Classical Mythology

1. What is Mythology?

2. In the first week of class we learned what mythology is. In our reading on pages 1-22 a myth is explained to be a story or belief.

3. We also learned about the creation of women. Zeus created Pandora as a punishment for men. Hesiod, Theogony, "The Creation of Women."

4. The House of Atreus

5. In week 4 we had multiple readings that all sparked my interest. However, I The House of Atreus was very disturbing as it revealed to be dark, violent, and absurd. I thought the most disturbing story was when Atreus discovered his wife's infidelity and planned revenge upon Thyestes.

6. We also read about Levi Strauss as he explains the different types of variations within myths. I can see his pattern throughout the different examples but I'm still somewhat confused about this topic.

7. The Olympian Gods

8. Book 1 of the Iliad was also introduced in week 2. It begins by unfolding a sense of rage and tension regarding Achilles. Achilles continuously feuds with Agamemnon throughout the entire book eventually ending with Achilles returning to war to live a short life full of glory.

9. In week 2 we learned about the different Olympian gods and what symbols were associated with them. The Olympian gods chart helped me memorize the different gods extremely well. For example, Zeus's roman name is Jupiter and he is usually seen with lightning bolts.

10. The Trojan War

11. Week three consisted of the Trojan War and the entire reading of the Iliad. Both were very interesting subjects however keeping the information straight was difficult. We had several readings for this week, but the one I found most interesting and easy to follow was Campbell's Theory of a Hero.

12. When I first began reading Campbell's Theory of a Hero I couldn't help but think that it wouldn't relate to most of the stories we've covered so far. However, after further analysis, I discovered that most of his points and topics could most certainly be correlated with our other readings.

13. I particularly liked how he explained that everything symbolizes something. One example that defines this aspect would be the woman that a hero encounters during his journey. The women would define the female aspect of a mans psyche which is an extremely fascinating concept.