Description

This 8-week course will explore the intriguing heroines of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and the ways Homer’s depictions of them broadly reflect and encode women’s religious experiences in ancient Greece.

We will begin with an introduction to religious life in ancient Greece and women’s roles within a range of festivals, both women-only and city-wide. Each subsequent week, we will examine Homer’s narratives around a variety of heroines, including Andromache, Briseis, Hecuba, Helen, Ino, Penelope, Nausicaa, Eurycleia, and Melantho. Two central questions we will consider are, how does Homer’s ‘panhellenic’ narrative fit into larger patterns of heroine myths, and what is the place of ‘real life’ religious ritual in his text?

This course is conducted via Zoom. Classes will meet for 90 minutes each week on Mondays at 19:30-21:00 (UK/Ireland time) on Monday 29th September, 6th October, 13th October, 20th October, (mid-term break 27th October), 3rd November, 10th November, 17th November, and 24th November 2025.

Tutor: Dr Eirene Allen.

The class will proceed subject to a minimum number of enrolments.

Cancellation policy: students will receive a full refund if the student cancels their registration more than two weeks before the class begins. Students will receive 50% refund if the student cancels their registration 8-14 days before the class begins.