CCIV 325 Roman Epic: Course Home Page (SP '98)

http://www.wesleyan.edu/~johara/CCIV325Epic.html

  • Instructor: Jim O'Hara, 329 Science Center, 685-2066, e-mail: johara@wesleyan.edu
  • T-Th 1:10-2:30 p.m. SC 339
  • Classical Studies office and my mailbox: 341 SC, 685-2070
  • Reserve shelf: 334 SC (which is open 24 hours)
  • Home phone (only if really nec., and only 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.!) 1-203-407-0834
  • Office hours: T-Th 11-noon (unless there is an 11:30 meeting) and by appointment (esp. TTh)

    • Course Description:
    Innovative recent work on Roman epic, and effective new translations, have made possible a fresh approach to these important poems. After some initial background material on the prior epic tradition, we will read: Catullus 64, a "mini-epic" on the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and the abandonment of Ariadne by Theseus; Lucretius' philosophical epic On the Nature of Things, which uses poetry to sell Epicureanism even though Epicurus looked down on poetry; Vergil's story of the mythic origins of the Romans, the Aeneid, with its numerous connections to Rome's first emperor, Augustus; Ovid's very different take on epic in the playful, not-very-Augustan stories of his Metamorphoses; Lucan's wildly rhetorical historical epic on the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, the Bellum Civile or Pharsalia; and Statius' story of mythological civil war between Oedipus' sons, the Thebaid. We will also read and discuss shorter works of relevance to epic, and secondary literature describing modern responses to these poems, and we'll have class reports on selected topics. Issues for discussion include: the poets' sense of belonging to an epic tradition, and to what extent each controls or is controlled by that tradition; how each poet's narrative(s) and/or ideas are structured and presented; whether and to what extent the poems offer ideological coherence, or a multiplicity of viewpoints or voices (I am particularly interested in how we respond to "inconsistent" passages in epic); the interplay between myth and philosophy; the extent to which the poems offer a clear or blurred picture of "heroes" and "villains"; and the ways in which mythological subjects (especially the depiction of gods, heroes, and civil strife) reflect contemporary Roman political or moral concerns.

    New Course Requirements, Policies

    Tentative Initial Syllabus (more details later)

    Links for Classical Studies or Greek & Roman Epic on the www
    Lots of good stuff on Classics in general (texts, bibliography, discussion lists, mystery novels) and on epic (Greek background, links for each poet read in the course)