Week 3 Syllabus: January 22
WE WILL COVER FOUNDATIONAL, GREEK myths and other information about the Trojan War, Hesiod’s “Theogany,” and Homer’s Iliad in order to prepare for The Odyssey, which we’ll begin formally this week. Remember, we are working with Emily Wilson’s translation. Some key, ancient Greek concepts reviewed include: xenia (from last week) and kleos, philia, hubris, and nostos. We will discuss “willing suspension of disbelief” and “ embracing ambiguity and contradiction” as that applies to studying mythology.
MONDAY, January 22
Key concepts for Homer’s Iliad.
Question/answers about the pre-Trojan War readings.
How to reconcile the complexity of Greek myth.
Reading handout on “Creation of the Titans and the Gods” by Donna Rosenberg
HW Finish reading the aforementioned handout. Also read “Translation & Homer’s Odyssey.”
WEDNESDAY, January 24
Watching a documentary on Greek mythology: “Greek Myths and Monsters”
Exploring the myth of Heracles, the earliest and greatest of ancient Greek heroes.
Sample “cartoon” version of the Heracles myth.
HW: Based on the Hamilton reading on Heracles, create an illustration of ONE of Heracles’s feats/stories, using the comic panel provided, adding: a) narration, b) spoken word(s)/dialogue, c) illustration, and d) color. Due Monday.
Thursday, January 25
Watching and taking notes on a second documentary, this one on the female Olympian gods: “Complex Goddesses: Athena, Aphrodite, & Hera”
Starting Homer’s Odyssey, reading and annotating book one in class. Because of the shortened day, we won’t read the entire chapter, but we’ll get through Athena’s conversation with Zeus about helping Odysseus.
HW: Read book two for class on Monday.