Course Catalogue

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This course examines, principally through reading the texts in Greek, some of the most important and influential poets of antiquity, viz. Callimachus, Theocritus, and Apollonius of Rhodes. These poets, working principally in the recently founded city of Alexandria, helped to shape all later views of ancient literature, from those of Virgil and Ovid onwards. They worked in the wake of the conquests of Alexander, which greatly expanded the horizons of the Greek world; this course examines the changed situations and contexts in which these poets worked, very different from those of earlier poets, the relationship between the different Hellenistic poets (and their poems), and their attitudes to and reform of the past, from their use of Homer to their treatment of perceptions of the Greek world. 

1x1 hr lecture, 1x1hr seminar per week over 10 weeks as scheduled in MyCampus.

Standard entry to Masters at College level and available to students who have Greek to Honours level or equivalent.

GREEK5011, CLASSIC4096 

None

Translation and commentary on a Greek set text (in-class test 45 mins) - 25%

Essay (3,000 words) - 40%

Commentary on Greek Text (1,200 words) - 35%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to:

■ Examine one of the most interesting and influential periods in Greek literature.

■ Develop in students a deep knowledge of central texts of Greek poetry.

■ Increase students' awareness of current debates on a wide variety of relevant critical and theoretical topics.

■ Develop skills in close reading and analysis of literary texts, studied in translation

■ Develop students' exploring an important body of literature from a variety of different perspectives, reflecting the key themes of the course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Produce detailed readings of the poems of Callimachus, Theocritus, and Apollonius (among others) 

■ Show evidence of understanding of the social, historical, and cultural contexts of Hellenistic poetry

■ Present their own research relating to the themes of the course in a coherent and scholarly form.

■ Translate selected Greek texts into good English, showing appropriate awareness of the significance of individual phrases and vocabulary.

■ Show awareness of the interrelated nature of literature with cultural and historical contexts

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.