Fall 2025 Course Schedule (Readings and Assignments)

 

Notes on this schedule (which is always kept up to date)

  • This schedule lists class session topics and links to readings for each session.
  • Not all the material is available publicly online. For the password that unlocks any private links or protected PDFs, see Brightspace.
  • Readings listed for a class session should be done BEFORE that session
  • You will have roughly weekly quizzes on the readings, infinitely repeatable until the Sunday they are due. You will take them at home via Brightspace (not here on the Commons). So: Expect a quiz due most Sundays, though they’re not listed here.
  • Check this schedule for every class, there may be updates!

Unit 0: Intro & Course Overview. What is (classical) myth? Definitions and Greek Context

Thurs, 8/28. Course policies and setup. Syllabus. Tour of Brightspace & CUNY Commons site. What the course does and doesn’t cover. Myth examples.

Read: No reading for this first class!

 

Monday, 9/1. NO CLASS (Labor Day)

Thurs, 9/4. What is mythology? What does it do?  How is it different? How can we interpret it? What does “classical” mean?

Read:

1) the sections “Approaches to the Study of Myth and Mythology” and “Functions of Myth and Mythology” (NOT the whole entry) in this encyclopedia entry

2) The “Quick Test” section plus the “Super Detailed Definition” ONLY for myth here

3) the short paragraph “Why are there so many versions of Greek myths?”

DUE Sun, 9/7. INTRO SURVEY [on Brightspace] on  your background and interests. Serves as Verificaction of Enrollment—please do it ON TIME so you’re not dropped from the course roster!!

 

Mon, 9/8. Orienting to Ancient Greece. Greek Myth in its historical, cultural and religious context. Our sources for Greek Myth.

Read:

  1. The timeline and overview of periods in Greek History given in this textbook excerpt.
  2. Read the “About” page for NYU’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW). This will give you some sense of how we can study the ancient world beyond Greece and Rome and which fields study it.
  3. Browse the lists of past exhibitions at ISAW. Click through to the full descriptions of at least two exhibitions that interest you and be ready to discuss your findings with your classmates. Consider: what is “ancient” or “classical”? What comparisons make sense to make when we study the ancient world globally?

Study closely: Maps here of the ancient Mediterranean and Greece specifically.

Unit 1: Creation Stories

Thurs, 9/11. More on Ancient Greece & “Global Antiquity.” Greek Creation: Orienting to Hesiod’s Theogony and workshop: how do we approach reading hard texts?

Read: Read the first three sections only (through the “Castration of Uranus”) of the translation of the Theogony we will be using, here. This will be difficult! Your goal for this reading is not content understanding, but process practice. WRITE NOTES about what is hard and try out some strategies to see what could help make it easier. We’ll then brainstorm and practice reading strategies together in class & I’ll get to know what help you need as a class.

 

Mon, 9/15. Read: Hesiod’s Theogony in full, using the aids and strategies you’ve been developing. You can SKIP the sections “The Spirits of Night,” “The Sea Gods” and “Bestiary”—we’ll address them in class.

Thurs, 9/18 and Mon, 9/22. NO CLASS.

Thurs, 9/25. Theogony Part 2: Deep dive, close reading, class discussion.

Read: Reread Theogony (link above under 9/15).

Mon, 9/29.
1. Theogony wrap-up.
2. Other Greek creation stories: Hesiod’s generations of humans.
3. Start of Roman versions.

Read: The following from Hesiod and Ovid

  1. From Hesiod’s Works and Days here, lines 116-212 on the “Ages of Man”
  2. From Book 1 of the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses here…
    • lines 1-88 creation of the world and of mortals
    • lines 89-150 Ovid’s version of the “Ages of Man” in comparison to Hesiod’s above: Gold, Silver, Bronze & Iron Ages
    • lines 177-292 the flood
    • lines 313-347 Deucalion and Pyrrha

Thurs, 10/2. College closed. NO CLASS.

ASNYC LECTURE VIDEO #1 (watch before Monday 10/6, link on Brightspace)

1. Overflow from Other Greek and Roman creations from Monday.
2. Comparison to the biblical Book of Genesis

Read before watching:

From the Biblical Book of Genesis (any translation linked to here is fine)

    • Genesis 1-3 on the creation of the world and of humans
    • Genesis 6-8 (type “6-8” in the nav bar) on the flood / the story of Noah’s Ark

ASYNC LECTURE VIDEO #2 (watch before Monday 10/6, link on Brightspace):

The Babylonian creation story, Enuma Elish.

Read before watching:

JUST the section “Story and Structure” from this scholarly introduction to the “Enuma Elish”

 

Unit 2: The Gods and Goddesses Up High: Big Hits of the Greek Pantheon

Mon, 10/6. Unit 2 intro. Our sources for info on the gods. Zeus, Hera, Hades.

Read:

  1. For Zeus: From the section here on Zeus in Mythoi Koinoi, read…:
  • “Origins”
  • ”Zeus Deliberates Whether to Defy Fate,” “Zeus Carries off Ganymede,” and “The God of the Stoics” in the section “Zeus in Action” (including the primary source translations!)
  • “Art and Symbolism”, all, focusing on studying the pictures
  • ”Jupiter”

2. For Hera: From the section here on Hera in Mythoi Koinoi, read…:

  • Origins
  • “Hera as Zeus’s Counterpart” and the selection from Ovid (Metamorphoses 1.622-722) given in “Hera in Action”
  • “Art and Symbolism”, all
  • ”Juno”

3. For Hades and the Underworld, just this entry from Mythology Unbound.

Thurs, 10/9. Poseidon and Athena

Read:

  1. For Poseidon: From his entry here on Theoi.com…
  • The very beginning intro mini-paragraph (above “Myths”)
  • ”Symbols and Attributes”
  • The passage from the Orphic Hymns (only that one!) in the section “Classical Literature Quotes” on Poseidon’s page
  • Click through at least 6 of the artistic representations of Poseidon in the “Ancient Greek and Roman Art” section and study them

2. For Athena

  • The full entry on Athena from Mythology Unbound
  • From the section “Athena in Action” in her page on Mythoi Koinoi, the sections (including full primary sources) “Athena the Warrior”, “Athena as Patron of Athens” and “Athena and Arachne”
  • The section “Art and Symbolism” from the same Mythoi Koinoi page above

Mon, 10/13. NO CLASS (Hunter closed).

DUE Mon, 10/13. Unit 1 Response Paper (Submissions, prompts and guidelines on Brightspace)

Thurs, 10/16. Apollo & Artemis

Read:

  1. For Apollo…

2. For Artemis…

  • The entry on Artemis here from Mythology Unbound
  • The story told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses of Diana (the Romans’ name for Artemis) and Actaeon, lines 138-252 of Book 3 here (NOT the whole page here, which is the whole book!)

Mon, 10/20. NO CLASS

Fri, 10/24. Q&A on Zoom 1:45-3:15

 

Mon, 10/27. Demeter and her daughter Persephone

Read: The full entry on Demeter and Persephone in Mythoi Koinoi, focusing on the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and on “Art and Symbolism”. 


Mon, 10/27. MIDTERM made available on Brightspace on this date.

 

Thurs, 10/30. Aphrodite & Ares, Unit Wrap

Read:

  1. For Aphrodite, the whole entry from Mythoi Koinoi BUT, of the primary sources, ONLY the “Homeric Hymn 5: To Aphrodite” and Sappho’s poem in “Aphrodite in Action.” Pay special attention to the Roman’s political uses of Venus.
  2. For Ares, the full (pretty short!) entry on him from Mythoi Koinoi, including the two primary sources in “Ares in Action”

Thurs, 11/6: MIDTERM EXAM due via Brightspace (on Units 1-2)

 

Unit 3: The Politics of Greek Heroes and Heroines

Mon, 11/3. Unit 3 intro: What makes a Greek hero? Herakles Part 1

Read:

  1. PDF on Brightspace for a definition and discussion of what makes a GREEK hero, specifically.
  2. From the Mythoi Koinoi entry on Herakles, the sections ”Birth”; “Megara” section under “Early Adventures”; “Deianeira” section under “Other Adventures.” Make sure to read the primary sources included in these sections!
  3. For an introduction to the Labors of Herakles, read from here the INTRO section AND click through and study any 6 of the 12 labors linked to on this page.

Thurs, 11/6. Herakles Part 2: Interpreting His Story.

Read:

  1. A bit more on Herakles’s story: the full sections “Death and Apotheosis” and “Art and Symbolism,” again from the Mythoi Koinoi entry on Herakles
  2. For philosophical interpretation: In that same entry, the section “Encounter with Virtue and Vice” in that same entry (above) under the section “Other Adventures”
  3. This article from Eidolon Journal discussing the sources of Herakles’ violence in a modern societal context. Content advisory: descriptions of gun violence.

Unit 2 Response Paper due Sunday, November 9 via Brightspace

Mon, 11/10. Theseus & the politics of hero myths. 

Read: The full entry on Theseus from Mythology Unbound

Thurs, 11/13. Heroes wrap-up/overflow & compared with Heroines.

Read:

  1. From the Roman Poet Ovid’s Heroides (“Heroines”) printed at this site, read letters 9 (Deianira to Hercules), 10 (Ariadne to Theseus) and 12 (Medea to Jason) (click on the relevant links in the Table of Contents on the right side of the page)
  2. If you have extra time, start reading Euripides’ tragedy Medea in full here

Mon, 11/17. Intro to Greek tragic plays. Euripides’ tragedy, Medea discussion.

Read: the FULL PLAY Medea here

Thurs, 11/20. More Medea: discussion wrap. Versions & reception in art and performance. 

Unit 4: Epic Tales: Homer and the Ancient Near East

Mon, 11/24. Intro to Epic and Homer’s Epic Cycle. Iliad & Odyssey background. Relation of epic to previous units.
Readings: NONE.

Thurs, 11/27. NO CLASS (Fall Break!)

 

 

Mon, 12/1. Homer’s Iliad; war heroes and epic. Epic as myth source. Paper prompts up.

Readings:

1. All of the Iliad Book 1 at Poetry in Translation (about 600 lines)

2. Both primary source passages from the Iliad at the Mythoi Koinoi entry on it

Thurs, 12/4. Homer’s Odyssey and quest heroes.
Readings:

1. Odyssey Book 9 (PDF on Brightspace)
2. Modern Greek poet Constantine Cavafy’s poem Ithaca

DUE Sun, 12/7 Unit 3 Response Paper (Submissions, prompts and guidelines on Brightspace)

Mon, 12/8 Modern Reception of Homer’s epics, especially Odyssey. Intro to ANE epic in comparison.

Readings/Viewing: Watch the 5 minute video and browse through all the samples from the collection here of painter Romare Bearden’s project “Black Odyssey.”

Thurs, 12/11. The Ancient Near Eastern Epic of Gilgamesh, in comparison. Unit 4 wrap. 

Readings: PDF up on BrightSpace with an intro and summary of the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Mon, 12/15: Course wrap-up. Final exam review. (Last class!)

Read: Nothing new! Re-read material so you can ask questions.

 

Unit 4 Response Paper  Due Sunday, 12/21 via Brightspace

FINAL EXAM posted on 12/15, DUE 12/21

December 21st: FINAL deadline for ANY AND ALL assignment submissions. No assignment submitted after this date will be counted towards your final course grade.