Would recommend!

Although he was fairly nice, he never used the chalkboard or wrote anything down, which is pretty necessary in a language class. He also expected memorization of long lists of verbs which was very difficult when I was taking a full course load and only useful to a person who plans on becoming a Greek scholar which I do not.

I would never take his class ever again. The materials aren't difficult but he likes to just information vomit all over you and expects you to spit it right back for quizzes and midterms. The midterm wasn't difficult but the final was the worst thing I've done . 3 mini essays and 2 long essays with ID questions. Took most students the whole 2-3 hrs

Would NEVER take any class from him again. Lectures are horrible, he jumps all over the place with information. Basically word vomits the whole time. No organization at all. Quizzes weekly and assigns a ridiculous amount of reading. Unless you're interested in Greek Myth it'll be fine, but if not wait to take it with another prof

Keep up with the readings and go to lecture AND section. Pay attention and take good lecture notes. Section is 20% of your grade, weekly quizzes in section (2 lowest scores dropped). 2 grading options: midterm 30% and final 50% OR midterm 20% and final 60%. Just do the readings and take good notes and you will get a good grade.

Lectures are all over the place and he jumps around to different ideas, making it a little confusing sometimes. Don't expect to get any help from him because he's always in a hurry and acts like he doesn't want to talk. Got annoyed with him.

Hard class, but it is doable. You need to be in the zone during lecture and write down all the important points he makes about the history/background of the myths. As for the myths itself, Sparknotes or any other summary source will do. This class is one of the more demanding/hardest grading courses for GE's, so I advise you take it pass/ no pass.

Worst class ever. Was supposed to be on Classical civilization and the whole class was on german philosopher Nietzsche. FML for taking this class.

Lots of reading and small class size so dont expect to skip the nights reading and not look like a fool in class participation is expected and demanded.

Tons of Studying. Don't expect to coast. Exams come exactly from the text. Expect high expectations for translations. Final consists of 2 or 3 pages from the text. All Latin Translation and Grammar.

Patten is hands-down my favourite prof. He's adorably enthusiastic. Very engaged in what he teaches, entertaining, extremely sharp, doesn't condescend. That said, he is the toughest grader I've had at UCSB; he gets a bit of a bad rap because of how high his standards are, but if you ask for help, thou shalt verily receive so ask for help!

One of my all-time favorite professors. If you pay attention to lectures, you'll get an A--and it's not hard to pay attention. He makes the class fun, and he is very into and knowledgeable about the subject matter.