Worlds (London, 1997) Desmond, M. Ovid’s Art and the Wife of Bath: The Ethics of Erotic Violence (Ithaca, NY, 2006) Hallett, J. P. and Skinner, M. B. (eds.) Roman Sexualities (Princeton, 1997) Hardie, P. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Ovid (Cambridge, 2002) Keith, A. M. Engendering Rome: Women in Latin Epic (Cambridge, 2000) Lefkowitz, M. R. ‘Seduction and Rape in Greek Myth’ in A. E. Laiou (ed.) Consent and Coercion to Sex and Marriage in Ancient and Medieval Societies (Washington, DC, 1993) Newlands, C. E. ‘The Silence of Lucretia’ in Playing With Time Ovid and the Fasti (Ithaca, NY, 1995) Omitowoju, R. Rape and the Politics of Consent in Classical Athens (New York and Cambridge, 2002) Segal, C. P. ‘Ovid’s Metamorphic Bodies: Art, Gender, and Violence in the ‘Metamorphoses’’ Arion 5.3 (1998) Wall, K. The Callisto Myth from Ovid to Atwood: Initiation and Rape in Literature (Kingston, ON, 1988) Zeitlin, F. 'Configurations of Rape in Greek Myth' in S. Tomaselli and R. Porter (eds.)