Reading Homer

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.213–220: Inspiring Telemachus

We are pleased to share this segment in the series on reading Homeric epic in ancient Greek. In each installment we read, translate, and discuss a small passage in the original Greek in the most accessible way. If you’ve ever dreamed of reading Homer in the original, here is your chance to do so with teachers who have spent a lifetime thinking about this poetry. With their guidance even new… Read more

Reading Homeric poetry without a safety net

In this video Leonard Muellner, Gregory Nagy, and Douglas Frame talk about the experience of reading Homer together without doing any preparations, as a playful and open-minded activity. Over the coming weeks we will be sharing further segments of the series on reading Homeric epic in ancient Greek. In each installment they read, translate, and discuss a small passage in the original Greek in the most accessible way. If you’ve… Read more

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.203–212: Are you really from Odysseus, big boy that you are?

We are pleased to share this segment in the series on reading Homeric epic in ancient Greek. In each installment we read, translate, and discuss a small passage in the original Greek in the most accessible way. If you’ve ever dreamed of reading Homer in the original, here is your chance to do so with teachers who have spent a lifetime thinking about this poetry. With their guidance even new… Read more

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.194–202: Wild men holding Odysseus back

We are pleased to share this segment in the series on reading Homeric epic in ancient Greek. In each installment we read, translate, and discuss a small passage in the original Greek in the most accessible way. If you’ve ever dreamed of reading Homer in the original, here is your chance to do so with teachers who have spent a lifetime thinking about this poetry. With their guidance even new… Read more

Reading Homer aloud: pronunciation, rhythm, enjambments

In this video, Keith Stone asks Gregory Nagy, Leonard Muellner, and Douglas Frame about reading Homeric poetry aloud. Topics include: pronunciation and its changes through time; pausing at enjambments; mastering the rhythm by memorizing passages; fixed metrical patterns; rhythm built into the language; predictability of ends of hexameter lines. Examples taken from:[1] Odyssey 1.187–193 (enjambments): ξεῖνοι δʼ ἀλλήλων πατρώιοι εὐχόμεθʼ εἶναι ἐξ ἀρχῆς, εἴ πέρ τε γέροντʼ εἴρηαι ἐπελθὼν Λαέρτην… Read more