Undergraduate Course: Greek Epic (GREE10033)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will examine in detail a number of important Greek epic poems from antiquity, with a particular focus on the development of and intertextual interactions within the epic genre. The key texts to be studied will include selections from Homer's Odyssey, Books 1 and 3 of Apollonius' Argonautica, and Triphiodorus' Sack of Troy. The course will cover, too, the Homeric Hymns, Epyllion (esp. Callimachus) and texts from contiguous genres. |
| Course description |
The course is specifically structured to allow maximum scope for research-led teaching at this study level, and hence allows for variation in the weekly topics to reflect research developments and staff interests. A model of the teaching schedule looks as follows:
W1: Introduction: The Idea of Epic; Epic poetry through the ages; literary and cultural developments; Homer and the Epic Cycle; Introduction to the Odyssey.
W2: Discussion and Interpretation of Homer's Odyssey, with close reading of text prescribed.
W3: Discussion and Interpretation of Homer's Odyssey, with close reading of text prescribed.
W4: Discussion and Interpretation of Homer's Odyssey, with close reading of text prescribed.
W5: Introduction to Hellenistic Epic and Alexandrian Aesthetics; selections from Callimachus.
W6: Discussion and Interpretation of Apollonius' Argonautica, with close reading of text prescribed.
W7: Discussion and Interpretation of Apollonius' Argonautica, with close reading of text prescribed.
W8: Discussion and Interpretation of Apollonius' Argonautica, with close reading of text prescribed.
W9: Discussion and Interpretation of Apollonius' Argonautica, with close reading of text prescribed.
W10: Introduction to Imperial Greek poetry and its Hellenistic roots; introduction to Triphiodorus; Discussion and Interpretation of Triphiodorus, with close reading of text prescribed.
W11: Discussion and Interpretation of Triphiodorus, with close reading of text prescribed.
Conclusions
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Greek 2A (GREE08007) AND
Greek 2B (GREE08008)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Advanced-level ability in Greek language and literature, equivalent to two years' study at the University of Edinburgh (if uncertain, consult the Course Organiser). |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2016/17, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 23 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 18,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 4,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
170 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
The assessment for the course is by way of written coursework and a written degree examination. The assessment is split in the following way:
60% Degree Examination (2 Hours);
40% Coursework (3000-3500 words). |
| Feedback |
Students will receive written feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment.
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| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- show in both essay and exam understanding and knowledge of a wide range of Greek texts and their interrelations.
- demonstrate in both essay and exam a thorough understanding of the ancient genre of epic, its origins, developments and diversity across a broad chronological range of eras.
- show in essay and exam a detailed knowledge of the literary and cultural contexts which influence the generation of the texts studied.
- demonstrate in translation in both the exam and in weekly lectures and seminars a thorough knowledge of the linguistic, metrical and literary complexities of the original Greek of each text, and the differences in styles as the epic genre progresses chronologically.
- show in the essay and exam a thorough appreciation of the intertextuality between the specific texts studied, and especially of the significance of Alexandrian poetics.
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Reading List
Baumbach, M. & Silvio Bär (edd.). (2013) Brill's Companion to the Greek and Roman Epyllion. Leiden.
de Jong, I.J.F. (2001) A Narratological Commentary on the Odyssey, Cambridge.
Garvie, A.F. (1994) (ed.), Homer: Odyssey VI-VIII (Cambridge).
Hainsworth, J.B. (1991) The Idea of Epic, Berkeley.
Heubeck, A. /S. West/J. B. Hainsworth (edd.) (1988), A Commentary on Homer's Odyssey I, Books 1¿8 (Oxford).
Hunter, R.L. (1989) Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica book III, Cambridge.
Hunter, Richard. (1993) The Argonautica of Apollonius: Literary studies. Cambridge.
Lefkowitz, M.R. (1981) The lives of the Greek poets. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
Miguélez Cavero, L. (2008). Poems in Context. Greek Poetry in the Egyptian Thebaid 200-600 AD. Berlin.
Miguélez Cavero, L. (2013) Triphiodorus, "The Sack of Troy" A General Study and a Commentary, Berlin.
Stanford, W.B. (1947, with many reprints) The Odyssey of Homer, London. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Greek Epic |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Calum Maciver
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: Calum.Maciver@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Stephanie Blakey
Tel: (0131 6)50 3580
Email: steph.blakey@ed.ac.uk |
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