BASC50083 - Myth and Epic in Homer's Iliad
Course Description
We will read Homer's Iliad expansively as an oral epic in its full context of literature, myth, and history. We will also read closely and compare at least two translations. Our primary translation will be the one by Richmond Lattimore, because it is closer to the original Greek on a word-by-word basis. Our secondary translation will be Fagles', because it is closer to the original feel and pace of the Greek. Students are encouraged to consult other translations as well, as individual interest leads them. The instructor will work from the Greek. We can learn much about the epic from the choices made by skilled and poetic translators.
Readings include the Odyssey, the Epic Cycle, and Hesiod’s Theogony. Some modern scholarship will be read, as well, to illumine the poetics, history, and culture of the epic tradition. Students will be encouraged to keep a reading notebook to keep track of items such as the famous Homeric similes, epithets and formulaic language, poetic imagery, myths and mythic references, and to practice various ways of outlining the poem to display different structures. We will read closely, but also always with reference to the overall structure of the entire poem.
Course Outline
REQUIRED TEXTS (for both quarters of the course)
- Lattimore, Richmond. The Iliad of Homer. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226469409.
- Fagles, Robert. The Iliad. Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0140275360.
- Trzaskoma, Smith, and Brunet (eds.). Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in Translation (Second Edition). Hackett Publishing, 2016. ISBN 978-1-62466-497-7.
- Redfield, James. Nature and Culture in the Iliad. Duke University Press. 978-0822314226.
- Whitman, Cedric. Homer and the Heroic Tradition. Norton. ISBN 978-0393003130.
- Homer’s Odyssey: any edition will do, although Lattimore would be best for finding your place. (ODYSSEY NOT ORDERED AT BOOKSTORE)