Great Mythologies of the World

The ancient Greek myths are popular stories in Western civilization; knowing when these tales emerge and the earliest sources for them; looking into father-son conflicts between Uranus, Kronos, Zeus; the first-generation gods known as the Titans.

Three iconic goddesses whose personalities and stories reflect how the ancient Greeks view women; Athena emerges fully-formed from Zeus's head; Aphrodite is known for her wild love affair with Adonis; Hera presides over marriage and childbirth.

Insights into several Greek myths that teach about the relationship between gods and humans; learning whether Prometheus is a troublemaker or a liberator; knowing what happens after Pandora's box of evil spirits is opened; the Eleusinian Mysteries.

The mythological legacies of the powerful, but flawed, Greek hero, Herakles; common threads that run through some of his twelve labors; the slaying of the Hydra and the cleaning of the Augean stables; Herakles's role in ancient Greek society.

Odysseus is the hero of Homer's "Odyssey"; his plans for the Trojan horse; his tricking of a murderous cyclops; Odysseus's scheming and lying leads to heroic triumphs that make his story relatable to everyday ancient Greeks and modern readers.

A darker mythological adventure story is Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece; the best-known versions of both Jason's story and his wife, Medea's; seeing Jason as a failed hero and Medea as more than just the woman who murders her own children.