CLAS C430

Greek and Roman Mythology

Course Introduction

Course Overview

Of the many cultural products handed down to us from Greco-Roman antiquity—from poetry to philosophy, from medicine to magic, from theater to art to architecture—one of the most undeniably influential and pervasive is that of their rich mythological tradition. These complex, curious, and at times disturbing tales—Gods! Heroes! Incest! Cannibalism!—have attracted, and continue to attract, a long line of artists, authors, philosophers, composers, and filmmakers. From Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus to Dante's Divine Comedy, from Botticelli's Birth of Venus to Chagall's Orpheus, from the Coen brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? to Eastwood's Unforgiven, the production and enjoyment of literature and art is so deeply steeped in the mythological traditions of Greece and Rome as to make these traditions an essential ingredient in western cultural literacy. Needless to say, the mythologies of these cultures make up only a portion of the rich and varied mythic heritage of contemporary America. And yet, precisely because certain mythological themes—the creation of humans, the trickster god, the questing hero—are common to many myth-making cultures, you will find in the classical myths many points of contact and comparison with world myth as a whole. In short, understanding and engaging with the structure of myth—its social and political context as much as its engagement with ongoing human interests, anxieties, and concerns—makes myth as a whole something that is "good to think with." Complex, curious, and disturbing tales, to be sure: but also a rich gateway into thinking about how human beings think about their world.

Course Objectives

The overall aim of this course is to help you acquire substantial familiarity with the principal classical myths and the ways those myths are represented in Greek and Roman literature, and to a degree, in Greek and Roman art. More specifically, at the conclusion of this course, you will be able to

• identify the major (and many of the minor) characters from Greek and Roman mythology;
• describe the ancient literary sources for classical mythology, as well discuss some of the artistic and other material evidence;
• explain and use some of the most influential theories about and approaches to mythology;
• describe and analyze, in writing, mythological themes and structures in literature, art, and even films;
• compare different myths, or different versions of the same myth, and discuss common and different elements; and
• relate the knowledge you have obtained throughout this course to your own experience, including an ability to create your own myths and recognize mythic elements in the world around you.

It should be stressed that no prior knowledge of either ancient civilization or literature is assumed or required for successful completion of this course.

About the Textbook

The most immediate problem facing someone teaching or studying classical mythology is the sheer number of ancient texts and materials. One possibility is to require you to purchase a large number of individually translated texts, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, Euripides' Medea and Sophocles' Antigone, Ovid's Metamorphoses or Heroides, and so on. Another possibility is to select a single textbook—such as Morford and Lenardon's Classical Mythology—that incorporates substantial portions of the ancient texts and also considers some of the physical evidence. As is clearly the case, I have chosen to do the latter.

There are two very real disadvantages to choosing the "single textbook" model over the "individual translation" model. The first is that the "single textbook" model misrepresents the very nature of myth, from the context of its production to the mode of its reception. The process of myth-making (what we call " mythopoeisis ") is precisely one that takes a fluid and plastic "idea" ("the myth" of a hero returning from war, or of a foreign bride who kills her children—tales told over and over again, by a variety of authors and in a variety of ways) and expresses it in a static—and deceptively "permanent" form (the usually highly artificial and artistic text in which that myth is presented by an author). In a sense, any one version of a myth (the Iliad; the Medea) is like a freeze-frame photograph, capturing in a single artistic product what is in fact a vibrant and ongoing "tale." The "single textbook" model of mythology, one in which multiple textual expressions of myths are summarized and retold as if a static whole, runs the risk of collapsing myths "behind the poetry" with the poetry that expresses the myth. A poem may retell a myth, but it is not the myth itself. All we have, of course, are poetic retellings of myth—the original myth is never attainable—but it is important to recognize that any mythological textbook is itself taking part in the ongoing process of mythmaking. What we have in Morford and Lenardon, then, is just one more version of these fascinating tales, and just one approach to how they might be interpreted. Neither one is the final word on the matter, so as readers of the textbook you will do well to read with a "critical eye."

A second disadvantage of the "single textbook" model is that it can conceal the distinctive artistic and chronological context of the literary texts (the "poetic retellings"); that is, you risk losing a sense of the author, and often of the social and political context, when you are reading selections or summaries. This concern is serious because what is often most interesting about a classical myth is precisely the way in which it is treated in a particular text by a particular author. A myth dealing with the overthrow of a tyrannical leader will mean one thing when it is written in fifth-century B.C.E. Athens, in the early decades of democracy, and quite another when it is written in first-century C.E. Rome, during the birth pangs of the Empire.

But in my opinion the advantages of a single textbook (price being one) tend to balance out the disadvantages and, in many ways, outweigh them. Morford and Lenardon do provide translations of large portions of many ancient poetic texts—if often in slightly confusing prose form—and in some cases, the entire poem (some of the Homeric Hymns, for example). Where they do not quote the actual text, their summaries are clear and concise. They also cover a significant amount of the ancient material evidence, such as the Parthenon frieze, and include many examples of later uses of classical myth in, for example, Renaissance art. Most importantly, they guide the reader clearly and efficiently through what can be a bewildering mass of conflicting traditions. Their explanations are helpful without being overly interpretative (one of the drawbacks, in my view, of other similar textbooks). In short, this is a textbook well suited to the sort of study you are about to undertake, and will form a useful reference material to have on hand after you have finished this course.

Organization of the Course

Your textbook provides the structure and most of the material for the course. (This course guide provides the rest.) I have grouped the first twenty-four chapters of Morford and Lenardon into nine lessons. Each lesson covers material that is more or less cohesive, although it will become apparent that there is a definite progression in the way that Morford and Lenardon present the readings. We will work our way through almost all of this textbook; only chapters 6 and 25-28 have been omitted from the assignments. The latter chapters cover the subsequent influence of Greek mythology on the Romans, and upon later periods as well. Consequently, we will not cover Roman mythology specifically, although many of our sources for Greek mythology are in fact Roman. As a result, you will by default also learn something about Roman mythology.

In addition to reading this course guide and the reading assignments in the textbook, this course requires that you complete four written assignments and a final examination. The details on grading for this course are provided in following sections.

About the Lessons

Each lesson of the course guide includes (1) the reading assignment, (2) lesson objectives, (3) a few observations from me (usually brief) about some of the material covered in the lesson, and (4) study questions. Some of the lessons also have a "Frequently Asked Questions" section with my responses to questions that I have most frequently been asked about the material in the lesson. It has been my experience in using this material in class that either I manage to anticipate and answer in the discussion most of the questions that arise, or questions are covered in Morford and Lenardon (which explains why there is not a "Frequently Asked Questions" section for every lesson). If you have a question that is not satisfactorily addressed either by me or the textbook, however, please do not hesitate to contact me. (Refer to the "About Your Instructor" page included in the online materials for information on how to reach me.)

The discussion presented in this Course Guide is intended to supplement, and not replace, the material presented in your textbook. I have used this space for a variety of purposes, including the following: to expand on a theme, topic, or problem presented in the textbook, to draw your attention more closely to especially important, interesting, or pertinent points, to offer points of comparison or contrast with non Greco-Roman mythological systems, and, on occasion, to take issue with something presented in the textbook or to suggest that you read it with a more "critical eye," as noted above.

About the Format of the Course

This course consists of two valuable and interlocking tools: the textbook, to which I will normally refer as Morford and Lenardon, and the Course Guide, which constitutes the online "supporting" material available only to registered students of this course. Morford and Lenardon present the substance of this course; as noted above, this textbook is divided into twenty-four chapters and will form the focus of your inquiry. The Course Guide (the material presented online) is divided into nine Lessons (and four assignments) aimed at supplementing this substance. Each Lesson, further, is divided into three parts: "Lesson Objectives, " "Lesson Observations," and "Study Questions." The Lesson Objectives and Lesson Observations respectively preface and conclude each Lesson provide the structure by which the core substance might be effectively approached; the Lesson Observations, which form the middle part of every Lesson, constitute a helpful interpretive lens though which this approach may be conceptually organized.

Written Assignments

Each assignment is designed to address a specific aspect of the study of myth. The first assignment, following Lesson One, asks you to write an essay about your interest in mythology and how the initial readings may have affected your views on the subject. The second assignment, following Lesson Four, requires you to compare variant ancient traditions about a particular myth. The third assignment, following Lesson Six, asks you to compose a myth of your own that incorporates many of the typical features of a myth that you will learn along the way. Finally, the fourth assignment, following Lesson Eight, requires you to compare an ancient and a modern account of a heroic legend (in a film, for example, or a painting, book, poem, or musical composition).

Submitting Assignments

The assignments should be completed only after you have reached certain points in the reading and in the course. Assignment 1 should only be completed after Lesson One, Assignment 2 only after Lesson Four, Assignment 3 only after Lesson Six, and Assignment 4 only after Lesson Eight. It would be a wise idea, however, to decide early what you would like to do for each assignment; that way, you can be developing your ideas as you read and study.

It is very important for you to wait for feedback from me on one assignment before submitting the next. Please do not submit all four or multiple assignments at the same time. If you do, they will be returned to you unread.

Paper Structure and Format

Your papers should be no fewer than four and no more than eight typed pages. Please clearly identify your paper with your name, e-mail address, assignment number, and your paper title. Each page should also be assigned a page number. For details on the submission of assignments, please refer to the Distance Learning Student Handbook. Detailed information on each individual assignment is also provided with the assignment itself.

What Makes a Good Paper?

Good question! Glad you asked.

This is what your paper should not do:

It is not acceptable for you to submit a paper that is a descriptive retelling of the myths concerned, or a group of vague and disconnected impressions of what you have read.

You should not merely fill your pages with unsubstantiated opinion or wild hypothesis, nor should you editorialize with comments such as "I really don't know…," "I have no idea where I am going with this…," or "I don't have anything to more to say."

Your paper should not include questions to the reader, or engage in undue uncertainty as to your own argument. I understand you may be uncertain here or there; I understand you are giving me your (learned!) opinion on the material at hand. You needn't spend excessive space undermining yourself.

Do not begin your paper with a dictionary definition of anything, do not cite web pages save those suggested by the Course Material, do not engage in "text messaging" abbreviations ("b4" for "before," "b/c" for "because"), and do not conclude sentences or paragraphs with vague ellipses ["…"] or emoticons [";o)"]. Thank you!

This is what your paper should do:

Your paper should be written in clear and grammatically correct English, carefully proofread for typos or errors. Sentence fragments, sloppiness, or "bullet lists" will detract considerably from your grade.

Your paper should be written in narrative, not outline form, and you should cite by page number anything you use from Morford and Lenardon.

Your paper needs a beginning, a middle, and an end. It should begin with a clear statement of what you are setting out to argue, and how you intend to argue it well. You might think of this as a "problem, solution, process" structure: state your "problem," give your "solution," and then tell me very briefly the "process" by which you will move from your problem to your solution. For example, if you are writing a paper (this is Assignment 1) that compares Hesiod's creation myth to others with which you are familiar, you might begin, "At first glance, the creation myth as told by Hesiod would seem anything but familiar," [this is your problem] "but a closer analysis of this myth, and a comparison of its details to the creation myths of other cultures, proves that it shares in common many basic themes" [this is your solution]. In this paper, then, I will read Hesiod's myth against the creation myths of x, y, and z cultures as a way of getting at some of the shared themes of these stories [this is your process]." This should be your first paragraph or two. In your subsequent paragraphs and pages, you simply go back and expand on what you presented in the first paragraph, flipping the order of the solution and the process. Start by discussing some details of Hesiod's creation myth, and why this myth might seem so strange: this will give you a couple of pages (and be sure to cite from the textbook). Then move to a closer look at a few specific details of (again, this is just by way of example) a couple of other cultural creation myths with which you may be familiar): another couple pages. Finally, show how reading these various traditions together would argue (let's say) for various commonalities between such myths, and point out any major distinctions. Heck, you might even have some ideas as to the reason for the commonalities and distinctions—let's hear them! This will give you another couple of pages. And for a four- to eight-page paper, you are done.

Final Examination

This course has one comprehensive final examination (that is, the exam will embrace all of the material covered by this course guide and the readings in the textbook). The examination will consist of a brief section on terms and definitions, a section with a variety of short-answer questions about the characters and myths/legends we will have studied, and finally an essay. Lesson Ten presents some guidance on preparing for the final examination, as well as a more detailed description of the exam itself.

Keep in mind that each lesson in this course guide includes a section at the beginning indicating lesson objectives and a section at the end entitled "Study Questions." Pay close attention to these sections because the final exam is essentially derived from them. For details on taking examinations, please refer to the Distance Learning Student Handbook.

Criteria for Evaluating Papers

Since each paper represents a slightly different exercise, I provide specific instructions for each written assignment explaining what is expected and how you should proceed. Papers will be evaluated in terms of both content and presentation and as will be apparent from what follows, I look in particular for attention to detail and style, a coherent thesis or argument, and familiarity with the material. I will also give weight to responsiveness to criticism, so it is important for you to wait for my evaluation of your first assignment before submitting the second, and likewise with the third and fourth. While your grade will reflect how well you have accomplished the particular goal of that paper, I will adhere to the following general guidelines in assigning a grade. Each paper will be graded on the 4.0 scale.

4.0–3.5 ("A" Range)

Papers in this range fully and successfully address the topic and are carefully written and proofread. The thesis is thoughtfully conceived, clearly stated, and well supported.

In addition to demonstrating attention to the organization and flow of the argument, the writer has adduced and documented supporting evidence, either through paraphrase or direct quotation, from the relevant primary texts (for the most part, the ancient evidence as cited in Classical Mythology). The writer has cited the author, the title of the work, and the page numbers in the textbook, or referred the reader to statements made by the texts themselves. There is an obvious effort to take account of the reader by fully and clearly explaining the argument and relevant details.

In this grade range, the writer has also demonstrated close attention to his or her writing. In addition to being relatively free of grammatical or spelling errors and properly formatted, the paper aims at effective word choice, variety in sentence style, and well-focused paragraphs.

3.4–2.5 ("B" Range)

Papers in this range will have addressed the topic, but the ideas are either not fully developed or not clearly expressed. It is apparent that while the writer has successfully identified a thesis, the ramifications of the thesis have not been entirely explored.

The writing is satisfactory, with no significant errors in grammar or spelling, and there is an obvious effort to adhere to the standards of good prose (that is, word choice is varied, as is sentence structure, and the paper is nicely organized). Evidence is adduced and fully documented.

2.4–1.5 ("C" Range)

Papers in this range exhibit a failure to take account of available evidence. While the thesis has been well conceived, it is not equally well supported and there are some identifiable gaps in argumentation. The paper may be satisfactorily organized, but support for the thesis is lacking.

The writing, while adequate, is marred by a number of grammatical or spelling errors, and—this is the difference between a paper in this range and papers in the previous two—it is clear that there has been little or no attempt at proofreading. In addition, evidence for the argument, while present, has not been properly documented (that is, properly identified or referenced).

1.4–0.7 ("D" Range)

Papers in this range meet only minimum requirements in terms of length and purpose. The topic has been addressed and at sufficient length, but the paper suffers from lack of organization and a failure both to address the thesis fully and to locate adequate or relevant support.

There are a sufficient number of grammatical and stylistic errors to obscure the writer's meaning; little or no account has been taken of presentation and format; and no attempt has been made to proofread.

0.6–0.0 ("F" Range)

Papers in this range have entirely failed to address the topic at hand and exhibit an unacceptable number of errors in grammar and usage.

Determining Your Final Grade

Your final grade for this course will be determined according to your performance on the four assignments and the final examination. There is a total of 100 possible points on the final exam, and a grade on the traditional 4.0 scale will be assigned in accordance with the following conversion chart. In determining your final grade for this course, I will count the average of your four papers (totaling 70 percent of your final grade) and the final examination (consisting of 30 percent of your final grade).

Grading the Final Examination

One hundred points is the highest score possible on the final examination. A grade on the 4.0 scale will be assigned in accordance with the following:

100–97	4.0	81	2.8	69	1.6
96–95	3.9	80	2.7	68	1.5
94–93	3.8	79	2.6	67	1.4
92–91	3.7	78	2.5	66	1.3
90–89	3.6	77	2.4	65	1.2
88	3.5	76	2.3	64	1.1
87	3.4	75	2.2	63	1.0
86	3.3	74	2.1	62	0.9
85	3.2	73	2.0	61	0.8
84	3.1	72	1.9	66–59	0.7
83	3.0	71	1.8	58 and below	0.0
82	2.9	70	1.7

Extensions

Hopefully, prior to registering for this class, you read and fully understood the advice in the Distance Learning Student Handbook about the nature of a Distance Learning class and what your commitment to it entails. As you begin this course, I would like to reinforce some of that advice.

You are given three months to complete this class. The minimum time required to complete the course, under the very best of circumstances, is eight weeks. My best advice to you is to plan on devoting eight to ten hours a week, without distractions, to the course and maintain a schedule of assignments that will not rush you at the end of the three months. Use a calendar to plan your own due dates for assignments to keep you on schedule.

On occasion it happens that some of you will wish to request an extension. It is your responsibility to be aware of the Distance Learning policy on extensions (see the Student Handbook); please make sure you have familiarized yourself with that before you contact me. In general, in order to be eligible to request an extension, you must have completed two-thirds of the assignments—for this class, that means having completed the first three papers—and be able to demonstrate genuine extenuating circumstances. I do not grant extensions lightly, and must be convinced that there are good reasons for your not being able to fulfill your original commitment.

Learning Tips

Perhaps the most useful piece of advice that I can offer you on how to successfully complete this course and get the most out of it is to read purposefully. In my view, this aim can best be achieved by following these steps:

1. Prior to reading the Reading Assignment in Morford and Lenardon (always indicated at the right-hand margin of any new lesson, under "Required Reading"), spend a few moments looking over the Lesson Objectives (which appear at the beginning of each Lesson) and Study Questions (which appear at the end of each Lesson; you will note that they are not always in "question format") to get some sense of what you should pay particular attention to in each lesson of the course guide and chapter of the textbook. I recommend that you equip yourself with a separate notebook, and at the start of each major Lesson jot down some basic notes on both the Objectives and the Questions given in this Course Guide ("Lesson One: Objectives and Questions…"). Then, as you make your way through the Reading Assignment (a process that may take hours or days) you will be able to remind yourself of the Lesson's key points quickly and easily.
2. Next, read the Reading Assignment in Morford and Lenardon (and keep in mind that this Assignment will likely span several chapters). As you read, you will want to add notes to your notebook, under the appropriate Lesson heading, and in direct dialogue with the "Objectives and Questions" already recorded for that Lesson ("Lesson One: Notes…"). This will facilitate both the learning of the material the first time around, and the review of the material down the road, by helping you to organize the material in a manageable manner and quickly locate the information you require. You may find it helpful to highlight in the textbook those portions of your readings that you identify as especially significant, but in general I have found that forcing yourself to write out significant or interesting passages—perhaps with your own comments—is a better way of truly learning them. Do not let highlighting or underlining stand in for close reading.
3. Once you have completed the reading Reading Assignment in Morford and Lenardon, read through the Lesson Observations (the material presented "between" Lesson Objectives and Study Questions) in the course guide lesson material. At that point, what I have to say will make more sense and direct your attention to specific aspects of what you have read in the textbook.
4. Finally, return to the Study Questions at the end of every Lesson and make sure you are able to answer them. If you find that there is something you are not sure about, go back to Morford and Lenardon and/or the discussion in the Course Guide and track down the answer with the help of your notes. While I do not think it is necessary to write out responses to every question, it is a very good idea to choose one or two questions from each Lesson and compose a response—in writing. (The study questions generally require only a paragraph or two.) Bear in mind (as I discuss further in Lesson Ten on preparing for the final examination) that the exam is largely based on the study questions. Consequently, the more thoroughly you deal with the lesson objectives and study questions as you complete each lesson, the easier it will be to prepare for the exam.

I recognize that you may find the amount of material covered in a given chapter of Morford and Lenardon a little overwhelming. But remember that I do not expect you to know everything, and much of this course guide is designed to reduce the material in the textbook to a manageable amount. Bear in mind, too, that while the final exam is cumulative, you will have some choice in the questions you answer. In short, the exam is meant to demonstrate to me what you know, not what you do not.

I also believe that it would be a good idea to always glance ahead to the next Assignment (that is, paper assignment) and give some thought to what you will be asked to do and what specific topic or problem you might want to address. In other words, before you begin Lesson One, read through Assignment One; before you start Lessons Two, Three, and Four, read through Assignment Two—and so on. Thus equipped, as you read through your Lesson you can be on the lookout for useful information or an idea you might apply to the upcoming (paper) Assignment. And by adding such observations to your running set of notes, you will approach each paper Assignment well prepared.

So again, read purposefully and take notes thoughtfully. If you do, I suspect you will get more out of the reading, find the material less daunting, and feel more confident about your progress.

Classical Mythology Electronic Resources

The number of World Wide Web sites that are devoted to or include materials for the study of classical mythology has proliferated at a rapid pace. The quality of these sites varies considerably, and some must be used with caution. One must also bear in mind that these sites merely provide tools; simply browsing through them is no substitute for the serious study of a myth. The chief advantage of such sites is that they provide access to material that might otherwise be found only in a very good library.

For those of you who have access to the Internet via a full-service browser such as Netscape or Microsoft's Internet Explorer, I encourage you to explore these sites. Some of the assignments, in fact, include Internet options. (See Assignments 2 and 4.)

The following addresses are the URLs of just some of the currently available sites of interest to students taking Classics 430. For additions or revisions, check the homepage for this course.

• http://www.classicalmythology.org/ (the Web site designed to accompany Morford and Lenardon's Classical Mythology; includes chapter-by-chapter summaries, suggested activities, maps, practice test questions, etc.)
• http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ (see below)
• http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/ (a good all-purpose Greek Mythology site, links to other sites)
• http://web.uvic.ca/athena/bowman/myth/ ("Classical Myth: The Ancient Sources", featuring much useful material and some links)
• http://www.pantheon.org/ (the Encyclopedia Mythica, an encyclopedia for myth)

The Perseus Project and the Online Perseus Digital Library

One additional resource, available on both CD and (in a variant form) the internet, deserves special mention. In the mid-1980s the Perseus Project was formed with the intent of creating a far-ranging collection of textual and visual materials relating to the ancient Greek world. The collection has been published on CD by Yale University Press, but the Project eventually developed an internet site, the online Perseus Digital Library, which features much of the material available on the CDs and considerably more. This site is constantly modified and enhanced, and is an important resource for anyone interested in the study of classical antiquity, including mythology. Perseus comprises a substantial range of material which includes: major literary texts (the original Greek with English translations, some with accompanying notes); maps (Perseus will plot for you just about any ancient town or city you're interested in); an extensive collection of color photographs of vase paintings, coins, and sculpture together with a brief history and description of each piece; detailed plans, descriptions and photographs of many different sites and temples throughout the Greek world; an online history of ancient Greece; a full Greek–English dictionary; and an encyclopedia of architectural terms.

Perseus allows the user to "navigate" between these various collections in a variety of ways. If one wanted, for instance, to trace the character of Heracles in Greek literature and art, Perseus will search its database for all material relevant to Heracles—e.g., where he is mentioned in the literature, painted on a vase, or sculpted in a frieze—and allow you to view this material online.

The URL is: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/.

History and Myth

It is important for you to acquire some sense of the fundamental periods of Greek history, the principal sources and their approximate dates, and the names and locations of the most important city-states. This topic is addressed quite succinctly in chapter 2 of Morford and Lenardon , and if you can master what they tell you there, you will be in good shape. I recommend that when you run across the name of an obviously important city or geographical location, you use the maps in the textbook to identify them. You may find the "Ancient History and the Sources of Myth" chart useful in keeping the chronology straight, as well as the principal literary sources you will encounter. Please make sure you are familiar with the authors and their works listed (they are identified and discussed, along with a few others, in the textbook (pp. 26–30). Finally, Morford and Lenardon use the "B.C." ("Before Christ) and "A.D." ("Anno Domini"—"in the year of the Lord") dating formulae; in the table that follows, and throughout this Course Guide, I use the parallel but nonreligiously specific formulae "B.C.E." ("Before the Common Era") and "C.E." ("Common Era"). Please note that there is precisely no difference, dating-wise, between "B.C." and "B.C.E." or "A.D." and "C.E."; both are conventions, and I have adopted the religiously neutral one.

Ancient History and the Sources of Myth
Historical Period	Sources
7000–3000 B.C.E.: Neolithic Age	Archaeology
3000–2000 B.C.E.: Early Bronze Age
ca. 2000 B.C.E.: first Greek-speaking people enter
2000–1600 B.C.E.: Middle Bronze Age
1600–1100 B.C.E.: Late Bronze Age ca. 1500 B.C.E.: rise of Mycenae ca. 1250 B.C.E.: Fall of Troy
1100–800 B.C.E.: Dark Age ca. 1100 B.C.E.: Dorian invasion ca. 1000 B.C.E.: Iron Age begins
750–500 B.C.E.: Archaic Period 700–600 B.C.E.: Emergence of Greek city-states	ca. 750 B.C.E. Homer (Iliad, Odyssey)
	Hesiod (Theogony, Works and Days) Homeric Hymns
500–323 B.C.E.: Classical Period in Greece	Pindar (518–438 B.C.E.; Odes) Aeschylus (525–456 B.C.E.) Herodotus (ca. 485–425 B.C.E.; Histories)
461–429 B.C.E.: Age of Pericles 431–404 B.C.E.: Peloponnesian War	Sophocles (496–406 B.C.E.) Euripides (485–406 B.C.E.) Aristophanes (ca. 450–385 B.C.E.) Plato (429–347 B.C.E.)
352–323 B.C.E.: Alexander the Great
323–327 B.C.E.: Hellenistic Period in Greece	Callimachus (305–240 B.C.E.) Apollonius (third century), et al.
146–27 B.C.E.: Late Republican Rome
27 B.C.E.–C.E. 14: Age of Augustus	Vergil (Aeneid) Ovid (Metamorphoses) Livy (History of Rome)
Second century C.E.?	"Apollodorus" (Bibliotheca)

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