This module traces the greatest war story ever told, the Trojan War, from its Classical origins in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, through medieval romances and Virgil's Aeneid, all the way to Tolkien's legendarium. Along the way, we will see how Tolkien’s fallen cities, doomed heroes, and wandering exiles echo the ancient conflict: from Achilles’ rage to Túrin Turambar’s curse, from the sack of Troy to the fall of Gondolin, from Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde to Beren and Lúthien, and from Odysseus’s long journey home to "The voyage of Eärendil" and Aragorn as the new Aeneas. We will end on a final reflection: Why do we keep telling stories about the destruction of great cities?

The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:

Outline	8-Session Structure
Week 1	Session 1: The Greatest War Ever Told: Introducing the Trojan Cycle
	Session 2: Heroes and Rage: Homer's Iliad and Tolkien's Doomed Warriors
Week 2	Session 3: The Fall of the City: The Sack of Troy and the Fall of Gondolin
	Session 4: The Women of Troy: Grief and Resistance in Euripides and Tolkien
Week 3	Session 5: The Long Road Home: Homer's Odyssey and "The Voyage of Eärendil"
	Session 6: Medieval Troy: Chaucer, the Romance Tradition, and Beren and Lúthien
Week 4	Session 7: Virgil's Aeneid and Tolkien's Founding Heroes: Elros and Aragorn
	Session 8: Why the Trojan War Never Ends: From Ancient Epic to Tolkien's Legendarium