What is myth? How do myths deal with fundamental human concerns about who we are and the world we live in? In this module, Dr. Suzanne O’Neill is an introduction to the major myths of the classical world using a range of primary source material: literary, artistic and archaeological. It explores the functions of myth within society and the various theories of myth. The key themes of the module will include creation myths in the wider context of Near Eastern mythology, the character of the Olympian Gods, heroes and their monstrous opponents, divine-human relations, and the major mythic cycles of the Trojan war, and the Atreus and Theban sagas.

 

Suzanne teaches teach Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion, Greek Archaeology and Classical Architecture: Reception and Re-imaginings in Trinity's Department of Classics. Her research interests include the reception of classical material culture and Irish cultural and political engagement with Classics study.