Myth in Human History

Overview

Course No. 2332

Embark on a global journey through the world’s greatest myths with award-winning Professor Grant L. Voth. This 36-lecture course reveals how myths from ancient Greece to Native America shaped civilizations and continue to influence our lives today.

You’ll explore creation stories, heroic quests, trickster tales, and sacred places while discovering universal patterns across cultures. From Herakles to King Arthur, from Isis to Loki, these lectures bring to life the characters and stories that have defined human understanding for millennia.

Video Lectures

01: Myth and Meaning (33 min)

Discover what myths are and how they’ve shaped cultures throughout history.

02: The Continuing Importance of Myth (31 min)

Explore myth categories and their influence on modern stories like Harry Potter.

03: Creation Myths (30 min)

Examine major creation myth types through ancient Egyptian examples.

04: Mesopotamian Creation—Enuma Elish (31 min)

Analyze the cosmic battle that formed the world in this Babylonian epic.

05: Hebrew Creation Myths (31 min)

Compare Genesis with other global creation narratives.

06: Emergence and World-Parent Creation Myths (30 min)

Study Navajo and Maori versions of these distinctive origin stories.

07: Cosmic Egg and Ex Nihilo Creation Myths (30 min)

Discover Chinese and Mayan accounts of world beginnings.

08: Earth-Diver and Dismembered God Creation Myths (30 min)

Explore Huron and Norse myths about the world’s formation.

09: Mesopotamian and Hebrew Flood Myths (30 min)

Compare the Gilgamesh epic with Noah’s biblical flood story.

10: Other Flood Myths (31 min)

Examine deluge narratives from Greece, Rome, India, China, and Mesoamerica.

11: Myths of Cosmic Destruction (30 min)

Contrast Indian and Norse visions of the world’s end.

12: Greek and Norse Pantheons (31 min)

Meet the gods of Mount Olympus and Asgard.

13: The Great Goddess Remembered? (31 min)

Investigate goddess-centered myths from Vietnam, Sioux, and Zimbabwe cultures.

14: The Goddess—Inanna and Dumuzi (31 min)

Study this Sumerian fertility myth’s psychological dimensions.

15: The Goddess—Isis and Osiris (31 min)

Trace the evolving role of goddesses in Egyptian mythology.

16: The Eclipse of the Goddess (31 min)

Document the decline of female deities across civilizations.

17: Shamans and Vegetation Gods (29 min)

Track the development of male deities from Paleolithic to agricultural eras.

18: Sky Gods and Earth Goddesses (30 min)

Examine myths that separated divine genders across cultures.

19: Creator Gods (30 min)

Compare sole creator deities from Tahiti, India, and West Africa.

20: Gods and Goddesses of India (30 min)

Survey the rich Hindu pantheon and its mythological stories.

21: Hero Myths (29 min)

Introduce the concept of the monomyth through Herakles’ story.

22: Mythic Heroes—Gilgamesh (31 min)

Follow this Mesopotamian king’s epic quest for immortality.

23: Mythic Heroes—King Arthur (31 min)

Explore the Celtic legends of Camelot and the Holy Grail.

24: Mythic Heroes—Jason and the Argonauts (31 min)

Analyze this Greek quest myth’s connections to goddess worship.

25: The Monomyths of Rank and Campbell (31 min)

Compare psychological theories about heroic myth patterns.

26: Mythic Heroes—Mwindo (31 min)

Experience this living African epic through monomyth analysis.

27: Female Heroes—Demeter and Hester Prynne (31 min)

Contrast ancient and modern heroines across millennia.

28: Female Heroes—Psyche and Beauty (29 min)

Examine fairy tale heroines and their mythological roots.

29: The Trickster in Mythology (30 min)

Meet the Winnebago trickster and his rule-breaking antics.

30: Tricksters from around the World (29 min)

Compare Hermes, Enki, Loki, and Ma-ui’s mischievous deeds.

31: Native American Tricksters (31 min)

Discover animal tricksters like Spider, Raven, and Coyote.

32: African Tricksters (30 min)

Learn how Ajapa and Ananse shaped their cultures.

33: Mythic Tricksters—Eshu and Legba (31 min)

Explore these West African mediators between gods and humans.

34: The Places of Myth—Rocks and Lakes (31 min)

Visit sacred sites where the divine touched the earthly realm.

35: The Places of Myth—Mountains (31 min)

Ascend mythic peaks from Sinai to Tibet’s Kailas.

36: The Places of Myth—Sacred Trees (33 min)

Conclude with world trees connecting earth, heaven, and underworld.