Course Information

Spring Semester 2009

Course Description

The Mythology course is introductory, and it is designed for readers of western literature and thought. The emphasis is on the form in which myths – Greek and Roman myths – were received in early modern Europe. Our main classical authors are therefore Ovid, Vergil, Homer and Hesiod. Clearly, the myths in their revived form had little connection with their original context in Greek and Roman religion. To understand what the myths meant, for example, to Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, the course uses ‘books of emblems’, such as that of Andrea Alciatus (recently translated into Turkish by ÇiÄŸdem DürüÅŸken). The emblems lead us also into the world of renaissance art, and illustrations are given from painting and sculpture.

Objectives

As this is a practical course for scholars of literature, the main task is to recognise important topics of classical mythology (the 42 topics are listed below). Secondarily, the course aims to help students understand how authors’ references to myths are to be interpreted. These references range from simple poetic language (e.g. ‘Phoebus’ steeds’) to the extensive use Milton made of Homer.

Requirements

The requirement is to learn 42 stories from Greek and Roman myth. To avoid the complications of spelling Greek and Latin names, Turkish conventions may be used (here following Yunan ve Roma Mitolojisi, TÜBÄ°TAK).

The myths for this semester are: Afrodit’in DoÄŸumu, Afrodit’le Adonis/Venüs’le Adonis, Akhilleus’un öfkesi, Antigone’le Kreon, Apollon’le Daphne, Ares’le Afrodit ve Hephaistos/Mars’le Venüs ve Vulkan, Athena’nın DoÄŸumu, Daedalos’le Ä°karos, Deukalion’le Pyrrha, Dionysos’un DoÄŸumu, Dionysos’le Ariadne/Bakküs’le Ariadne, Europa/Avrupa’nın Kaçırılışı, Hades’le Persephone/Pluto’le Proserpina, Hektor’un Ölümü, Helena’nın Paris tarafından kaçırılışı, Ä°ason Altın Postu Alıyor/Ä°ason Kolkhis’te, Ä°ason’un DoÄŸumu, Ä°ason Kolkhis’e gidiyor, Ä°ason’le Orpheus ve Sirenler, Ä°ason Medeia’yı aldatıyor, Midas’le Pan, Midas ve altın, Narkissos’le Ekho, Oidipus’un suçu, Oidipus’le Sfenks, Odysseus/Ulysses’le Kiklops, Odysseus/Ulysses’le Kirke, Odysseus/Ulysses’le Sirenler, Odysseus’le Skylla ve Kharybdis, Odysseus’le Penelope, Olimposlular ve simgeleri, Olimposlularla Titanlar savaşı, Pandora’nın Kutusu, Paris’in DoÄŸumu ve Paris’in Kararı, Perseus’in DoÄŸumu, Perseus’le Andromakhe, Perseus Meduza’ya gidiyor, Perseus Meduza’yı öldürüyor ve annesini kurtarıyor, Prometheus, Theseus’le Minotauros, Truva Atı, Yaratılış/Evrenin Yaratılışı. (This list has been chosen partly with a view to the frequency of the myths’ occurrence in western art and literature.)

All kinds of additional information are valid for the exam. Extra marks will be given for notes like ‘Caravaggio painted a well-known Narkissos’, and ‘Mount Ida is now called Kaz Dağı in Turkish’.

Text Books

There is no set book, just set myths. (To learn these myths, students are directed to the well-known works of Thomas Bullfinch and Edith Hamilton. Robert Graves’s The Greek Myths is highly recommended for those who want to go further with this subject. Internet sites include Theoi and, in Turkish, Vikipedia.)

Students are recommended to buy at least Yunan ve Roma Mitolojisi, Estin and Laporte, trans. Musa Eran (TÜBÄ°TAK, 2002).

Other books frequently used in the course are: Emblemata, Andrea Alciatus, trans. ÇiÄŸdem DürüÅŸken (Kabalcı, Istanbul, 2005); AntikçaÄŸ’dan günümüze sanatta Mitoloji, R. Carvalho de Magalhaes, trans. YiÄŸit DeÄŸer Bengi (Alfa, Istanbul, 2007); The Survival of the Pagan Gods, Jean Seznec, trans. Barbara Sessions (Pantheon, 1953).

Grading

Final Exam 100%

Lecture Timetable

Instructor

Required Text and Materials

Students are recommended to buy at least Yunan ve Roma Mitolojisi, Estin and Laporte, trans. Musa Eran (TÜBÄ°TAK, 2002).

Hand-outs are provided before the lectures.

Weekly Course Plan

Course Evaluation

Based on performance in the final exam.

Exams

The mock exam asks the candidates to give an account of 10 myths from the list of 42. Total time allowed: 2 hours.

The final exam will be similar to the mock exam, except that there will be a short oral test for each candidate. Candidates must pass the oral section in order to pass the exam.

Last updated: 23 April, 2009

Url:http://ell112.cankaya.edu.tr