Myth in Human History

Myths provide the keys to truly grasping the ways that principles, rituals, codes, and taboos are woven into the fabric of a particular society or civilization. It's through myths that we can answer these and other fundamental questions: How was the universe created, and why? What is the purpose of evil? Why is society organized the way it is? How did natural features like rivers, mountains, and oceans emerge? This entertaining and illuminating course plunges you into the world's greatest myths. Taking you from ancient Greece and Japan to North America and Africa to New Zealand and Great Britain, these 36 lectures reveal mythology's profound importance in shaping nearly every aspect of culture. You'll also discover the hidden connections between them - a comparative approach that emphasizes the universality of myths across cultures. Along with the stories themselves, you'll encounter fascinating characters, including Herakles, the ancient Greek hero whose life illustrates the idea that all heroic stories have a similar structure; Loki, the shape-shifting trickster who introduces the concept of time into the Norse realm of Asgard; and King Arthur, the Celtic lord and founder of the Knights of the Round Table. Myths, according to Professor Voth, are "gifts from the ancestors to be cherished." His enchanting lectures are the perfect way for you to celebrate these cherished gifts, inviting you to develop your own interpretations of these age-old tales, as well as to ponder the role that myths - both ancient and everyday - play in your own life.

All Lectures:
1. Myth and Meaning
2. The Continuing Importance of Myth
3. Creation Myths
4. Mesopotamian Creation - Enuma Elish
5. Hebrew Creation Myths
6. Emergence and World-Parent Creation Myths
7. Cosmic Egg and Ex Nihilo Creation Myths
8. Earth-Diver and Dismembered God Creation Myths
9. Mesopotamian and Hebrew Flood Myths
10. Other Flood Myths
11. Myths of Cosmic Destruction
12. Greek and Norse Pantheons
13. The Great Goddess Remembered?
14. The Goddess - Inanna and Dumuzi
15. The Goddess - Isis and Osiris
16. The Eclipse of the Goddess
17. Shamans and Vegetation Gods
18. Sky Gods and Earth Goddesses
19. Creator Gods
20. Gods and Goddesses of India
21. Hero Myths
22. Mythic Heroes - Gilgamesh
23. Mythic Heroes - King Arthur
24. Mythic Heroes - Jason and the Argonauts
25. The Monomyths of Rank and Campbell
26. Mythic Heroes - Mwindo
27. Female Heroes - Demeter and Hester Prynne
28. Female Heroes - Psyche and Beauty
29. The Trickster in Mythology
30. Tricksters from around the World
31. Native American Tricksters
32. African Tricksters
33. Mythic Tricksters - Eshu and Legba
34. The Places of Myth - Rocks and Lakes
35. The Places of Myth - Mountains
36. The Places of Myth - Sacred Trees