Archaeology and World Mythology
Why do cultures around the world tell stories about great floods, trickster gods, journeys to the underworld, or heroes who challenge the forces of chaos? What can ancient ruins, buried cities, tombs, temples, and artifacts reveal about the people who created those stories? And how do myths continue to shape literature, religion, art, and popular culture today?
In this twelve-week humanities course, students will explore the myths and belief systems of ancient civilizations alongside the archaeological discoveries that have helped historians reconstruct the ancient world. Through a combination of mythology, historical evidence, and literary analysis, students will investigate how human societies explained creation, nature, morality, death, kingship, and the unknown.
The course will introduce students to major mythological traditions from regions including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Scandinavia, West Africa, East Asia, and the Americas. Students will read selections from epic poems, sacred stories, legends, and folktales while examining the cultures that produced them. Topics may include the Epic of Gilgamesh, Greek hero myths, Norse Ragnarok, Egyptian burial practices, Mesoamerican cosmology, and the archaeological discoveries that transformed modern understanding of the ancient past.
Along the way, students will learn how archaeologists study ancient societies through architecture, inscriptions, tools, artwork, burial sites, and environmental evidence. We will examine famous discoveries such as Tutankhamun’s tomb, Pompeii, the city of Troy, and the Terracotta Army, while also discussing the challenges and controversies surrounding archaeology, museum collections, and the interpretation of ancient cultures.
Special attention will be given to recurring themes across world mythology: creation and destruction, gods and monsters, the afterlife, sacrifice, fate, law, and the hero’s journey. Students will practice close reading, discussion, analytical writing, and interpretation as they compare myths across cultures and consider why certain stories continue to resonate across thousands of years of human history.
No previous background in mythology or ancient history is required. The course is designed to guide students step-by-step through unfamiliar cultures and texts while encouraging curiosity, discussion, and thoughtful analysis.
By the end of the course, students will have gained a deeper understanding of both the ancient world and the enduring power of stories to shape civilizations, identities, and human imagination.