Module CLAS3511: THE GODS IN GREEK LITERATURE

Department: Classics and Ancient History

CLAS3511: THE GODS IN GREEK LITERATURE

Prerequisites

• CLAS2151

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• 2006/07 only - CLAS2371

Aims

• To introduce students who have acquired through the first two years of their course a good range of knowledge and depth of understanding of Greek literature and society to the portrayal of the gods in Greek literature and to the theoretical and methodological issues raised by their portrayal.
• To pull together, thereby, many threads of earlier learning in a demanding theoretical framework.

Content

• This module examines the portrayal of the gods in Greek literature by juxtaposing it to visual representations, to other ancient sources used for the study of Greek religion, and also to the reception of the Greek gods in modern literature.
• This module also examines the more influential theoretical perspectives from which modern scholars have viewed ancient images of the gods.
• The module approaches the gods in Greek literature both as an aspect of ancient religion and as enduring literary motifs.
• The first lectures are devoted to the sources available for the study of Greek religion and to some central themes of the course: Hesiod's Theogony and the birth of the gods, the Homeric Hymns and the politics of Olympus, the Homeric gods and their ancient critics, temples and festivals, pan-Hellenic versus local representations of the gods. In conjunction with this first series of lectures there will be a seminar on the Parthenon.
• The central section of the course is devoted to the portrayal of individual gods. Each lecture investigates a particular deity using several different types of sources to illuminate literary portrayals. Gods to be discussed include: Zeus and Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Dionysus, Aphrodite, Apollo and Artemis, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes and Hestia. The relationship between myth and cult, and the interaction and mutual influence between gods will also be discussed.
• Towards the end of the module, the later reception of the Greek gods will be addressed: lectures will look at the polemics of the Church Fathers, at allegorical interpretations, at the revival of the gods in the Renaissance and at their portrayal in modern literature. Students will be asked to relate the later reception of the gods to current approaches to the study of Greek religion.

Learning Outcomes

• Students who successfully complete the module will be acquainted with the central texts and issues concerning the representation of the gods in Greek literature. They will be able to place their representation within a wider understanding of Greek religion, as well as discuss their reception in modern literature.

• Students will understand how to handle the sources on the ancient Greek gods critically, and know how to approach the representation of the gods both as an aspect of ancient Greek society and as an enduring literary motif.

• Students will have gained a better understanding of the very categories 'literature' and 'religion', their history, and their overlap; have learned to ask how the identities of the producers and consumers of texts affect their contents; have acquired the ability and self-discipline to work autonomously, and the capacity for organisation required to meet deadlines and negotiate competing claims on finite resources.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures will introduce perspectives, and juxtapose them with carefully selected primary sources.
• Some texts and images will be the focus for small group work, in which students can gain practice in the theoretical approaches applied to the close reading of specific sources.
• Essays will test students' competence in handling theoretical perspectives, and in applying them to the primary sources.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One formative essay, one seminar contribution.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University