Learn · Gresham College

Lecture series6 lectures

Dodgy Deities: Problematic Pagan Goddesses and Gods

Professor Ronald Hutton · Gresham College

Start with lecture 1 At Gresham College

About

Pan started as a shepherds’ god in a wild and backward area of Greece, but became one of the best-known in the Greek and Roman world. This was partly because the leading city of Athens imported him as a saviour, and partly because he came to represent the freedom, peace and simplicity of the countryside to urban people. He was the most earthy of Greek deities, summing up wild nature in its beauty but also its danger. He was a god of both liberation and menace, and this lecture faces up to him as both.

Lectures

  1. The Great God Pan: Lord of the Wild 2025-09-17 · Audio
  2. Hecate: Mistress of Magic 2025-11-26 · Audio
  3. Mithras: Master of Mystery 2026-01-28 · Audio
  4. Bridget: Goddess and Saint 2026-03-10 · Audio
  5. Dionysus: Lord of Misrule 2026-05-06 · Audio
  6. The Morrigan: The Nightmare Queen 2026-06-17 · Audio

Credits and licence

Institution
Gresham College
Speaker
Professor Ronald Hutton
Year
2025
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
History, Religion
Source
Gresham College
Licence
Educational use (Gresham College's terms), as Gresham College states it. Gresham College's terms
Attribution
Gresham College states: "We positively encourage the use of the Gresham College lecture transcripts, audio and video files for educational purposes. However, we do not allow use of Gresham College materials for commercial, personal or institutional gain."
Who can watch
Gresham College gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed