First and foremost in my series of ancient Greek and Roman literature classes, the most important goal is for young students, who genuinely love mythology, to read not a modern book about mythology (as they most often do) but an ancient Greek or Roman work containing the original myths.

In this multi-day course in particular, we are going to approach the poem of the Odyssey by keeping the following three observations constantly in our mind:
(i) For the ancient Greeks the epic poem Odyssey is first and foremost a divine product of the ancient Greek creativity inspired (as always) by the Muse of epic poetry Calliope. 
(ii) It is an epic poem that includes the greatest tales of the hero Odysseus who belonged to the so-called heroic age of humanity as the ancient Greeks called it. As most ancient Greek heroes he was a source of inspiration, hope and strength, in order to solve problems and defeat fears, fight dangers and overcome obstacles. Life never comes wiithout them, neither then nor now! 
(iii) It is, also, an epic poem that entails the stories of a hero vis-a-vis gods, monsters, beasts, and other heroes, forming a part of the ancient Greek mythology. 

Therefore, in this class students will understand that the magic of myths lies not only in the stories themselves, fascinating as they are, but in the logic behind them and in their deeper meaning. Myths will be appreciated as a system of beliefs and a way of thinking about the world, as it was created by the ancient Greeks. The goal for the students is to learn how Greeks were structuring their myths and some of the narrative patterns that they were employing to tell meaningful stories about their gods, in this case about the heroic deeds of the Trojan War. 

They will learn variations of certain myths of Odysseus and their purpose. And together we will try to interpret and explain them, compare them with other myths, and trace their origins. 

We will put particular emphasis on the role of the gods and goddess and the many roles they fulfill in the Odyssey. After all, for the ancient Greeks this was the most crucial part. We should better "listen" to them if we want to understand their point of view.

We will discuss together how were these stories played out in the social and artistic life of the ancient Greeks, reflected even in the worship of gods and heroes. What did the Odyssey mean to Greek men and women of the ancient Greek society? 

I have a BA in ancient Greek History and Archaeology, an MA in ancient Greek Archaeology and History of Art and an MA in the History and Philosophy of Religions, and I am a PhD Candidate of Religion, specialized in ancient Greek and Roman religions.

Homework Offered
The students are asked to read in advance the assigned chapters for each week of the course. This is why I schedule the class every other week, to allow students have enough time to read carefully and come prepared for class dicussion. If this is still not possible for students before every single week of the course, or if students prefer to read some of the chapters before each class , they will still be able to follow the entire course. If they decide to do all the readings, this will help them considerably in terms of class participation, they will absorb the material easier and at the end they will have the pleasure of having read the entire epic poem.
2 - 4 hours per week outside of class
Assessments Offered
I do not believe that a letter grade is meaningful for an 8-week course on the Odyssey. However, as I often do with my one-time classes, which are always small classes (up to 5 or 6 students), I communication with the parents and the children directly, providing my personal comments, private feedback and an informal assessment.
Grades Offered