Classical Mythology

An Open Source Class

Classical Mythology, Day 4

January 25, 2019

In this class we focus on the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which tells the story of the abduction (rape) of Persephone and her mother’s struggles to find out what happened to her. This Hymn draws on many different types of myth and responds to interpretations that focus on its functions as a natural allegory, an anthropological allegory (about … More Classical Mythology, Day 4

Classical Mythology, Day 3

January 18, 2019

Today’s class returns to a close reading of the particular story Hesiod’s Theogony presents about the succession from one generation of gods to another. While the ‘outer frame’ of the Theogony is teleologically minded and looks forward to a world in which Zeus reigns supreme, the ‘metaphysical’ foundations of this world in which everything is related by … More Classical Mythology, Day 3