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Classical Mythology (260-0-1)

Instructors

Marianne I Hopman
847/491-8361
Kresge Hall 4361
Office Hours: Tu/Th from 3:30-4:30pm

Meeting Info

Tech Institute Lecture Room 4: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

Drawing on a vast repertoire of god and hero names, narrative motifs, and plots, ancient Greek storytellers developed myths that circulated through antiquity in various media and continue to inspire creative artists—from novel writers through theater performers to ad designers—today. This course offers an introduction to major figures and plots from Greek myths. In the first part of the term, we will study various incarnations of major Greek gods across time, space, and storytelling genres. In the second part of the course, we will focus on stories related to the Trojan War and its aftermath as narrated in the two epic poems transmitted under the name of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, and in Athenian tragedy.

Class Materials (Required)

Trzaskoma, Stephen and Smith, R. Scott. 2016. Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in Translation. 2nd ed. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company. ISBN 978‐1624664977.

Lombardo, Stanley, ed. 2000. The Essential Homer. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company. ISBN 978‐0872205406.

Melville, A. D., transl. 2009. Ovid, Metamorphoses. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199537372
Sommerstein, A., transl. 2010. Aeschylus, The Persians and Other Plays. Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0140449990.

Taplin, O., transl. 2018. Aeschylus, The Oresteia: Agamemnon, Women at the Graveside, Orestes in Athens. New York and London: W.W. Norton. 978-0393923285

Morwood, James, transl. 2000. Euripides: Bacchae and other plays. Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0199540525

Morwood, James, transl. 2008b. Euripides: Medea and other plays. Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0199537969

Class Notes

Please note that 25 seats of this course are reserved for first-years. To join the waitlist for this class, please visit the Classics Waitlist Page: https://classics.northwestern.edu/courses/2024-2025/classics-waitlist.html

Class Attributes

Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area
Interdisciplinary Distro-rules apply
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Ethics & Values Distro Area

Associated Classes

DIS - University Library 3322: Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM

DIS - University Library 3322: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - University Library 3370: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - University Library 3370: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM

DIS - University Library 4670: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM

DIS - University Library 3722: Fri 1:00PM - 1:50PM