Leonard Muellner

Reading Homer

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.144–148: Couches, chairs, and camera’s choreography

We are pleased to share this segment in the CHS series on reading Homeric epic in ancient Greek. In each installment we read, translate, and discuss a small passage in the original Greek in the most accessible way. In this segment, Gregory Nagy, Leonard Muellner, and Douglas Frame read Odyssey 1.144–148. Topics include couches and chairs, with a close attention to the cinematic qualities of the description, and the effects… Read more

Ancient Greek language,  Reading Homer

Homeric language as a system: the meaning of Nestor

In this video, Gregory Nagy, Douglas Frame, and Leonard Muellner have an informal discussion of 'weird forms' in Homer, of the preserving power of Homeric tradition, and of the study of Homeric language as a system, with the example of the name Nestor and related verb-forms. Read more

Ancient Greek language,  Reading Homer

Greek dialects in the language of Homer: Mycenaean, and Arcadia

In this video, Gregory Nagy, Douglas Frame, Leonard Muellner, and Keith Stone have an informal discussion about the role of dialects in the Homeric poetic tradition, introducing the Mycenaean stage, and Homeric forms in Arcadia. They include examples from formulas such as epithets within Homeric poetry, and also refer to the work of Aristotle and Theophrastus. Read more

Announcements

“Les langues vivaces” at the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Lille 2

"In October of 2016, I had the pleasure of talking about Homeric poetry to the largest audience I have ever addressed in the many years I’ve spent teaching Classics—over 500 students in a huge new amphitheater at the University of Lille in northeastern France." Leonard Muellner explains how medical students there are being introduced to Latin and Greek—the "indestructible languages"—as part of the curriculum. Read more

Ancient Greek language,  Reading Homer

Greek dialects and the poetic super-language

In this video, Gregory Nagy discusses with Douglas Frame and Leonard Muellner an introduction to how ancient Greek dialects function in Homeric poetry: what the different dialects are, how different forms fit into the metrical structure, and the evolution and perpetuation of the poetic super-language. Read more