This course provides a survey of ancient epic poetry, focusing on literature from the Greek, Roman, and Mediterranean world. All readings will be in English; no knowledge of any ancient languages is required. The works selected will be ancient epic tales primarily from Greece, Rome and the Mediterranean world (e.g. Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer, Apollonius, Vergil, Ovid, Statius) though some ancient epics from other cultures may be used for comparative purposes (e.g. Beowulf, Popol Vuh, Mahabharata). Class discussion and assignments focus on understanding the ancient cultures and their relation to our own, evaluating the arguments of scholars, and creating well-reasoned written and oral arguments about ancient epics.