00556 - Greek Literature (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

The students are expected to acquire a specific knowledge of the authors of Greek Literature as well as the methodological skills useful for textual analysis. They are also expected to acquire a knowledge of their historical context and of the anthropological concepts that are important for the Greek culture.

Course contents

A - Module I: Plato, Ion and Republic, book 10, 595a-608b (Prof. M. Ercoles).

B - Module II: Euripides, Heracles (Prof. M. De Poli).

C - (1) Comprehension and translation of Greek classical texts. (2) Texts to be translated by the students: anthology of Greek lyric poetry; Lucian, Dialogues of the gods, 15 (Zeus, Asclepius, Heracles) (3) Knowledge of the history of ancient Greek literature; reading of one monography among those listed below. (4) Basic notions of metrics. (5) Basic notion of textual criticism.

 

Timetable and venue: Monday 13-15 (Aula I, Via Zamboni 32, first floor), Tuesday 11-13 (Aula II, Via Zamboni 32, third floor), Wednesday 13-15 (Aula I, Via Zamboni 32, first floor).

Beginning of the lessons: 10th February 2025 (Module 1); 31th March 2025 (Module 2).

The lessons will be carried on all during the second semester. Optional seminars will be arranged between professors and students. A special course of Greek language for beginners will be held in the first semester (since October): it is strongly recommended also to those students who have a basic knowledge of Greek and want to strengthen it.

 

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

Erasmus students are invited to get in touch with the lecturers at the end of the first week of the course for an interview on the course programme and the examination procedure.

Readings/Bibliography

A – Platone. Ione, a c. di C. Capuccino, Santarcangelo di Romagna, Rusconi, 2017; Platone. Repubblica, a c. di M. Vegetti, Milano, BUR-Rizzoli, 2006 (reissued several times). Further bibliography (including critical editions of the texts under review) will be made available via the Virtual Platform.

B – Euripide. Eracle, a c. di G. Burzacchini, con appendice metrica a c. di M. Ercoles, Rusconi, Sant'Arcangelo di Romagna 2021 (the translation is required for ll. 1-106, 140-347, 451-636, 822-873, 1087-1108, 1146-1177, 1214-1228, 1255-1428). Further bibliography will be made available via the Virtual Platform.

The students who will attend the lessons are required to know the content of the lessons.

The students who will not attend the lessons must read and traslate also Lysias, Or. 12, Against Eratosthenes, one of the Thirties (recommended Italian translation: Lisia, Orazioni (I-XV), introd., trad. e note di E. Medda, Milano, Rizzoli-BUR, 1991).

The students who will take a 6 credits examination do not need to prepare this part of the program (i.e. sections A and B).

 

C – (1) The following title is recommended: R. Pierini-R. Tosi, Capire il greco, Bologna (Pàtron) 2014 (with some practical examples of how to translate a text). Another useful tool for Greek grammatic is C. Neri, Μέθοδος. Corso di lingua e cultura greca, with the collab. of G. Alvoni-R. Batisti-M. Olivieri, Firenze (d’Anna) 2018, including a special section on Greek lexicon. For Greek lexicon, see also G. Ugolini, Lexis. Lessico della lingua greca per radici e famiglie di parole, Bologna (Patron) 2018. (2) As for Greek lyric, the requested authors are Archilochus, Hipponax, Mimnermus, Solon, Sappho, Alcaeus, Anacreon, Stesichorus. Recommended anthology: C. Neri, Lirici greci. Età arcaica e classica, Roma (Carocci) 2011 (reissued several times). For Lucian, it is recommended the following Italian edition: Luciano. Dialoghi di dei e cortigiane, a c. di A. Lami-F. Maltomini, Milano (BUR-Rizzoli) 1986, pp. 256-260. Students who will take 6 credits examination can agree with the teacher some changes. (3) For the history of Greek literature, the students can consult one of these books: F. Montanari (Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2017), G.A. Privitera-R. Pretagostini (Torino, Einaudi, 1997), L.E. Rossi (Firenze, Le Monnier, 1995). For critical literature, here is a list of suggested readings (other readings can be arranged with the teachers): V. Di Benedetto, Euripide. Teatro e società, Torino (Einaudi) 1971; M. Vetta, Poesia e simposio nella Grecia antica, Roma-Bari (Laterza) 1983; V. Di Benedetto-E. Medda, La tragedia sulla scena, Torino (Einaudi) 1997; H. Fränkel, Poesia e filosofia della Grecia arcaica, Bologna (Il Mulino) 1997; M. Di Marco, La tragedia greca, Roma (Carocci) 2000; M. Vetta (ed.), La civiltà greca, Roma (Carocci) 2001; E.R. Dodds, I Greci e l’irrazionale, nuova ed. italiana a c. di R. Di Donato, Milano (Rizzoli) 2003; M. Vegetti, Quindici lezioni su Platone, Torino (Einaudi) 2003; B. Gentili, Poesia e pubblico nella Grecia antica. Da Omero al V secolo, Milano (Feltrinelli) 2006⁴; B. Powell, Omero, Bologna (Il Mulino) 2006; G. Cerri, La poetica di Platone. Una teoria della comunicazione, Lecce (Argo) 2007⁴; B. Zimmermann, La commedia greca. Dalle origini all'età ellenistica, Roma (Carocci) 2010; C. Calame, I Greci e l’eros, Roma-Bari (Laterza) 2010; F. Condello, Elettra. Storia di un mito, Roma (Carocci) 2011; A. Rodighiero, Generi lirico-corali nella produzione drammatica di Sofocle, Tübingen (Narr) 2012; E. Medda, La saggezza dell'illusione. Studi sul teatro greco, Pisa (ETS) 2013; A. Ercolani-P. Xella, La Sapienza nel Vicino Oriente e nel Mediterraneo antichi. Antologia di testi, Roma (Carocci) 2013; G. Ugolini-D. Lanza, Storia della filologia classica, Roma (Carocci) 2016; L. Canfora, Tucidide. La menzogna, la colpa, l’esilio, Roma-Bari (Laterza) 2016; S. Fornaro, Un uomo senza volto. Introduzione alla lettura di Luciano di Samosata, Bologna (Pàtron) 2019. (4) For the basic notions of Greek metric (prosody; dactylic hexameter, iambic trimeter, trochaic tetrameter) the study of the following handbook is required: M.C. Martinelli, Gli strumenti del poeta. Elementi di metrica greca, Bologna, Cappelli, 1997. (5) For the basic notions of textual criticim the students are required to consult di M. Scialuga, Introduzione allo studio della filologia classica, Alessandria (Edizioni Dell'Orso) 2005.

Teaching methods

The lessons will be carried out as a seminar and students will face exegetical problems of Greek texts. Further lessons will be arranged with students. The materials provided during the lectures will be made accessible and downloadable from Virtuale. Further support teaching will be decided together with the students.

The course participates in the University’s project of teaching experimentation.

Assessment methods

Oral examination. As for C.1, the student must recognize the structure of a Greek phrase from a classical text. The knowledge of Greek Literature is considered preliminary. The final mark will range between 18 and 30: the professors will evaluate the ability to translate and analyse a text of ancient Greek literature (30-29 excellent; 28-27 very good; 26-25 good; 24-22 fair; 21-20 more than sufficient; 19-18 sufficient). The mark 30 cum laude indicates excellent skills combined with personal critical contributions. NB: a translation learned by heart is not a synonym for comprehension: in order to understand texts, the ability to analyse them and identify their structure plays a crucial role. An exam whose preparation is based on learnt-by-heart translations is deemed negative.

 

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Photocopies, blackboard, mailing list, digital resources. At the request of students, lectures may be recorded and made available on Virtual.

Office hours

See the website of Marco Ercoles

See the website of Mattia De Poli