Ancient Mysteries and the Environment: Religion and Mythology of Sacred Nature - AGLV00168

• Anglický název: Ancient Mysteries and the Environment: Religion and Mythology of Sacred Nature
• Zajišťuje: Ústav řeckých a latinských studií (21-URLS)
• Fakulta: Filozofická fakulta
• Platnost: od 2023
• Semestr: zimní
• Body: 0
• E-Kredity: 5
• Způsob provedení zkoušky: zimní s.:
• Rozsah, examinace: zimní s.:0/2, Zk [HT]
• Počet míst: neurčen / neomezen (neurčen)
• Minimální obsazenost: neomezen
• 4EU+: ne
• Virtuální mobilita / počet míst pro virtuální mobilitu: ne
• Stav předmětu: vyučován
• Jazyk výuky: angličtina
• Způsob výuky: prezenční
• Způsob výuky: prezenční
• Poznámka: předmět lze zapsat opakovaně; předmět je možno zapsat mimo plán; povolen pro zápis po webu
• Garant: Krešimir Vuković, Ph.D.
• Vyučující: Krešimir Vuković, Ph.D.
• Třída: Exchange - 08.1 Philosophy; Exchange - 08.3 History; Exchange - 08.9 Others-Humanities; Exchange - 09.5 Classical Philology

Anotace

Poslední úprava: doc. Mgr. Lucie Pultrová, Ph.D. (10.05.2023)

Greek and Roman mythology has been an infinite source of inspiration for authors, artists, and thinkers throughout the centuries. This short course reveals a fascinating world of stories that are fundamental to our cultural heritage and that focus on the environment. The course explores famous Greek and Roman myths in their ancient context, demonstrating how they developed in relation to the environment.

Natural phenomena played a crucial role in the stories that the Greeks and Romans told about their gods. Divine intervention was believed to be the cause of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and pandemics. The ancient mysteries developed as a response to natural cycles of human and animal life, taking their structure from the rhythm of the seasons.

The course analyses the stories of Greek and Roman divinities, the titan Prometheus, and Roman heroes and heroines. It also addresses specific texts such as Ovid’s Metamorphoses from an ecological perspective, demonstrating how ancient myths not only delight the imagination but also offer insights into the human condition and thus remain just as relevant in the modern world.

Podmínky zakončení předmětu

Poslední úprava: doc. Mgr. Lucie Pultrová, Ph.D. (13.05.2023)

seminar paper (30%), class activity (20%), final oral exam (50%)

Literatura

Poslední úprava: doc. Mgr. Lucie Pultrová, Ph.D. (10.05.2023)

Aldrete, G.S. (2007) Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome. (Baltimore)

Bowden, H. (2010) Mystery Cults of the Ancient World (Princeton)

Dougherty, C. (2006) Prometheus (New York), introduction and chapter 1

Grant, M. (1962) The Myths of the Greeks and Romans (London), pp. 99-141

Harari, Y-N (2015) Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (London)

Hughes, D.J. (2014) Environmental Problems of the Greeks and Romans, (Baltimore).

Martelli, F.K.A. (2021) Ovid. (Leiden, Boston)

Morford, M.P.O. and R.J. Lenardon (2003) Classical Mythology, Seventh edition, (Oxford, New York) pp. 51-57, 61-71, 108-133

Schliephake, C. (2020) The Environmental Humanities and the Ancient World: Questions and Perspectives. (Cambridge)

Segal, R.A. (2004) Myth: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford)

Staples, A. (1998) From Good Goddess to Vestal Virgins (London)

Vuković, K. (2020) Initiation into the mysteries of Augustus: the Liberalia and Forum Augustum. In Gremium, 14, 7-18.

Vuković, K. (2023) Wolves of Rome: The Lupercalia from Roman and Comparative Perspectives (Berlin).

Vuković, K. (forthcoming) River and Gender: An Ecocritical Reading of the Myths of the Tiber. In Schliephake, C. & Eidinow, E. (eds.) Conversing with Chaos: Writing and Reading Environmental Disorder in Ancient Texts. (Bloomsbury, London)

Sylabus

Poslední úprava: doc. Mgr. Lucie Pultrová, Ph.D. (01.09.2023)

Week 1: Introduction: the key concepts

Week 2: Titans, Prometheus’ Fire and technology

Week 3: Gods, goddesses and the forces of ‘Nature’

Week 4: Eleusinian mysteries and the cult of Delphi

Week 5: Pan, nymphs and Dionysus

Week 6: Acropolis and Athenian myths of origin

Week 7: Wolves of Rome: Romulus, Remus and the Luperci 

Week 8: The mysteries of Etruscan mythology

Week 9: Fire and Water: the mythology of the Vestals

Week 10: Rivers and the cult of the Tiber 

Week 11: The mythology of plagues and pandemics

Week 12: Ovid’s Metamorphoses from an ecological perspective