University College Enrichment Program
Richard Sacks
Tuesday October 20, 2000
7:00-9:00pm
online (via Zoom)
Across the mythic landscapes of the ancient world, from the heights of Olympus to the gates of Valhalla to the gardens of Eden, we find traditions asking us to confront – and perhaps even embrace – the possibility that there are limitations to what our gods understand about the worlds over which they preside. Join Richard Sacks, who spent four decades at Columbia University teaching ancient texts such as the Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, Beowulf and Genesis, for an evening's exploration of ancient myths of the west that question the very foundations of our beliefs.
Brief suggested readings from ancient primary sources
1. the Demeter myth in the ancient Greek Homeric Hymn to Demeter
(Nagy translation from Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies)
2. the myth of Thor and Utgarđ-Loki from the Old Norse Prose Edda
(Brodeur translation from Google Books)
3. the Biblical mythic narratives of creation and Eden in Genesis (chapters 1-3)
(New Revised Standard Version from oremus.org)