Review for Final Exam now online: click here.

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CC 303 (33080)

CLASS MEETS: MWF 10 - 11 AM, JES A121A

WEB SITE: http://www.utexas.edu/courses/myth/

This is where you will find handouts, web links and instructions for finding images online. Print out the handout for each class beforehand and bring it to class.

Caution: the web site is an aid to study, not a substitute for attending class! Not all the information and images covered in class will be posted to the web site. You are responsible for material in class, as well as on the handouts and the web site.

CONTENTS

1. Instructor.
2. Course Summary and Grading.
3. Other Business Matters.
4. Texts.
5. Syllabus. Contains links to daily handouts.

Instructors

Professor: Cynthia W. Shelmerdine

Office: WAG 14B
Office Hours: T 1O-11, M 12-1 and by appointment
E-mail: cwshelm@mail.utexas.edu
Phone: 471-3892

I look forward to getting to know you. Come by, call, or email whenever you are stuck, puzzled or intrigued by what you hear in class.

TAs:

Steve Foy

Office: WAG 13
Office Hours: W 11-1
E-mail: sfoy@mail.utexas.edu
Phone: 471-5742

Brooke Rich

Office: WAG 121
Office Hours: M 11-12, Th 1O-11
E-mail: lbrich@mail.utexas.edu
Phone: 471-5742

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Course summary

This course offers an introduction to the myths of the Greeks and Romans. We will look at the myths themselves, and also use them as a window into the ancient cultures which created them. It is interesting, too, to compare how the ancient authors used and interpreted their myths, with the many ways they are used and analyzed today. We will organize the material into several sections. The first will cover creation myths (both Greek and Near Eastern) and the gods. The second will focus on epic heroism (the Iliad and Odyssey and the Epic of Gilgamesh) and folktale. In the third section we will look at Herakles, Theseus and some famous mythical families that are the stuff of Greek tragedy (the Agamemnon by Aeschylus, the Bacchae by Euripides). Many classes will be illustrated, and lectures will cover of the readings and of the themes they raise. There are no prerequisites for the course, which may be used for Area D requirements, Classics major/minor requirements or as an elective.

Grading

Grades will be based on two midterms, occasional quizzes and/or short written assignments, attendance and a final exam. No extra credit work may be added or substituted. Quizzes and/or short written assignments may be announced in class only, not on the web site.

Midterms (2)	25 %
Quizzes, Attendance	10 %
Final exam	40 %
TOTAL	100 %

Texts

• Stephen L. Harris and Gloria Platzner, Classical Mythology: Images and Insights , 5th edition (New York: McGraw-Hill 2008)
• Stephen Mitchell, The Epic of Gilgamesh: A New English Version (New York: Free Press 2004)
• Stanley Lombardo, The Essential Homer: Selections from the Iliad and the Odyssey (Indianapolis: Hackett 2000)

The textbook has a website with practice quizzes and a glossary: http://mhhe.com/harrismyth5.

Other Business Matters

• You are responsible for attending the class meetings in general, and the tests in particular. I will not give make-up tests except for genuine emergencies; if one arises, you must get word to me immediately.
  
• Scholastic dishonesty: Dishonesty on any graded assignment will result in a grade of zero. Scholastic dishonesty includes any kind of cheating. For more information, contact Student Judicial Services at 471-2841, or go to http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/scholdis.php.
  
• Disabilities: The University of Texas at Austin provides, upon request, appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259 or 471-4641, or go to (http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/ssd).
  
• Religious holidays: If a religious holiday causes you to miss an assignment, you can make it up if you bring documentation of the holiday fourteen days ahead of time.

Syllabus and Readings

Aug. 29: Introduction. Definitions and interpretations of myth. Recommended: Harris & Platzner (hereafter H&P) 3-58. The box on p. 56-57 will be an assignment later on; I will notify you.

Aug. 31: Creation myths 1. Chaos to cosmos; comparative creation myths. H&P 61-68, Recommended: relevant section of Hesiod's Theogony: H&P 90-91.

Sept. 3: LABOR DAY BREAK

Sept. 5: Creation myths 2. Ouranos to Zeus; comparative myths. H&P 72-77, 80-83, 87. Recommended: relevant section of Hesiod's Theogony: H&P 91-94.

Sept. 7: Humankind and the Olympian gods 1. Prometheus, Pandora, 5 Ages of Man (see Creation myths 2 handout). H&P 106-119. Recommended: relevant section of Hesiod's Works and Days: H&P 130-34.

Sept. 10: Humankind and Zeus. The great flood (see Creation Myths 2 handout); Zeus. H&P 126-28, 179-89.

Sept. 12: Apollo. Apollo and the Delphic oracle. H&P 200, 237-65.

Sept. 14: Dionysos. H&P 216, 266-86, 291.

Sept. 17: Mystery religions. Demeter and the Eleusinian mysteries; Orpheus and Orphism. H&P 194, 157-65; 279-80, 305-307. Assignment 1 (click HERE) due in class.

Sept. 19: Aphrodite. H&P 209-14, 218-21, 1030, images on pp. 1034-39.

Sept. 21:Hermes and other tricksters. H&P 108 box, 205-208, 222-36.
 

Sept. 24: Roman religion. H&P 875-76, 882-83.

Sept. 26: Death and Immortality. H&P 292-310.

Sept. 28: Daedalus and Icarus.H&P 48-49, 1040-42.

Oct. 1: Review for Midterm 1.

Oct. 3: MIDTERM 1.

Oct. 5:Epic introduction 1. Epic and the myths of Troy. H&P 367-75.

Oct. 8: Epic introduction 2. Lombardo p. ix-xx.

Oct. 10:Homer, Iliad 1. H&P 375-87; Lombardo 1-23 [from Books 1-2], 28-36 (line 284), 38 (line 353)-42 [from Book 3], 52-71 (line 152), 72 (line 218)-82 [from Books 5-6]. (63 pp.)

Reading guide for the Iliad now on line; click here.

Oct. 12: Homer, Iliad 2. Lombardo 92-106 [from Book 9], 124 (line 300)-25 (line 344) [from Book 12], 153-74 [from Book 16], 175-95 [from Books 18-19], 205-21 [from Book 22]. (73 pp.)

Oct. 15: Homer, Iliad 3. Gilgamesh 1. Iliad: Lombardo 222-40 [from Books 23-24]. (18 pp.) Gilgamesh: H&P 316-17. Epic of Gilgamesh: Introduction: Mitchell 1-7, 62-66. Poem: 69-94 middle [from Books 1-3], 118-32 (from Book 5). (39 pp.) Recommended: Mitchell 7-62 is your reading guide for this poem.

Oct. 17: Gilgamesh 2. Poem: Mitchell 141-55 [from Book 8], 159 [from Book 9], 165-99 [Books 10-11]. (48 pp.)

Oct. 19: Homer, Odyssey 1. Telemachos. H&P 460-67. Lombardo 241-69 [from Books 1, 4]. (28 pp.)

Reading guide for the Odyssey now on line; click here.

Oct. 22: Homer, Odyssey 2. Odysseus. H&P 465 box. Lombardo 284-98 [from Books 6, 8], 332-38, 342-65 [from Books 11, 12]. (43 pp.)

Oct. 24: Homer, Odyssey 3. Cyclops. Odyssey. H&P 468-69, 470-79. Lombardo 298-314 [Book 9]. (16 pp.) Assignment 2 due in class; click here.

Oct. 26: Homer, Odyssey 4. Homecoming. H&P 469-70, 479-82. Lombardo 366-88 [from Books 13, 16], 403-39 [from Books 19, 21-22], 454-65 [Book 23]. (69 pp.)

Oct. 29: Roman legend. H&P 878-82, 883-908.

Oct. 31: Catch-up.

Nov. 2: Review for Midterm 2.


Nov. 5: MIDTERM 2.

Nov. 7: Agamemnon and his family. H&P 557-75.

Nov. 9: Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1. H&P 576-606. ALSO USEFUL: H&P 357-358.

Nov. 12: Aeschylus, Agamemnon 2, Eumenides. H&P 625-26,

Nov. 14: Oedipus and his family. H&P 543-56, 646-56.

Nov. 16: Sophocles' plays about Oedipus and Antigone. H&P 657-65, 727. Recommended, if you haven't read them, Sophocles' Oedipus Rex (H&P 666-714) and Antigone (H&P 715-51).

 
Nov. 19: Euripides, Medea 1. H&P 753-62, 778-99 (line 731). Recommended: assignment for Dec. 5. ALSO USEFUL: H&P 353-354.

Nov. 21:Euripides, Medea 2, Bacchae. H&P 765-77, 799 (line 732)-816. Recommended: Euripides' Bacchae (H&P 817-70).

Nov. 23: THANKSGIVING BREAK

Nov. 26: Herakles 1. H&P 323-29, box on pp. 332-33.

Nov. 28: Herakles 2.

Nov. 30: Theseus 1. H&P 331-38.

Dec. 3: Theseus 2.

Dec. 5: Myth, Politics and Propaganda; Jason and the Argonauts. H&P 338-42.

Dec. 7: Catch-up and review for final exam.

FINAL EXAM: Monday 17 December, 2-4 p.m.