CLASSICS 1B03 Lecture 1: Classics 1B03 - Class Notes
13 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture 1 (June 21st) – Introduction and Creation 18-06-13 5:40 PM
Myths
- What is mythology?
• Talking about what is important in life
• Presenting it in narrative
• Stories
- How is Greek and Roman mythology relevant to us today?
• Professors that teach you
• Voting that matters
- How do we use mythology today?
- What are our modern myths?
• The Great Gatsby – The American Dream
*Mythology does not mean lies
Literature and Poets
- Authors we’ll read
• Hesiod (epic poet – Greek)
• Homer (epic poet- Greek)
• Aeschylus (Greek tragedy)
• Sophocles (Greek tragedy)
• Euripides (Greek tragedy)
• Catullus (Latin poet)
• Virgil (epic poet – Latin)
• Ovid (sometimes epic poet – Latin)
• Sappho (Greek poet)
• Horace (poet – Latin)
• Homeric Hymns (unknown author – Greek)
• Apollodorus (hisotorian of myth – Greek)
• Hyginus (historian of myth – Latin)
- Aristotle
• Philosopher
• Greek tragedy
• Explaining what is important
• Prescriptive
- Aristotle and the Elements of Tragedy
• Plot
• Character
• Thought
• Diction
• Song/Melody
• Spectacle
- catharsis (purging of emotion)
- anagnorisis (discovery)
- hamartia (missing the mark with your arrow; tragic mistake)
- hubris (excessive pride)
Greek Tragedy – The Basics
- Yearly tragic festivals (two main festivals)
- Poets would usually enter trilogies, plus one satyr play – with one poet per
day
- We only have extant tragedies from 3 poets: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and
Euripides
- Tragedies generally used mythic figures as subject matter
- 3-actor rule
- Chorus
- First actor: Thespis
- Only 33 tragedies survive in full (“extant”)
Greek Tragedies
- Aeschylus
• The Oresteia Trilogy
o Agamemnon
o The Libation Bearers
o The Eumenides/Furies
- Sophocles
• Oedipus the King
- Euripides
• The Bacchae
Hesiod
- Lived around 700 BC
- Wrote two texts
- Works and Days and Theogony
- Both of them were poems
- Were they theologies?
Names/Terms
- Chaos
- Gaia/Earth
- Ouranus/Sky
• Aphrodite
- Cronus
- Rhea
• Hades
• Poseidon
• Demeter
• Hera
• Zeus
- Zeus
• Metis
• Athena
- Titanomachy (“War/Clash of the Titans”)
- Prometheus (Iapetus)
- Epimetheus
- Pandora
- Hesiod
• Theogony
• Works and Days
Origin Myths – Hesiod
- How are these myths of origins similar to our own traditions?
- Are these myths just stories or are they meant to be didactic (ie:
teaching?)
- What do the myths about the Greek gods tell us about them?
- Did the Greeks really believe in their gods the same way that people today
believe in God?
- What is the purpose of mankind/creation?
Theogony
- 116-136 – Ouranos and Gaia (Earth)
• Ouranous mates with his mother, Gaia
• He hears a rumour that one of his children will overthrow him
• He forces all the children back into Gaia
- 137-187 – Castration of Ouranous
• One of the children, Cronos, cuts off his father’s genitals and throws
them into different parts of the world
Document Summary
Lecture 1 (june 21st) introduction and creation 18-06-13 5:40 pm. What is mythology: talking about what is important in life, presenting it in narrative, stories. How is greek and roman mythology relevant to us today: professors that teach you, voting that matters. What are our modern myths: the great gatsby the american dream. Aristotle: philosopher, greek tragedy, explaining what is important, prescriptive. Aristotle and the elements of tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, song/melody, spectacle. Hamartia (missing the mark with your arrow; tragic mistake) Poets would usually enter trilogies, plus one satyr play with one poet per day. We only have extant tragedies from 3 poets: aeschylus, sophocles, and. Only 33 tragedies survive in full ( extant ) Aeschylus: the oresteia trilogy, agamemnon, the libation bearers, the eumenides/furies. Rhea: hades, poseidon, demeter, hera, zeus. Are these myths just stories or are they meant to be didactic (ie: teaching?)
