CLSS 110
Classical Mythology
1. Catalog Entry
CLSS 110
Classical Mythology
Credit hours (3)
Study of Greek and Roman mythology, the role of mythology in classical antiquity,
and the influence of classical mythology upon Western culture.
Note(s): This course has been approved for Core Curriculum Credit in Area 4: Humanities.
2. Detailed Description of Course
Course Content: Any basic text should include chapters on major Greek deities and heroes, Roman mythology and legends, and influence on later literature and music. Discussion of assigned readings will be supplemented by slide lectures focusing on ancient art, temples, and sanctuaries. The class will also read several Greek tragedies and an epic (the Iliad or the Odyssey). In both epic and tragedy, students will see how gods and mortals interacted in the realm of classical myth. Additional topics will include Greek and Roman views of the afterlife, mystery cults, legends of early Rome, and other aspects of religious cult and ritual.
3. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
The class will be conducted in a lecture and discussion format. Lectures will cover assigned reading material but may also include aspects of the topic not covered in the assigned text. Questions will be asked of students to stimulate discussion, and consideration of variant versions and interpretations will be encouraged.
Slides will be shown often to illustrate mythology in ancient and later art - deities,
heroes, associated symbols and adventures in painting and sculpture. Slides of ancient
sites and architectural monuments associated with major deities and heroes will also
be shown.
Films based on Greek tragedy or other myths may be shown.
4. Goals and Objectives of the Course
Radford University students will understand that human experience has given rise to significant questions and be aware of the nature and methods of inquiry in the humanities.
Radford University students will:
1) Identify principles, concepts, or developments crucial to inquiry in a humanities
discipline;
2) Recognize how a method of inquiry in the humanities can be applied to a
disciplinary question.
5. Assessment Measures
1) Quizzes on assigned readings.
2) Major exams - 4 or 5 a semester, including final; format will be multiple choice
plus
discussion and genealogy charts. Discussion will focus on the significance
of
specific myths as well as the use of specific myths to explore serious issues
relevant
to values and meaning in ancient life.
6. Other Course Information
CLSS 110 may be included in the Latin minor and is one of the core courses for both the Classical Humanities minor and the Classics option of the Intercultural Studies minor. CLSS 110 will also satisfy the optional three-hour general education credit in Humanities. Though not a literature course itself, this course does require reading several Greek tragedies, selections from Greek history and philosophy, Greek and Latin epic, and other Greek and Latin poetry (all in translation). Moreover, mythology is part of a discipline (Classics) which has traditionally served to transmit humanistic concepts basic to western civilization. (There is no prerequisite for this course.)
Review and Approval
June 28, 2012
November 2011