The Epic. Homer, "Odyssey"

Lecture from 25 of October, Thursday

I. The Theme of "Odyssey" ("What about" is the Poem). What Part of the Myth uses Homer

1. Moments of the myth (or legend) of the Trojan war
2. The theme of "Odyssey"


II. Plot and Composition of "Odyssey"

1. "Iliad"'s plot
2. "Odyssey"'s plot
3. Composition of the poem


III. Odysseus' Adventures


IV. The Heroes from Troja Return Home. The Common Plot of "Iliad" and "Odyssey"

The Epic. Homer, "Iliad"

Lecture from 18 of October, Thursday

I. Homer and the events of the Trojan war

1. Sources and data concerning the author of "Iliad" and "Odyssey"
2. Sources and date for the war the Trojan legend tells us about
a. Time of the Trojan war
b. Possible reasons for the war. Its range
c. Who were the Trojans


II. Epic Poetry

1. Formal characteristics of epic
2. Typical content of an epic poem
3. Trojan cycle


III. "Iliad"

1. Summary of the poem
2. Ways of retardation
3. Poetical language


Literature in English (available in the web):
Trojan War
http://ancient-anatolia.blogspot.com/2006/09/trojan-war.html
Trojan War (with illustrations)
http://greece.exteen.com/20070929/trojan-war
The Rise of the Greek Epic. by Gilbert Murray. Oxford, 1907
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=91351652#

Introduction to the Study of Ancient Greek Literature

I. About the work during the semester


II. List of the Lectures

A. Poetry
1. Homer. "Iliad"
2. Homer. "Odyssey"
3. Hesiod. "Theogony". "Works and Days"
4. Classical Lyric. Pindar
5. Hellenistic Lyric. The Poetry of Hellenism.
6. Tragedy
7. Comedy
8. New Comedy

B. Prose
9. History. Herodotus and Thycidides
10. Rhetoric. Demosthenes
11. The Philosophical Dialogue. Plato
12. The Novel


III. Reading List (in translation)


IV. The Ancient Greek Literature - a Survey


Literature in English (available in the web):
Classical and Hellenistic Greece
http://hleefish.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!1pTDlhMOIJB3vzh2cIwdysyQ!716.entry
A History of Ancient Greek Literature. by Gilbert Murray.
http://www.questia.com/library/book/a-history-of-ancient-greek-literature-by-gilbert-murray.jsp