Assessment Task 1 of 3:

Analysis of a Myth

Due: 23:59 12/9/2021 (= Sunday midnight Week 7)

Weighting: 25%

Length: 1000 words 

 

Every week students will be introduced to a number of myths from ancient Greece, Rome, the ancient Near East (including Egypt), and some myths from the Aboriginal traditions. The myths will be analysed in terms of their cultural context, the genre in which they belong (oral tradition vs written tradition/ epic versus drama/ literature versus historiography), their typology (cosmogonical myths vs ritual myths vs cultural hero myths etc) and as the semester progresses through certain theoretical perspectives (structuralism and post-structuralism, functionalism, phenomenology).  

By week 7, both in the lectures and the tutorials students will be exposed to analysing myths based on their cultural context, recognizing their typology and their genre. Our analyses will combine a close reading of the ancient evidence with insights from modern scholarship. By ‘modern scholarship’ we mean work published in academic journals or monographs. You will find readings suggested for each lecture and tutorial in the ilearn site. In addition to what we refer to as essential readings, there will also be an extended list of works that can be found in the library for your perusal. Do not use general or encyclopedic style websites such as WIKIPEDIA as sources. 

For this task, students are asked to analyse a myth of their choice with regard to the myth's cultural context, its typology and/or its genre by referencing the ancient evidence and secondary literature thoroughly.

You are also required to submit a bibliography of all ancient and modern items consulted.

Please refer to the guide to referencing and essay presentation, available on the unit’s website.

Submissions which exceed the prescribed length by more than 10% will not be marked.

Submission: Submission is made electronically via the ‘assignment’ link on the unit’s webpage.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge of select representative examples of myths from the ancient world
• demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental concepts and approaches used in the study of myth
• Analyze source material, including ancient sources and modern scholarship; the critiquing of texts and application of knowledge
• create and communicate evidence based critical and reflective judgements about ancient myths                                                                               

To Help you with your first task, here are some suggestions for mythic topics to be analysed (feel free to choose a topic of your own):

The quest for immortality in Babylonian and Greek mythology.

Gods and humans in Babylonian and Greek mythology.

Vernant and the role of sacrifice in Greek Mythology.

Myth and memory (Babylonian/Greek/aboriginal)

Pandora: Explaining ancient Greek misogyny

Heracles and the Heroic Archetype in Greek Mythology.

The role of Heracles’ parerga in Greek myth

Story Telling in the time of Hesiod. The Theogony a theology.

Polis and Piety: the relation between Athenian Theatre and Athenian politics.

The Underworld before and after the Mysteries of Eleusis.

The role of katabasis in Greek mythology.

The social aspects of Dionysian cult.

Explain the character of Prometheus in Plato’s Protagoras.

Young girl interrupted: tracing initiation patterns in the story of [Medea/Electra/ Antigone/ Helen/ Iphigenia].

Defining Alexandrian poetics.

Alexander between Myth and History.

The origins of Greek pastoral poetry.

Where do the similarities between Homer and Vergil stop?

Discuss the Aeneid as a “national” epic.

Ovid as a Silver Age poet.

Explain Herodotus’ title as the Father of History.

Ritual and myth in aboriginal communities.

Kingship and Culture (Babylonian/ Greek/Aboriginal).

The value of comparative mythology.

 

 

 

 

Assessment Task 2 of 3:

Essay

Due: 23:59 31/10/2021 (= Sunday midnight Week 12)

Weighting: 50%

Length: 2000 words

Write an essay of no more than 2000 words on ONE of the topics below.

·         Label your work when you submit it in the following way:

§  Number of Question.Surname.Student ID number

§  (eg 4.Smith.9458767)

 

1. Discuss the extent to which theories of myth provide an explanation for Greek myth. Feel free to focus your essay on structuralism, post-structuralism, functionalism OR phenomenology.

2. Discuss the extent to which Greek mythology was influenced by myths from other cultures.

3. Discuss the extent to which Roman mythology was influenced by myths from other cultures.

4. Ancient Greek myth embraces religion, science and philosophy, in contrast to nowadays tendency to differentiate between these lines of enquiry. Discuss our approach(es) of Greek mythology in relation to the above statement.   

5. Discuss the notion of kinship in aboriginal mythology.

6. Discuss the myth of Pandora in light of the ancient Greek view on women.

7. Discuss the main aspects of Babylonian divine kingship.

8. Motifs of cosmogony in aboriginal myths.

9. Death and Afterlife in the Homeric Epics.

10. The Heroic King: Models of Kingship in Homer.

11. Explain the factors that made for Zeus’ success in winning and retaining sovereign power in the universe. How secure is Zeus’ Olympian order?   Discuss with reference to episodes from Hesiod’s Theogony.

12. Examine the profile of Zeus as king of the gods in Prometheus Bound.

13. Ancient Greek gods were often attributed human qualities which distance them significantly from nowadays perceptions about the divine. What impact did this have to the sense of piety the ancient Greeks adopted towards their gods?

14. “Monsters exist in order to be killed.”  Consider this remark in the light of your knowledge of the Odyssey.

15. In the light of some of the stories you have studied consider the significance of trickery and deception in Greek myth. Discuss with reference to famous bearers of these qualities.

16. In the light of some of the stories you have studied consider the significance of eating and swallowing in Greek myth.

17. Ritual patterns in ancient Greek drama: Antigone and Iphigeneia.

18. Compare Heracles and Dionysus as mystery gods. What do their similarities and differences tell us about the ideal Greek man?

19. The role of ritual in aboriginal culture.

20. Analyze rites of passage and discuss their social importance in ancient Greece.

21. Discuss male ritual rites in ancient Greece: from the Black Hunter to Hippolytus

22. Discuss the popularity of the Eleusinian rites in Greek/ Greco-Roman antiquity.

23. Discuss in what ways the legend of Alexander the Great complies with the traditional Greek myths you studied until now.

24. The Romans did not have a mythology of their own, but simply appropriated the Greek traditional stories about gods and heroes. Do you agree with this view?

25. Vergil, Aeneas, and Augustan Propaganda.

26. Discuss Ovid’s Metamorphoses: is his work an epic, in your opinion?

27. The use of myth in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and the didactic tradition.

28. The use of myth in Plato’s philosophy

 

How to submit your essay

Your essay is to be submitted electronically through the TURNITIN submission link.

Upload your essay through the ESSAY SUBMISSION TURNITIN link in the assessment section on the unit's main  page.

For further instructions on how to submit an assigment follow this link:       

how to submit a Turnitin assignment

On successful completion you will be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge of select representative examples of myths from the ancient world
• Identify theoretical approaches taken in the study of myth
• Analyze source material, including ancient sources and modern scholarship; the critiquing of texts and application of knowledge
• create and communicate evidence based critical and reflective judgements about ancient myths                                                                             
• Synthesize acquired knowledge and understanding to produce a critical analytical essay

 

Assessment Task 3 of 3

Online Quizzes

Due: 23:59 8/8/2021; 23:59 22/8/2021; 23:59 5/9/2021; 23:59 3/10/2021; 23:59 17/10/2021 (= Sunday midnight of weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10)

Weighting: 5 quizzes x 5% each = 25%

Format/length: each quiz will comprise of 15 multiple choice answers and will be marked automatically. The quizzes are timed.

These are short online quizzes on the material covered in the lecture topics. Access to each quiz is through the unit’s website. You may take the quizzes at any time during the specific week, but you may take each quiz only once. Maximum time allowed for each quiz is 45 mins (for 15 questions per each quiz). These quizzes are instead of an exam: there is no formal examination for the unit. In addition, they help you keep track of your progress and your readings on a weekly basis.

You are advised to complete each quiz after listening to the relevant lectures: since the quizzes are every two weeks, they will cover material for the previous two weeks; for example, the quiz of week 2 will cover material from weeks 1 and 2. It may be useful to have the lecture notes (pdf) open while you attempt the quiz. Access to the quizzes will be given on Wednesday morning of the week each quiz is due (because Wed is when we have the second lecture of the week) and until Sunday midnight of the particular week. Please do not start a quiz until you are ready to answer the questions! In the past some students opened a quiz to see how it worked: once opened the quiz must be completed as you may take each quiz only once.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Demonstrate concrete knowledge of the myths we have studied, and the theoretical approaches used for their study.
• Practice and demonstrate your ability to exercise critical thinking about ancient when presented with multiple-choice responses.

 

Late Assessment Submission Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – 10 marks out of 100 credit will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted seven days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline.

Delivery

The unit will be delivered via 2 online, live lectures over 12 weeks. Each lecture will be followed by an 1 hour weekly tutorial. Most tutorials are face to face (Tues 2-3 and 3-4; Friday 10-11, 11-12, 12-1, 2-3 and 3-4) but there is also an online tutorial (Wed 11-12).  

Resources

All the materials, primary and secondary, needed for this course will be uploaded in the ilearn website. You will have access to this material from the start of the semester and you will be able to pace your progress. If, however, you wish to make a head-start, feel free to consult the following:  

Classical Myth: Homepage (uvic.ca)

Handouts and Weblinks for Classical Mythology (CLAS230 Monmouth College)

Classical Mythology, Ninth Edition (oup.com)

Classics Unveiled - Main Page

Encyclopedia Mythica (pantheon.org)

Greek Mythology (mythweb.com)

The best source for classical texts on the Internet: Perseus Digital Library (tufts.edu) 

The texts are available here in English translation and in the original Greek with links to online lexical and grammatical aids. All Perseus texts are linked to explanatory notes, maps, images, and other resources. There is also a searchable hypertext encyclopedia: Perseus Encyclopedia, Abacus, Abacus (tufts.edu)

Greek Myth Resources (ysu.edu)Greek Gods & Goddesses | Theoi Greek Mythology

A Useful and Long Bibliography on Myth (not to scare you, hopefully, but enthuse you preferably!)

DEFINING ‘Myth’:

Csapo, E. 2005.Theories of Mythology. Malden MA: Blackwell Publishing. 

Sebeok, T.A. 1955. Myth: A Symposium. Bloomington: U. Indiana Press (ISBN 0-253-20083-0) ["The structural Study of Myth," by Claude Levi-Strauss]

Kirk, G. 1970. Myth: Its Meaning and Functions in Ancient and Other Cultures. Berkeley: U. of California (ISBN 0-520-02389-7) (also other editions, Penguin)

Littleton, C.S. 1973. The New Comparative Mythology: An anthropological Assessment of the Theories of Georges Dumezil. Berkeley: U. of California, revised edition) (ISBN 0-520-02403-6)

Fromm, E. 1951. The Forgotten Language: An Introduction to the Understanding of Dreams, Fairy Tales and Myth. New York: Grove Press [Freudian]

Bettelheim, B. 1976. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Random House/Vintage (ISBN 0-394-72265-5) [Jungian]

Polti, G. 1916. The Thirty-six Dramatic Situations (trans. L. Ray). Ridgewood, NJ: the Editor Company [available on books.google.com]

Aarne, A. and S. Thompson. 1973. The Types of the Folktale: A Classification and Bibliography 2nd revised edition. Helsinki: Academia Scientiarum Fenica.

 

Non-Greek MEDITERRANEAN MYTHOLOGIES:

Clark, R.T. 1960. Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt. London/New York: Thames & Hudson.

Frankfort, H. 1948. Kingship and the Gods: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern Religion as the Integration of Society & Nature. Chicago: University of Chicago (ISBN 0-226-26011-9).

George, A.R. 2003. The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition, and Cuneiform Texts 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford U. Press.

Jacobsen, Th. 1976. The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion. New Haven: Yale U Press (ISBN 0-300-02291-3).

GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY:

Price, S. and E. Kearns. 2004. The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion. Oxford: Oxford U Press.

Buxton, R. 2004. The Complete World of Greek Mythology. London: Thames and Hudson.

Grant, M. 1962. The Myths of the Greeks and Romans. New York: NAL-Mentor (ISBN 0-452-00420-9).

Detienne, M. 2003. The Writing of Orpheus: Greek Myth in Cultural Context (tr. J. Lloyd). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins (original Paris: Gallimard, 1968).

Bernabé, P.A. and A. Jiménez San Cristóbal. 2008. Instructions for the Netherworld: The Orphic Gold Tablets. Leiden-Boston: Brill. 

Freedman, L. 2003. The Revival of the Olympian Gods in Renaissance Art. Cambridge: Cambridge U Press.

Brumble, H.D. 1998. Classical Myths and Legends in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. New York: Routledge.

Miles, G. 1999. Classical Mythology in English Literature. New York: Routledge.

O'Brien, M. 1968. Twentieth Century Interpretations of OEDIPUS REX. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice Hall.

Lefkowitz, M. 2003. Greek Gods, Human Lives: What We Can Learn From Myths. New Haven: Yale U Press.

Nilsson, M.P. 1931 (and frequently reprinted ever since). The Mycenaean Origins of Greek Mythology. New York: Norton.

Mikalson, J.D. 1983. Athenian Popular Religion. Chapel Hill: U. North Carolina.

Ogden, D. 2002. Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook. Oxford: Oxford U Press.

Anderson, G. 2000. Fairytale in the Ancient World. New York: Routledge.

Dowden, K. 2005. Zeus. New York: Routledge.

Dougherty, C. 2005. Prometheus. New York: Routledge.

Breitberger, B. 2004. Aphrodite and Eros: The Development of Greek Erotic Mythology. New York: Routledge.

Buxton, R. 2009. Forms of Astonishment: Greek Myths of Metamorphosis. New York: Oxford University Press.

Veyne, P. 1983. Did the Greeks Believe in their Myths? Chicago: U of Chicago Press.

Grant, M. 1971. Roman Myths. New York: Scribners.

Perowne, S. 1969. Roman Mythology. New York: Paul Hamlyn.

Wildfang, R.L. 2006. Rome's Vestal Virgins. New York: Routledge.

Wiseman, T.P. 1995. Remus: A Roman Myth. Cambridge: Cambridge U Press.

Wiseman, T.P. 2004. The Myths of Rome. Exeter: University of Exeter Press.

Turcan, R. 1996. The Cults of the Roman Empire. Cambridge: Blackwell [Paris: Les Belles Lettres 1992].

Burkert, W. 1979. Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual. Berkeley/Los Angeles: U of California.

Burkert, W. 1983. Homo necans. The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth (trans. P. Bing). Berkeley/Los Angeles: U of California.

Burkert, W. 1987. Ancient Mystery Cults. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard U Press.

Bowlby, R. 2009. Freudian Mythologies: Greek Tragedy and Modern Identities. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bell, R.E. 1993. Women in Classical Mythology. Oxford: Oxford U Press.

Deacey, S. 2008. Athena. New York: Routledge.

Demand, N. 1994. Birth, Death, and Motherhood in Classical Greece. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins.

Dougherty, C. 2005. Prometheus. New York: Routledge.

Graf, F. 2008. Apollo. New York: Routledge.

Ogden, D. 2008. Perseus. New York: Routledge.

Larson, J. 1995. Greek Heroine Cults. Madison: University of Wisconsin.

Lefkowitz, M.R. 1990. Women in Greek Myth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins.

Seaford, R. 200. Dionysos. New York: Routledge.

Sergent, B. 1986. Homosexuality in Greek Myth. London: Athlone. 

Australian Mythology

Allen, L. 1975. Time Before Morning: Art and Myth of the Australian Aborigines. New York: Crowell.

Arden, H. 1994. Dreamkeepers: A Spirit Journey into Aboriginal Australia. New York: HarperCollins.

Beckett, J. (ed.). 1988. Past and Present: The Construction of Aboriginality. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.

Bell, D. 1978. Daughters of the Dreaming. Sydney: Allen and Unwin.

Berndt, R. & Berndt, C. 1977. The World of the First Australians. Sydney: Ure Smith.

______. 1989. The Speaking Land. Melbourne: Penguin.

Blows, J. 1995. Eagle and Crow: An Exploration of Australian Aboriginal Myth. New York: Garland.

Chatwin, B. 1987. The Songlines. London: Penguin.

Cowan, J. 1990. Mysteries of the Dreaming: The Spiritual Life of Australian Aborigines. Dorset: Prism.

Eliade, M. 1973. Australian Religions: An Introduction. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Gill, S. 1998. Storytracking. Texts, Stories, and Histories in Central Australia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hiatt, L. 1975. Australian Aboriginal Mythology: Essays in Honour of W.E.H Stanner. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.

Horton, D. 1994. The Encyclopedia of Aboriginal Australia: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History, Society, and Culture. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.

Hume, L. 1997. Witchcraft and Paganism in Australia. Carlton: Melbourne University Press.

______. 2002. Ancestral Power. The Dreaming, Consciousness and Aboriginal Australians. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.

Isaacs, J. 1980. Australian Dreaming: 40,000 Years of Aboriginal History. Sydney: Lansdowne Press.

Janssen, H. (ed.) 1973. Tolai Myths of Origin. Milton: Jacaranda Press.

Lawlor, R. 1991. Voices Of The First Day: Awakening in the Aboriginal Dreamtime. Rochester VT: Inner Traditions.

McConnel, U. 1957. Myths of the Munkan. Carlton: Melbourne University Press.

Mountford, C. 1985. The Dreamtime Book: Australian Aboriginal Myths. Sydney: ETT Imprint.

Reed, A. 1965. Myths and Legends of Australia. Sydney: Reed.

______, 1978. Aboriginal Myths: Tales of the Dreamtime. Terry Hills: Reed.

______, 1993. Aboriginal Myths, Legends, and Fables. Chatswood: Reed.

Robinson, R. 1966. Aboriginal Myths and Legends. Melbourne: Sun Books.

Róheim, G. 1945. The Eternal Ones of the Dream. A Psychoanalytic Interpretation of Australian Myth and Ritual. New York: International University Press.

Sutton, Peter. 2003. Native Title in Australia: An Ethnographic Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge U Press.

Voigt , A. & Drury, N. 1997. Wisdom Of The Earth: The Living Legacy of the Aboriginal Dreamtime. East Roseville: Simon & Schuster.

WEEK	LECTURE 1 (TUES)	LECTURE 2 (WED)	ASSESSMENT
1	What is Myth?	Cosmogony: Aboriginal Traditions
2	Cosmogony: Ancient Near East	Cosmogony: Hesiod	QUIZ 1, online, submit 23:59 8/8/2021 = Sunday midnight of week 2
3	Kingship and kinship: Aboriginal Traditions	Kings and Gods: Ancient Near Eastern Traditions
4	Homer: the Iliad	Homer: the Odyssey	QUIZ 2, online, submit 23:59 22/8/2021 = Sunday midnight of week 4
5	Polis: Rites of Passage	Polis: Dionysian and Eleusinian Mysteries
6	Heracles: the 13th Olympian	Female Heroines and Greek Drama	QUIZ 3, online, submit 23:59 5/9/2021 = Sunday midnight of week 6
7	After the Polis: Text as Ritual	Alexander and the Successors: Myth and History	ANALYSIS OF MYTH DUE 23:59 12/9/2021 = SUNDAY MIDNIGHT OF WEEK 7
8	Myth in Philosophy I	Myth in Philosophy II	QUIZ 4, online, submit 23:59 3/10/2021 = Sunday midnight of week 8
9	Roman Myths I: Aeneid	Roman Myths II: Ovid
10	Theoretical Approaches Structuralism	Theoretical Approaches Poststucturalism	QUIZ 5, online, submit 23:59 17/10/2021 = Sunday midnight of week 10
11	Theoretical Approaches Functionalism	Theoretical Approaches Phenomenology
12	REVISION I	REVISION 2	ESSAY DUE 23:59 31/10/2021 = SUNDAY MIDNIGHT OF WEEK 12
13                           NO CLASSES OR TUTORIAL THIS WEEK