| Unit name | Greek Language Level B2 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | CLAS22316 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. D'Costa |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites | |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Classics & Ancient History |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The aim of this unit is to develop and reinforce students’ skills in the reading of Greek, and to introduce them to the practical criticism of classical texts. The text under study in this unit, Euripides’ Alcestis, is in some ways an untypical ‘tragedy’. Although it deals with an extraordinarily powerful emotional situation, it also includes humour and an ending which, if not exactly ‘happy’, is at least less bleak than seemed likely halfway through the play. The plot turns on the idea that a man is allowed by the gods to avoid death if he can find someone else to die for him. The man is Admetus, and the person who agrees to die for him is his wife Alcestis. But then, enter Heracles, who wrestles with Death and...
Aims: To develop students’ knowledge of the Greek language through the reading of classical Greek verse; to introduce students to techniques of independent reading of Greek, such as use of dictionaries and commentaries; to introduce students to issues of translation and interpretation of Greek literature.
Students will have developed and consolidated their knowledge of the Greek language and will have developed their skills of advanced independent reading of Greek texts. They will have acquired knowledge in the use of dictionaries and commentaries, and will be able to relate this knowledge to their understanding and interpretation of a Greek text. In addition, second year students will be expected to have developed more sophisticated analytical skills, as demonstrated in their formal assessments and in their participation in seminar discussions.
Lectures, seminars and reading classes, grammatical instruction classes
• 1 assessment exercise in practical criticism on a chosen piece of text 35-40 lines in length, with guidance questions from unit director. 1,500-2,000 words. Weighted at 50%.
• 1 class test (45 minutes) on sight translation (80% of test mark) and grammatical/syntactical knowledge (20% of test mark), on two pieces of text amounting to a total of 15 lines in length. Use of a dictionary will be allowed in this test. Weighted at 25%.
. 1 class test (45 minutes) on prepared text translation (10-12 lines, 40% of test mark) and context/interpretation knowledge (60% of test mark), with guidance questions from unit director, on one piece of text 20 lines in length. No reference texts will be allowed in this test. Weighted at 25%.
Liddell, H. G. and R. Scott. 1963. Intermediate Greek-E nglish Lexicon, Oxford
Morwood, J. 2001. Oxford Grammar of Classical Greek, Oxford
Set Text: Euripides, Alcestis, ed. A.M. Dale (Bristol Classical Press)
