Summer!

I hope everyone has a GREAT summer!

Today is the last day to turn in your homework assignments. Please get those in ASAP. I've started calculating grades, but I'm hoping that a few will change for those of you who have outstanding assignments.

I'll be sending these to Amy Norgard asap, but I don't know when Banner will let you see the final grades. I'm guessing she will also put up final grades on Compass for you guys to see, but I can't promise because I'm not sure.

I hope you had fun in my class! I had a great time teaching you guys :)

Final Exam & Assignments

Hi Everyone!

Please note the following:

FINAL Exam 

Monday May 11 @ 1:30pm 

in Smith Music Hall (Lecture Hall)

Also please turn in any remaining assignments as soon as possible. 

You have until MAY 14th to hand in the 3 homework assignments that I created but many of you are still missing some of the lecture assignments. Please make my life easy and get them in ASAP.

Good luck on Finals!

Prep For Essay Exam 3

Almost forgot!

See the post below for directions. Make sure you actually READ the prompt :)

But think about the following for your essay exam preparation:

1. How are the character's portrayed. why? (Hercules, Cheiron, Hades, Persephone, Deaneira, etc)

2. If something is funny or cheesy, why is it?

3. What do the goals of the directors/producers seem to be for this show?

4. Who is the intended audience? Do you think the show works for them?

5. Consider the errors/inaccuracies of the show. Do these ruin the show or does it still work in spite of them? How so?

Reminders :)

Hi Everyone!

I hope you've all had a good week. Here are a few reminders for you...

1. The 3rd essay prompt is on COMPASS (http://compass.illinois.edu). There is only ONE prompt this time, which means this is the EXACT prompt that will appear on the exam, so prepare accordingly.

2. You need to watch the Hercules TV episode on Compass in order to prepare for the third essay exam. You need REAL PLAYER in order to view it, so if you don't have that program go to the library and watch it with your headphones there. There are 2 parts to this episode, make sure to watch both of them.

3. Friday's class ended early because only a handful of people had watched the episodes. I handed back the 2nd essay exam. So, if you want yours back come to my office hours on Thursday 11-1.

4. Don't forget the 3 homework assignments that are due by MAY 14th. They are 3 points each. The should be about 1 page long each. Search your email for the directions, or email me and I can resend them.

Have a good week!

Google Earth ROME!

Check it out... http://earth.google.com/rome/

Prep For Essay Exam 2

Hi Everyone!

Good luck today on Exam 2. The following are a few tips for this week's essay exam.

1. I will not be there for the ADE 1 pm section. My advisor for next year has invited me to a lunch with a guest lecturer which I don't want to miss. Amy Norgard, the head TA, will be administering your exam. Be nice to her!

2. For the shield of Achilles prompt... I know there are online sources that cover this topic. Be aware that there are mistakes in these sources as well. Furthermore, I expect that you will be able to discuss this passage and it's relation to the rest of the poem in deeper detail than Sparknotes or Wikipedia does. I understand that you might need help reviewing, but that's why I gave you my Iliad notes on this Blog :) I suggest that you re-read the end of Book 18 several times over and look at class notes and my Blog notes. Feel free to ask me any questions you may still have.

3. Passage quotations. Although you are not required to use direct quotations, you should be able to refer to specific examples and passages. If you choose to use direct quotations, please use the following citation example: "Sing Muse of the Anger of Achilles...." (Iliad, 1.1-5)

4. Remember that the more specific examples you can use to support your argument in your essay the better off you will be. Giving me examples like "Well, Achilles was angry at the beginning and stopped being angry at the end" are too basic and elementary without further explanation. Go for QUALITY over quantity.

5. Remember you guys have 2 works to review for the essay exam: Nietzsche and the Iliad. I know Nietzsche is hard but don't just assume that you can get away with only knowing the Iliad. If you weren't there in class, review my notes and a friend's notes from that day in class.

BB King as another example of ecstasis

Thanks for the link Roshan :) Please tell me you guys know who BB King is... 

Feel free to suggest other examples if you find any which you think are better. They would be much appreciated.

Modern relations to Maenadism, Ecstasis, etc.

Hi Everyone,

Here are the links to various things related to our discussion today. I would REALLY appreciate it if you would take the time to post a comment which rates these links.

Link on Psychological term "Flow"

NY Times article on Out of Body Experiences

Modern Maenadism (Or what they claim to be modern maenadism) from the Pagan Forum (go figure, huh?).

And now for a bunch of YouTube Videos...

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Comments & Reminder: Nietzsche's article this week!

Hi Everyone,

I have a few comments for you all...

1. Exit Slip 2 has been graded and sent to Amy Norgard to be uploaded to Compass. This was graded out of 7 points with the following break down per question:

Part (A): 1 point for answering the question "What do you believe is the relationship between emotion and religion?"

Part (B): 2 points for answering "After viewing the human sacrifice scene from Pasolini's Medea, what is your immediate reaction to human sacrifice? Why is it done?

Part (C): 4 points for answering "Discuss the elements of emotion, irrationality, and enthusiasm in religious cults (enthusiasm here in the Greek sense of the word: en + theos).

Many of you did not receive full credit because the answers were incomplete. I tried to be fair but I also took into account the fact that you had 2 days of lecture to write this, which means the answer was expected to be more in-depth and thought out than the usual Pre-Quiz. If you want to contest your grade, you will need to email me to schedule a time to discuss your assignment.

2. There have been a lot of absences and missing assignments recently. For the most part, I'll give you credit as long as you turn it in. Remember that the reading responses are 10 points total for the discussion grade and that attendance is 11 points total. So although they may seem trivial, not doing 5 of them will drop you a HALF letter grade. Just keep that in mind as the semester comes to a close. There's only 6 weeks left, you can make it!

3. Web Searches & Pre-Quizzes, Grades in general: I know these seem stupid but you do actually have to do them and put some amount of effort into them. I will not give full credit to one sentence answers or a list of 5 web sites. So, if you want to make sure you get the maximum possible points, make sure you do your part to correctly and thoroughly complete the assignment. They really shouldn't take more than 20-30 minutes to complete. On the other hand, you SHOULD expect to spend more than 5 minutes. Remember, your grade reflects the amount of effort YOU put into the assignment, so don't complain if you're not willing to put in the effort.

4. We're reading Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy this week. This is a bit of a rough article. Make sure you actually try to read it or class this week will be horrendous.

Need a Class to take for next Fall 09?

Professor Ariana Traill is teaching the Heroic Tradition (CLCV 221).

She's a great professor and it should be a fun class. I believe it also satisfies more Gen-Eds :)

I'd be happy to answer more questions.

Mistake!!!!! Ahhh :)

Hi Everyone,

So in today's 9:00 section I think I may have said that Phaedra is the sister of Europa (from the story about Europa and the Bull). However this is actually incorrect.

The real deal:

Europa & Zeus = story of Europa and the Bull, where Zeus becomes white bull with whom Europa becomes enamored and decides to take a swim in the sea on his back. Zeus, as the white bull, takes Europa to the island of Crete where he reveals himself and seduces her. She then becomes the queen of Crete.

Europa also has a son, Minos. He becomes the king of crete and marries Pasiphae. They have several children: Ariadne, Deucalion, Phaedra, Androgeus, etc.

Minos was supposed to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon but thinks it's too pretty. Poseidon, angry on account of the dishonor, causes Pasiphae to fall in love with the bull (The Cretan Bull). She has a wooden cow created in which she can fit in order to have an affair with the bull. Out of this consummation comes the Minotaur, a monster half-man and half-bull.

Minos locks up this monster in the Labyrinth into which Theseus is later thrown to be killed by the Minotaur. Of course, Theseus, with the aid of Ariadne, actually ends up killing the Minotaur and running away with Ariadne instead.

Anyway, sorry about the mistake. 2 different bull stories from the same family :)

Iliad Review 19-24

Book 19:

Achilles gets his new armor... 5-15

Achilles & Agamemnon are reconciled

Briseis speaks... 287-300

Briseis claims that she was "engaged" to Achilles. Proof that she's not actually his wife!!

Neoptolemos... 326-327

Achilles son. Neoptolemos is the one who actually kills King Priam. This story is also found in the Aeneid and NOT in the Iliad. Don't be confused by the movie Troy, in which Menelaos kills Priam, because it's wrong.

Achilles Arming scene... 367-399

Compare to arming scene of Patroklos and Hera

Xanthos (Achilles' horse) speaks... 400-424

Hera allowed Xanthos to speak. So, Xanthos prophesies Achilles' death.

Achilles RAGE elevates to a divine level, thus he speaks with Xanthos without noticing that his horse actually spoke to him.

Book 20:

Zeus assembles the Gods... 13-40

a. Gods return to battle because of Achilles' unfair advantage

Achilles reappears... 42

Apollo urges Aineas (Aeneas) to fight Achilles...86

FLYTING between Achilles and Aineas... 156-258

Poseidon must choose whether to save Aineas... 310

a. What do we already know about Aineas' fate? (i.e. Virgil's Aeneid)

b. How does he escape death at the hands of Achilles?

Achilles kills Hektor's brother, Polydoros... 419

First Interaction between Achilles and Hektor... 365

Apollo saves Hektor... 440

a. Achilles rushes the mist 3 times and fails, 4th time he breaks into it but isn't able to harm Hektor

Achilles kills a lot of people... 455-500

Book 21:

Lykaon... 35

River Skamander (a.k.a. Xanthos River)... 214

a. Gets mad at Achilles because of the number of corpses in the river.

b. Tries to drown Achilles

c. Achilles says WTF... 275

d. Hephaistos sends an "inhuman fire" to fight the river

-- Fire vs. Water battle = ELEVATED POETRY

-- 365-512 Arguments & fighting between Gods

Agenor (Trojan) fights Achilles... 544

Apollo saves Agenor in a "mist". Achilles chases them... 595

Book 22:

Achilles & Apollo interact. Apollo tells Achilles to back off... 5-20

Priam sees Achilles & begs Hektor not to fight him... 25-76

Hecabe/Hecuba also begs Hektor not to fight... 77-89

Hektor's internal debate... 90

Hektor sees Achilles & flees. Achilles chases him 3 times... 135

Gods look down & debate over who should win... 165

Hektor tries to bargain with Achilles but does not succeed... 255

Achilles kills Hektor... 325-360

Hektor begs not to be fed to the dogs... 338

Achilles strips Hektor of his armor & Achaians stab his corpse

Achilles drags Hektor's body... 395

Andromache learns of Hektor's death and mourns... 437

Andromache mourns & bemoans the future of Astyanax (son)... 485

Book 23:

Funeral preparations & pyre for Patroklos

-- a pyre is a structure on which you place a body in order to burn it (i.e. ancient cremation)

Funeral Games for Patroklos (in his honor)

Book 24:

Thetis & Achilles... 133

Priam finds Achilles in the Achaian camp... 468

Priam's Speech to Achilles... 485

Achilles lets go of his anger... 512-516

Achilles speaks to Priam... 560-570

Achilles helps Priam get Hektor's body ready to carry back to Troy... 590

Achilles calls out to Patroklos not to be angry... 592

Kassandra is first to see her father, Priam, carrying Hektor's body... 699

Hektor's funeral & end of the Iliad... 778

Coming up on Friday: GREEK THEATER!!

Iliad Review 13-18

Book 14:

Hera's arming scene... 153-223

Aphrodite lends her the "zone"

Women's arming scene is a bit of a parody on Book 2's Catalogue of ships.

Also compare to arming scenes of Patroklos and Achilles

Seduction of Zeus...292-360

Is Zeus really omniscient/omnipotent?

How do the divine affairs parallel human affairs?

What can this scene tell us about Greek social norms for women?

Book 15:

Zeus's prophesy... 5-77

Zeus wakes up from his seduction nap... 4-91

Book 16:

Patroklos' arming scene with Achilles' armor... 130-154

Achilles prays to Zeus... 220-248

Zeus Hears Achilles' prayer. He grants ONE wish but NOT the second... 249-256

Zeus, Hera, Sarpedon... 419

Zeus tries to interfere with the fate of Sarpedon (his son)... 433-461

What does this tell us about fate?

What would happen if Zeus DID interfere?

Death of Patroklos = Death of a SUBSTITUTE!!... 816-end

Book 17:

Menelaos defends the body of Patroklos...6-105

Apollo encourages Hektor... 69-81

Menelaos is forced to surrender the body of Patroklos to Hektor... 89-105

Menelaos talks to Aias about getting the naked body back (armor was stripped)... 120

Aias stops Hektor from decapitating Patroklos' corpse... 125-131

Hektor gives Achilles' armor to the Trojans... 130-131

Aias protects corpse of Patroklos... 132-139

Glaukos shames Hektor on the behalf of  Sarpedon... 140-168

Glaukos suggests a barter with the heroes' corpses... 156-164

-- If the Trojans could have secured Patroklos' body, they could have bargained for Sarpedon's body with the Achaians.

Zeus comments on the action... 198-208

Fight over Patroklos' corpse ensues... 237-581

Menelaos saves the corpse of Patroklos... 574-581

Achaians carry the body of Patroklos back to the ships... 735

Book 18:

"Achilles is told of Patroklos' death. Achilles mourns Patroklos and Hephaistos makes him a new shield"

Nestor tells Achilles the news... 15-21

Achilles mourns Patroklos... 22-31

Achilles speaks with Thetis... 50-145

Funeral Preparations for Patroklos... 343-353

-- example of ancient Greek funerary practices

Thetis persuades Hephaistos to make Achilles a new shield... 424

Hephaistos makes Achilles a new shield... 474-616

Bronze, gold, silver, tin... 474-477

sky, constellations... 483-489

Two cities... 490-540

** focus on 497-508. Compare blood price feud to Achilles' situations.

Agricultural scene... 541-560

Vineyard scene... 561-572

Oxen... 573-586

Ocean River... 605-607

A Few Minor Issues

Hi All,

I hope you had a great Spring Break. I have a few comments on your most recent reading responses and a few reminders...

Reminders First:

1. The next essay exam is a week from this Friday. It will cover the Iliad, Hippolytus, and Venus & Adonis. Now would be a good time to make sure you're caught up on readings in order to prepare for the exam.

2. I'm missing a lot of Reading Response 7 & 8. I am also missing lots of other random assignments. I can only give you credit if you turn them in, so don't forget!

3. We have about 6 weeks left in the semester. It would be awesome if you did your 3 homework assignments BEFORE the last day of class. Of course, like the assignment says, they are not actually due until the last day of discussion. These are pretty much 9 free points so make sure to take advantage of them.

Comments on Reading Responses 7 & 8:

1. RESPONSE 7: A lot of the descriptions of the new shield of Achilles were not so great. If you were in class on March 20th, make sure to review your class notes and the blog notes (coming up next). If you were not in class, ask for someone's notes. This is not to insult anyone. Instead, I want to make sure you are able to discuss the shield in depth in case you get an essay prompt about it.

Things to note:

-Sky, Earth, River Ocean, Stars & Constellations

- 2 cities: one at peace, one at war

-one at peace has a dispute over a blood price ** compare to Achilles' situation

-agricultural scene

-vineyard scene

-bovine scene

-dancing

- 3 metals

2. RESPONSE 8: A lot of people told me that the Trojan Horse story is found in the movie Troy. Yes, but that's not the answer Solomon or I wanted. It's actually found in the Aeneid, written by Virgil.

3. RESPONSE 8: Even more people seemed to misunderstand WHY Homer ended his story where he did... Recall the first 7 lines of the Iliad:

"Sing Goddessthe anger of Peleus' son Achilleus and its devastation which put pains thousandfold upon the Achaians hurled in their multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls

of heroes but gave their bodies to be the delicate feasting of dogs of all birds and the will of Zeus was accomplished since that time when first there stood in division of conflict Atreus' son the lord of men and brilliant Achilleus" (Iliad, 1.1-7)

So rather than telling the story of the fall of Troy, or even Achilles' death, Homer immediately tells his audience that he intends to share the story of Achilles' anger. Thus, as we discussed in class, the true climax of the Iliad is in the scene between Priam and Achilles (Book 24,lines 480-517). The most important lines being the following:

"Then when great Achilleus had taken full satisfaction in sorrow and the passion for it had gone from his mind and his body, thereafter he rose from his chair and took the old man by the hand..." (Iliad, 24.512-515)

So then the ending is appropriate for the story Homer wanted to tell even though it doesn't actually include the death of Achilles or the fall of Troy. 

See the next post for exact line numbers to review!

Iliad Review Books 7-12

Book 7

1. Athena & Apollo 7.17-42

2. Hektor challenges the Achaians 7.67

3. Casting Lots (like drawing straws) 7.181

4.Flyting - exchange of words/boasting before hand-to-hand combat. 7.225-243 (Ajax & Hektor)

5. Hektor & Ajax fight until dusk (7.244-282)

6. Poseidon is offended that the Achaians did not sacrifice to him (why?) 7.441-480

Book 8

1. Auguries - bird omens. The eagle represents Zeus (8.245-252)

2. Hera & Athena join the fight 8.350-396

3 Zeus reacts... 8.397-408)

N.B. the following quote from Zeus

"Yet with Hera I am not so angry, neither indignant

since it is ever her way to cross the commands I give her" (8.407-408)

Hektor burns down the Achaian walls 8.495

Book 9: Embassy to Achilles

Who is involved?

Why are they going to see Achilles?

What does each say to him?

What is his response? Why?

Odysseus (9.225-306)

First appeal: 9.252-258

Second appeal: 9.260-298

Phoinix (9.434-605)

First main appeal: 9.477-501

Story of Meleagros: 9.529-599

How is the story of Meleagros parallel to Achilles?

Ajax (Aias) (9.624-642)

Main appeal: 9.632-636

How does Achilles react? (9.645)

Book 10

Remember how I said Homer can be really graphic?

See 10.91-121

--------------------

*Who are the Greeks? Who are the Trojans?

After Persian war (think 300 the movie), we get this idea of a unified "Greek" identity. Those who are not Greek are considered barbaric. BUT that's not how it is in the Iliad. Homer never really tells us who IS and IS NOT Greek in the Iliad. If you recall the map that Solomon gave you, Troy is in Asia Minor, just North of Greek Ionia

*How does Homer characterize the heroes? Especially Achilles, Agamemnon, Menelaos, Hektor, and Paris...

*Race in Homer

a. Genos

b. Ethnos

Not the same as the American idea of "race" as the binary of Black v. White. Ethnos and Genos relate more to tribes, clans, family ties. 

*Status structure in Archaic Greece

Demes - small cities, ruled by kings

Every hero in the Iliad is a King, or Basileus (King in Greek)

*Poseidon as Earth Shaker

 Greeks believed the Earth was a flat disc, with water surrounding all sides. So, when the earth moved (earthquake), it was assumed that the water must be moving the earth. Thus, Poseidon as the god of the Sea is also the "Earth Shaker"

*Greek Words to know:

Τιμη (Timē) - Honor

Μοιρα (Moira) - Fate

a. There are 3 fates (like muses but crazier) who determine each person's destiny (i.e. how and when you die, whether you become famous, etc.)

b. Achilles is lucky because he gets a choice between 2 fates

c. Zeus tries to interfere with the fate of his son, Sarpedon.

*Friends v. Enemies in Ancient Greece:

"Help your friends and harm your enemies"

Need a book for Spring Break?

Hi again,

still no Iliad review. I don't want to publish that until after my 1pm discussion section.

BUT I have some suggested reading material to share... maybe for spring break?

1. Zanker, Graham (1994). The Heart of Achilles: Characterization and personal ethics in the Iliad

2. Wilson, Donna F. (2002). Ransom, revenge, and heroic identity in the Iliad

3. Hammer, Dean (2002). The Iliad as politics: the performance of political thought

4. Tsagalis, Christos (2004). Epic Gief: Personal laments in Homer's Iliad

My Response to Your Response #6

Hi Guys,

I'll update the Iliad review for books 6-12 over the weekend. For now I just wanted to correct a few misconceptions from your reading responses...

1. Briseis is NOT Achilles' wife. I know that she briefly references herself as his wife, but she does not have that status officially. She is his war prize and slave. It would be very unusual for a Greek to marry a slave even in the Archaic period. Although I suppose he could choose to free her...

2. Achilles does not agree to return to battle. There were several people who state that Achilles agreed with Odysseus and chose to return to battle because Odysseus' argument was "too perfect". I don't know where this statement came from, but it didn't come from Homer's Iliad.

3. Agamemnon DOES promise to return Briseis to Achilles along with the 7 women from Lesbos, gold talents, etc. He claims to not have touched Briseis in any way.

Anyway, overall they were fine and no one needs to worry about grades, I just wanted to make sure I addressed these before I forgot. I hope today's discussion was better than last weeks :)

Be safe today!

Pomegranate

Just in case you forgot what it looks like :)

http://www.pomegranates.org/

Need Some Help??

HI GUYS!!

So, if you guys are a bit confused by all the characters & action going on in the Iliad, you're luck. Professor Solomon put several charts in your discussion (red) workbook on pages 49-51.

And if you want another way to look at which Gods are on what side, here you go:

Trojan

Apollo

Artemis

Aphrodite

Ares

Scamander (River God of Troy)

Greek

Hera

Athena

Thetis

Neutral

Zeus 

Hermes

Iliad Review Books 1-6

I apologize for the rambling. Here are the documents and also some of the line numbers. I'll continue to update this over the weekend.

1. Reasons to watch Troy for fun but not for correct content:

No Trojan horse in the Iliad

No sack of Troy in the Iliad

No sex scenes with Briseis in the Iliad

Phoinix and Ajax are not in the Embassy to Achilles in the movie

Priam and Achilles DO NOT die in the Iliad

Troy is missing the funeral games for Patroklos and Hektor

No gods on battlefield in Troy

2. Hard time recalling each book? Try to give the books a title. For example, I titled book 3 "Helen reviews the champions, Menelaos and Paris fight". Or, for book 5 I have "Diomedes' killing rage".

3. Questions to think about as you go: 

What kinds of functions do the gods perform?

What powers do they have? what do they lack?

**What is the relationship between gods and men?

How do the humans think of the gods?

Is the relationship consistent?

Background of Trojan war in Greek mythology:

Story of the Apple of Discord

Wedding of Thetis & Peleus (WHO is Thetis?)

ERIS (personnification of strife) throws a golden apple into the wedding party with a note "to the fairest" attached.

Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite ALL think it's for them, which causes an argument 

Judgement of Paris

Goddesses want to know who deserves the Apple of Discord

They ask Paris, son of Priam (Trojan King)

Each offers him a gift to bribe him

Aphrodite offers the most beautiful woman: Helen of Sparta, married to Menelaos

Paris steals Helen from Sparta

BOOK ONE: Make sure to read & focus on the following

Chryses & Invocation of Apollo (lines 1-52)

a. Who is Chryses? Chryseis? 

b. Why is he angry at Agamemnon? (lines 8-33)

c. What does he ask Apollo to do? (line 35-52)

d. Prayer & offering scene (445-475)

Achilles & Agamemnon

a. Why is Achilles angry at Agamemnon? (105-194)

b. What/Who does Agamemnon steal from Achilles? (180-187)

c. What does Achilles try to do? Who stops him? (187-195)

d. What is Achilles' response to Agamemnon? (292-303)

e. What does Achilles do after this? (350-427)

f. What does his mother Thetis do? (495-530)

Achilles & Athena

Think about relationships between gods & men here.

How does Athena appear to Achilles?

What is his response to her?

Achilles

Why does he think he's special?

Agamemnon?

Why does he think he's special?

BOOK THREE

Paris & Menelaos "Fight"

Paris (30-36)

Paris & Hektor (38-75)

See oath scene, line 276, before the fight (Zeus is god of oath swearing)

Why do they end up not fighting? (370-382)

What happens to Paris?

Helen & Aphrodite (383-426)

BOOK FIVE & SIX: Diomedes' Aristeia

Diomedes & Athena

What power does she give him?

Who does he attack?

Diomedes & Glaukos

XENIA!

Story of Bellerophon

Diomedes & Aphrodite 5.334 & following

Aphrodite is carrying Aeneas (from Virgil's Aeneid), he has a crushed hip

Aphrodite is "scratched" by Diomedes, drops Aeneas & runs away to Olympus

Diomedes & Ares

Diomedes & Apollo 5.432

5.440 - "Take care, give back, son of Tydeus,and strive no longer to make yourself like the gods in mind, since never the same is the breed of gods, who are immortal, and men who walk groundling"

Other sections of note

Andromache & Hektor (6. 405-end)

Status in the Iliad

Agamemnon - King of Mycenae (i.e. most powerful Greek)

Menelaos - King of Lacedaemonia (i.e. Sparta)

Achilles - King of the Myrmidons

Odysseus - King of Ithaca

Aias (Ajax) - from Salamis

Diomedes - from Argos

Guest Lecture This Thursday!

The Department of the Classics is pleased to present a lecture by Thomas Habinek, Professor of Classics at the University of Southern California, on Thursday 26 February at 3:30 PM in the Music Room of the Levis Faculty Center, 919 West Illinois Street, Urbana. The lecture is entitled "Seeing Like a Stoic: Ancient Thought, Modern Science, and an Ethics of Perceptual Alignment." Professor Habinek's research focuses on Latin literature, Roman cultural history, classical rhetoric, cognitive and evolutionary approaches to human culture, theory and practice of imitation, and antiquity in the genealogy of modernity. He is currently engaged in a project on changing concepts of mimesis in Western literature and art, especially in relationship to new developments in the cognitive and social sciences. Professor Habinek is the author of several books, including The Politics of Latin Literature: Writing, Identity, and Empire in Ancient Rome (Princeton University Press 1998), The World of Roman Song: From Ritualized Speech to Social Order (Johns Hopkins University Press 2005) and Ancient Rhetoric and Oratory (Wiley 2005).
This lecture is sponsored by the Department of the Classics, the Philosophy Department and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.

Homer's Iliad and related stuff

This week we start reading the Iliad, so I thought you might enjoy more tangents...

Heinrich Schliemann
A German "Archaeologist" who claimed he found the ancient city of Troy and the "mask of Agamemnon". He is one of the most controversial figures in archaeology and classical studies, mostly due to his excavation methods.
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/wilson/ant304/biography/arybios97/kingbio.html

We'll also be talking about Homeric Meter in class. In case you want to hear someone else reading the Iliad in ancient Greek, check out this link

http://wiredforbooks.org/iliad/
Stanley Lombardo recorded himself reciting the Iliad in Ancient Greek and you can listen to it on his website if you're interested. It will make more sense tomorrow, but this way you have it in advance if you want to listen to it.

Some interesting reading related to the Iliad...
Jonathan Shay, Achilles in Vietnam (1994)
Guenter Duethorn Achilles Shield and the Structure of the Iliad (1962)
Robert Graves Anger of Achillles - Homer’s Iliad (1959)
John Miles Foley Companion to Ancient Epic (2005)

More Ancient Archaeology

More related links... 

Archaeological Digs:

http://www.digonsite.com/links.html

http://www.archaeologydigs.blogspot.com/

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/492

International Council of Museums

http://icom.museum/

SAFE (Saving Antiquities For Everyone)

http://www.savingantiquities.org/

Other Museums of Note:

(Check out their classics collections and how they "obtained them")

The Getty Museum in LA (Rather controversial, but still worth looking at)

http://www.getty.edu

The Metropolitan Museum of NY

http://www.metmuseum.org

The New Acropolis Museum in Athens

http://www.newacropolismuseum.gr/

The British Museum

http://www.britishmuseum.org

Maybe interested in Classics? Or What the Hell Is Classics Anyway?

So, I know a number of you guys are undecided freshmen/sophomores. No pressure, I promise. But in case you think any of this is kind of interesting, here are a few things to think about...

I came in undecided as well. 115 was actually the first Classics course I took on campus during my first semester as a freshman. I liked it so, I tried 116 and 114 but didn't intend on becoming a minor or major until one of my TAs suggested I try the languages (Ancient Greek and Latin). I think one of the most important reasons to learn these languages is that if we don't learn them as well as our current professors (or better) these two languages will eventually be lost to us. I don't consider myself a history buff, but I think preserving ancient cultures is a really big deal both as a Classicist and Anthropologist. If you have any questions, feel free to talk to me.

So I'm hoping some of you will enjoy this class and consider taking others. I've given you a couple of ideas to consider below.

1. Intro level classes on similar topics:
Both of these are pretty good courses on ancient history, drama, and culture in general (they also count as gen-eds)
CLCV 114 - Ancient Greek Culture
CLCV 116 - The Roman Achievement
ANTH 102 - Intro to Archaeology & Biological Anthropology (great professors & good intro to practical applications of archaeology)
Art History 131/132 - Art History of Ancient Greece & Rome (Difficult classes, but extremely worthwhile)
Anth 105 - World Archaeology
Anth 180 - The Archaeology of Death (Not what it sounds like. You look at how people are buried in relation to things like what that means for their social status when they were alive, what things are important for the "afterlife" for that time period, etc.)


Mid-level classes:
Anth 220 - Intro to Archaeology (More serious version of Anth 102)

ARTH 215 - Greek Art

Upper level classes:
CLCV 363 - Intro to Oral Traditions
Anth 314 - Intro to Museum Studies
Anth 456 - Human Osteology (Human Bone Structure)

CLCV 443 - The Archaeology of Greece

CLCV 444 - The archaeology of Rome

The Illinois Classics Department Website:
http://classics.uiuc.edu

Major Information for Classics Majors:

http://courses.illinois.edu/cis/2008/fall/programs/undergrad/las/classics.html

Homer's Odyssey - The Simpsons Version

Thought you might all enjoy a Greek myth Simpsons style :)

What the Hell is a Proem?

So. I'm guessing most of you have no idea what the hell Richard Hamilton is talking about. It is a sort of oddly structure article, which assumes the reader has a decent background in reading Hesiod's Theogony.

First you need to have read the Theogony by Hesiod. It helps to read it side by side with Hamilton's article.

Then, you should recognize that what Hamilton calls a proem is basically Hesiod's introduction, prologue, what have you for the Theogony. According to Hamilton the proem is the first 104 lines, go check 'em out. The first 21 lines make up the Helikonian proem and the rest make up the Olympian proem.

Compare some other proems (from Homer) and it might start to make more sense...

Iliad I.1-7 (trans. Richard Lattimore)
Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus
and its devastation, which put pains thousandfold upon the Achaians,
hurled in their multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls
of heroes, but gave their bodies to be the delicate feasting
of dogs, of all birds, and the will of Zeus was accomplished
since that time when first there stood in division of conflict
Atreus' son the lord of men and brilliant Achilles.

Odyssey I.1-10 (trans. Richard Lattimore)
Tell me, Muse, of the man of many ways, who was driven
far journeys, after he had sacked Troy's sacred citadel.
Many were they whose cities he saw, whose minds he learned of,
many the pains he suffered in his spirit on the wide sea,
struggling for his own life and the homecoming of his companions.
Even so he could not save his companions, hard though
he strove to; they were destroyed by their own wild recklessness,
fools, who devoured the oxen of Helios, the Sun God,
and he took away the day of their homecoming. From some point
here, goddess, daughter of Zeus, speak and begin our story.


What else? Notice that all three INVOKE the muses. Who are the muses? Check your lecture workbook and bring it to discussion tomorrow.

We'll talk about the rest tomorrow :)


Other links which might be helpful:

Perseus' Encyclopedia entry on Hesiod:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0004%3Aid%3Dhesiod

"The Proem of the Iliad" by James Redfield (Classical Philology)
http://www.jstor.org/sici?sici=0009-837X(197904)74%3A2%3C95%3ATPOTIH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q&cookieSet=1

Another blog that may be of interest:

http://frankly-mr-shankly.blogspot.com/2006/02/great-buildings-by-stephen-cox-20.html

Apes & Monkeys

In case you missed the email I sent with these clips...

Bonobo Video Clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eubDSQrFako

Chimpanzee Video Clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRN-fHdGzUY

Recall that the difference between Apes and Monkeys, generally speaking anyway, is that Monkeys have tails and Apes do not. There are 5 Great Apes: Humans (Homom sapiens), Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Orangutans, and Bonobos. Of these 5, Bonobos are the most like humans.

Enjoy :)

Chronological Brain Size Chart

Hi Everyone,
I hope you'll find this blog and the facebook group helpful for the rest of the semester. I will try to use these two resources to post interesting material and helpful links rather than bogging down your in-boxes. This way, if you find it all ridiculously boring, you don't have to look at it. AND if you like it, you will have one more way to procrastinate :)

So, first off for this week... the promised chart of brain sizes across human evolution. This particular chart is borrowed from Florida State University. I think I can find better ones, but it may take some digging.

http://www.anthro.fsu.edu/people/faculty/falk/fig3.jpg

Also, check out Tufts University's website called the Perseus Project:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu

This website is a complete library of all Greek and Latin texts in both the original language and English version. There's also a lot of other cool stuff on the site...