CLS 242: Classical Mythology Course Page
Grinnell College
Spring 2002

Texts and Video Supplements:
[*available at Bookstore CLS 242 shelf and also on Burling Reserve;
others are assumed from HUM 101 syllabus]


Description

Texts

Schedule of Assignments

Course Requirements

Class Page

Supplements

Resources

  • Harris and Platzner Classical Mythology: Images and Insights, 3rd edition
  • Hesiod, Theogony, Works and Days, Shield of Heracles, trans. Athanassakis
  • Euripides, Ten Plays, trans. Roche [We'll read Trojan Women, Bacchae, Hippolytus, Alcestis, Iphigenia at Aulis, and Electra.]
  • Sophocles, The Women of Trachis, trans. Williams and Dickerson
  • Vergil, Aeneid, trans. Fitzgerald; excerpt from Georgics 4, trans. Day Lewis (handout))
  • Ovid, Metamorphoses, trans. Melville
  • Apuleius, The Golden Ass, trans. Walsh
  • Genesis 4, 6-9, 11 (handout; Genesis 1-3 included in HP)
  • Homer, Iliad, trans. Lattimore or Lombardo; Odyssey, trans. Fitzgerald or Fagles
  • Greek Tragedies I and III (GT I, III) or Aeschylus I (A1) and Sophocles I (S1)
    [Humanities 101 texts: we'll refer to Agamemnon in this series-and probably use the series for the first part of Libation Bearers, Oedipus the King, and Antigone.]

[Other tragedies to be read are contained in Harris and Platzner, (HP)
or will be available on Burling reserve:

  • Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound (also in GT I), Libation Bearers, Eumenides;
  • Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus (not in HP, but available in GT III or S1& on reserve), Antigone (may be read instead in GT I or S1);
  • Euripides, Helen (not in HP, but on reserve), Medea, and possibly Bacchae

*Course Packet: articles and chapters from secondary sources

VIDEO SUPPLEMENTS:

CD-ROM and Videodisc:

Perseus (a multimedia interactive database for the study of ancient Greek civilization--includes texts, maps, site plans, overview of Greek history, short articles and glossary entries on selected topics, and full-color images of art objects)

Videocassettes (Burling Listening Room):
  • Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth (6 tapes): 1) The Message of Myth; 2) The Hero's Adventure; 3) The First Storytellers; 4) Sacrifice and Bliss; 5) Love and the Goddess; 6) Masks of Eternity
  • Aeschylus, Oresteia: Agamemnon, Choephori, Eumenides
  • Sophocles, The Theban Plays: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone
  • Euripides, The Trojan Women, Medea, Iphigenia [at Aulis
Classics Cluster 'Pandora's Box: the Roles of Women in Ancient Greece'; 'The Greek Temple'; 'The Ancient Olympics: Athletes, Games, and Heroes'; 'Myth, Man, and Metal: Bronze Sculpture'

Note: Readings/videos designated 'suggested' are optional sources for further investigation. These are not regular class assignments and will not normally be discussed, or even mentioned, in class. They may prove useful for research topics or to enrich your understanding or to provide a different perspective for a myth or topic you find particularly interesting. Some, but not all, will be on reserve at Burling Library.

Readings labeled 'supplement' generally follow up on class sessions and are required readings; they will be available through hand-outs or on the course web page.

 

Return to Main Page

Send Mail to Ed Phillips (phillips@grinnell.edu)

Page Last Updated 1/31/2002