Roman and Greek Mythology

A Certificate of Participation is awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/learning activities for the duration of the course. This tutor-led, cohort-based online course is 7-weeks in duration and is made up of 5 teaching units. Teaching Week 1 - The nature of ancient gods Learning objectives: •   To gain knowledge of how Greek and Romans saw their Gods •   To gain an appreciation of how classical  culture interacted with the divine. •   To develop a grasp of the henotheism, polytheism  and monotheism and what differentiates a religion from a cult. Teaching Week 2 - The nature of Creation myths Learning objectives: •   To gain knowledge of the key Greek texts, particularly Hesiod. •   To develop an understanding of the common elements  of a creation myth. •   To gain an appreciation of ancient understanding of time. Teaching Week 3 - The Gods Learning objectives: •   To gain familiarity with gods Olympian, cthonic  and foreign. •   To develop an understanding of the nature of ritual and prophesy in the ancient world. •   To gain an appreciation of the complementary nature of myth and religion. Teaching Week 4 - The heroes Learning objectives: •   To develop an understanding of the basic heroic quest. •   To gain knowledge of the main Greek heroes and the concomitant  chronology and ancestry. •   To develop an appreciation of the social questions and conflicts that the myths tried to identify and explain. Teaching Week 5 - The Trojan war and the aftermath (Aeneid and Odyssey) Learning objectives: •   To develop a good understanding of three of the most important texts in literature. •   To gain an appreciation of the effect of these texts on ancient and modern society. •   To develop an understanding of the world of Odysseus. •   To gain an appreciation of how the material  studied earlier in the course comes together in the final week.