classics 30 lecture notes

10/9/13 Lecture notes

Prometheus and Pandora

Hesiod's Works and DaysDidactic epic

A poetic sermon abouthow to lead an honest life

why the world is so difficult

Uses mythology to explain why things are bad (aetiology)

The lesson: Zeus has hidden food in the earth; men have to work to survive

Addressed to Hesiod's brother Persesthey have a dispute about their inheritance

The Ages of ManThe world has cycled through four ages:Golden Age: age of plenty, no need for agriculture or work

Silver Age: children never grew up

Bronze Age: violent, bellicose, self-destructive age

Age of Heroes: the time of the Trojan War and Theban conflict

Iron Age: the present; good and evil mixed; getting more anarchic

Prometheus in the TheogonyTheogony 509-610

Brothers are Atlas, Menoitios, and Epimetheus

Prometheus matches wits with Zeus by offering Zeus fat instead of meat and by stealing fire from Zeus

Zeus punishes humans by taking fire away for Prometheus' error

Zeus chains Prometheus to the Caucasus Mountains and punishes man with Pandora

An eagle eats his liver nightly (it grows back the next day)

Zeus finally lets Heracles slay the eagle and free Prometheus

Prometheus' motivationHesiod's sly rascal (Theogony 617)

Aeschylus' noble victim of Prometheus BoundPrometheus helped Zeus defeat the Titans

Byron's hero against oppressiondescribes Zeus as a tyrant

Prometheus sacrificed himself for the humans

Prometheus as Culture-HeroFire lays the foundation for culture cooking

sacrifice

metallurgy

keeps us warm (protects against elements)

communication (beacons in Aescylus' Agamemnon)

Fire is the symbol of civilization in Homer's Odyssey

Prometheus' statue symbolizes hope for a better future, technology

SacrificeThe sacrifice at Mecone explains sacrificial ritual. It is therefore an aetiology

The Procedure1. lead an animal (piglet, sheep, cow) to an altar; -hecatomb: a group of 100 cattle

2. the killing

3. thigh bones wrapped in fat and burned

4. feast

Sacrifice gone wrong:boundary between gods and mortals and mortals and animals blurs

mortals behaving wrongly in the name of religion

breakdown of law and order

Pandora in HesiodIn the TheogonyHephaestus makes clay to look like a shy virgin

Pandora = all + giftbut not named in Theogony

Women are considered a different specie.

Men have no choice in marriage. They are compelled to have kids in order to pass down inheritance

In the Works and DaysPandora is named

We hear the story of Epimetheus (Hindsight)

And we hear about the jar of evils (pithos)

Storage jar is called a pithosassociated with the womb and women

only to be opened by husband

adultery brings evil to the family

Interpreting Prometheus and PandoraJean-Pierre Vernant The Myth of Prometheus in Hesiod (1966)Pandora is appropriate punishment for the deceptive sacrifice and the theft of fire

Pandora has the qualities of an ox, the fire, and of the grain which Zeus had hiddenPandora and the OxBoth Pandora and the ox are attractive looking gifts

An appealing outside conceals an unpleasant insidethieving nature underneath charm, mind of a dog underneath jewelry (hungry for food and sex), deceitful voice underneath gorgeous body

inedible bones underneath fat

Pandora is a metaphorical stomachconstantly consuming food, a symbol of man's need to eat

Pandora and the FireBoth Pandora and the fire are trapsPandora's finery conceals her true nature

The fire is concealed in the fennel stalk

Pandora burns her husband with sexual desire

Pandora and the grainHaving children is metaphorical plowing- man must plant seeds to continue his line

Man must plant crops to survive

So this analysis explains the underlying logic for the imagery in these stories

10/11/13 Lecture Notes

The Trojan War

The Epic CycleWritten down in the 7th- 6th century BCE

Covers events from the beginning of the world up to and past the Iliad up to the end of the Odyssesy

Summaries preserved by Proclus (5th century CE)

PrelimCypria

Fighting at TroyCypria, Iliad, Aethiopis, Little Ilia, Iliou Persis, Aeneid (flashback)

ReturnsTrojan Women, Hercuba, Helen, Oresteia, Odyssey

PreliminariesIn Prometheus Bound, Prometheus foretells that Thetis will bear a son mightier than his father

Zeus marries Thetis off to the mortal Peleus

Peleus and Thetis beget Achilles

Gods are invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis except for Eris

Judgment of Paris (gives the golden apple to Aphrodite instead of Hera or Athena)

Priam and Hecuba Hector and ParisHecuba dreams of a burning torch so she gives the baby to the servant to kill him. However, the servant has pity on the baby Paris.

Abduction of Helen

Muster of AulisConscripting Odysseus

Sacrifice of Iphigenia

Odysseus and Penelope TelemachusOdysseus acts like he's insane to not go to war, but the Greek leaders find the truth by putting Odysseus' baby in danger.

Sacrifice of Iphigenia

Agamemnon lures Iphigeneia to Aulis by promising a marriage with Achilles

Agamemnon and Clytemnestra Iphigeneia

Iphigeneia offers to die for the Greek cause.

The War at Troy

War lasts ten years

Greeks have to pillage neighboring towns to secure resourcesThisbe (hometown of Hector's wife Andromache)

Chryse (hometown of Chrises, given to Agamemnon)

hometown of Briseis, given to Achilles

Agamemnon loses Chryseis

Agamemnon tries to steal Briseis

Achilles stop fighting for the Greeks, and the Greeks suffer damage

The main Greek warriors get wounded

Achilles' best friend Patroclus begs to fight

Hector kills Patroclus who is dressed in Achilles' armor

Achilles fights the Trojans and the river Scamander

Achilles faces Hector and kills him

Achilles buries Patroclus

Priam begs Achilles for Hector's body, and buries him

After the Iliad: The Sack of TroyParis kills Achilles with his bow

Ajax recovers Achilles' body; Odysseus wards off the Trojans

Contest over Achilles' armor (Odysseus wins)

Ajax kills himselfAthena directs his anger towards livestock. His shame causes him to kill himself

The Greeks capture the Trojan prophet Helenusthe Greeks must get the Bow of Heracles from Philoctetes

the Greeks must bring Achilles' son Neoptolemus

The Sack of TroyBuilding the Trojan HorseCassandra and Laocoon sense a trap

Laocoon and his sons get punished by Athena after Laocoon throws a spear at the Trojan Horse

Sinon begs his way inside TroySinon lies that he had been abandoned by the Greeks

Sinon opens the wooden horse

Neoptolemus kills Priam at the altar of his household gods

The lesser Ajax rapes the priestess Cassandra

Hector's infant son Astyanax is thrown from the walls.

The ReturnsStorms blow Menelaus to Egypt before he makes it home

Odysseus loses all of his companions and must fight in Ithaca to regain his kingdom

Agamemnon is killed by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus

The Lesser Ajax is obliterated by Athena's lightning in a storm


Helen

Timeline of Sources on HelenHomer Iliad (8th century BCE)

Gorgias Encomium of Helen (420s BCE)

Herodotus Histories (425 BCE)

Euripides The Trojan Women (415 BCE)

Euripides Helen (412 BCE) tells that real Helen was actually in Egypt

George Seferis Helen (1955)

GeneologyZeus and Leda Helen and Pollux

Tyndareus and Leda Clytemnestra and Castor

Leda lays two eggs. One with Helen and Pollux. Other with Clytemnestra and Castor

Helen is half divine

Helen marries Menelaus while Clytemnestra marries Agamemnon.

Menelaus and Agamemnon are brothers.

Helen in the IliadBook 3: Helen identifies the Greek fighters to Priam

Blames herself for bringing the war upon the Trojans (Helen to Priam, king of Troy) [3. 209-214]

Helen defies Aphrodite when the goddess summons her to Paris' bedroom (Helen to Aphrodite) [3.470, 475-478]

Helen gives in when Aphrodite threatens her.

Paris in the IliadCock of the walk

Paris cannot defeat Menelaus in a fair fight.

Priam leaves as Paris steps up to fight Menelaus.

Paris' physical appearance and weak self shows parallelism to Pandora (beautiful appearance but bad mind)

But has the protection of Aphrodite

Helen in HerodotusHerodotus Histories

Preface gives scope and methodology

Herodotus uses his own research and his resources

Helen is the last in a series of de-mythologized abductions

The blame is put on Paris

Suggests that the Trojan War was an overreaction

Egyptian story (2.113-2.120) questions whether Helen was in Troy at all

Paris is blown off course to Egypt on his way from Sparta back to Troy

xenia: guest-friendship, hospitality - Zeus Xenios

This was important in the ancient times.

Menelaus treats Paris well, but Paris does him wrong by seducing Helen.

Helen remains in Egypt and doesn't go to Troy

Proteus doesn't let Paris leave with Helen and Menelaus' cattles

Herodotus' rationalizing of the length of the war (2.120)If Helen was in Troy, the Trojans wouldn't have left Helen alone as death counts got higher and higher

Defending the Indefensible: Gorgias' Encomium of Helen (420s BCE)Sophist (intellectual entrepreneur)

A good speech can make the weaker argument the strongertruth and justice evaporates with this kind of speech

parallel to Pandora: beautiful outside and ugly core

Encomium: a speech of praise

Justifies that Helen is not to blame

Encomium of Helen 6: Gods forced Helen to follow Paris. Weak cannot resist the strong

Speech is strong, can cause a human to make a different decision

Helen in EuripidesThe Trojan Women (415 BCE)

Helen (412 BCE)

Helen in the Trojan WomenTrial between Helen and Hecuba with Menelaus as the judge

Helen assertively blames Hecuba for raising Paris and Aphrodite for corrupting her own good sense

Helen argues for herself with her own voice while she is silent and Gorgias makes the case for Helen in Encomium (acts as the lawyer)

Hecuba denies the judgment of Paris, calls Aphrodite Helen's own lust, and argues that if Helen were truly guilty she would have killed herself.

Hecuba sees Aphrodite as the name for one's own lust.

Menelaus decides that Helen should die, but they end up living happily ever after.

Helen in Euripides' HelenMenelaus rescues the real Helen from captivity in Egypt

A phantom Helen (Grk. Eidolon) had gone to Troy

Proteus kept Helen in his palace.

What was fought for, if the Helen of Troy was only a phantom?

Homer's IliadWhat are Achilles and Agamemnon arguing about in Book 1?

Who is in the right?

Does the Iliad seem different from the other archaic Greek poetry we've read so far?

Homer refers the Greeks as Archaeans, Argives, and Danaans


Achilles and Agamemnon

Dactylic hexameter: line is made of six dactyls.

Dactyl: a long syllable followed by two short syllables.

Features of Oral Poetry improvisation upon a themSystems of epithets help the oral poet compose the song

Homer repeats lines, block of lines, and stories

The Proem : prayer in which the poet asks the god to sing through him

Characters of Books 1 and 2Achilles: the best fighter

Agamemnon: the commander-in-chief

Odyssesus: clever speaker, problem solver

Thersites: rabble-rouser

The Quarrel between Agamemnon and Achillesthe Greek army has sacked a town called Thebe and won Chryseis, the daughter of a priest named Chryses

Achilles calls the meeting to resolve the plague-crisis.

Agamemnon is forced to surrender Chryseis (Iliad 1.143-148)

Agamemnon takes Briseis away from Achilles, and Achilles asks his mother, Thetis, to ask Zeus to bring defeat to the Greeks.

What makes Sullenberger a hero?Expert pilot

controls emotion; keeps focus

saves passengers

shows confidence and competence

Greek HeroismAchilles is the preeminent Greek heroonly he can bear to look at his armor (Il. 19.21-29)

arete: excellence

Greek heroes often compete against one another

time: honor; social worth

Achilles has his honor taken away when Agamemnon takes Briseis away from Achilles which degrades his reputation as a hero

kleos: fame, reputation (a hero can achieve a part immortality through fame and remembrance)klean andron the feats of heroes

Iliad Book 2Agamemnon's dream

Agamemnon's failed test of morale makes him look like a bad leader

Odysseus steps up in Book 2 to discipline the restless army

The army literally leaves when Agamemnon tells the army to leave.

Odysseus is most like Sullenberger

ThersitesThersites speaks out against Agamemnon (Il. 2.262-281)

Thersites is portrayed as ugly and disabled.

Therefore, people laugh at him when he is struck by Odysseus with a sceptor

Battle NarrativeWhy is there so much battle narrative in the Iliad?

What do the similes contribute to the narrative?

Who is most responsible for the death of Patroclus?

How does Alice Oswald's Memorial compare to the Iliad?

Lecture 10/18/13

Achilles and Patroclus

The Heroic Code

Sarpedon (Iliad 12.359-362; 368-377) explains what's at stake for the fightersshows trace of ambivalence heroes might as well die early on the front lines and receive awards and valor

Achilles (Iliad 9.497-505) weighs the value of life with the value of glorylong life = less glory, short life = more glory

Iliad Books 3-10One inconclusive day of fighting ringed with individual between Menelaus and Paris (Book 3) and Ajax and Hector (Book 7)

Second day of fighting on which Trojans gain the upper hand (Book 8)

That night: 1) Achaean embassy to Achilles (Book 9)Agamemnon offers gifts and Breisis to Achilles to bring him back, but he refuses

2) Odysseus and Diomedes perform a night raid behind Trojan lines (Book 10)

Iliad Book 11aristeia: an account of the marital exploits of a hero (including arming and the catalog of kills)

Agamemnon is wounded after killing seven Trojans; Odysseus kills nine; Diomedes three; Ajax five

Achilles sends Patroclus to inquire about the wounded doctor Machaon (wounded by Paris)

Nestor entertains Patroclus at length and urges him to persuade Achilles to re-enter the combat or if not, to let Patroclus fight in his stead.

Nestor reminds Patroclus that his father told him to be the adviser of Achilles.

In Books 12-15, the fighting continues, and the Trojans set fire to some of the Greek ships

Characteristics of Battle NarrativeBattle books consist of a series of individual duels

Shows the results in one line at the end

Similes heighten the impact of the action (Iliad Book 16.889-896)similes call upon the sound of the impact

Similes can create interesting contrasts with the action

Iliad Book 16Patroclus cries because of the dying Greek army.

Who kills Patroclus?Achilles, Apollo, Hector, or Patroclus himself?

Achillesviolated prohibition motif if one gives an instruction not to do something, the other will violate the order.

Achilles gives Patroclus detailed information on when to stop fighting (Iliad 16.101-102,107-110)

the gods, esp. Zeus and ApolloZeus denied Achilles' prayer to allow Patroclus' safe return (Illiad 16.296-298)

Apollo strikes Patroclus

Hector finishes Patroclus off

SarpedonZeus wants to save his son, but Hera talks him out of intervening

Hera explains that Zeus' action will cause the gods to impose their will on life events

Oswald's MemorialFree translation of Iliad's similes and death sceneslist of the dead

similes are translated twice and lifted from their original position in the poem

doesn't differentiate which side the dead is from

parallel to the Vietnam war memorial

thinks of Iliad as an oral memorial

HectorWhy does Hector fight? How different are his reasons from the Greek heroes?

Does Athena's intervention in Book 22 against Hector mar Achilles' victory?

Does Book 24 offer a satisfying resolution to the Iliad?

Midterm Format1 image with questions (Who is in the image? What is going on? What stories are involved?)

2 key terms (choice of 6) (similar to week 2 quiz)

2 passages with questions (choice of 3) (identify title and author, speaker, whats being talked about and what is happening next?)

Lecture 10/21/13

Hector

Hector fights for not himself but for others.

Hector vs. Greek HeroesAgamemnon: best because of his social position

Achilles: best because of his military prowess

Odysseus: best because of his mind

Hector: best because of his devotion to duty

Simone Weil (1909-1943)The Iliad, or, The Poem of Force (1945)

She asserts that the real element in the Iliad was force which dehumanizes everything it touches.

Homer shows his sympathy towards both sides.

Book 6conflict between combat fury and xenia (hospitality) to resolve in Book 24

Encounter between Agamemnon and Adrestus (6.45-77)shows ruthlessness of combat

Adrestus' offer is foreshadows Priam's offer

Encounter between Diomedes and Glaucus (6.137-282) shows that xeneia can prevailDiomedes' grandfather and Glaucus' grandfather were guest friends

They call off the fight and trade armors

Tense encounters in Troy between Hector and the Trojan womenHecuba offers Hector drink but he refuses.

Hector and Andromache6.548-550

'There is the wife of Hector, the bravest figher they could field, those stallion-breaking Trojans, long ago when the men fought for Troy'

Andromache persuades Hector to stay but Hector doesn't listen.

The previous restraint of AchillesAchilles took ransom for Andromache's mother and gave proper burial for Andromache's father.

Books 17-21Day of fightingGreek heroes wounded (Book 11)

Patroclus fights and dies (Book 16)

Hector strips Patroclus' armor but the Achaeans recover the body (Book 17)

Hephaestus fashions new armor for Achilles (Book 18)

Confrontation with Hector (Books 19-22)Agamemnon and Achilles reconcile (Book 19)

Achilles fights the Trojans (Book 21)

Lycaon (Iliad 21.111-124)

The Battle with Scamander (Book 21)Achilles kills so many Trojans that it overwhelms the river

Scamander the river god fights Achilles

Hephaestus puts the river on fire to defeat Scamander.

Book 22Oswald Memorial (pp.71-72)And HECTOR died like everyone else

Pleas from Priam and Hecuba (22.31-107)

Hector's soliloquy (22.118-156)

But Hector runs (should we blame him?)

Athena tricks Hector by disguising herself as Hector's brother

Hector and the beautiful death (Jean-Pierre Vernant)

beautiful death - to die at one's prime/ peak at his physical power

Book 24Thetis instructs Achilles to ransom Hector

Hector's body is undefiled because of Apollo's protection

Priam goes by chariot to Achilles' tent

Priam reminds Achilles of his own father Peleus, and of his mortality

Achilles and Priam come to a tenuous truce

Battle stops for 12 days

Lecture 10/25/13

Ancient Myth Interpretations

The Pervasiveness of MythMore widespread than modern poetry (or other media)

And experienced more communallyparents telling stories to children

local legends and cults

poems performed at festivals and victory celebrations (like Pindar's victory odes)

Athenian tragedy (choruses)

Homer in educationchildren would learn to write and read from Homer's works

Homer in the symposium (aristocratic male drinking party)immortalized in Plato's Symposium

Greeks mixed alcohol with water

Myth in visual artsvase painting (wasn't restricted to stick with the context)

statues

Xenophanes500 BCE

Philosopher-poet who spent time in Sicily like Gorgias

Xenophones criticizes Homer for describing the gods as evil-doers. (Xenophones Fr.11)

questions gods' morality

criticizes anthropomorphic conception of divinity (Xenophones Fr. 15)

Favors a sphere-shaped and harmonious god (Xenophones Fr. 23)

Plato429-347 BCE

Student of Socrates; author of The Republic, a dialogue about justicee.g. Euthryphro is a dialogue about piety

According to Plato, gods are always responsible for goodand it is irresponsible and wrong to credit the gods with evil

e.g. the castration of Ouranos in Hesiod

Problemsthe story is false

children cannot understand the story in any way but literally

children will imitate the violence in the story

Solutionsban harmful myths and supervise storytellers

create myths that inculcate good (like the Myth of Metals in Republic III)

Allegoryalla other + agoreuein to tell

Practice most notably by the Stoics Heraclitus and Cornutus (1st C AD)

Pursuit of deeper meaning below the literal/surface level of the story

e.g. people aren't disinterested in sci-fi movies because they're not real.

Physical allegory: gods represent physical principlesBattle between Apollo and Poseidon is an opposition between fire and waterin Heraclitus

e.g. Hera is air (Gk: aer)in Cornutus

example of etymology

Moral allegory: stories encode moral truthsconflict between Athena and Ares in Iliad 5 is actually a clash between thoughtfulness and thoughtlessness

The OdysseyHow would you describe Odysseus?

Why does Odysseus forgo Calypso's offer of immortality?

Lecture 10/28/13

Odysseus and Calypso

Odysseus is the last hero to make his return

Returns (Trojan Women Odyssey)

nostos: return, homecoming

Proem (Homer Odyssesy 1.1-12)Three agentsOdyssesus man of constant sorrows

companions blind, foolish, devoured the cattle of the Sungod

gods represented by Helios, decides the fate of the humans.

Homer doesn't say the name of Odysseus but describes him as polutropon (the man much turned/ much turning) in book 1.

Polytropos: poly - many tropos - turn, way, manner, habit

Book 1desperate situation on Ithaca in Odysseus' palace

Odysseus and Penelope Telemachus

At divine council, the gods tell us who to root for and ratchet up the suspense

If one of the suitors like Aegithus seduces Penelope, a tragedy like Agamemnon's murder might happen.

Athena visits Ithaca to inspire Telemachus to seek news of his father (Homer Odyssey 1.132-137)

(Homer Odysseus 1.249-251) to Athena

Penelope yearns for Odysseus but doesn't kick the suitors out from the palace.

Book 2-4Telemachus calls the suitors to assembly and denounces them (Book 2)

Telemachus visits Nestor and learns about the death of Agamemnon (Book 3)

Telemachus visits Menelaus and learns about Odysseus at Troy (Book 4)

Book 5Odysseus is homesick, trapped in a relationship with Calypso (Odyssey 5.165-175)

Odysseus is shrewd, calculating, suspicious (Odyssey 5.197-199)

Odysseus is a great flatterer (Odyssey 5.239-243)

Odysseus is a great craftsman (Odyssey 5.266-283)

Odysseus has a tremendous capacity for endurance (Odyssey 5.476-478)

Odysseus has imaginative vision (5.533-534)

Book 6Phaeaciansthey do no work but just enjoy leisure

temptation for someone like Odysseus

Alcinous and Arete Nausicaa

Athena appears to Nausicaa in a dream and encourages her to do laundry

Alcinous lets Nausicaa go to do the laundry

The girls are playing ball when Odysseus is startled awake

Odyssey Book 6.142

Odysseus shows great tact when he meets Nausicaa (Book 6.163-206)

Nausicaa's charmed, especially after she sees Odysseus after his bath (Odyssey 6.268-271)

Athena makes Odysseus look more appealing. (Odyssey 6.268-271)

Odysseus will meet Nausicaa at her father's palace by following her from behind.

Lecture 10/29/13

Odysseus and the Cyclops

Proem (Homer Odyssey 1.1-12)

Odyssey Books 7-8Odysseus makes it safely to Alcinous' palace with Athena's help

Odysseus marvels at the Phaeacians' orchards and gardens (7.132-140)draws parallel the golden age described in Hesiod's Works and Days

He crushes the Phaeacian athletes in the shot put (8.216-265)

Phaecian are not involved in any war-like situations, but they like hearing about heroes.

Odyssey Book 9Raid on Cicones (9.45-70)

Lotus-Eaters (9.92-117)

Cyclops/Polephemus (9.118-630)

Odysseus' goalsHe wants to go home.

He wants to make himself look good.

Odysseus' story is more of a persuasive speech rather than an expository speech

It is Odysseus who tells the story

Preamble: 9.1-44Praises the feast (9.2-11)

Declares his name boastfully (9.20-21)

There's no place like home (9.38-41)

Raid on the Cicones (9.45-70)Blames his companions for their greediness (Odyssey 9.48-53)

The Lotus-Eaters (9.71-117)Odysseus refrains from eating the lotus while some of his companions ate and lost their desires to return home. (Odyssey 9.106-113)

The Cyclops/Polyphemus (9.118-630)Odysseus has a bad feeling about the Cyclops' island.

Odysseus lingers to stay in the cave unlike him the previous instances.

Odysseus identifes himself as a war hero and invokes Zeus Xenios

But the Cyclops devours two of Odysseus' crew

Greeks thought of milk as drinks for babies.

Drinking milk portrays the Cyclops as an immature monster

Odysseus' cautious reaction (9.336-443)shows the adaptability and flexibility of Odysseus.

Odysseus' planmake a weapon

trick the Cyclops by telling him that he's nobody.

Polyphemus Outis (nobody)

me tis if no one vs metis cunning

Odysseus taunts the Cyclops (Odyssey 9.556-563)Odysseus tells his real name the second time.

Euripides' CyclopsOnly fully preserved satyr-play

Date unknown

Retells Homeric episode in Cyclops' cave

Satyrs are half-goat and half-humanenjoy sex and drunkenness

The difference between Euripides' Cyclops and Homer's Odyssey is the insertion of satrys and their leader Silenus.

The World of Euripides' CyclopsSet in Sicily, not Fairyland

Cyclops cook their own meal

Polyphemus and GalateiaIn TheocritusStory of unrequited love told in Theocritus Idyll 11 (early 3rd century BCE)

Idyll 11.50-53 (burning my one eye too)

In Ovid Metamorphoses Book 13 (1st century CE)Polyphemus is more violent

Penelope and the Suitorshow much does Penelope welcome the suitor's attention?

Is Odysseus' vengeance justified?

Lecture 11/1/13

Penelope and the Suitors

Penelope and the ShroudTelemachus promises to call an assembly (1.427-437)

Telemachus demands that the suitors leave his house (2.41-85)

There was a government shutdown while Odysseus was missing.

Penelope tells the suitors that she will marry one of them after she finishes weaving (2.104-113)

Antinous blames Penelope for leading the suitor son (2.91-142)

Wives who weave are industrious, responsible, and virtuous in the ancient world.

Penelope weave in interest of waiting for Odysseus.

One of Penelope's maids tells the suitors about her trick.

Penelope and kleos (2.139-140)

Odysseus arrives on Ithaca (Book 13)Meets Athena in disguise

Athena makes him unrecognizably ugly (13.492-501)

Odysseus is about to face the same treatment as he gave to Theristes in Troy.

The plan

The Visit with Eumaeus (Books 14-16)Gets a rundown of the situation in Ithaca from a trusted confidante

Reunites with Telemachus (Book 16)

The Suitors (Book 18)Odysseus fights with the beggar Iros (18.51-57)Antinous offers a prize to the winner

Eurymachus throws a foolstool at Odysseus' head

Odysseus and Penelope (Book 19)Melantho, a disloyal maid verbally abuses Odysseus (Book 19.71-75)

Melantho has been sleeping with the suitors and has become corrupted

Penelope explains her predicament to OdysseusPenelope's speech to the suitors (19.156-165 = 2.104-113)She uses the same language.

Odysseus presents himself as a Cretan who had met Odysseus

Eurycleia discovers the scar while washing his feet

Penelope's dream (Odyssey 19.605-612)Odysseus states that the geese are the suitors who Odysseus, the eagle, kills and reclaims the throne.

Penelope prepares the bow contest

The Contest of the Bow (Books 21-22)Leodes and Eurymachus try and fail to string the bow (Book 21)

Odysseus takes aim at Antinous the ringleader (21.15-21)

The questions of mercy and excess:Leodes (22.327-335)

Phemius (22.362-373)

draws parallels to deaths in the Iliad.

Melanthius and the serving women (22.488-504)Odysseus mutilates the bodies of the dead

Does Odysseus go too far with his vengeance?

Reunion with PenelopeThe olive bed (23.205-229)Odysseus tells Penelope about the bed post which is rooted into the earth

The bed post symbolizes Penelope's fidelity and constancy and also Odysseus' craftsmanship

Odyssey (23.262-272)Penelope is compared to a sailor (reverse sex simile)

Euripides' HecubaHow does Euripides change Homer's characters?

How does tragedy differ from epic? How do the differences affect the way the story gets told?

Why does Hecuba take her vengeance? Does she go too far?

Lecture 11/4/13

The Fall of Troy

Hecubaproud queen of Troy, mother of fifty children

loses the last remaining two: Polyxena and Polydorus

Set in the Thracian Chersonese

After the sack of Troy

Homer strips characters of their dignity in different epics.

Greek TragedySlices from Homer's great banquets (Aeschylus)

Tragedies are shorter than epics

Tragedy is acted out while an epic is narratedwe can't trust anyone to give an impartial account

The Great DionysiaFestival in honor of Dionysus in early March

Featured dramatic competition, sacrifices, and a procession of war orphans

Each tragedian staged three tragedies and a satyr-play

The choregos producer paid for the chorus and the sets

Participating in the chorus was the young Athenian males' civic duty.

City assigned each tragedian a star actor

Actors wore masks.

Plays would be judged by a panel of citizens

Parts of a Greek TheaterTheatron = viewing place

Orchestra = dancing place

Skene = stage

Parodos = aisles chorus enter and exit through

mechane was a crane used to suspend the actors in the air

deus ex machina god from the machine

Structure of HecubaPrologue (1-97): Polydorus sets the scene; Hecuba sings

Parodos (98-153): First song of the chorus (Polyxena must die)

Episode 1 (154-215 sung): Hecuba and Polyxena lament their fate(216-443 spoken): Odysseus demands Polyxena

First Stasimon (444-483 sung): Chorus worries for the future

Episode 2 (484-628 spoken): Talthybius reports Polyxena's death

Second Stasimon (629-657): Chorus laments the Judgment of Paris

Episode 3 (658-904): Hecuba learns of Polydorus' death

Exodus: Polymestor is blinded by women

What's new in Euripides' HecubaNew attitude towards the Trojans (as barbarians)

New focus on sophistry, politics, and rhetoric

New focus on female heroism

BarbariansPersian Wars (490 BCE; 480-479 BCE)

from Greek word barbaros (foreigner)

penchant for brutality, softness, wealth, deception

RhetoricHecuba 255-258Hecuba talks to Odysseus about the mercy she had on him before

Hecuba tells Agamemnon that he's a slave to public opinion.

Female HeroismPolyxena dies beautifully (566-571)

Polyxena displays courage while Hector runs for his life in front of death.

Hecuba's desperate straitsCassandra becomes Agamemnon's war bride, drawing connection between Hecuba and Agamemnon.

Hecuba resembles Odysseus killing the Cyclopsblinding Polymestor vs blinding Polyphemus

Hecuba and Cynossema Bitch's Tomb

Polymestor foretells that Hecuba will turn into a dog.

Dog may symbolize Hecuba's protectiveness over her children

Lecture Notes 11/6/13

Clytemnestra

Aeschylus' OresteiaAeschylus (520s -456 BCE)Veteran of the Persian Wars

Aeschylus' epitaph describes of his valor in the Persian war and participation in the marathon.

Oresteia (458 BCE) consists of Agamemnon

Choephori (Libation Bearers)

Eumenides (The Kindly Ones i.e. Furies)

Notoriously bold style, dense language, and rich imagery

The House of Atreus3 generations of atrocious crimesTantalus feeds is son Pelops to the gods

Atreus feeds Thyestes' sons to Thyestes

Agamemnon sacrifices his daugher Iphigeneia

Tantalus Pelops Thyestes Pelopeia Aegisthus

Atreus feeds Thyestes' his sons after he has an affair with his wife

Tantalus' banquetTantalus makes a stew of Pelops and serves him to the gods.

Tantalus is punished by gods in a pool of water (Od. 11.669-680)

Pelops and HippodameiaPelops wins his bride Hippodameia in a chariot race.

Pelops goes against Hippodameia's father in a race.

Myrtilus, Oenomeus' charioteer, curses Pelops and his descendants.

When Pelops come back from getting water, Myrtilus tries taking Hippodameia's virginity.

Pelops pushes Myrtilus off the cliff.

Atreus and ThyestesSibling rivals over kingship of Mycenae

Thyestes seduces Atreus' wife Aerope

Atreus' tasty revenge.Atreus serves Thyestes his sons in revenge.

The Birth of AegisthusThyestes rapes his daughter without knowing, and Pelopeia gives birth to Aegisthus.

Aeschylus' Agamemnon The plotnot much action, by design, but suspense builds gradually

the curse haunts and hinders the plot; action is cyclical, and forward-moving

nostos homecoming of Agamemnon

Cannibalistic Imagery in the AgamemnonThe watchman (delivered from roof of the skene)the dark and gloominess describes the house itself

The parodos (the chorus' entry-song)tells the backstory of the sacrifice of Iphigeneia

Artemis mourns the death of the pregnant hare and demands the life of Iphigeneia

The sack of Troy (described by Clytemnestra)Clytemnestra explicitly describes her imagination of the sack of Troy.

Aeschylus connects the crime of Agamemnon to the crime of Atreus.

AgamemnonReturns in triumph with war-prize CassandraAthena allows Odysseus to plan his returns while Agamemnon just enters his land.

Clytemnestra lays out crimson tapestries as a welcome mat.Agamemnon refuses to walk on the tapestries as he thinks it's only for the gods.

However, Agamemnon ends up falling into the trap.

Clytemnestra makes Agamemnon think if Priam would've walk on the carpet if he had wont he war.

ClytemnestraAndrogyneQueen Clytemnestra who wears a mans' heart in a woman's body, a man's dreadful will in the scabbard of her body like a polished blade. A hidden blade

Deceptively pretends the role of the lonely faithful wife

Embodies the curse of the House of AtreusClytemnestra appears as the symbol of the curse of the house.

T 11-12Th 1-2Dodd 2


Orestes in the OdysseyOrestes kept safe in Phocis

Son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra; brother of Electra

The FuriesChthonic powers of retribution

Greek Erinyes

Born from the blood of Ouranos castration

Motive of the murder doesnt matter

Aeschylus ChoephoriOrestes returns; dedicates lock of hair at Agamemnons grave

Orestes retreats when he spots the chorus and Electra

Choe-phori libation bearers

Clytemnestras DreamShe gave birth to serpent, swaddled it and nursed it, but it bit her breast

Parallel to eagle and hare omen in Agamemnon

Swaddling clothes parallel Agamemnons death robe

Biting breast looks ahead to Clytemnestra death-scene

Snakes are a chthonic symbol

Chorus doubts Clytemnestras sincerity

ElectraI live among slaves. I live the life of a slave. Orestes is banished. How shall we get our home back?

Recognition scene between Orestes and Electra (p. 99-103)The first sign of forward progress

Orestes Dilemma

The kommos (dirge) (p. 107-115)Comprises 150 lines of a 1000 line play

Why is there so much lament in this play?

Plotting the MurderAs in Agamemnon, the action consists of homecoming to the house

The action comprises getting across the threshold

Orestes disguises himself as a traveler with important news

Orestes announces that Orestes has died

Reaction to Orestes Death

The MurdersAegisthus is killed quickly and without incident

But Clytemnestra goes down swinging!

Orestes as HeroKills metaphorical serpent (as Apollo killed the Python)

Echoes of AgamemnonClytemnestra does NOT succeed this time at persuasion

Clytemnestra and Aegisthus die, as Cassandra and Agamemnon die in first play

Orestes as runaway charioteer (p. 141), just like Agamemnon killing Iphigeneia (p. 15)

Play ends with Orestes visions of the furies tormenting him

Submitting papersmy.ucla.edu and click the Turnitin link under Classics 30

Click the submit icon next to the assignment called paper and upload paper

Save receipt and confirmation numberInclude topic number on the title page

Lecture 11/13/13

Justice

Aeschylus' EumenidesHymn to ApolloApollo becomes a hero after killing the dragoness Pythos.

The Furies on DelphiApollo ceased Dephi unfairly and trampled over the older gods.

Eumenides means Kindly Ones

Name anticipates the Furies' becoming Athenian fertility goddesses

Orestes has fled to Delphi to seek Apollos protection and purification for the two murders

pollution (Gk miasma): ritual uncleanlinesscaused by murder, cannibalism, incest, sex during the day, etc.

people who associate with ritually unclean people suffer disease in their household

purification (Gk: katharmos): cleansingOdysseus cleans his hall with sulfur

cannot be avoided whether the reasons were justifiable.

The blood of the piglet purifies Orestes

Historical contextgeneral: tragedies allude to 5th C concerns with war, barbarians, and persuasion

specificEumenides gives historical aetiology for Areopagus court

the play calls for an end to civil strife

462 BCE: Ephialtes reduces power of the court and lowers the income requirement

Then Ephialtes is assassinated.

General ThemesCycle of retribution and violence gives way to rule of law (jury trial)

Female interest get subsumed to male interests

Scene changes from House of Atreus in Argos to Delphi to, finally, the Athenian acropolis

Athens and SuppliantsGeneral ThemesAthens takes in Orestes as a suppliantApollo instructs Orestes to find shelter in Athens (p.154)

Emma Lazarus The New Colossus (1833)

Conflict at DelphiFuries convict Apollo for violating the natural, unwritten laws.

Apollo argues that the laws do not apply to human justice and suggests to settle the case with Athena's judgment.

The TrialMarks an improvement on retributive justice

Why did Athena convene a jury instead of hearing the case herself?To make it fairer?

But why does the jury deadlock 6-6?

The ArgumentsThe Furies prosecute OrestesThe Furies argue that Orestes killed his own bloodline

Apollo defends OrestesApollo argues that Orestes' blood only comes from his father. Clytemnestra is only like the soil in a pot.

Pre-Socratic influence (Anaxagoras)

Athena acquits Orestes

ResolutionThe Furies become the Semnai Blessed Ones


Mythology on the Athenian Acropolis

Athenian ExceptionalismAthens is so great that two gods compete to earn patronage.

Athena receives all the attention as she is born.

Autochthonythe state of being indigenous; native to a place

being born from the earth itself without human parents.

Auto itself + chthon earth

Athenian vs. Theban autochthonyThebans are always ruled by a king.

Cecrops and EricthoniusTwo important early kings of Athens

Cecrops (half man, half snake) close to the earthjudged the contest between Athena and Poseidon.

ErichthoniusParents are Hephaestus and Gaea

Athena throws the wool she uses to wipe off Hephaestus' ejaculation on the earth.

Great Panatheneaea

Festival in honor Athena held in August

Poetic contests and athletic competitions

Procession from lower city up to the Acropolis

Robe (Grk: peplos) clothed the statue of Athena

Probably depicted on the interior frieze of the Parthenon

The Athenian AcropolisParthenon

Propylaea

Temple of Athena Nike

Erechtheum

Persians took over Athens, but then victory allowed the Athenians to retake their homes.

Pericles rebuilt the Acropolis after the Persian Wars.The Parthenon

Construction begins 447 BE

Thank-offering for Athena after Persian Wars

Elaborated decoratedpediments

metopes

frieze

statue of Athena

Double colonade

Metopes run around outer columns

Frieze runs around inner columns

Pediments run along short ends of the rectangle (west and east)

Statue of Athena stood in larger inner room.

PedimentsWest Pediment (reconstructed): The Patronage of Athens

East Pediment (reconstructed): The Birth of Athena

MetopesEast metopes: Gigantomachy

West metopes: Amazonomachy

North metopes: Sack of Troy

South metopes: Centauromachy

Inner friezeThe frieze: Represents a procession on all sides (identified as the Panathenaic procession)

The east frieze is best preserved; shows gods witnessing the procession

The Statue of AthenaSculptedby Pheidias (438 BCE)

Holds a Nike in her right hand (victory of the Athenians over the Persians)

Near the spear at her left was a snake

The shiled at her feet depicts the Amazonomachy and Gigantomachy

Her sandals depict the Centauromachy

The base has the story of Pandora (an example of a woman out of control)Athena keeps the evil under her feet, setting an example for women to follow

The Propylaea437-432 BCE

Monumental gateway

Picture gallery on northwest wing including Trojan War scenes (Diomedes and Odyssesus; Sacrifice of Polyxena; Orestes killing Aegisthus)

The Temple of Athena Nike430s 420 BCE

Small Ionic temple

Frieze depicts Greeks against PersiansGreeks resorted to mythology battles against monsters before

The ErechtheionTemple of Athena Polias (Protector of the City)

Housed sacred wooden statue of Athena clothed with the Panathenaic robe

Caryatid columns

Patronage of Athens

Lecture 11/18/13

Oedipus and His Complexes

Sophocles496-406 BCE

Won first prize 18 times at the Dionysia and never finished third

Oedipus the King dates to 420s (placed second)

Not a proper trilogy and Antigone (442 BCE) and Oedipus at Colonus (401 BCE)

The Founding of ThebesZeus seduces Europa

Agenor and his sons search for Europa

Cadmus goes to Delphi to inquire after Europa

The oracle at Delphi doesn't answer Cadmus' question

The oracle tells Cadmus to found a city where a cow collapses and not worry about Europa.

Cadmus slays the dragon that guards the spring

Athena tells Cadmus to plant the tooth of the dragon

From the earth spring the violent Sown Men (Gk. Spartoi)

Cadmus founds Thebes and marries Harmonia

The Early Life of OedipusLaius marries Jocasta

Laius gives Oedipus to a shepherd to expose him

The oracle tells them not to have a baby.

Laius cripples the baby by piercing his ankles

Corinthian shepherds bring the baby to Corinth

Delphi tells Oedipus not to go home

Oedipus stays away from Corinth but goes to Thebes

Oedipus fights a band of men at the crossroads

Oedipus confronts the Sphinx and kills the monster

Oedipus is welcomed by the Thebes as king and marries Jocasta

Sophoclean IronySophocles emphasize the elements of ignorance, irony, and unexpected recognition of truth

Oedipus asks about who killed the late king when he killed him himself

Oedipus mocks Teiresias saying that he is blind

TitleGreek: Oidipous Tyrannos (absolute ruler who comes to power by other means rather than by inheritance)Oedipus comes from Corinth, but he is the son of Laius, the past king of Thebes

Latin: Oedipus Rex

English: Oedipus the King

NameOedipusoid pous swollen foot

oida pous I know foot (known for his feet)

dipous two-footed

The clue to the riddle is encoded in Oedipus' name

The PlagueOedipus the King 9-13, 60-64

Oedipus' curse: killing his father and sleeping with his mother causes the plague

Oedipus claims that he is the sickest among all of them, yet he doesn't realize that he is the cause of the plague.

Athenian plague (430 BCE)

TeiresiasOT: 316-322

The Tragic KingOT: 337-340

Tragic kings allow themselves to be pulled into an argument with the rebels

Tragic kings usually have bad tempers

The stereotype of tragic kings make monarchy look bad

HybrisMisconceptionsNot 'pride' or 'overconfidence'

DefinitionAristotle: doing and saying things at which the victim incurs shame, but simply to get pleasure from it. They think themselves superior by harming people.

In a word: bullying

Oedipus eagerly interrogates Teiresias and the herdsmen.

Oedipus acts for the good of the city

Tragedy focuses on unjust or problematic sufferings

Audiences feel ambivalent towards the tragic hero.

Oedipus is already over the cliff and doesn't realize it

He reacts to the fall by blinding himself

Sigmud Freud (1856-1939)Interprets Oedipus the King in The Interpretation of Dreams (1900)

Parts of the mindid: the appetitive unconscious

ego: the seat of judgment and reason

Freud's analogy: just as an individual has dreams, so a culture produces myth

When we are awake, ego represses the id and people feel disgusted when the thoughts pop up.

When we dream, ego turns off, id takes over.

Claude Levi-StraussStructuralism

The Structural Study of Myth from Structural Anthropology (1967)

Explains recurring elements (mythemes) in mythlike kin-killing, incest, and monster combat

Not interested in the literary treatments of myth, but in revealing the deep logical structure of the myth itself

Myth mediates between binaries like male/female/, light/dark, raw/cooked


The Seven Against Thebes

Oedipus goes into exile with Antigone

King Theseus receives Oedipus in AthensThesesus' mercy portrays Athens' generosity

Athens gain profit for caring for Oedipus

Oedipus' sons Eteocles and Polyneices quarrel over Thebes

Eteocles refuses to surrender the throne

Polyneices goes into exile and is received in Argos where he marries the princess of Argos.

War between Argos and Thebes (7 vs. 7)

Eteocles and Polyneices kills each other as they duel.

Thebes defeat Argos and Creon refuses to bury Polyneices for being a traitor.

Creon feels that he needs to abide by the laws of the state since he's not a rightful heir.

PrologueAntigone and Ismene argue whether they should bury Polyneices or not.

Ismene thinks that women should refrain from defying men.

Antigone reflects Hector and Achilles

Creon and AntigoneCreon is loyal to the state

Antigone is loyal to her family and the gods

(175-177; 181-182)

Creon shows his strictness on crime and rage when he finds out that Polyneices was buried.

He thinks that he knows the mind of the gods.

Antigone believes that Zeus is on her side.

Conflict over gender rolesC: I am no man and she the man instead if she can have this conquest without pain (484-485)

Creon tells the guard to find the man who buried the body. (306-307)

Creon accuses Antigone of ruling over him for burying the body.The Chorus

Old men (whereas Antigone is a woman)

Start off firmly on Creon's side.

(334-351; 364-375)

Creon and Haemon(718-723)

Haemon tries to persuade his father, Creon, to not execute Antigone.

Haemon plays the parent role by telling Creon that he is wrong.

Creon as a tragic king (824-825)

The EndDoes Creon redeem himself?

Creon decides to change his mind, but he is too late.

Lecture 11/22/13

Dionysus and the Bacchae

Dionysus/ BacchusGod of nature, grapes, wine, vital force in living things

Depicted as young but mature man

Followers are the male Satyrs and the female Maenads/ Bacchae

Causes religious ecstasy using winelosing complete self-control

emotional

The BacchaeFemale-only Dionysiac cult

Carried Thyrsus (staff) and Narthex (wand)used Thyrus as weapons in the play

Dressed in fawnskin

Ritual of the sparagmos: holy sacrifice of a small animalripping of the animal and devouring

They live peacefully with the nature when camping in the mountains

Dionysus and the EastDionysus is the symbol of paradoxHe pursues appearance like women

Women from Asia follow Dionysus out of free will

The New DionysusThinks of himself as a new god.

Struggles to be recognized since he is born later than other gods.

Seeks recognition and acceptance; demands respect

Geneology of the House of LaiusZeus seduced Semele as a form of an eagle.

Semele demands to see the true self of Zeus.

Zeus reveals his true self and Semele dies because of his thunderous presence.

Zeus sews the fetus in his thigh to hide Dionysus from Hera.

Dionysus = Elvis?

Dionysus' RevengeDionysus comes to Thebes to rightfully plant his cult and reclaim his mother's name.

Dionysus converts all women of Thebes to the Bacchae.

He resembles a young god who seeks glory, self-recognition

Comparing Hermes to DionysusAge: Infant vs Full-grown man

Obstacle: Apollo's anger vs Pentheus' resistance

Consequences: Recognition, power divided vs Murder of Pentheus

Characters: gods, one mortal vs one god, many mortals

Tone: funny, lighthearted vs violent, dark, gloomy, but funny?

Moments of black comedyIn Hecuba, Agamemnon rejects his death

The Character of PentheusName means: grief

Tragic kingreacts with rage

doesn't control himself

wants the intruder's head cut off

Dionysus ruins the role of the females

Pentheus uses his imagination to predict what the women are doing. (216-225)

Pentheus falls into Dionysus' hypnosis (957-8)

Dionysus says that he will distract Pentheus' wits (850-4)

Pentheus begins to halluncinate (religious ecstasy) not by his own will but by Dionysus' will (918-23)

Gods usually don't manipulate mortals except for Dionysus

The Bacchae and Gender RolesThe Bacchae turn ferocious once men come to disrupt them

Dionysus makes Pentheus feminine and the Bacchae masculine

The Bacchae defeat men with their wands (758-64)

The Bacchae led by Agave rips Pentheus' body when they see him as an intruder

The spell wears off as Agave shows off the head of Pentheus to Cadmus

The Triumph of DionysusDionysus shows no pity (1344-9)

He destroys the House of Cadmus and proclaims that Zeus was behind everything

Did Pentheus deserve his fate?He shows rage but doesn't really do any wrong

Lecture 11/25/13

MedeaMedea bridges the culture between the Greeks and the Romans.

Jason and the Golden FleeceJason is on a quest to capture the Golden Fleece for Pelias from King Aeetes of Colchis

Jason is rightful heir of Iolcus.

Medea, Aeetes' daugher, falls in love with Jason

Jason is given more tasks: to fight two bronze-footed bulls breathing fire and fight the men who will sprout from the dragon teeth.

Jason swears to bring her to Greece as his bride, if she helps him.

Medea gives Jason the potion to protect him from fire and gives him tip on how to fight the men.

Medea betrays her father and kills her brother, Apsyrtus

Medea curses Jason for breaking his oath.

Medea has Pelias' daughters murder him by deceiving them that they can turn their father, Pelias, young.

Jason is an indecisive and powerless hero depending on Medea for help.

Medea and Jason flee to Corinth.

They live as husband and wife, bearing two children.

Jason later decides to marry Glauce, princess of Corinth.

Female HeroismMedea : preoccupied, like Achilles, with the validity of oaths (160-165)

Medea : insists childbirth is more dangerous than warfare (247-253)

Medea and Achilles are both very concerned about their reputation

Medea : reworks Semonides 7 for males (235-243), describes one type of good husband.

Medea manipulates language like Clytemnestra (337-342)Creon resists Medea's plead, but gives in when Medea targets his vulnerability

Clytemnestra persuades Agamemnon to walk on the tapestries

Both women causes men to act against their will even while knowing that what they're doing is wrong

Jason's Unheroic CharacterJason breaks his oath (492-496)

Jason is intensely misogynistic; thinks Medea is obsessed with sex (526-532)

Jason is obsessed with money (612-614; 616-618)

Child-killing and RevengeHecuba (Greeks kill Polyxena- at the instigation of Achilles; Polymestor kills Polydorus; Hecuba kills her enemy Polymestor's children)

Antigone (Creon kills Antigone)

Oedipus Tyrannos (Laius wounds Oedipus)

Oresteia (Atreus kills Thyestes' children; Agamemnon kills daughter Iphigenia- at the instigation of a god)

The Bacchae (Agave kills Pentheus)

BarbariansMedea kills her children in hatred towards Jason without any instigation of gods but by her will.

Do barbarians have scruples?

Has Medea lost her humanity?


Dido and Aeneas

Roman Literary and Cultural HistoryGreek literature inspired Latin literature from the beginning240 BCE: Translation of Homer's Odyssey (Livius Andronicus)

3rd - 2nd centuries BCE: Plautus and Terence comedies

50s BCE: Lucretius On the Nature of the Universe

29 -19 BCE: Vergil's Aeneid

Graecia CaptaGraecia capta ferum vicorem cepit. (Horace)Although Greece had been captured, she conquered her wild conqueror.

The Romans praised the Greek literature and found Greek's art is more superior.

Vergil70-19 BCE

Wrote Eclogues, Georgics, and Aeneid

Consummate poet and perfectionist

The AeneidLatin epic in 12 booksBooks 1-6: Aeneas' wanderings

Books 7-12: Aeneas' war in Italy

Aeneas shipwrecks at Carthage (Odysseus' ships are shipwrecked)

Dido entertains him (Nausicaa entertains Odysseus)

Dido falls in love, but Aeneas must found Rome (Calypso falls in love with Odysseus)

When Aeneas leaves, Dido kills herself (Jocasta kills herself for loving Oedipus)

The Gods of the AeneidJuno: the antagonist (Aeneid 1.13-19)

Jupiter: discloses what is fated (1.348-398)Venus asks Jupiter to have pity on her son, Aeneas (Thetis asking Zeus)

prophesies that Aeneas will found Rome

Venus: Aeneas' protector? (1.895-904)disguises as a girl to guide Aeneas to Dido

makes Dido fall in love with Aeneas

AeneasSon of Anchises and Aphrodite/ Venus (Homer Hymn to Aphrodite)

Saved by Aphrodite from Diomedes' spear (Iliad 5)

Pietas: Pietas is a very Roman concept, embracing many aspects of man's relationship to the gods and to fellow men: duty, devoted service, responsibility, compassion, the full consciousness of what is due to other... It was a code of high conduct and an integral part of patriotism in the best sense. (R.G. Austin)devotion

Aeneid 1.13-19A man apart, devoted to his mission...

The storm (Aeneid 1.134-143)Aeneas longs to have died on the battlefield when he faces the storm

emphasizes dying in front of the eyes of his family rather than proper burial

wishes that his mom did not save him

Aeneid 1.201-211Neptune calms the sea as a leader calming the crowd

Virgil compares the water to the crowds of Rome

Close to his companionsAeneid 1.270-278

Aeneas is close to his companions and encourages them after the shipwreckAeneid 1.270-278

DidoFormidable queen of Carthage

Formerly married to Sychaeus; Sychaeus murdered by Dido's brother Pygmalion

Founded Carthage; trick of the bull hide

Carthage is prosperous (Aeneid 1.587-596)

Dido loses interest in city building after falling in love with Aeneas (4.121-126)Love is disease, torture?

The status of the relationship between Dido and Aeneas is unclear (4.227-238)

Aeneas receives the command from Mercury to leave and he obeys, but he doesn't know what to say. (4.385-389; 400-401)shows that he's no Odysseus

Dido kills herself after Aeneas leaves

Aeneas meets Dido's ghost in the underworld (6.613-621; 624-625)Aeneas doesn't seem to understand his effect on others

Final Exam Format

Questions2 images from midterm on (15 min)

Choice of 3 of 4 passages from midterm on (30 min)

Choice of 3 of 9 key terms from second quiz on (30 min)

1 cumulative essay on major course theme (45 min)


Metamorphoses 1: Mortal Limits

Main themes include: the power of the gods, mortals' mistakes, etc.

Ovid and Roman Education43 BCE 18 AD

Refined Augustan poet

Excelled at the suasoriabeing a mythological character giving a speech during a crisis

Rejected legal career for writing poetry

Main point of the school was to train students in public speaking

prolific poetHeroides

Ars Amatoria

Metamorphoses

exiled to the Black Sea for a carmen et error (a poem and a mistake)

OvidMetamorphoses15 books (about 12,000 lines)

dactylic hexameter

encyclopedia of mythology

TransformationTransformation as part of fairytale

Transformation as part of Greek mythologicalgods transform into humans to trick mortals and etc.

Ovidian transformationinterested in crossing the boundaries

ProemOvid doesn't disclose the name of the gods but calls on all gods.

Diana and ActaeonOvid asks Is the story just?

Ovid suggests that the death of Actaeon is not just but unfortunate

It draws parallel to his thought on his exile. (not just since he was deliberate)

Locus amoenus (pleasant place) conceals danger and brutality

Ovid describes the transformation of Actaeon to a deer.

Transformation focuses on weird in-between moments

Catalogue of dogs

Compare Actaeon with Erysichthon or PhaethonOvid leaves the question as to justice open-ended

Daedalus and IcarusIcarus wants to fly but Daedalus doesn't really want to.

Ovid emphasizes the limit of mortals

Mortals on the ground think that Daedalus and Icarus are gods.

They are not punished but Icarus' carelessness causes his own death.

The painting shows that the world goes on despite such amazing happenings.

William Carlos Williams' poem reflects the painting.

Lecture 12/4/13

Metamorphoses II: Love Stories

Philemon and BaucisZeus and Mercury visit a pious but materially poor old couple

Golden Age motifsthe couple find that the wine jar doesn't run out (nothing runs out)

Importance of frugality

Philemon and Baucis become an intertwined oak and lime treepiety is rewarded

Daphne and ApolloPython provides the lead-in after the Flood

Apollo and Cupid have a spat

Cupid shoots Apollo with a gold arrow and Daphne with a lead one.Cupid's arrow causes tragic consequences (Dido & Aeneas, Paris & Helen, etc.)

Apollo falls in love with Daphne, but Daphne is led astray

Apollo tries to convince Daphne by describing how great, perfect he is, but this shows irony.

Apollo (and us readers) as voyeur

Daphne calls out to her father for help, and she turns into a tree.

Apollo makes a crown out of laurel leafs.

Tereus, Procne, and PhilomelaCorrupted marriage of Tereus and Procne

Their marriage wasn't blessed by Juno but the Furies.

Tereus falls in love with Philomela, Procne's sister when he goes to pick her up from Athens.

Tereus violates the bond with Pandeon to keep Philomela safe.

Tereus rapes Philomela

Philomela vows to tell people of what happened.

Tereus cuts Philomela's tongue with his sword (second rape)

The tongue is pictured as a snake (a symbolism for revenge)

Philomela's revengeshe uses feministic skills (weaving) to overcome the evil-doers

Procne's revengeProcne kills her son, Itys, in vengeance

She makes a stew with Itys (House of Atreus)

She later brings out the head of her son (Agave)

Echo and Narcissus

Resists advances of all girls and boys

Echo falls in love with him, but cannot initiate a conversation since she can only echo.

Narcissus falls in love with his reflection

He turns from a living boy to a marble sculpture

Reverse of Pygmalion storyPygmalion carves a sculpture he falls in love with

The sculpture turns into a real, live woman.

Narcissus reduced to pleadingfrom a god-like to useless

Transformed into narcissus flower

Narcissus and OvidNarcissus perceives the truth and mourns the life that he will not live.

EpilogueOvid wonders what will happen to him once he dies.

Although he dies, he leaves behind the poem which preserves his kleos.

Conclusions 12/6/13

Dodd 147 8:00 11:00 AM

Coherent, organized

Specific facts and details

classics 30 lecture notes

Documents