Welcome to introduction to Western Literature, a year-long course which will introduce you to the great works of Antiquity and the Middle Ages in the Mediterranean and Western Europe. The first part of the course will be largely concerned with understanding the relationship between gods and humans as well as gods and society, and to explore crucial themes such as covenant or xenia. Moreover, through the study of epic literature, we will broach the boundary between literary genre and study three texts which greatly impacted western literature.

The course will start with the examination of ancient near Eastern texts. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient epic which was uncovered in the middle of the nineteenth century during the archaeological excavations at Nineveh. The text, notably with its description of the Flood and paradise, will lead us to discussions on the near-Eastern roots of biblical beliefs which we will examine through selections of the Bible from Genesis and Exodus. From there, we will move on to the three great epics of the ancient world, The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid.