Unit name | Greek Language Level D |
---|---|
Unit code | CLAS30074 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Lampe |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
CLAS22405 or equivalent |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Classics & Ancient History |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
In this unit we’ll be appreciating the extraordinary poetry of two contemporary authors, Pindar and Aeschylus. In particular, we will focus on their representations of the myth of Orestes and Clytemnestra in Pythian 11 and The Libation Bearers. This will give us an opportunity to consider the different ways in which Aeschylus and Pindar appropriate traditional myth in general, and specifically how they deal with the topics raised by this myth, including matriarchy and patriarchy, initiation and coming of age, justice and the rule of law, and violence and the sacred. In order to appreciate these themes, we will discuss many aspects of the reception of this mythical cycle.
Aims:
By the end of this unit, you should have:
1. developed skills in reading, translating and interpreting a Greek/Latin text and in evaluating translations of it;
2. close familiarity with current debates about the texts studied, and their historical and cultural significance;
3. skills in constructing coherent, relevant and sophisticated critical arguments, and in relating their readings of the texts to wider theoretical issues, as appropriate to level H;
4. developed and enhanced skills in oral and written communication by contributing to discussion in seminars, presenting short papers, and producing an essay and a written examination to a standard appropriate to level H.
3 hours of seminars per week.
• 1 essay of 3,000 words 50%.
• 1 two hour exam (50%).
Both will assess ILOs 1-4.
Aeschylus, Choephori. Ed. A. F. Garvie. Clarendon, 1988. (Garvie will be most useful for appreciating Choephori as a literary and historical text, but if you need to economize, you may purchase the Bristol Classical Press edition of A. Bowen.)
Pindar, Pythian 11 (A text and commentary will be provided to you.)
Lloyd, Michael, ed. 2007. Aeschylus. Oxford.
Kurke, L. 1991. The Traffic in Praise: Pindar and the Poetics of Social Economy. Princeton.
Finley, J. 1966. Pindar and Aeschylus. Cambridge, Mass.