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Expand+GRC10190 War and the Hero: The Epics of Homer and Virgil
Academic Year 2022/2023
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey (c. 700 BC), dealing with the mythical Trojan war, are the foundation of Greek and Western literature. The lectures will discuss the stru...
Hide-GRC10190 War and the Hero: The Epics of Homer and Virgil
Academic Year 2022/2023
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey (c. 700 BC), dealing with the mythical Trojan war, are the foundation of Greek and Western literature. The lectures will discuss the structure, characters, and main themes of the two works, with special reference to the epic heroes Achilles and Odysseus.
When Virgil began writing his epic poem the Aeneid in the 20s BC, Augustus was establishing his imperial rule. While Virgil's contemporaries and generations-to-come greeted the Aeneid as a celebration of Augustan Rome, many modern readers view it as a powerful denunciation of war and imperialism. This module explores the ways in which the text engages with both political ideologies and the literary tradition.
Tutorial classes will encourage students to develop their skills in analysis and evaluation of the texts. The module requires no previous knowledge of Homer or Virgil, and all three texts are studied in translation.
Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this module students should be able to:
• synthesize information about the moral, social, and religious beliefs expressed in the texts;
• analyse the main themes and central characters of the texts;
• evaluate modern interpretations of the texts;
• evaluate the contribution of Homer and Virgil to Western literature.
Indicative Module Content:
Indicative Lecture List
1. Historical background to Homer
2. Homer and the invention of the alphabet
3. How to read the Iliad
4. The epic hero in the Iliad
5. The gods in the Iliad
6. Similes in the Iliad
7. The structure of the Odyssey; storytelling
8. The epic hero in the Odyssey: Odysseus
9. Hospitality in the Odyssey; Polyphemus
10. Women in the Odyssey; Penelope
11. Virgil and Homer: the plan of the Aeneid
12. Aeneid 1: The wanderings of Aeneas – a second Odyssey
13. Aeneid 1 and 2: Virgil’s use of simile
14. Aeneid 2-3: The last night of Troy
15. Aeneid 4: Aeneas and Dido
16. Aeneid 6: Aeneas in the Underworld
17. Aeneid 7: The war in Italy – a second Iliad
18. Aeneid 8: The Shield of Aeneas
19. Aeneid 8-9: Heroism
20. Aeneid 12: Fate and the gods
Tutorials
There will be five tutorials in small groups, in which students can express their own views and ask questions. The tutorials will be in alternate weeks, starting in Week 2 or Week 3. There will typically be an introductory tutorial, followed by two tutorials on Homer and two on Virgil.
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Expand+Indicative Module Content:
Lecture List
1. Introduction to Homer
2. Homer and the invention of the alphabet
3. The structure of the Iliad
4. The epic hero in the Iliad
5. The gods in the Iliad
6. The structure of the Odyssey. Storytellin...
Hide-Indicative Module Content:
Lecture List
1. Introduction to Homer
2. Homer and the invention of the alphabet
3. The structure of the Iliad
4. The epic hero in the Iliad
5. The gods in the Iliad
6. The structure of the Odyssey. Storytelling
7. The epic hero in the Odyssey: Odysseus
8. Hospitality in the Odyssey; Polyphemus
9. Women in the Odyssey; Penelope
10. Virgil and Homer: the plan of the Aeneid
11. Aeneid 1: Aeneas at Carthage
12. Aeneid 2-3: the fall of Troy
13. Aeneid 4: Aeneas and Dido
14. Aeneid 6: Aeneas in the Underworld
15. Aeneid 7: the war in Italy
16. Aeneid 8: the Roman future
17. Aeneid 8-9: Ascanius and the new generation
18. Aeneid 12: an optimistic or pessimistic conclusion?
Tutorials
There will be five tutorials in small groups, in which students can express their own views and ask questions. The tutorials will be in alternate weeks, starting in Week 2 or Week 3. There will typically be an introductory tutorial, followed by two tutorials on Homer and two on Virgil.
Prescribed texts
Homer, The Iliad (trans. M. Hammond, Penguin Classics)
Homer, The Odyssey (trans. E.V. Rieu, revised by D.C.H. Rieu, Penguin Classics)
Virgil, The Aeneid (trans. D. West, Penguin Classics)
There are many other translations of Homer and Virgil, which you may use if you wish, e.g. by Barry Powell available as ebooks through UCD Library, or by Tony Kline available for free download through http://www.poetryintranslation.com.
Indicative secondary reading
J. Griffin, Homer (Oxford, 1980)
Homer: The Odyssey (Cambridge, 1987; 2nd ed., 2004)
M.S. Silk, Homer: The Iliad (Cambridge, 1987; 2nd ed., 2004)
B. Graziosi, Homer: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2019)
J.S. Burgess, Homer (London, 2015)
W. Allan, Homer: The Iliad (London, 2013)
A. Kahane, Homer: A Guide for the Perplexed (London, 2012)
S.L. Schein, The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer’s Iliad (Berkeley, 1984)
B.B. Powell, Homer (Oxford, 2004)
D.L. Cairns (ed.), Oxford Readings in Homer’s Iliad (Oxford, 2001)
M.W. Edwards, Homer: Poet of the Iliad (Baltimore & London, 1987)
M.I. Finley, The World of Odysseus (Harmondsworth, 1954)
R.L. Fowler (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Homer (Cambridge, 2004)
R. Alden Smith, Virgil (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011)
J. Farrell & M.C.J.Putnam, A Companion to Vergil’s Aeneid and its Tradition (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010)
K.W. Grandsen, Virgil, the Aeneid, 2nd ed. by S.J. Harrison (Cambridge 2004)
P.R. Hardie Virgil. Greece & Rome New Surveys in the Classics No. 28 (Oxford, 1998)
C.A. Martindale (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Virgil (Cambridge, 1997)
C.G. Perkell (ed.) Reading Virgil's Aeneid: An Interpretive Guide (Oklahoma, 1999)
D.O.Ross Virgil’s Aeneid: A Reader’s Guide (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007)
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