From Athena to Zeus, Professor Elizabeth Vandiver' Professor of Classics and Clement Biddle Penrose Professor of Latin at Whitman College, leads an illuminating exploration of classical mythology and its treasure trove of unforgettable characters and stories. Classical Mythology is an introduction to the primary characters and most important stories of classical Greek and Roman mythology. Among those you will study are the accounts of the creation of the world in Hesiod's Theogony and Ovid's Metamorphoses; the gods Zeus, Apollo, Demeter, Persephone, Hermes, Dionysos, and Aphrodite; the Greek Heroes, Theseus and Hercules; and the famous classical myth of the Trojan War. In addition, Professor Vandiver explores the challenges we face in studying mythology - which is rooted in oral tradition and pre-literate society - through the literary works that recount them.
Professor Elizabeth Vandiver anchors her presentation in some basics. What is a myth? Which societies use myths? What are some of the problems inherent in studying classical mythology? She also discusses the most influential 19th- and 20th-century thinking about myth's nature and function, including the psychological theories of Freud and Jung and the metaphysical approach of Joseph Campbell.
