Classical Myths in Culture

Timetable

Module aim (aims)

To make students aware of the problems of the various definitions and theoretical interpretation of the myth (early modern and modern)

To familiarise students with reception and transformation (esp. Christianization) of chosen classical myths in early modern and modern culture

To familiarise students with cultural history of chosen myths

To familiarise students with different ways of using and interpretating myths in various media (literature, painting, theater, opera, film)

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

Good knowledge of Classical Mythology.

Syllabus

Week 1 Theoretical principles of mythography and reception studies
Week 2 Philosophical, social and cultural context of early modern and modern using of mythology. Christianization
Week 3 Myth and its reception I: Orpheus and Eurydice
Week 4 Myth and its reception II: Ulysses
Week 5 Myth and its reception III: Dido and Aeneas
Week 6 Myth and its reception IV: Apollo and Hyacinthus
Week 7 Myth and its reception V: Apollo and Daphne
Week 8 Myth and its reception VI: Oedipus
Week 9 Myth and its reception VII: Electra
Week 10 Myth and its reception VIII: Helen of Troy
Week 11 Myth and its reception IX: Lucretia
Week 12 Myth and its reception X: Ariadne on Naxos
Week 13 Myth and its reception XI: Iphigenia
Week 14 Myth and its reception XI: myths in Aristophanes’ Birds
Week 15 Myth and its reception XII: Conclusion and final remarks

Reading list

Obligatory

1. Robert A. Segal., Myth: Very Short Introduction, Oxford Univ. Press 2004.
2. The Classical Tradition, ed. ed. Anthony Grafton, G.W. Most, S. Settis, Cambridge University Press 2010 (selected entries).
3. A Handbook to the Reception of Classical Mythology. Ed. Vanda Zajko and Helena Hoyle. Wiley Blackwell 2017 (selected chapters
4. Gods and Mortals: Modern Poems on Classical Myths. Ed. Nina Kossman. Oxford 2017.

Optional

1. H. David Brumble, Classical Myths and Legends in Middle Ages and Renaissance, Greenwood Press 1998 (selected entries).
2. The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology, ed. Roger D. Woodard, Cambridge Univ. Press 2007 (chapters: 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, 16).

Conditions of assesment:

Oral statements: 20 % of the final grade

Essay: 30 % of the final grade

Oral colloquium: 50 % of the final grade

Essay: Analyzis and interpretation of the chossen poem from the anthology "Gods and Mortals" (see bibliography)