3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

This course proposes an in-depth exploration of Homer’s Iliad in translation. Our goal will be to learn the skill of slow reading in order to gain a fuller understanding of the poem. We will study, on average, two books per week. Core topics include: understanding the tradition of oral poetry out of which the Iliad emerged in the 8th century BCE, the past it evokes, and the historical and social context in which – and in response to which - it grew. We will examine the poem’s extraordinarily complex structure and self-positioning within the so-called ‘epic cycle’, as well as themes it treats, including: kingship and reciprocity, the role of honour and glory, family, death, memory, and – most poignantly of all - the role of song and art in the midst of war. The course will be writing intensive, and will require the submission of a short piece of critical writing each week.