Greek and Roman mythologies comprise some of the most durable, well-known and dynamic stories across all human history and cultures. From the earliest of periods of recorded history to the present day these tales of gods, monsters, heroes and battles have provided ceaseless inspiration for art, literature, politics and culture; rarely a year passes that a movie, TV show, or video game not does appear featuring a character or saga from Greek and Roman antiquity.

In this introductory-level online class, we will survey the literature, art and historical contexts of Greek and Roman mythology from antiquity to the present day. Our primary focus will be Homer’s great epic, the Odyssey, which we will read in Emily Wilson’s stunning translation from start to finish. We will also survey a range of themes arising from our readings—introductions, gods, monsters, heroes and identity—through which we will explore the significance of Greek and Roman mythologies both through ancient literature and art, and modern cultural “receptions” of these stories.

View syllabus.

This course is independent study and is self-paced. Students have five months upon registration in which to complete all coursework and exams.

Textbooks and Materials

Homer’s Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson (Norton, 2018). All other course readings and materials will be made available within Canvas.

Technical Requirements

Students are required to use a laptop or desktop computer with a high-speed internet connection. Tablets and smartphones are not supported. The computer should have a modern and updated operating system, at least 2GB of RAM, a webcam, a microphone and also meet Honorlock's system requirements for online testing.