Great Mythologies of the World

Overview

Course No. 2380

Embark on an epic 60-lecture journey through the world’s most captivating myths with four renowned professors. From Greek titans to African tricksters, from Polynesian nature gods to Native American creation stories, this comprehensive course reveals how myths have shaped civilizations across time and space.

Discover universal themes in diverse cultural expressions as you explore creation stories, heroic quests, divine battles, and sacred rituals from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Pacific. These timeless narratives offer profound insights into human nature, societal values, and our eternal search for meaning.

Video Lectures

Greek and Roman Mythology (Lectures 1-9)

01: The Titans in Greek Mythology (35 min)
02: Complex Goddesses: Athena, Aphrodite, Hera (31 min)
03: Gods and Humanity in Greek Thought (33 min)
04: Herakles and the Greek Hero (32 min)
05: Odysseus, Master of Schemes (33 min)
06: The Golden Fleece and the Hero’s Return (33 min)
07: Romulus, Remus, and Rome’s Origins (33 min)
08: Roman Heroes and Traitors (33 min)
09: The Mother Goddess in Rome and Beyond (32 min)

Celtic and Norse Mythology (Lectures 10-12)

10: The Dagda’s Harp and Other Celtic Myths (32 min)
11: Norse Tales of Odin and Thor (31 min)
12: Hammers, Rings, and Other Norse Magic (33 min)

Middle Eastern Mythology (Lectures 13-18)

13: The World’s Oldest Myth: Gilgamesh (33 min)
14: The Babylonian Creation Story (31 min)
15: Chaos and Order in Egypt (33 min)
16: Horus, Osiris, and Ra (32 min)
17: Myths of the Pharaohs (32 min)
18: The Book of Job (30 min)

Asian Mythology (Lectures 19-24)

19: The Great Indian Epics (33 min)
20: The Bhagavad Gita (32 min)
21: Stories of the Buddha (31 min)
22: Persia’s Book of Kings (31 min)
23: One Thousand and One Nights (31 min)
24: Tales of Flood and Fire (33 min)

African Mythology (Lectures 25-36)

25: The Beauty of African Mythology (32 min)
26: African Creation Stories (29 min)
27: African Religious Cosmology (34 min)
28: Tricksters of Africa (30 min)
29: Africa’s Gods and Humanity (32 min)
30: Close Encounters with African Divinities (31 min)
31: Culture Heroes of African Myth (32 min)
32: The African Morality Tale (29 min)
33: The Dausi and African Epics (31 min)
34: The Epic of Bakaridjan Kone (33 min)
35: Death and the Afterlife in African Myth (33 min)
36: African Heroes in the Underworld (33 min)

Asian and Pacific Mythology (Lectures 37-48)

37: Culture and Cosmos in Chinese Mythology (33 min)
38: Chinese Heroes, Kings, and Destroyers (32 min)
39: Peasant Folktales and Chinese Scholarship (32 min)
40: Spirits and Syncretism in Korean Myth (33 min)
41: Korea’s Warring Kingdoms and Flying Dragons (34 min)
42: Japanese Tales of Purity and Defilement (32 min)
43: Gods, Rice, and the Japanese State (32 min)
44: Nature Gods and Tricksters of Polynesia (33 min)
45: Creation and Misbehavior in Micronesia (30 min)
46: Melanesian Myths of Life and Cannibalism (31 min)
47: Origins in Indonesia and the Philippines (31 min)
48: Aboriginal and Colonial Myths of Australia (34 min)

Native American Mythology (Lectures 49-60)

49: Nature in Native American Myth (31 min)
50: Inuit and Northern Forest Mythology (30 min)
51: Tales and Rituals of the Iroquois League (30 min)
52: Southeast Amerindian Origin Stories (29 min)
53: Mythology of the Plains Peoples (31 min)
54: Amerindian Tales from the Northwest (32 min)
55: The Navajo Emergence Myth (31 min)
56: Stories of the Pueblo (30 min)
57: Native American Tricksters (31 min)
58: The Maya and the Popol Vuh (31 min)
59: Aztec Myth Meets Hernan Cortes (33 min)
60: Inca Myth as Imperial Mandate (32 min)