Telling stories is one of the most common ways that humans make sense of the world and their lives in it. For the ancient Greeks and Romans, these stories were very often in the form of tales of the adventures, triumphs and sufferings of gods and heroes – what we call classical myths. This class examines many of these myths, what they meant to Greeks and Romans, and what they still mean for us. We will cover major myths (including myths of creation, myths of nature and the stars, the Trojan war myths, the story of the house of Oedipus, the exploits of Hercules and Theseus, the career of Aeneas, and the myths of the early Roman kings) and the various media that record them (including ancient literature in translation and visual representations). This serves as an excellent introduction to ancient Mediterranean culture and society: through the myths we can learn more about ancient religion, politics and art. We will also discuss post-ancient and global responses to the classical myths, from medieval revulsion to modern poetry to spectacular Hollywood renditions.