ANCIENT GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Oedipus and the Sphinx
CLASSICS 28: BOOKS & READING SCHEDULE FOR THE COURSE

REQUIRED

Robert Graves Greek Myths (2-vols-in-one volume) Penguin
[Note: Graves is also available in a smaller-format 2 volume set: the content is the same in both formats.]

Richmond Lattimore The Odyssey of Homer Harper
Richard S. Caldwell Hesiod's Theogony Focus Info Group
Robert Fagles Aeschylus: the Oresteia Penguin
Robert Fagles Sophocles: the Three Theban Plays Penguin
M. Hadas Ten Plays by Euripides Bantam
M.P.O.Morford & R.J.Lenardon Classical Mythology (8th edition) Oxford

RECOMMENDED

Peter Levi Atlas of the Greek World Facts on File
Richard Buxton The Complete World of Greek Mythology Thames & Hudson

Note 1: if you have translations by other translators of any of the above works which you favor, it is fine to go ahead and use them. Just remember that page references used in handouts, class and section, and passages cited in exams, will be as in the versions above.

Note 2: Morford and Lenardon's Classical Mythology has been revised regularly and each edition differs from the previous one (slightly different Greek and Latin texts cited and excerpted, and different page numbers). It is best to use the latest (the eighth) edition, but there are still many second-hand copies of the 7th edition on the local market, and it is OK to use this edition, since the 8th did not make radical changes. However, you will have to be careful about page and chapter references (e.g. on our class Reading Schedule), and you may want to refer to our 8th-to-7th conversion table. (If you have the 6th edition, which we no longer recommend using, please refer to the 6th-to-7th conversion table.) Please note that, if you do use an edition earlier than the current 8th edition, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are reading the correct material referred to or assigned in class.

Here is a schedule of reading for the cluster of 'core' texts. Please note that this is not a roster of all the reading you will be doing for the class. You will also be expected to use and read extensively in Robert Graves Greek Myths as a reference work, for example, throughout the course; and you will want to explore other texts outside this list as your personal area interests develop.

This Schedule represents the minimum I will be assuming you have read in preparation for lectures: if you have not done at least this reading you will not be properly equipped to make the most of the class material.

You will also be expected to do follow-up reading: go over your notes after class, look things up in Robert Graves and other reference works etc., etc.

Please plan your time to ensure that you have a regular daily reading schedule so that you are prepared for class and can also do reading necessary as you develop your own areas of interest and prepare for the paper. Also I strongly urge you to do as much reading over the weekend as you can to prepare for the upcoming week.

Note: the texts on the Reading Schedule are keyed in part to the material we will cover in lecture week by week, but in addition this schedule is designed to spread your reading workload fairly evenly through the semester ( i.e. some texts appear on the schedule a week or more before they will be referenced in class). Lecture classes will assume that you are already familiar with at least the texts on the reading schedule, and that you are reading and studying these texts carefully on a continuous basis.

One last very important point: the study of Greek Myth in this course is not a simple linear matter. The purpose of this course is not just to introduce you to the narrative content of Greek mythology, but also to help you gain an understanding of the thought-structure that underlies it, in other words to grasp it as a whole language. Thus the course and the reading are designed to be cumulative and interactive: the material of week-3 comes after the material of week-1, but it does not supersede it, nor does the material of week-6 leave week-1 and week-3 behind sequentially. Instead it is the nature of the subject-matter that you should expect to visit and then revisit the material of previous weeks: the material of week-6 should take you back to reconsider the material you encountered in all the previous weeks, and to re-interpret. This approach is essential to our overall project, to construct a true understanding of how Greek Myth works.

In addition to making constant reference, on your own initiative, to the main reference works such as Robert Graves The Greek Myths you should familiarise yourself with our website and learn how to use the resources that are referenced there.

NOTE: references to Morford and Lenardon's Classical Mythology (CM) are to the 8th and 7th editions.

Week 1:
Odyssey 1-12
CM8 433-546, 1-54 (= CM7 404-504, 1-50)

Week 2:
Odyssey 13-24, Aeschylus Agamemnon, Euripides Iphigeneia at Aulis, The Trojan Women, Medea
CM8 55-153, 621-650 (= CM7 51-146, 573-601)

Week 3:
Hesiod Theogony; Euripides Ion
CM8 154-178, 547-620 (= CM7 147-170, 505-572, 602-620)

Week 4:
[mid-term]
Sophocles Oedipus The King, Antigone
CM8 238-291, 401-432 (= CM7 226-273, 372-403)

Week 5:
Euripides Hippolytus, Iphigeneia in Tauris
CM8 179-237, 327-376 (= CM7 171-225, 307-353)

Week 6:
Euripides Bacchae, Alcestis
CM8 292-326, 377-392 (= CM7 274-306, 328-369)