This
course offers a chance to brush up your knowledge of those great writers of
antiquity. They dramatically shaped our own English literature and even the way
we think.
We
explore the earliest western literature, Homer's epics, and the early
historians Herodotus and Thucydides. The
playwrights of Athens - Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes - are
a vital and dramatic part of our tale. Meanwhile, the Greek philosophers,
including Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, changed the way the world appears to
us.
The
Romans later adopted and adapted all of these, as their own literature
blossomed out of this heritage. They made their own mark on history, drama and
philosophy and Cicero was the pinnacle of Roman oratory and rhetoric (the skill
of persuasion). As the Roman empire dawned, so did the 'Golden Age' of Latin,
with some of the greatest poetry ever written; Virgil, Horace, Ovid and
Catullus all thrived now. Over the centuries, 'Silver Latin' took its place,
with innovative novels (even early science fiction!), satires, biography and
the art of letter-writing. Quintilian, Pliny the Elder, Juvenal, Martial and
Pliny the Younger are all names we meet in this age.
As
we meet all these authors, we unravel who wrote what and when, and we find out what
makes each of them so special, even over 2,000 years later. A thrilling
dimension is that various ancient writers provide us with insights into what
the ancients themselves thought about these great writers.
By
discovering these works and writers, we unearth the ancient civilizations and
the audiences that each author was writing for. What was their world like? What
were their lives like? And how did their writing reflect that?
Most
of all, we shall untangle and make accessible these great writers and their
works that changed the world.
No
knowledge of ancient Greek or Latin is required for this course. Of course, we
shall read extracts from important texts and we shall glimpse some quotations
in the original Latin, to sample a flavour of the power of the language. Most,
however, will be in translation.
The
course is richly illustrated throughout using high quality images of both
ancient and modern art that bring the works and the ancient lives to life. For
our modern lives and media are full of echoes of Classical Literature.
Handouts
will be provided, including the quotations used in the course.
(The
following agenda is flexible and includes time for students to discuss and
debate the subject)
Monday
- Welcome
and introduction
- Epic
beginnings: Homer & Hesiod
- Greek
Philosophy: A brave new world
Tuesday
- Greek
drama: the divine question of life and death, and the comedy of life
- Greek
Historians: Herodotus & Thucydides
Wednesday
- The
Roman Republic & the Augustan World:
- Drama
and History
- Oratory
& the Ciceronian Age
- Poetic
licence: Catullus, Horace, Virgil, Ovid
Thursday
- Silver
Latin: dangerous times - Seneca, Lucan, Petronius
- Pliny
the Elder, Statius, Martial & Quintilian
- Pliny
the Younger, Plutarch & Suetonius
Friday
- Late
Antiquity and the Christian World
- Novels:
Petronius, Gellius, Lucian & Apuleius
- The
City of God: Gospels to Augustine & Jerome
- Legacy
of Classical Literature: transmission & impact