Classical Mythology
Overview
Course No. 243
Professor Elizabeth Vandiver guides you through the fascinating world of Greek and Roman mythology in this digitally remastered course. You’ll explore:
- Creation myths from Hesiod’s Theogony to Ovid’s Metamorphoses
- The Olympian gods and their complex relationships
- Heroic tales including Theseus, Hercules, and the Trojan War
- Psychological and structuralist interpretations of myths
- The transition from oral tradition to literary works
Discover how these ancient stories continue to shape our understanding of culture, psychology, and the human experience.
Video Lessons
- Introduction (31 min)
Defining key terms and outlining challenges in studying classical mythology. - What Is Myth? (31 min)
Examining influential theories about myth’s origin and function. - Why Is Myth? (30 min)
Exploring psychological and structuralist approaches to mythology. - “First Was Chaos” (31 min)
Comparing creation stories in Hesiod and Ovid. - Reign of the Olympians (31 min)
Analyzing Zeus’s rise to power and his divine justice. - Immortals and Mortals (31 min)
Studying Prometheus, Pandora, and the Greek view of society. - Demeter & Persephone (31 min)
Understanding this famous myth of death and rebirth. - Eleusinian Mysteries (31 min)
Investigating ancient Greek views of the afterlife. - Apollo & Artemis (30 min)
Contrasting these twin deities of reason and wildness. - Hermes & Dionysos (31 min)
Examining gods of boundaries and ecstasy. - Aphrodite (31 min)
Exploring Greek and Roman concepts of love and desire. - Cultural Origins (32 min)
Tracing Mesopotamian, Minoan, and Mycenaean influences. - Humans & Heroes (31 min)
Comparing Hesiod’s and Ovid’s accounts of humanity. - Theseus (31 min)
Following the Athenian hero through his legendary trials. - Myth to History (30 min)
Interpreting the Minotaur story through multiple lenses. - Hercules (31 min)
Analyzing the contradictions in Greece’s greatest hero. - Trojan War (31 min)
Understanding this pivotal event in Greek mythology. - House of Atreus (31 min)
Unraveling this dark tale of family curses. - Blood Vengeance (32 min)
Examining Aeschylus’s dramatic treatment of justice. - Oedipus (31 min)
Revisiting Freud’s and Lévi-Strauss’s interpretations. - Monstrous Females (32 min)
Analyzing Amazons, Medea, and male anxieties. - Roman Foundations (30 min)
Comparing Greek borrowings with native Roman myths. - “Gods Are Useful” (31 min)
Understanding Ovid’s literary and ironic approach. - Ovid’s Legacy (30 min)
Tracing mythology’s influence through modern culture.

