Ateneo - UPO

MYTH AND POETRY IN ANCIENT GREECE

(1) Omero, Odissea, a cura di F. Ferrari, UTET Libreria; in alternative Omero, Odissea, a cura di V. Di Benedetto, BUR (2) Il teatro greco. Tragedie. Radici BUR. ISBN 88-17-00971-7 euros 14 or, in alternative, I tragici greci. Eschilo, Sofocle, Euripide (a cura di F.M. Pontani e altri), ISBN 978-8854117112 Newton Compton 2010, euro 14. (3) Aristotele, Poetica, a cura di D. Lanza, BUR. (4) Aristofane, La festa delle donne, a cura di G. Paduano, BUR (a free Italian translation, without notes, can be found on line: http://www.filosofico.net/aristoffestadem42.htm). (5) A. Beltrametti, La letteratura greca, Roma, Carocci 2005 (Euro 26, ISBN 9788843033041).

The course is designed to provide the students with a basic knowledge of the genres of archaic and classical Greek poetry (epic, lyric, tragedy, comedy) and of the main myths mentioned in the works read in class and at home. The course will make them aware of the modalities of performance of literary texts in ancient Greece; it will introduce them to the interpretation of poetry offered by Aristotle. The course will enable the students to analyse the content of an archaic or classical Greek text, with special attention to myths, historical context, modality of performance. It will help them to formulate an argument in order to solve problems of interpretation in this field. The students should acquire the ability to explain in a clear and orderly way the concepts and the pieces of information they will acquire, avoiding a purely mnemonic repetition of teaching material. They should be able to present their argument to other students and to listeners who are not specialists in the field. The students should acquire the ability of mastering the concepts discussed in the course. They should also acquire the ability of finding data that will help them to interpret Greek literary texts of similar nature, on the basis of modern translations.

Basic IT knowledge (internet; download of files from the DIR website). Good knowledge of Italian. Basic information about ancient history and the geography of the Mediterranean area, as taught in Italian high schools.

Lectures; classroom discussion.

The teacher prepared didactic materials relevant to the course. These materials can be accessed through the university intranet service (DIR).

The final exam consists of a written test which will focus on the following points: examination of knowledge of essential elements of myth in the literary works studied, with attention to different literary genres (sample question: "how is myth presented in one of the literary texts?") (40 % weight in the exam evaluation); examination of knowledge of essential elements on literary history (sample question: "what is the historical, geographical and performance context of one of the literary texts studied?") (20 % weight in the exam evaluation); examination of knowledge of essential elements of the ancient literary theories discussed (sample question: "what is Aristotle’s definition of tragedy / epic / art / historiography / the unity of the work of art / catharsis / pity and fear / the tragic flaw?") (20 % weight in the exam evaluation); examination of the ability to formulate judgments on works present in the syllabus, on the basis of literary theories discussed in class and on the essays in the reading list (sample question: "Do you think that the Aristotelian theory explains satisfactorily the problems of interpretation of one of the literary works on the syllabus?") (20 % weight in the exam evaluation). The final grade will be based on the degree of knowledge and understanding of the texts and of the key concepts, on the ability to apply knowledge to the text or to the proposed interpretation problem, and on the degree of expressive and communicative capacity.

The course introduces the students to Greek literary civilization by helping them read in Italian translation and interpret some of the most important texts in the subject: Homer, Odyssey, (books 8-12), an anthology of lyric poetry (esp. Sappho and Pindar), Aeschylus (Agamemnon, Prometheus), Sophocles (Oedipus Rex, Antigone), Euripides (Medea, Hippolytus, Electra, Bacchae), Aristophanes (Thesmophoriazusae), Aristotle (Poetics).
Teaching unit 1: Homer
• Teaching unit 2: Hesiod, Sappho, Pindar
• Teaching unit 3: Introduction to Greek theatre
• Teaching unit 4: Aeschylus, Agamemnon, Prometheus
• Teaching unit 5: Sophocles, Oedipus Rex, Antigone
• Teaching unit 6: Euripides: Medea, Hippolytus, Electra, Bacchae
• Teaching unit 7: Aristophanes: Thesmophoriazusae
• Teaching unit 8: Aristotle, Poetics.

Knowledge of essential data on the treatment of myth in the works of ancient Greek literature belonging to different literary genres; knowledge of basic data on the history of Greek literature and of ancient Greek literary theories; ability to make judgments on works on the syllabus, on the basis of ancient and modern literary theories discussed in class and presented in the essays on the syllabus.