The material in this website was initially created for a course in Greek mythology at New Mexico State University at Carlsbad in their Continuing Education department. Since the students in the class were older and already held four-year college degrees, I taught it as one might an upper division or graduate course.

The approach is unusual and perhaps even unique in that it introduces mythology through the use of chronological stories solely from ancient Greek literature. As originally conceived, it consisted of a smidgen of Hesiod's Theogony followed by Greek tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides that told the story of Oedipus, his ancestors and descendents. The Greek gods were introduced as they were encountered in the unfolding story of Oedipus' family and rounded out by presenting the Homeric Hymns that told the story of their divine lives.

But the website version will expand over time to include more material. Prior to teaching the course, I wrote a novel (still unpublished) set in ancient Greece at the time of the Persian invasion. My research into classical Greece provided so much material that I have felt the need to include more Greek mythology by using the ancient texts. Therefore, I will at some point include the story of the sacrifice of Iphigeneia by her father, Agamemnon, as a prelude to the Trojan War. This approach naturally leads into the story of the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra upon his return to Mycenae and the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes and Electra, Iphigeneia's younger brother and sister. Of course, no story of Greek myths would be complete without Homer, so I'll eventually get around to including The Iliad and The Odyssey.

All this and I've still not mentioned Heracles (Hercules) or Jason and the Argonauts. Yes, someday they will also be included.

This website is also about ancient Greek religion. Mythology and religion were so integral in ancient Greece that it's hardly possible to study one without studying the other. .

For the beginning student to understand .

 and comes in two parts. The first concerns twice-born Dionysus, theatre's patron god. The reason we start with him is that much of mythology comes to us through ancient theatre. We'll be reading several tragedies, and it's necessary to understand him to understand tragedy. His story starts with the myth of Demeter and her daughter Persephone who was the first mother of Dionysus. Demeter and Persephone were also the deities behind the Mysteries at Eleusis. Dionysus' life is then picked up within the legend of Kadmos, whose daughter was the second mother of Dionysus. It concludes with Dionysus incorporating his orgiastic rites at Thebes.

The second part concerns the myth of Oedipus and his family. As a prelude to Oedipus, we first follow Oedipus and continue with his sons, daughters and grandsons, finally ending on the island of Thera, known now as Santorini.

The third part concerns Iphigeneia, the daughter of Agamemnon. Agamemnon was the king and general who led the Greek forces during the Trojan War. We start with Agamemnon sacrificing Iphigeneia at Aulis so the Greek fleet can gain favorable winds to sail to Troy, delve into the aftermath of the sack of Troy and follow her father home where he is killed by Iphigeneia's mother, Klytemnestra. We follow the fate of her brother, Orestes, as he murders his mother and is tried on the Areopagos in Athens. Finally we'll end the class by reading the tragedy where Orestes retrieves Iphigeneia from Calchis on the far side of the Black Sea and and deposits her at Brauron on the east coast of Attica where she lived out her life and was later worshiped as a goddess. 

We’ll explore these myths through the ancient writings, relying on Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides primarily but also use Homeric Hymns, ancient historians and other assorted ancient writers who wrote on the subject. We’ll look at the physical reality behind the myths by viewing pictures of the sites taken by the author and discussing the archaeology. But we’ll also spend a little time talking about the nature of myth, where it comes from, and how it relates to our lives, how we might build a personal mythology. This eBook will also be about the Greek landscape. I’ll provide you with maps, not only of Greece, but also of the ancient cities. Ancient geography is one of the most interesting aspects of Greek mythology, and we’ll follow in the footsteps of the characters as they travel from place to place.