Background and Resources

[Elizabeth]

Everyman wrote: " I wasn't aware that there is a Classical Mythology II course, so I'll go and check it out right away. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
) ..."

Everyman, I made a mistake. You're right about the Classical Mythology being 24 lectures. I went looking for the second set of 24 lectures today and then checked my packing slip and sure enough I only have the one course -- the other two courses that I bought presented by Elizabeth Vandiver are The Ilyad and The Odyssey. Sorry for the confusion.

[Everyman]

Elizabeth wrote: "Everyman wrote: " I wasn't aware that there is a Classical Mythology II course, so I'll go and check it out right away. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
) ..."

Everyman, I made a mistake. ..."

Not a problem. I really enjoy Vandiver; hope you do, too.

[Phebe]

E.Vandiver also does The Aeneid. That one can be downloaded; at least, I did that, last summer in 2012.

I've done an Iliad project including her lectures; I still want to have another go at the Odyssey before Aeneid, since Aeneid takes off from the Odyssey, I am told by someone who actually read it. All this prepping and structure slows me down --- but when I actually finish a project, I feel I finally know something.

[Elizabeth]

Phebe wrote: "E.Vandiver also does The Aeneid. That one can be downloaded; at least, I did that, last summer in 2012.

I've done an Iliad project including her lectures; I still want to have another go at the Od..."

Phebe, what do you mean by "an Iliad project"?

[Lily]

Has anyone seen an edition of Metamorphoses with an index? Even though I have three editions, including Kindle, and could use search on the later, I think I might still consider another with a good index. I'm surprised that neither Mandelbaum nor B&N Classics have an index.

[Nemo]

The Loeb Classical Library edition (Miller translation) has an index Ovid

[Lily]

Nemo wrote: "The Loeb Classical Library edition (Miller translation) has an index Ovid"

Looks like a really useful index from the "Look Inside" feature. Thanks for the heads up, Nemo. I'll likely make the investment -- but will check out our local community AAUW used book sale first, because it sometimes has some marvelous finds and it is on this week.

[Nemo]

The indices reference the Book and stanza number. So you can use it for any translation that include the original stanza number.

You could also download the (scanned) ebook version for free from Internet Archive.

1. "Metamorphoses I" (translation by Frank Justus Miller) at Internet Archive
2. "Metamorphoses II" (translation by Frank Justus Miller) at Internet Archive

[Wendel]

About 275 blog entries by a certain Tom Matrullo:
http://ovidsmetamorphoses.blogspot.nl/

For a group reading of the Metamorphoses (February 2011 - July 2013 !
To go to the first entry: http://ovidsmetamorphoses.blogspot.nl...

[Everyman]

Lily wrote: "Has anyone seen an edition of Metamorphoses with an index? Even though I have three editions, including Kindle, and could use search on the later, I think I might still consider another with a goo..."

the Martin doesn't have an index, but it does have a listing of all the characters and locations with a brief comment on who or what they are, and a citation to the first place they appear in the work.

[Everyman]

Nemo wrote: "The indices reference the Book and stanza number. So you can use it for any translation that include the original stanza number.

You could also download the (scanned) ebook version for free from I..."

I love the Loeb editions for language study, but because the translations are intended to assist students, they tend to be fairly literal. I don't always find them to be the most enjoyable translations to read. But for reading in parallel, they're great.

[Wendel]

Some resources on Roman religion (other than just Greek myths).

To start with:
* Britannica (Michael Grant):
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...
* Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary...
* did the Romans believe in myths?
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/so...

Sometimes we may feel the influence of a long tradition of Christian prejudice.
* like in Anthony Kamm's popular Roman history:
http://www.the-romans.co.uk/origins.htm
"Insofar as the Romans had a religion of their own, it was not based on any central belief, but on a mixture of fragmented rituals, superstitions, and traditions which they collected over the years from a number of sources. To them, religious faith was less a spiritual experience than a contractual relationship between mankind and the forces which were believed to control people’s existence and well-being."
* short and anonymous but as good as any other on-line introduction: http://www.romanreligion.info/
* or this, a bit pedantic maybe:
http://hwlabadiejr.tripod.com/RELIGIO...
* information collected by pagan revivalists:
http://www.novaroma.org/religio_romana/
* last but not least, you may like this:
http://www.romanreligion.org/content/

For more, you can consult this reading list for MA students:
http://classics.colorado.edu/roman-my...
* the present standard must be (Beard, North & Price):
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16...
* on my more modest reading list (John Scheidt):
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...
* for free, an older but still readable short overview (Cyril Bailey):
http://www.munseys.com/diskfive/relr.htm
Other formats: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18564