Other Worlds and the Greek Imagination
CCIV 280
Fall 2008 not offered
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From Homer's ODYSSEY (8th century BCE) to Heliodorus' ETHIOPIAN ROMANCE (3rd century CE), ancient Greek literature is a repository of entertaining and exotic other worlds. In this seminar we will follow both fictional and historical Greek travelers on their journeys to the ends of the world and survey, through their eyes, the bizarre and fascinating customs of foreign lands (real and imaginary). Why do the Persians, according to Herodotus, eat few main courses but many deserts? What does Heracles' mystical journey to the land of the Hyperboreans have to do with the Olympic victory celebrated in Pindar's third OLYMPIAN? How does Cloudcuckooland (a community of talking birds) govern itself in Aristophanes' BIRDS? While these narratives and others like them charm us with their pure inventiveness, they also engage serious themes: law, politics, ethnicity, race, and religion, to name a few. Our investigations into the other worlds of the Greek imagination will lead us, ultimately, back to the Greeks themselves, as both created by and reflected in their literary tradition. |
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Essential Capabilities:
None |
| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA CLAS |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None |
Major Readings:
Homer, ODYSSEY
Pindar, OLYMPIAN 2 and 3
Herodotus, HISTORIES (selections from books 1-5)
Aeschylus, PROMETHEUS BOUND
Euripides, HELEN
Aristophanes, BIRDS
Apollonius of Rhodes, ARGONAUTICA
Heliodorus, AETHIOPIACA
Other selections TBA
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Examinations and Assignments:
Two papers; in-class presentations; take-home final. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Regular attendance and active participation in class discussion. |
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