How the World Began: Creation Myths of the Ancient World

3 units

We will read myths and epic literature from the Bible, ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, and the ancient Near East about the birth of the gods, the creation of the world and of humanity, and the establishment of societies. These masterpieces of ancient literature recount the deeds of gods and heroes and humanity's eternal struggle to come to terms with the world, supernatural powers, love, lust, and death. This course will examine how each culture borrows traditions and recasts them in a distinct idiom.