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Classical Mythology
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.
Disclaimer: Please note that this recording may include references to supplemental texts or print references that are not essential to the program and not supplied with your purchase.
©2000 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2000 The Great Courses
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.
Disclaimer: Please note that this recording may include references to supplemental texts or print references that are not essential to the program and not supplied with your purchase.
©2000 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2000 The Great Courses
13 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 1, 2000
40 people are currently reading
741 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Vandiver
34 books127 followersElizabeth Vandiver is Associate Professor of Classics and Clement Biddle Penrose Professor of Latin at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. She was formerly Director of the Honors Humanities program at the University of Maryland at College Park, where she also taught in the Department of Classics. She completed her undergraduate work at Shimer College and went on to earn her M.A. and Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin.
Prior to taking her position at Maryland, she held visiting professorships at Northwestern University, the University of Georgia, the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, Loyola University of New Orleans, and Utah State University.
Professor Vandiver is the author of Heroes in Herodotus: The Interaction of Myth and History. She has also written numerous articles and has delivered many papers at national and international conferences.
In 1998, The American Philological Association recognized her achievements as a lecturer with its Excellence in Teaching Award, the most prestigious teaching prize given to American classicists. Her other awards include the Northwestern University Department of Classics Excellence in Teaching Award and two University of Georgia Outstanding Honors Professor Awards.
Prior to taking her position at Maryland, she held visiting professorships at Northwestern University, the University of Georgia, the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, Loyola University of New Orleans, and Utah State University.
Professor Vandiver is the author of Heroes in Herodotus: The Interaction of Myth and History. She has also written numerous articles and has delivered many papers at national and international conferences.
In 1998, The American Philological Association recognized her achievements as a lecturer with its Excellence in Teaching Award, the most prestigious teaching prize given to American classicists. Her other awards include the Northwestern University Department of Classics Excellence in Teaching Award and two University of Georgia Outstanding Honors Professor Awards.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
November 11, 2021
Mythology is an area of great interest to me. I've attempted to study it in both courses and books, and I have to say Elizabeth Vandiver's lecture series on Classical Mythology is in a league of its own.
First and foremost, the series is both scholarly and accessible. Vandiver begins the series with a clear and concise survey of the leading theoretical approaches to understanding myths. She discusses the perspectives of leading functionalists (Malinowski), structuralists (Levi-Strauss), the psychological methods of Freud and Jung, and Joeseph Campbell's metaphysical analysis. Vandiver is leary of dogmatists who attempt to use one overarching theory to explain the significance of myths. Throughout the course, she pulls from various perspectives to demonstrate how a specific approach might help us understand a particular myth.
Secondly, I appreciated the series breadth and scope. Vandiver begins with Theogeny Hesiod's poem about the origins of the Gods and moves through the significant myths of the Gods and heroes. The last three lectures examine the integration of Greek mythology and religion into Roman culture and focus on Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Throughout the lectures, Vandiver examines women and gender roles, the nature of patriarchy, and views of life and death reflected in this mythological worldview. I found the lecture series insightful and stimulating. I highly recommend this course.
First and foremost, the series is both scholarly and accessible. Vandiver begins the series with a clear and concise survey of the leading theoretical approaches to understanding myths. She discusses the perspectives of leading functionalists (Malinowski), structuralists (Levi-Strauss), the psychological methods of Freud and Jung, and Joeseph Campbell's metaphysical analysis. Vandiver is leary of dogmatists who attempt to use one overarching theory to explain the significance of myths. Throughout the course, she pulls from various perspectives to demonstrate how a specific approach might help us understand a particular myth.
Secondly, I appreciated the series breadth and scope. Vandiver begins with Theogeny Hesiod's poem about the origins of the Gods and moves through the significant myths of the Gods and heroes. The last three lectures examine the integration of Greek mythology and religion into Roman culture and focus on Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Throughout the lectures, Vandiver examines women and gender roles, the nature of patriarchy, and views of life and death reflected in this mythological worldview. I found the lecture series insightful and stimulating. I highly recommend this course.
June 14, 2018
This is an invaluable resource for understanding classical mythology, not coincidentally the course’s name. I confess to undervaluing/underestimating the impact of mythology on national self-identity and society. Within its culture of origin, myths are not viewed as ‘myths’ but truth, stories as tradition, defining limits, providing explanation, and/or overlapping with religion. In previous eras, ‘story’ as such, did not suffer from the second-class status it bears now in our scientific, facts-only, modern world.
Professor Vandiver is an excellent teacher! She explains classical myths, sets them within their own context, then unravels the various interpretations they have acquired over the years. In particular, I was pleased with how she handled Freud’s ‘Oedipus Complex’, showing it not to be true or false, but just a weak and largely unsupportable theory given the larger setting of the myth and its enduring popularity. She did the same with Joseph Campbell’s larger-than-life persona, as well as the popular mother-goddess movement among feminists. Vandiver takes Mythology seriously and while she is fair with these Johnnie-Come-Latelies, she won’t let them hijack part of the story for their own purposes. In each case, it isn’t that there isn’t something in what the claimants see, but they have chosen to be selective and ignored so much else which is just as relevant.
Professor Vandiver also has a pleasant voice, was informative, fair, humorous, and will remain one of my all-time favorite teachers anywhere. I have learned so much from her and grown to appreciate myths and mythology tremendously from this course. I always thought mythology was fun. Now I have a great respect for it as well. Highly recommended.
May 20, 2018: I have always had a fascination with Greek and Roman mythology and this course gives a lot of background insight. Very good so far...
Professor Vandiver is an excellent teacher! She explains classical myths, sets them within their own context, then unravels the various interpretations they have acquired over the years. In particular, I was pleased with how she handled Freud’s ‘Oedipus Complex’, showing it not to be true or false, but just a weak and largely unsupportable theory given the larger setting of the myth and its enduring popularity. She did the same with Joseph Campbell’s larger-than-life persona, as well as the popular mother-goddess movement among feminists. Vandiver takes Mythology seriously and while she is fair with these Johnnie-Come-Latelies, she won’t let them hijack part of the story for their own purposes. In each case, it isn’t that there isn’t something in what the claimants see, but they have chosen to be selective and ignored so much else which is just as relevant.
Professor Vandiver also has a pleasant voice, was informative, fair, humorous, and will remain one of my all-time favorite teachers anywhere. I have learned so much from her and grown to appreciate myths and mythology tremendously from this course. I always thought mythology was fun. Now I have a great respect for it as well. Highly recommended.
May 20, 2018: I have always had a fascination with Greek and Roman mythology and this course gives a lot of background insight. Very good so far...
February 4, 2013
This woman deserves six stars. She's a wonderful story teller and magnificently clear to understand.
November 7, 2019
Humans are naked apes, that came from the brink of extinction, and without fangs, claws and fur, somehow found a way to the top of the food chain, and are now successful as a species to the extent that we may kill everything else and ourselves along with that.
There are several commonly held ideas about precisely which trait(s) conferred humans with this ridiculous advantage.
But all of them seem to boil down to the human ability to collaborate and think and communicate in language.
Other animals clearly collaborate, but not to the extent that people can. Insects are commonly cited as examples of animal collaboration (e.g. ant colonies).
But insects typically only collaborate with other members of closely related others (e.g. ants in a colony only collaborate with other ants that have the same mother queen, and are therefore closely genetically related).
People collaborate with distantly related others, at an enormous scale (e.g. billions of individuals participate in the global economy).
Other animals communicate in a variety of ways that are admittedly, not completely understood. So more will likely be revealed by future research.
But animal research to date hasn't found satisfactory evidence for instances of truly abstract, symbolic, generative and recursive language (acquisition or use) in other animals.
Other animals can even use human language. For instance, language trained primates can know and use hundreds of words.
Kanzi (a 29-year-old bonobo) is believed to understand around 450 words – 30 to 40 of which he uses on a daily basis.
but apparently not to that same level of abstraction, generativity and recursion as humans.
In a sense, humans evolved to occupy the 'cognitive niche'. And it turned out to be a pretty effective evolutionary strategy.
Im not claiming that humans are better than other animals. Just somewhat unique in this particular way, which (for now, and certainly arguably) makes us (for better or worse) the dominant species on the planet.
So any way.
People use symbolic language.
We use metaphors in nearly all of our communications.
Most of which we are largely aware of.
In their classic 1980 book: Metaphors We Live By, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson identify 'structural metaphors' that are foundational to our thought, language and meaning making.
In fact, that last sentence included a structural metaphor that could be refered to as 'theories are like buildings' and I utilized it in the phrase metaphors are FOUNDATIONAL to our thought.
Another example of this type of 'theories are like buildings' metaphor occurs when we refer to an argument as SHAKY.
Lakeoff and Johnson assert that these types of metaphors are so commonplace that we almost think of them as literal and concrete.
For instance, the phrase things are looking UP incorporates the 'orientational' metaphor; happy is up; sad is down.
We assume happy feelings and good moods are 'up' as a literal matter of course. But theses ways of thinking are metaphorical.
I could go on, but I won't do that to you, I would instead just urge you to read Metaphors We Live By as it is a mind blowing, life changing, really important book.
But that's not the book I'm reviewing, and I only refer to it to make a larger point.
Namely that, similar to structural metaphor, myth and the mythic imagination deeply informs our ordinary world view, in ways that we are typically largely unaware of.
An easy example is the common assumption that articles of human production are 'apart from nature' and things that grow or occur outside of human influence are 'natural'.
Along the same lines, we assume that natural = good and pure, and synthetic = corrupt or impure.
This assumption is represented in the myth of castigation from the garden for eating from the tree of knowledge.
This mythic theme occurs in a variety of forms, including Icarus flying too close to the sun, and Prometheus stealing fire from the gods.
This mythic theme illustrates the impulse of aversion to hubris and it's a common structure across cultures and mythological systems.
At any rate. It is clear that mythology and the mythic imagination, and more broadly, the symbolic layer of human thought and meaning making is enormously important, and essential to our larger understanding of human behavior and motivation.
Mythic systems bind groups together, and motivate collaboration in pursuit of shared meaningful outcomes. For better of (frequently) for worse.
Take for example the recent Charlottesville demonstrations. They were materially awful in so far as many people were injured, and at least one person was killed. But symbolically, they were significant and wounding far beyond the strictly materiel losses of life and property damage.
And part of the reason the demonstrations were so potent, is that they were mythically charged.
The alt-right-ers brandished weaponized emblems of Norse culture and mythology that harkened to a mythic (not actual) time and place of white racial purity.
The liberal counter-protesters stood in defense of the neo-clasical Athenian values as represented in the iconography embedded in the western enlightenment era Jeffersonian architecture of UVA.
I am ill equipped to properly deconstruct those events, and this is definitely not the forum to do so even if I were capable.
But the important point is, that mythological literacy is essential to a thorough understanding of the human experience.
This course helped me dive a little deeper into my understanding of classical western mythology.
The lecturer Elizabeth Vandiver is superb, however pedantic, so don't expect new age fluff.
Five Stars ✨
There are several commonly held ideas about precisely which trait(s) conferred humans with this ridiculous advantage.
But all of them seem to boil down to the human ability to collaborate and think and communicate in language.
Other animals clearly collaborate, but not to the extent that people can. Insects are commonly cited as examples of animal collaboration (e.g. ant colonies).
But insects typically only collaborate with other members of closely related others (e.g. ants in a colony only collaborate with other ants that have the same mother queen, and are therefore closely genetically related).
People collaborate with distantly related others, at an enormous scale (e.g. billions of individuals participate in the global economy).
Other animals communicate in a variety of ways that are admittedly, not completely understood. So more will likely be revealed by future research.
But animal research to date hasn't found satisfactory evidence for instances of truly abstract, symbolic, generative and recursive language (acquisition or use) in other animals.
Other animals can even use human language. For instance, language trained primates can know and use hundreds of words.
Kanzi (a 29-year-old bonobo) is believed to understand around 450 words – 30 to 40 of which he uses on a daily basis.
but apparently not to that same level of abstraction, generativity and recursion as humans.
In a sense, humans evolved to occupy the 'cognitive niche'. And it turned out to be a pretty effective evolutionary strategy.
Im not claiming that humans are better than other animals. Just somewhat unique in this particular way, which (for now, and certainly arguably) makes us (for better or worse) the dominant species on the planet.
So any way.
People use symbolic language.
We use metaphors in nearly all of our communications.
Most of which we are largely aware of.
In their classic 1980 book: Metaphors We Live By, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson identify 'structural metaphors' that are foundational to our thought, language and meaning making.
In fact, that last sentence included a structural metaphor that could be refered to as 'theories are like buildings' and I utilized it in the phrase metaphors are FOUNDATIONAL to our thought.
Another example of this type of 'theories are like buildings' metaphor occurs when we refer to an argument as SHAKY.
Lakeoff and Johnson assert that these types of metaphors are so commonplace that we almost think of them as literal and concrete.
For instance, the phrase things are looking UP incorporates the 'orientational' metaphor; happy is up; sad is down.
We assume happy feelings and good moods are 'up' as a literal matter of course. But theses ways of thinking are metaphorical.
I could go on, but I won't do that to you, I would instead just urge you to read Metaphors We Live By as it is a mind blowing, life changing, really important book.
But that's not the book I'm reviewing, and I only refer to it to make a larger point.
Namely that, similar to structural metaphor, myth and the mythic imagination deeply informs our ordinary world view, in ways that we are typically largely unaware of.
An easy example is the common assumption that articles of human production are 'apart from nature' and things that grow or occur outside of human influence are 'natural'.
Along the same lines, we assume that natural = good and pure, and synthetic = corrupt or impure.
This assumption is represented in the myth of castigation from the garden for eating from the tree of knowledge.
This mythic theme occurs in a variety of forms, including Icarus flying too close to the sun, and Prometheus stealing fire from the gods.
This mythic theme illustrates the impulse of aversion to hubris and it's a common structure across cultures and mythological systems.
At any rate. It is clear that mythology and the mythic imagination, and more broadly, the symbolic layer of human thought and meaning making is enormously important, and essential to our larger understanding of human behavior and motivation.
Mythic systems bind groups together, and motivate collaboration in pursuit of shared meaningful outcomes. For better of (frequently) for worse.
Take for example the recent Charlottesville demonstrations. They were materially awful in so far as many people were injured, and at least one person was killed. But symbolically, they were significant and wounding far beyond the strictly materiel losses of life and property damage.
And part of the reason the demonstrations were so potent, is that they were mythically charged.
The alt-right-ers brandished weaponized emblems of Norse culture and mythology that harkened to a mythic (not actual) time and place of white racial purity.
The liberal counter-protesters stood in defense of the neo-clasical Athenian values as represented in the iconography embedded in the western enlightenment era Jeffersonian architecture of UVA.
I am ill equipped to properly deconstruct those events, and this is definitely not the forum to do so even if I were capable.
But the important point is, that mythological literacy is essential to a thorough understanding of the human experience.
This course helped me dive a little deeper into my understanding of classical western mythology.
The lecturer Elizabeth Vandiver is superb, however pedantic, so don't expect new age fluff.
Five Stars ✨
October 16, 2017
Myths are never myths to those who believe. The stories we tell ourselves in order to encode our hopes, aspirations and fears are one way we shape our understanding. Hegel used concepts, St. Thomas Aquinas saw our understanding through actions (the ‘to be’), and the pre-Socratic myths (and the post ‘Being and Time’ Heidegger) focused on our experiences.
Classical mythology is more relevant today than any blog post by Brietbart News, or radio show by Laura Ingram or any news broadcast on Fox News. Each of those are only understandable to those who don’t believe they are within a mythology, and yet right wing viewers believe their premises without knowing context, foundation or perspective. To understand the insanity of each of those myth creators it first helps to get a foundational and historical perspective on how humans thought about themselves in previous ages, and a great place to start is with the Greeks (and the Romans who use their peculiar filter applied to the Greek myths).
To me, the six most dangerous words in the English Language are “Climate Change is a Chinese Hoax”. That statement can only make sense to one who has embraced a mythology that encodes their hopes, aspirations and fears and have sublated themselves and their intellect to the person who has made that absurd statement. Their feelings trump their reason and their emotionality reigns supreme. Within those six words (tweeted multiple times by Donald Trump) is the hidden clue to how they justify their ignorance and love to hate. It’s ‘patriotism’. They believe that their way of being is naturally superior to others because it is their way. Argumentation can’t refute ‘patriots’. Climate change is a fact. The Chinese did not create it as a hoax. It’s not a coincidence that Trump blamed the Chinese, it takes a real bigot to go there and it appeals to all of our baser instincts about ‘the other’ and works among those who want to hate others who are not like them because of their ‘patriotism’. Patriotism has a circular logic within it. It can never be refuted by one who sees it as absurd, and should never be used to justify ones hate, fears and anger. Anytime you get into a tautological traps such as ‘patriotism’ as its own ultimate good in itself, then one knows one should question ones premises. (Freedom for the sake of Freedom is another trope of the right wing and is just as flawed).
The myths covered in this lecture all share a reliance on experience as the ultimate judge. Also, intentionality is irrelevant. The Gods (or justice) will turn you into a deer to be eaten by former hunter friends even if you did not have the intention (aim) of seeing Diana in the nude. I believe the right wing in today’s America only process the experience itself thru their gut feelings and keep no stock with logic, analysis, or the narrative thru the intellect that glues the story together. How else can they embrace “Climate Change is a Chinese Hoax”. That slogan can only work on people who process through feelings alone.
This lecture series probably didn’t mention Jesus Christ (if it did it was only in passing). But, after having all the Greek Gods and myths put into context, it was easy for me to see how JC became a God. There’s no doubt that the people of that time period (including St. Paul who wrote in Greek) would have been thinking in these mythological ways and with minor tweaks they could have made JC a God of sorts (or least a son of a God, I get confused on the nature, character and personage of the Trinity).
Classical mythology is more relevant today than any blog post by Brietbart News, or radio show by Laura Ingram or any news broadcast on Fox News. Each of those are only understandable to those who don’t believe they are within a mythology, and yet right wing viewers believe their premises without knowing context, foundation or perspective. To understand the insanity of each of those myth creators it first helps to get a foundational and historical perspective on how humans thought about themselves in previous ages, and a great place to start is with the Greeks (and the Romans who use their peculiar filter applied to the Greek myths).
To me, the six most dangerous words in the English Language are “Climate Change is a Chinese Hoax”. That statement can only make sense to one who has embraced a mythology that encodes their hopes, aspirations and fears and have sublated themselves and their intellect to the person who has made that absurd statement. Their feelings trump their reason and their emotionality reigns supreme. Within those six words (tweeted multiple times by Donald Trump) is the hidden clue to how they justify their ignorance and love to hate. It’s ‘patriotism’. They believe that their way of being is naturally superior to others because it is their way. Argumentation can’t refute ‘patriots’. Climate change is a fact. The Chinese did not create it as a hoax. It’s not a coincidence that Trump blamed the Chinese, it takes a real bigot to go there and it appeals to all of our baser instincts about ‘the other’ and works among those who want to hate others who are not like them because of their ‘patriotism’. Patriotism has a circular logic within it. It can never be refuted by one who sees it as absurd, and should never be used to justify ones hate, fears and anger. Anytime you get into a tautological traps such as ‘patriotism’ as its own ultimate good in itself, then one knows one should question ones premises. (Freedom for the sake of Freedom is another trope of the right wing and is just as flawed).
The myths covered in this lecture all share a reliance on experience as the ultimate judge. Also, intentionality is irrelevant. The Gods (or justice) will turn you into a deer to be eaten by former hunter friends even if you did not have the intention (aim) of seeing Diana in the nude. I believe the right wing in today’s America only process the experience itself thru their gut feelings and keep no stock with logic, analysis, or the narrative thru the intellect that glues the story together. How else can they embrace “Climate Change is a Chinese Hoax”. That slogan can only work on people who process through feelings alone.
This lecture series probably didn’t mention Jesus Christ (if it did it was only in passing). But, after having all the Greek Gods and myths put into context, it was easy for me to see how JC became a God. There’s no doubt that the people of that time period (including St. Paul who wrote in Greek) would have been thinking in these mythological ways and with minor tweaks they could have made JC a God of sorts (or least a son of a God, I get confused on the nature, character and personage of the Trinity).
August 8, 2018
Vandiver clearly loves and knows her topic. She is great fun to listen to. Nicely done and very infromative, even for someone very familiar with the Greek and Roman myths.
November 19, 2017
I loooooved listening to this lecture series on audiobook. Vandiver gives a fantastic introduction to classical mythology - mainly Greek, but some Roman too - examining what it meant to its contemporaries and how it has affected history and even our culture today. Each lecture is engaging, entertaining and informative, and the series as a whole is coherent and accessible. I basically didn't want it to end.
January 2, 2024
Classical Mythology is one of the more excellent Great Lectures you're going to listen to (assuming they're your sort of thing), and that is because Dr. Elizabeth Vandiver is one of the most excellent professors they've signed up. Like Dorsey Armstrong, Vandiver is a lecturer I would love to actually take a class with. Her energy is infectious, the passion for her subject is obvious, and her critical work on each myth she's chosen to share with us is top-notch (and anyone who points out the poor scholarship of Joseph Cambell gets extra points for awesomeness).
In terms of content, what I liked most about Classical Mythology is that Vandiver didn't fall into the Great Courses trap of providing the most skeletal of overviews in an attempt to touch on every top under the umbrella. Instead, she chose the myths that offered the basis of those things the Ancient Greeks cared most about, then took her time to expand beyond the most basic retelling of a tale. She dug into the whys and wherefores, into the possible critical readings of the tales, into how and why these tales remain relevant to us, and into the mistakes we have made over the years in our popular understanding of that the Greek myths mean and from whence they emerged. Vandiver covers less so she can do more, and that is a huge win for her and the Great Courses because it sent me straight out to buy all her other courses that focus on a specific myth or tale so that I can let her tell me even more again.
As fun as Stephen Fry's Mythos is -- it's a book I am listening to now -- I am not sure it would be nearly as fun without Vandiver's scholarship rooted in brain as I listen to Fry.
One last thing: I wasn't just interested while listening to Classical Mythology, I was entertained. It was fun (almost as fun as Mythos) and fun while learning is something to embrace and to share. Give it a crack if you love mythology. I'm confident you will dig it.
In terms of content, what I liked most about Classical Mythology is that Vandiver didn't fall into the Great Courses trap of providing the most skeletal of overviews in an attempt to touch on every top under the umbrella. Instead, she chose the myths that offered the basis of those things the Ancient Greeks cared most about, then took her time to expand beyond the most basic retelling of a tale. She dug into the whys and wherefores, into the possible critical readings of the tales, into how and why these tales remain relevant to us, and into the mistakes we have made over the years in our popular understanding of that the Greek myths mean and from whence they emerged. Vandiver covers less so she can do more, and that is a huge win for her and the Great Courses because it sent me straight out to buy all her other courses that focus on a specific myth or tale so that I can let her tell me even more again.
As fun as Stephen Fry's Mythos is -- it's a book I am listening to now -- I am not sure it would be nearly as fun without Vandiver's scholarship rooted in brain as I listen to Fry.
One last thing: I wasn't just interested while listening to Classical Mythology, I was entertained. It was fun (almost as fun as Mythos) and fun while learning is something to embrace and to share. Give it a crack if you love mythology. I'm confident you will dig it.
February 11, 2020
Another great pick from the Great Courses catalog. Lots of review of stories I'm familiar with, but with a lot of great context and insight. While I'm definitely a fan of Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung, and Professor Vandiver is not so much, it was really interesting to hear different perspectives than what I am most used to. There were great discussions on gender roles and anxieties in Greek society, the role of gods in particular, the development from Greek to Roman society, and ending with a fascinating discussion on the ways these mythological traditions stretch into our modern society.
November 9, 2024
Read via audible app. Great refresher course in the most common myths from the classical world.
July 8, 2009
I love this 24-lecture series about Greek and Roman mythology. What is most helpful to me is the overview of what the actual sources are, whereas I mostly know the stories as stories -- with this idea that develops that myth is timeless, and doesn't come from an original source. On the contrary, this lecture series helped me look at the myths from the perspective of text and context, rather than from the perspective of the stories themselves as they've survived rewritten down through the centuries.
For me, most of my moment-to-moment enjoyment of lectures comes from the lecturer's speaking style; oddly, the more idiosyncratic the speaker's voice is, the more I like them. Philip Dailleader? W00t! Total weird cadence to that dude's speaking, keeps me rivited.
Vandiver, on the other hand, is only moderately idiosyncratic, but she's also also extremely clear and easy to follow, and her organization is top-notch. So it all balances out and she's unquestionably one of my favorite lecturers.
A fantastically illuminating and enjoyable basic overview of classical myths.
For me, most of my moment-to-moment enjoyment of lectures comes from the lecturer's speaking style; oddly, the more idiosyncratic the speaker's voice is, the more I like them. Philip Dailleader? W00t! Total weird cadence to that dude's speaking, keeps me rivited.
Vandiver, on the other hand, is only moderately idiosyncratic, but she's also also extremely clear and easy to follow, and her organization is top-notch. So it all balances out and she's unquestionably one of my favorite lecturers.
A fantastically illuminating and enjoyable basic overview of classical myths.
October 1, 2016
I decided to listen to this set of lectures after reading Jo Walton's The Just City. It had been sitting in my digital library for a couple of years for no reason other than I was waiting for the perfect time to delve into it.
In the back of my mind, I was thinking it would be a set of lectures along the lines of Bullfinch's Mythology. While there were plenty of myths discussed, the strength of this series is the historical context and intriguing analysis Elizabeth Vandiver put forth. Moreover, I was fascinated by her presentation. She has a marvelous handle on the English language and is brilliant. I found myself often surprised by the myths and in particular, the curse of the House of Atreus. I read the lecture notes that came along with the lectures and found them very helpful as I know relatively little about the classic world.
In the back of my mind, I was thinking it would be a set of lectures along the lines of Bullfinch's Mythology. While there were plenty of myths discussed, the strength of this series is the historical context and intriguing analysis Elizabeth Vandiver put forth. Moreover, I was fascinated by her presentation. She has a marvelous handle on the English language and is brilliant. I found myself often surprised by the myths and in particular, the curse of the House of Atreus. I read the lecture notes that came along with the lectures and found them very helpful as I know relatively little about the classic world.
July 6, 2020
Amazing lecture series. Very concise chapters, extremely clear and gives context whenever something out of the cultural consciousness is brought up. The only thing I worry about is it the lecture series is also clearly significantly outdated. She drops some cultural touchstones like Disney’s Hercules and the Titanic movie, for instance. So, I wonder if (and sure there are) advancements or “updates” in critical thought on the subject.
February 6, 2016
Absolutely five stars. Even though I knew all the stories already, the insight Elizabeth Vandiver brings into them is accurate, unique and invaluable.
February 22, 2020
This was outstanding! For anyone wishing to grasp a comprehensive understanding of Classical Mythology, this is a must. This was one of “The Great Courses” audiobook which is presented in twenty four, thirty minute lectures presented by Professor Elizabeth Vandiver. I had listened to Heroes by Stephen Fry previously which sparked my interest in mythology but I didn’t comprehend it. This explained it all and had a PDF with it covering everything in the course. I printed out the some 150 odd pages and read each chapter after each lecture highlighting bits of importance. Effectively I guess this means I’ve read it twice. Once listening and once in written form.
This audiobook has whet my appetite for more and I’m looking forward to reading other mythology and more Greek mythology.
This audiobook has whet my appetite for more and I’m looking forward to reading other mythology and more Greek mythology.
June 27, 2018
This is a series of lectures on mostly Greek and Roman mythology. The professor goes over the most popular myths and discusses the history around the myth as well as compares the myth to other myths and stories. Over all the lectures were easy to listen to and I learned new things about the world these myths took place in and their views and society at the time. If you like mythology and you don’t already have a deep knowledge about Greek myths I would recommend this audiobook.
February 2, 2023
The lecturer was succinct and thoughtful, and I loved her style. The specific places she chose to dig in, however, didn't always align with my expectations for the experience (IE heavier emphasis on cultural context rather than the mythology itself). Still learned a lot and have much respect for Dr. Vandiver.
November 29, 2022
Apart from my usual allegations (towards any one of the "Great Courses" series) of superfluous references to George Washington (a completely irrelevant figure for pretty much everyone outside of the USA) this is a definitive hit. After listening to the course, I ask myself how could I have possibly hoped to get anything from reading the primary sources apart from the stories themselves.
In my opinion, the myths comprise absolutely no interest in themselves. They are nevertheless of highest historical and anthropological interest. However those aspects cannot be unconcealed unless having a knowledgable and passionate guide, which Dr. Vandiver truly is.
In my opinion, the myths comprise absolutely no interest in themselves. They are nevertheless of highest historical and anthropological interest. However those aspects cannot be unconcealed unless having a knowledgable and passionate guide, which Dr. Vandiver truly is.
November 23, 2017
I could honestly listen to Elizabeth Vandiver talk about Ancient Greece and Rome forever. I wish she had a course on Ovid.
November 20, 2019
This audio book is part of the Great Courses Series and not only tells the stories of the classical Greek myths, but also gives historical context into their origin and their meaning to those of us living today.
Very interesting for those of us whose introduction to myths was many years ago,
Very interesting for those of us whose introduction to myths was many years ago,
April 14, 2020
Really great overview that went sometimes deeper than I expected. Also a superb lecturer. Really nice! 5/5
November 8, 2024
Over half a century ago I read Greek myths as children's stories in Vietnamese and have carried them with me. This author illuminated them and rekindled my love for them.
August 25, 2017
This was such a mind-blowing experience for me. I thought I was familiar with Classical Mythology but I was not. Elizabeth Vandiver, the lecturer, explained the myths in a way I had never heard. The classical myths are a huge part of our culture and I never realized it. Everyone should hear these lectures.
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April 17, 2025informative. i really like vandiver’s voice. these lectures are introductory and occasionally somewhat dry. as introductions they do the job very well.
December 10, 2022
Excellent.
June 26, 2019
There is a lot of info here about specific myths if you are desperate for it. But it's mostly very short stories and it always has a feminist view point that seems misplaced. Overall it's dry and boring to listen too unless you ready need this info for an exam.
Pro:
There is a lot of info here. It's told in very small stories a few minutes each and the narration jumps from place to place. But the author does know about this mythology. It's not someone just guessing.
Con:
I keep saying this about most The Great Courses lectures, they are just not scientific enough. She will talk about some myth and state facts, but then randomly add her own feminist analyses to it. So "a man remarried... this is because he is a bad man, and women suffered and still do suffer". Basically it feels like an excuse to input her own biased worldviews into the lectures. It's a shame because this could have been a good lecture. Her argument against universal myths at the start also illustrates how she is not really focused on logic. She dismissed all the theories about it right away because one single person didn't explain his reasoning well enough. It's a damn shame that nearly all The Great Courses suffer from some kind of great bias in some way. There is seldom just history. It's history and feminist ideology. Or history and communist ideology. Or history and Christian ideology. Or history and anarchist ideology. Or history and Freud. I don't might any of those is I seek them out. But I have to actively choose to read these topics and they will have to be better argued for. Just a narrator stating, every 20 minutes, that her perception should be looked into is not making these courses better. It's ruining what could have been a good course.
I know that I ought to overlook some bias here and there, but I just can't. It does ruin the lecture. I know of old lectures where psychoanalysis completely ruined them and made them useless to look into today. Psychoanalysis was the thing back then like feminism is now. It came and went, but the historical facts remained. I just want to read the historical facts.
This lecture will stay popular for now and get high ratings. But once people will find a new fad or ideology it will age and become irrelevant. Unless you are a feminist I just cannot recommend it. But I assume there are enough feminists to listen to this lecture.
Pro:
There is a lot of info here. It's told in very small stories a few minutes each and the narration jumps from place to place. But the author does know about this mythology. It's not someone just guessing.
Con:
I keep saying this about most The Great Courses lectures, they are just not scientific enough. She will talk about some myth and state facts, but then randomly add her own feminist analyses to it. So "a man remarried... this is because he is a bad man, and women suffered and still do suffer". Basically it feels like an excuse to input her own biased worldviews into the lectures. It's a shame because this could have been a good lecture. Her argument against universal myths at the start also illustrates how she is not really focused on logic. She dismissed all the theories about it right away because one single person didn't explain his reasoning well enough. It's a damn shame that nearly all The Great Courses suffer from some kind of great bias in some way. There is seldom just history. It's history and feminist ideology. Or history and communist ideology. Or history and Christian ideology. Or history and anarchist ideology. Or history and Freud. I don't might any of those is I seek them out. But I have to actively choose to read these topics and they will have to be better argued for. Just a narrator stating, every 20 minutes, that her perception should be looked into is not making these courses better. It's ruining what could have been a good course.
I know that I ought to overlook some bias here and there, but I just can't. It does ruin the lecture. I know of old lectures where psychoanalysis completely ruined them and made them useless to look into today. Psychoanalysis was the thing back then like feminism is now. It came and went, but the historical facts remained. I just want to read the historical facts.
This lecture will stay popular for now and get high ratings. But once people will find a new fad or ideology it will age and become irrelevant. Unless you are a feminist I just cannot recommend it. But I assume there are enough feminists to listen to this lecture.
October 23, 2014
Vandiver's course on Classical Mythology offers both a broad overview of Greek and Latin myth and also a precise, scholarly approach to mythology. The first couple of lectures don't talk about the myths themselves, but rather about the study of mythology, some key mythologists, and a definition of how she approaches myth. She then delves into discussing the Greek pantheon, then a few heroes (Theseus and Herakles, in particular) and finally addresses how Romans adapted Greek myth for their own culture. Of course it is not a comprehensive study; there are far too many mythic figures and tales to cover in 24 half-hour lectures. But her study provides a solid overview of these topics.
I was particularly impressed with how careful and scholarly her approach was. If this were an actual college course, I would consider this a more advanced, 300-level class, with a critical angle, rather than a 200-level survey. I admit, I was at first turned off because she is critical of Joseph Campbell (of whom I am an admirer) and other psychological approaches to myth, but her criticism of him is based on sound scholarly differences, not simply poo-poohing. Vandivers tends to focus on the cultural roles of myth, and how Greek myth served Greek culture, and Roman myth needed adaptation to serve Roman culture.
While nothing can replace the experience of sitting in a class with a great teacher, this Great Courses class is a pretty good (and less expensive) approximation. If you are interested in myth, and just like hearing smart people talk about stuff they know well, this course is well worth it.
I was particularly impressed with how careful and scholarly her approach was. If this were an actual college course, I would consider this a more advanced, 300-level class, with a critical angle, rather than a 200-level survey. I admit, I was at first turned off because she is critical of Joseph Campbell (of whom I am an admirer) and other psychological approaches to myth, but her criticism of him is based on sound scholarly differences, not simply poo-poohing. Vandivers tends to focus on the cultural roles of myth, and how Greek myth served Greek culture, and Roman myth needed adaptation to serve Roman culture.
While nothing can replace the experience of sitting in a class with a great teacher, this Great Courses class is a pretty good (and less expensive) approximation. If you are interested in myth, and just like hearing smart people talk about stuff they know well, this course is well worth it.
June 23, 2015
I've loved Classical Mythology since I was 12. I loved the stories of these childish and petulant gods, their petty schemes and squabble. And the adventures of their various heroic offsprings, triumphant or tragic they may be. I swallowed them whole (like Cronos with his children).
I didn't know what I was expecting when I purchased this thing. Did I want to hear the stories read to me? Did I want the Trojan War brought to life? This course isn't that, but an examination of the theories and studies of classical myth at a level that I had never imagined. The students of the arts are probably facepalming themselves right now. Seriously, the sort of parallels that can be garnered from the reading of the stories have been nothing but astonishing to me. I certainly learned a great deal, the behind-the-scenes working of the stories, and how they can be interpreted.
I was surprised to learn about the heavy influence Ovid had on Shakespeare. Learned about how, despite the strong females gods prominent in classical mythology, ancient Greeks still valued boys higher than girls, men more valuable than women. The wholesale adoption of the Greek gods by the Romans, except for a major, wholly Roman god Janus.
This bears a second listening, as now I'm beginning to understand how some of the book reviewers actually critique works of literature, the method, if you will, of deconstructing a piece of work and apply layers of current reality that fits into the picture.
I didn't know what I was expecting when I purchased this thing. Did I want to hear the stories read to me? Did I want the Trojan War brought to life? This course isn't that, but an examination of the theories and studies of classical myth at a level that I had never imagined. The students of the arts are probably facepalming themselves right now. Seriously, the sort of parallels that can be garnered from the reading of the stories have been nothing but astonishing to me. I certainly learned a great deal, the behind-the-scenes working of the stories, and how they can be interpreted.
I was surprised to learn about the heavy influence Ovid had on Shakespeare. Learned about how, despite the strong females gods prominent in classical mythology, ancient Greeks still valued boys higher than girls, men more valuable than women. The wholesale adoption of the Greek gods by the Romans, except for a major, wholly Roman god Janus.
This bears a second listening, as now I'm beginning to understand how some of the book reviewers actually critique works of literature, the method, if you will, of deconstructing a piece of work and apply layers of current reality that fits into the picture.
October 25, 2016
This was a very interesting and informative book. The lecturer made the subject matter interesting, and she even injected humor at times. I had expected a somewhat dry book about various myths involving names I couldn't pronounce or remember. Instead, this was a fascinating book about ancient cultures, how myths evolved, what myths are, the purpose of myths, and the actual myths themselves. I learned quite a bit about this topic and now have a better understanding of the derivation of many common terms. I really liked the professor's conclusion about how sci-fi is the current form of myth; as she explains it, the ancient times placed monsters at the edge of the earth, based on the current knowledge at the time. However, since we know there are no edges of earth, we put our monsters in the universe according to her. It makes sense to me, and is a fascinating topic.
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