I found this course a little hard to get into at first. I expected it to be a kind of Edith Hamilton to Near Eastern mythology: a kind of overview of the gods and goddesses and their deeds. Instead it's more of an introduction to the literatures of the ancient Near East with discussions of how various mythologies played out in the lives of the people as well as our own view of the region.

Another difficulty is that Goldman covers a lot of territory and theory quickly, often quickly eliding from one point to the next without any transition. While he keeps coming back to important points, slight inattentions can leave you feeling like you missed a lot.

What helped me get through the course was reading A Very Short Introduction to Mythology, which covers some of the theoretical ideas that Goldman is using in more detail, so I had some idea of where he was coming from. I also skimmed a few books on the history of the ancient Near East and realized that much of the mythology is not well enough understood to present an Edith Hamilton-type survey.

With that under my belt, I was able to listen to these lectures and appreciate Goldman's major points. He really appreciates the literature of the period gives a good overview of the types of literature that are available. He also treads very lightly on the controversies surrounding the relation of Biblical literature to the archaeology and the literature of other cultures in this area, which would make this course appealing to people from many diverse backgrounds. ( )