A trip to the home of the dead is a specific kind of ‘quest narrative’ carried out by Greek mythology’s greatest heroes, as a rite of passage and a demonstration of a great hero’s power. To journey to the underworld and return is the most extreme inversion of mortality which a hero can achieve, and the Greek underworld is the last, inescapable location for even great warriors like Achilles. The most renowned underworld visitors are Odysseus, who meets figures from his past and finds out what he needs to do in the future; Herakles, who retrieves Cerberus, the fierce guard of the underworld, as one of his quests; and Orpheus, a musician of such skill that he can pacify wild beasts with his music who manages to persuade the gods of the underworld to allow his dead wife, Eurydice, to return with him. This lecture investigates the heroes who visit the home of the dead, as well as exploring Greek conceptions of where the underworld was and how it appeared.

Copyright 2013 Annabel Orchard, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Heroes in the Underworld

In this subject we explore Greek and Roman mythology, with particular reference to some core narratives and themes. Greek mythology is very focused around hero myths, and this is a central aspect of our study. Heroes studied in the subject include Heracles, Jason, Perseus, Bellerophon and Odysseus. We also examine some key thematic elements of Classical mythology- the figure of the monster, the sexual conduct of gods and mortals, conception and birth, fire, images of the underworld and life after death. The adaption of Greek myth in Italy (Entruscan and Roman) to meet the needs of different cultures will be explored. Sources dealt with in the subject include epic poetry, drama, painted vases, tomb paintings, and architectural remains. We conclude the subject with some modern cinematic adaptations of mythic themes from the ancient world.

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Educational Technology

Classical myth and film have a long history of being intertwined, as myth was made into film from the days of silent movies, and ancient texts themselves often use what we might see as ‘cinematic’ techniques when framing a scene. This lecture explores how Greek and Roman myths have appeared on screen from the ‘historical’ epics of the 1950s and 1960s, through dubbed Italian musclebound heroes to the new CGI epics such as Clash of the Titans. It also considers how mythic tropes are recontextualised in modern scenarios, in films like Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou? which models itself on the Odyssey.

Copyright 2013 Rhiannon Evans / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Myth in Film

Myth in Film (handout)

Ovid’s Metamorphoses was written during the Augustan period, and it is clear that its author was often out of tune with the political regime. This lecture explores the different ways in which the poem transforms Greek mythology to explore issues such as power, justice and censorship. Ovid’s gods often exert power arbitrarily, punishing those who are already victims or taking revenge for perceived slights. Here we explore the ways in which Greek myth can function as a contemporary critique of Roman society.

Copyright 2013 Rhiannon Evans / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Greek Myth at Rome: Power

Greek Myth at Rome: Power (handout)

Ovid’s Metamorphoses is one of the most significant ancient texts for the study of Greek mythology, but we should remember that this is a Roman work, which absorbs influences from the whole of the Mediterranean world. This lecture looks at the poem’s cosmogony in book and compares it to the Hesiodic version (explored earlier in lecture 2), showing how various philosophical and scientific ideas have been added to the Ovidian mix. We also see how Ovid sets up the parallel between the Olympian gods, particularly, Jupiter, and the emperor Augustus, a fact which makes this poem both topical and politically contentious.

Copyright 2013 Rhiannon Evans / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Heroes in the Underworld

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