Ancient people depended on religion to explain the harsh realities of human existence. The first nine weeks, we will analyze epic heroism and the longing for immortality, the pagan concept of wyrd, the core values of Celtic-Romans, the elements of myth and its distinction from legend, the conversion of the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon pagans to Christianity and the influence of religion in the literature of early people. We will read "The Epic of Gilgamesh," the Genesis account of the flood, "Telemachos Sets Sail," from The Odyssey, "Dream of the Rood," "The Wanderer," "The Seafarer," "The Wife's Lament," Beowulf, and Grendel.
Note: As part of the study of ancient cultures, we will look at cultural traditions, literature, and the role of religion.
In plato's allegory of the cave, he suggests the human experience is like perceiving shadows on a wall. Reality, he might say, is manipulated. Physicists theorize that our reality may not be exactly the way we perceive it, but rather is filtered through the rods and cones of our eyes, projected through our camera-like Optical lenses, skewed by our biases.