Classical Mythology

By: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver

Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

These 24 lectures are a vibrant introduction to the primary characters and most important stories of classical Greek and Roman mythology. Among those you'll investigate are the accounts of the creation of the world in Hesiod's Theogony and Ovid's Metamorphoses; the gods Zeus, Apollo, Demeter, Persephone, Hermes, Dionysos, and Aphrodite; the Greek heroes, Theseus and Heracles (Hercules in the Roman version); and the most famous of all classical myths, the Trojan War.

Professor Vandiver anchors her presentation in some basics. What is a myth? Which societies use myths? What are some of the problems inherent in studying classical mythology? She also discusses the most influential 19th- and 20th-century thinking about myth's nature and function, including the psychological theories of Freud and Jung and the metaphysical approach of Joseph Campbell. You'll also consider the relationship between mythology and culture (such as the implications of the myth of Demeter, Persephone, and Hades for the Greek view of life, death, and marriage), the origins of classical mythology (including the similarities between the Theogony and Mesopotamian creation myths), and the dangers of probing for distant origins (for example, there's little evidence that a prehistoric "mother goddess" lies at the heart of mythology).

Taking you from the surprising "truths" about the Minotaur to Ovid's impact on the works of William Shakespeare, these lectures make classical mythology fresh, absorbing, and often surprising.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2000 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2000 The Great Courses

A Herculean Task. A Homeric Performance.

I picked this up on sale back in 2014 and yes, it’s taken me this long to actually listen. I admit I was put off; at the beginning Professor Vandiver sounds a little dry, a tad dour. Don’t make the same mistake. While she is an acute scholar, the good professor also has a sense of humor that emerges as you go.

True to the precision she will bring to every lecture, we start with an illuminating discussion of the very word “mythology”. From there we examine the major 20th century interpretive theories. A scholar, it seems, is like a child at the seashore looking through bits of sea glass. A blue fragment makes everything that is blue that much bluer—but also makes everything else blue, too. So with interpretive theories. Based on one or two aspects of a myth, they distort all other aspects. It’s more than a little depressing.

The good news? Professor Vandiver is just as dubious. She’s aware of the distortions any single theory can lend the subject and recommends a balanced view, saying that each gives us a window on myth that can, perhaps, be helpful.

Once we get to the myths themselves, we’re off. I listen to lectures during my morning workout, having found that they divert my mind and make me forget the physical tedium. Professor Vandiver did all that and more. She combines an engaging, lively presentation with scholarly care. Though fashionable academic jargon abounds ("encode", "gender", "hegemonic") I never heard an idea, supposition or insight that was in any way far-fetched or agenda-driven. Some agendas, indeed, even get a bucket or two of scholarly cold water tossed on them. Tackling a subject that covers the entire timeline of Western Civilization, from the first Minoan to the latest movies, Professor Vandiver manages to give us the big picture through an abundance of telling examples and details. No, not everything is covered. But it’s amazing what is.

The result? I have a useful framework for understanding and enjoying the classical myths. I get more out of listening to Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Naxos’ version with David Horovitch is superb). The opening scenes of the Iliad make sense now (I thought Agamemnon was just being a jerk). I understand the watershed that the Homeric epics represent in the Greek concept of human history (and as long as we’re bandying theories about, I wonder if that accounts for the completely different tone of the two poems). And I will have to grab that copy of the Homeric Hymns I passed up at my favorite used book store back when, before these lectures, I didn’t understand what they were. Professor Vandiver may even have given me a way into appreciating Star Wars—which will make our son very happy. In the meantime, I’ve added Professor Vandiver’s lectures on The Iliad, Odyssey and Aeneid to my wish list.

As with other offerings from The Great Courses, the downside is the production. True, rather than the cringe-making swell of timpani and strings used in other titles, we are treated here to a snippet of one of the Brandenburg Concertos. But there’s still that canned, cringe-making applause at the beginning and end of every lecture. Persevere. It’s more than worth it.

Informative and Entertaining

I love the Great Courses series. This series of lectures is a worthy contribution. It is always informative, well organized, and sometimes entertaining. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in an overview of the subject. The only reason that I didn't give it 5-stars, is that there was nothing that jumps out at the listener as really special is terms of content or delivery. After all, it's a lecture series obviously intended to summarize the topic, not break new ground.

Simply Illuminating.

This is a fantastic course! One of the best of the many I have taken to date. Which is no light praise given the general quality of the materials offered by The Great Courses. Prof. Vandiver does a thorough job and her style of presentation is as authoritative as it is engaging. As a historian, I often find myself having to supplement my own knowledge of Greek and Roman Mythology with text (which can be rather dry). This course was a joy to listen to and the supporting PDF was well-written.

good, but file names are incorrect

great class, but it was annoying that the chapter titles did not line up with the actual lectures

An intelligent and thought provoking analysis

I knew Greek mythology a little bit and I understood little. This is a wonderful enlightening listen for those who love not only the Greek mythology but also how ancient societies work and the then prevailing thought.

the basics were covered

great oration. well paced. she was nice to listen to when the content continued to reference women's deference to men. it's myth written by men

Fascinating, but...

The topic is fascinating & the lectures are wonderfully given. But, and it’s a big but: 1) the lecture titles are mislabeled & do not match the content 2) This is true with the whole great course series: I personally find the interval music & the applause (before & after each lecture) extremely idiotic & obnoxious...nobody does that in real college classes & makes it a very poor bedtime listening experience

A must-listen if you enjoy classical mythology...

I would recommend this audiobook lectures to anyone who already enjoys and is a bit familiar with stories from classical mythology. Professor Vandiver did an incredible job making the myths really come to life by illuminating cultural context and meaning. This audiobook book is incredibly dense, and despite that, the time listening to it flys by. Five stars!

Well organized and well presented lectures

Professor Vandiver is a great speaker. Her humility and the breadth of her knowledge allow her to present the subject matter from several different viewpoints and then offer her own conclusions and speculation in a very human way. I feel truly educated at the end of this series. It held my attention all the way through--in fact, I didn't want it to end!

Fantastic

This title is everything I wanted when I read the description, and I’m only halfway through. The lecturer is funny and knows her subject very well. The only thing I have an issue with are the chapter titles- they are a lecture behind what they should be.