2020-21 Academic Catalog

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of the early Greek epics for the classical world and the western literary tradition that emerged from that world. This course will study closely both the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as Hesiod’s Theogony, and then consider a range of works that draw upon these epics for their creator’s own purposes, including Virgil’s own epic, the Aeneid. By exploring the reception and influence of ancient epic, we will develop an appreciation for intertextuality and the dynamics of reading in general as it applies to generations of readers, including our own.