This seminar considers the reception of Greek mythology over the ages, from classical antiquity to the present day, using the ancient practice and concept of “mythography,” literally “myth writing,” as a lens to study how Greek myths have entered the literary and artistic repertoire, whether collected and preserved in anthologies and compilations or creatively “rewritten” by poets and prose writers (or reimagined by visual artists).
A primary aim of the seminar is to put the current prominence of Greek myths in popular culture (e.g. Percy Jackson, Hadestown, and many other Greek myth-based books, plays, movies, and video games) into broader context by exploring how even in the ancient world, and in the Middle Ages, Elizabethan age, and nineteenth-century America, too, Greek mythology was “updated,” revised, and elaborated by writers and artists in ways meant to appeal to their contemporaries.
Our focus will be on the reception of one particular body of myths, the saga of the Trojan War. We’ll track the myths of the Trojan War from their earliest roots down to 2026. Readings will include parts of Homer’s Iliad, Euripides’ tragedy Trojan Women, Vergil’s Aeneid, Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, and Pat Barker’s recent novel about Troy, The Silence of the Girls. We’ll look too at various visual and cinematic depictions of the Trojan War, including the 2004 film Troy.
No special knowledge about or previous coursework on the topic is required, but an interest in Greek mythology is a plus.