Global Arc

Deals with a major topic in Greek literature or cultural history with readings from several of the most important Greek authors. Three hours. Prerequisite: Greek 108 or equivalent. Alternates with 213.

This course introduces the literary and cultural life of Athens at the end of the fifth century BCE through Aristophanes' the Frogs, performed in 405 BCE. In this comedy, Aristophanes laments the state of tragedy, the special form of performance and poetry that became a hallmark of his city. Central to the play is a competition in the underworld between Aeschylus and Euripides, and additional context will include the plays mentioned and mocked. Our focus will be on the Greek, comic meter and structure, but we will also discuss how this play comments on stagecraft, performance, the arts, and contemporary life.

Readings will focus on historical, literary, philosophical, or religious texts with a range from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine periods. Two 90-minute seminars.

Reading of selected dialogues with lectures on various aspects of the Platonic philosophy. Two 90-minute seminars.

Three tragedies are read in class; others (both in Greek and English) are assigned as outside reading. The preceptorials deal with general discussions of tragedy, including Aristotle's Poetics. Two 90-minute seminars.

Intensive study of a major historical author, such as Herodotus or Thucydides, with special attention to narrative technique and historiographical principles. Two 90-minute seminars.

Several plays of Aristophanes are read in the original (for example, Acharnians, Clouds) and others in translation. The emphasis of the course is on the language and verbal effects of the comedies, and on the connections of Old Comedy with Euripidean tragedy, contemporary politics, and philosophy. Consideration is also given to New Comedy, with selections from Menander's Dyskolos in Greek. Two 90-minute seminars.

An introduction to the major techniques of Greek rhetoric with special attention to rhetorical treatises such as Aristotle's Rhetoric and to the application of these techniques in oratory and other literary forms.

All of the Odyssey is read in English and a considerable portion is read in Greek. Classes include close translation of key passages and reports on special topics. Emphasis is upon literary interpretation of the epic on the basis of detailed analysis of epic style, diction, and narrative techniques. Two 90-minute seminars.

Major texts of the Greek lyric age in their cultural and literary setting. An author such as Hesiod or Pindar may be selected for intensive treatment. Two 90-minute seminars.