Greek and Roman Myths of Heroes

Syllabus University of Houston, Fall 2013

Professor: Casey Dué Hackney (e-mail: Casey.Due@mail.uh.edu). Office hours: TBA or by appointment, Agnes Arnold Hall room 601.

Course Blackboard Page: This course is being taught partially on-line, and significant components of the course are delivered through WebCT Blackboard Vista. You should log in to the Blackboard site regularly to participate in on-line discussions, read posted lectures, and check for email and announcements.

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course. If you have never taken a Classics course, however, or if you have never read any Greek literature before, you will need to put in extra effort in order to succeed in this class. In the early weeks, it will be essential for you to devote a significant amount of time to reading (and rereading!) the Iliad. This course is reading and writing intensive, but please note that some of the readings on the syllabus are OPTIONAL.

Learning Outcomes: In this course students will enhance their critical thinking and communications skills by reading and interpreting works of classical Greek and Roman literature. By studying the concept of the hero in Ancient Greece and Rome and demonstrating their understanding of these concepts on the assignments described below students will develop intercultural competence. By engaging the choices of Achilles and other Greek heroes in the Iliad and Greek tragedy in weekly writing assignments, test essays, and the final paper students will “connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making.”

Required Reading:

The Iliad of Homer, in any translation. I recommend the one of Richmond Lattimore (now in a new edition with an introduction by Richard Martin, 2011, ISBN: 978-0-226-47049-8), which available at the UH bookstore.

The War that Killed Achilles, by Caroline Alexander (ISBN 978-0-14-311826-8), available at the UH bookstore.

The Poems and Fragments of Sappho, in any translation. I have ordered to the UH bookstore the translation of Stanley Lombardo (ISBN 9780872205918).

The Oresteia of Aeschylus, in any translation. The translation of Christopher Collard (ISBN: 0192832816) is available at the UH bookstore.

The Iphigeneia at Aulis, the Hecuba, and (recommended) the Trojan Women of Euripides, in any translation. I have ordered to the bookstore Euripides Bacchae and Others Plays (ISBN: 9780192838759) and The Trojan Women and Other Plays (9780192839879), which contain these three plays.

Flavius Philostratus: On Heroes. Translated by E. Aitken and J. Maclean. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2002. This book will be available at the UH bookstore.

Free electronic translations of several of the required texts are available here. Miscellaneous additional readings are available on-line and linked below.

Components of Course Grade: Participation in required weekly Web discussions 20%; Test 1 30%; Test 2 30%; Paper 20%.

Course Objectives and Final Paper: By the end of this course you will be able to read and interpret works of classical Greek and Roman literature. You will be able to analyze imagery and metaphors and show how they fit into overarching themes within the work. You will be able to write about these themes in both short and long essays and relate them to the ancient Greek concept of the hero. Most importantly, you will be able to apply these reading, writing, and analysis skills to other works of literature or film, regardless of culture or time period. Your final assignment in this course is to write a 3-5 page paper on a topic that I will assign to you. It will give you the opportunity to relate several of the last readings in this course with several of the first, thereby demonstrating not only close reading and analysis skills, but also your intellectual engagement with a broad span of ancient literature.

Schedule of Readings, Lectures, and Discussions

* NOTE: All reading assignments must be completed in advance of the day to which they are assigned. Lectures 1 will introduce the Iliad. Beginning with the second week, you should complete the assigned reading BEFORE the first lecture of the week. You are also required to post to the weekly discussion board BEFORE our class meeting.

Week 1

Reading: Lecture 1 The Concept of the Hero in Greek Civilization; The War that Killed Achilles 1-15; Homer, Iliad, book 1 and 2.1-493 (read all of book 2 if you have time!)

Week 2

Reading: Homer, Iliad, books 3-6 (Note: 3 and 6 are most important, but try to read all); Lecture 2 The Anger of Achilles; The War that Killed Achilles 16-82. Optional: Lecture 3 Oral Poetry and Performance