
Life Lessons from the Great Myths
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Narrated by:
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J. Rufus Fears
Change the way you think about some of the greatest stories ever told with this examination of the most important myths from more than 3,000 years of history. The ways in which the human imagination can transform historical events, people, and themes into powerful myths that endure through the ages is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
To examine the core of the world's greatest myths and tales is to confront some of history's most basic human truths. These 36 captivating lectures comprise a powerful work of storytelling prowess and historical insight, exploring events and individuals that so gripped civilizations, they transcended to the level of myth and played an important role in shaping culture, politics, religion, and more.
Looking at myths from ancient Greece and Rome, from the Near East and the Middle East, from early and modern Europe, and from the United States, Professor Fears shows how myths convey higher truths too profound to be described in ordinary language. Decoding them, Professor Fears reveals how they serve as enduring sources of wisdom. For example, the rich tapestry of supernatural events in the Epic of Gilgamesh provided support for Mesopotamian politics, including the need for a divinely appointed kingship. The furious battles in Beowulf played an important role in cementing Germanic ideas of courage, heroism, glory, and honor. And the dramatic last stand at the Battle of the Alamo emphasized for Americans that liberty is worth any price.
The search for wisdom is one of life's great purposes, and there is much wisdom to be gleaned from the world's great myths. By the final powerful and stirring lecture of this course, you're sure to find yourself wiser than you were before you started.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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Best one yet
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I thoroughly enjoyed this course and I am going to seek out more of his courses on Audible.
Best of The Great Courses?
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If you could sum up Life Lessons from the Great Myths in three words, what would they be?
Provocative and relevant in the world today!Have you listened to any of Professor J. Rufus Fears’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
They are all entertaining, informative and pertinent.Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
so many situations were moving!Any additional comments?
noTimeless
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Don’t miss any of J. Rufus Fears’ lectures.
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At first Professor Fears speaks at length about the Iliad and its status as a Great Book and the higher knowledge we receive from reading it. For instance, he claims that one of its major lessons is how terrible hubris is - thinking you know better than you actually do, and acting accordingly. He also says that the Iliad contains a "historical kernal of truth" - this will be an ongoing pattern.
Later he goes in some detail about a few other myths like Gilgamesh, but about halfway through the series he stops talking about ancient myths and begins talking about actual historical figures like Alexander the Great and Napoleon. The link between mythological truths and historical facts weakens until the professor is simply lecturing about the history of the United States without mentioning any mythology or stories at all.
One thing in particular that bothered me was that he makes a point of putting his personal views into the lectures which have very little bearing on the overall lesson. For instance, he claims that American culture will never die (in the form of rock and roll and McDonalds), and refers to any mention of Christianity as "right" and any mention of previous religions as "what they believed". I felt this glorification of his personal beliefs got in the way of the actual lessons, and made it more difficult to see what he was actually trying to teach.
Overall, I do not recommend this series if you are looking for a good introduction into mythology.
Lots of lecturing, not much teaching
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This lecture series is a great complement to The Heroes Journey. If you're a fan of that book, get this series. If you loved this series but have not yet read A Heroes Journey get that.
A Deep Analysis Highly Relevant to Current Events
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Another fabulous course by Dr. Fears
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What is a bit more concerning is when he seems to quite purposefully editorialize historical topics and leave out facts that don’t quite shine with the same colors he’s attempting to paint a narrative with.
Just off the top of my head:
1. While he’s right about Troy, there is still nothing to support the existence of Romulus as a historical figure, and most of the myths about him can be dated to the second century BC.
2. The Roman Empire did fall because of economic reasons. They stopped expanding not because of some arbitrary decision, but because there were concrete barriers that made it impossible.
3. Reagan’s economic policies were likely less impactful to both growth and inflation than the actions of the Federal Reserve over the same period of time, but there’s still a lot of debate over this, my issue is more making unequivocal normative statements about a topic where there isn’t actually consensus.
4. LBJ didn’t start the war in Vietnam. JFK started and escalated war in Vietnam.
5. He credulously repeats the whole “Jackson fought the national bank to help the poors” thing that has been mythologized despite it being a horrible decision that made a lot of people worse off.
6. The Texas secession from Mexico was much more about slavery than it was about ideas of freedom or ideals about right and wrong, and while focusing on the Alamo alone would’ve been appropriate to the scope of the course, I’m not sure that completely neglecting to mention slavery was a reasonable editorial decision. The secession of Texas was not as high-minded as the American Revolution was.
Overall, pretty weird course. Like 80% of it was very interesting as a study of the morals and lessons of the Classics, something this professor actually has expertise in, and about 20% a smattering of stories about predominantly American figures that the professor personally seems to think are cool.
The 80% was much better material to learn from.
This Course Aged Strangely
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Excellent content and performance
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The depth and breath of knowledge conveyed is breathtaking and cause for much discussion
Engaging and thought provoking
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