Undergraduate Course: Troy after the Fall (CLTR10009)
Course Outline
School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
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 explores the way that the myth of the Trojan war was constantly reinvented and adapted to suit changing times from Homer through Athenian drama to imperial Rome. It thus examines the relationship between myth and history. |
Course description |
The Trojan War was the subject of the greatest of Greek poems, Homer's Iliad, but it was also a myth that was constantly reinvented to suit changing times and needs. This course explores its transformations in literature, art and local traditions, asking what Troy meant for the Greeks. The story of Troy, however, was not only a Greek story; with Vergil's Aeneid it underpinned one of the key texts of Latin literature. This course will also look at the Trojan myth in this Roman context, where it came to be incorporated into the public image of the powerful Iulian family. It contributes to the The course will use a range of sources, not only literary sources such as Homer, Vergil and Athenian drama but also artistic, numismatic and epigraphic material. Some of the literary sources will be familiar but approached in fresh ways, others such as Lycophron are likely to be encountered for the first time. Topics to be covered include: Homer; Athens and the Persian Wars; Alexander; kinship diplomacy; Troy in the West; Augustus; Ilion; Schliemann and the rediscovery of Troy.
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Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics related subject matter(at least 2 of which should be in Classical Literature) at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework, command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
- demonstrate, by way of, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
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Reading List
Anderson, M. J. 1997. The Fall of Troy in Early Greek Poetry and Art. Oxford.
Castriota, D. 1992. Myth, Ethos and Actuality: Official Art in Fifth-century BC Athens. Madison, Wisconsin.
Cook, J. M. 1973. The Troad: an archaeological and topographical study. Oxford.
Erskine , A. 2001. Troy between Greece and Rome: Local Tradition and Imperial Power. Oxford,.
Griffin, J. 1977. 'The Epic Cycle and the Uniqueness of Homer.' JHS 97: 39-53.
Hall, E. 1989. Inventing the Barbarian: Greek Self-Definition through Tragedy. Oxford.
Horsfall, N. M. 1987. 'The Aeneas Legend from Homer to Vergil.' In J. Bremmer and N. Horsfall, Roman Myth and Mythography. London.
Jones, C. P. 1999. Kinship Diplomacy in the Ancient World. Cambridge, Mass.
Malkin, I. 1998. The Returns of Odysseus: Colonization and Ethnicity. Berkeley.
Momigliano, A. 1984. 'How to reconcile Greeks and Trojans.' In Settimo contributo alla storia degli studi classici e del mondo antico. Rome. 437-62.
Snodgrass, A. 1998. Homer and the Artists: Text and Picture in Early Greek Art. Cambridge.
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Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
Special Arrangements |
In order for a student from outwith Classics to be enrolled on this course, contact must be made with a Course Secretary on 50 3580 in order for approval to be obtained. |
Keywords | Troy after the Fall |
Contacts
Course organiser | Prof Andrew Erskine
Tel: (0131 6)50 3591
Email: Andrew.Erskine@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Annabel Stobie
Tel: (0131 6)50 3783
Email: Annabel.Stobie@ed.ac.uk |
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