Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.169–177, part 1 : Call him keĩnos
In this segment, Douglas Frame (CHS), Leonard Muellner (Brandeis University), and Gregory Nagy (Harvard University), read in Homeric Greek, translate, and discuss Odyssey 1.169–177. Topics include: meanings of the conjunction kai, ancestral guests, and the suppression of Odysseus’ name. Read more…
Book Club | August 2018: Argonautica, Books 3 & 4
“Hereupon Jason snatched the golden fleece from the oak, at the maiden bidding; and she, standing firm, smeared with the charm the monster’s head… so at that time did Jason uplift the mighty fleece in his hands; and from the shimmering of the flocks of wool there settled on his fair cheeks and brow a red flush like a flame.”
This month we complete our reading of Argonautica with Books 3 & 4. Discussion starts in the forum, and hangouts will be on Tuesday, August 28th at 5 a.m. EDT and 11 a.m. EDT.
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Core Vocab: koros
“But let there be such wealth as brings no distress, enough to satisfy a sensible man. For riches do not protect the man who in his insatiability [koros] has kicked the mighty altar of Dikē into obscurity.”
This month’s Core Vocab term is koros: ‘being satiated; being insatiable’. I wondered how negatively koros was presented in the texts, and whether there was any difference between genres. And what kind of satiation is referred to? Read more…
Xenophon’s Anabasis: Historical Context
The Anabasis by the Athenian soldier, historian and philosopher Xenophon, describes the events of 401 BCE when ten thousand Greek mercenaries joined the army of Cyrus, the younger brother of the Persian King Artaxerxes, in Cyrus’ attempt to supplant his brother as king. This post provides a brief historical context to that work. Read more…
The Modeled Ship | Part 2: The spectator on the aft deck, and the histopedē (mast step)
A clay model found in a tomb at Amathos tells us the story of a man who comfortably sits on the back of his ship without a helm, having such a clear vision over the well-built ship—and where it is going to—that we could call it a modeled scene of a theōriā: the figure being a spectator who looks with his eyes and his mind: a state pilgrim [theōros]. Read more…
Ancient Greek for pre-school children: An interview with Paraskevi Foti
Paraskevi Foti has written a doctoral dissertation on teaching ancient Greek to pre-school children in Greece, using Aesop’s Fables, and music. Here, she shares some insights from her research. Read more…
Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.158–168: Ionic forms, metrical slots, and precious fabrics as exchange goods
In this segment Gregory Nagy (Harvard University), Leonard Muellner (Brandeis University), and Douglas Frame (CHS), continue to read, translate, and discuss Odyssey 1.158–168, discussing differences between Ionic forms in Homer and their Attic counterparts, formulas in particular metrical slots, and the gift-giving of precious woven fabrics. Read more…
Book Club | July 2018: Argonautica, Books 1 & 2
“Beginning with thee, O Phoebus, I will recount the famous deeds of men of old, who, at the behest of King Pelias, down through the mouth of Pontus and between the Cyanean rocks, sped well-benched Argo in quest of the golden fleece.”
In July and August we will be reading the complete Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes. This month we will read Books 1 and 2. Discussion starts in the forums, and hangouts will be on Tuesday, July 31st at 5 a.m. EDT and/or 11 a.m. EDT. Read more…
