1:00-2:15P	TR	BH 245

This course fulfills the COAS Topics Requirement.

The myths and legends of ancient Greece and Rome provide some of the most
familiar metaphors and symbols in Western literature and art. While most
surveys of Classical mythology concentrate on the preserved literary
accounts, we need to remember that art and archaeology are also rich
sources of information which can and should be studied in their own right.
As much as the ancient Greek or Roman city was a world of poets and texts,
it was also a world of images--sculpture, architecture, painting, vases,
terracottas, textiles, and metalwork--which surrounded the inhabitants of
the city with familiar and meaningful representations of their gods and
ancestors. How can we make sense of these images? What do they tell us
about ancient culture, society, and ideas? Does the meaning of an image
change over time? And what is the significance of the ancient myth-image
in our own cultural traditions?
	This course is an exploration of Greek mythology using an
archaeological and art historical approach, focusing on the ways in which
the traditional tales of the gods and heroes were depicted, developed, and
transmitted in the visual arts such as vase painting and architectural
sculpture. The course is divided into three parts. In the first part, we
will survey the myths associated with the major Greek gods & goddesses,
paying attention to modes of visual representation and learning to
recognize attributes. In the second part of the course, we will focus on
the legendary Greek heroes and heroines and examine the phenomenon of
narrative as it first appears in Greek art, exploring various types of
narrative and the significance of the mythological themes depicted. In the
third part of the course we will discuss several myths in detail,
concentrating on aspects of public display and political symbolism.