Undergraduate Course: Classical Mythology in the Renaissance (CLGE10018)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Some of the most famous paintings and sculptures in the world depict scenes from classical mythology. Why did Renaissance artists and writers choose to include subjects from the ancient myths of Greece and Rome in their work, and what can their treatment of these themes tell us about how they interpreted the classical world and their own times? |
| Course description |
This course offers an overview of the various uses made of classical mythology in the art, literature and material culture of the Renaissance, with particular (but not exclusive) reference to the courts and cities of the Italian peninsula. Among the contexts in which ancient myth was appropriated by artists, writers and their patrons between the fourteenth and the seventeenth centuries, we shall consider political propaganda, dynastic pageantry, the assertion of civic values, domestic decoration, and garden design. Attention will also be paid to some of the different attitudes expressed in Renaissance sources towards the use of classical mythology in the arts, including perceived tensions between the 'pagan' character and origins of the myths and the Christian principles of the society in which they were now being disseminated. The course offers an opportunity to develop skills in literary, visual and historical analysis.
Content note: The study of History inevitably involves the study of difficult topics that we encourage students to approach in a respectful, scholarly, and sensitive manner. Nevertheless, we remain conscious that some students may wish to prepare themselves for the discussion of difficult topics. In particular, the course organiser has outlined that the following topics may be discussed in this course, whether in class or through required or recommended primary and secondary sources: sexual and other violence, religious prejudice, nudity, voyeurism and objectification. While this list indicates sensitive topics students are likely to encounter, it is not exhaustive because course organisers cannot entirely predict the directions discussions may take in tutorials or seminars, or through the wider reading that students may conduct for the course.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This course is available to all students who have progressed to Honours. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics, History or Archaeology at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Exam:
2 hour exam (50%)
Coursework:
3,500 word project (50%) |
| Feedback |
Students are expected to discuss their coursework with the Course Organiser at least once prior to submission, and are encouraged to do so more often. Meetings can take place with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment. Students will also receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify uses of mythological material from classical antiquity in a range of Renaissance art and literature, and point to possible literary and/or artistic sources for this material.
- Analyse in a detailed and informed manner specific instances of the reception of classical mythology in art, literature and material culture from c. 1300 to c. 1600
- Locate uses of classical mythology in Renaissance culture within their contemporary artistic, literary, social, political, religious, philosophical and intellectual contexts, as appropriate, and suggest ways in which the character of these engagements with antiquity may have been affected by these contexts.
- Give a critical account of the concept of a 'Renaissance' in European culture in historiography and other texts from the fourteenth century to the present day, and evaluate the continuing usefulness (or otherwise) of this conceptual framework.
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Reading List
Barolsky, P. (2014) Ovid and the Metamorphoses of Modern Art from Botticelli to Picasso, New Haven and London.
Bull, M. (2005) The Mirror of the Gods: Classical Mythology in Renaissance Art, London.
Campbell, S. J. (2006) The Cabinet of Eros: The studiolo of Isabella d'Este and the rise of Renaissance mythological painting, New Haven and London.
Freedman, L. (2003) The Revival of the Olympian Gods in Renaissance Art, Cambridge.
Freedman, L. (2011) Classical Myths in Italian Renaissance Painting, Cambridge.
Godwin, J. (2002) The Pagan Dream of the Renaissance, London.
Gombrich, E. H. (1972) Symbolic Images: Studies in the Art of the Renaissance II, Oxford.
Nivre, E. W. (ed.) (2015) Allusions and Reflections: Greek and Roman Mythology in Renaissance Europe, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Reid, J. D. with Rohmann, C. (1993) The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1300-1990s, 2 vols., New York and Oxford.
Seznec, J. (1972) The Survival of the Pagan Gods, tr. B. F. Sessions, Princeton.
Wind, E. (1967) Pagan Mysteries in the Renaissance, Harmondsworth.
Zajko, V. and Hoyle, H. (eds.) (2017) A Handbook to the Reception of Classical Mythology, Hoboken |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Demonstrate an awareness of classical and Renaissance visual and literary culture, and of the major mythological figures and stories appropriated by Renaissance artists and writers from the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome.
Demonstrate historical sensitivity with respect to the contextualisation and interpretation of mythological themes in Renaissance art and literature.
Demonstrate an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship and to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence.
Demonstrate independence of judgement, intellectual integrity and maturity, and an ability to evaluate the work of others. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Luke Houghton
Tel:
Email: lhought2@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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