In Homeric poetry, apart from family members there are other members of the household [oikos] who are described by many different Greek words, and carry out differing roles. We were interested in understanding what those words would have meant and how servitude was portrayed, in the context of ancient Greek song culture of the Iliad and Odyssey. We start our exploration with female slaves/servants. Some were captured in war, as foreseen… Read more
We were pleased to welcome Joel Christensen of Brandeis University, Department of Classics for an Open House discussion about Disability in Homer. It took place on Thursday, April 19, at 11:00 a.m. EDT, and was recorded. In preparation, you might like to read these focus passages (PDF handout): Beautiful Bodies or Beautiful Minds: Disability Studies in Homer—Readings Watch the recording on the screen below or on our YouTube channel For… Read more
In an epic text, how were poets able to represent emotion? How can we understand today their way of speaking? Did Achilles “copy” the behavior of warriors from those distant times? Or might it be the reverse: did the epic influence certain real behaviors? Our Book Club selection for April is taken from Hélène Monsacré: The Tears of Achilles, available online at CHS. This book, originally published in French as… Read more
In this video, Gregory Nagy, Douglas Frame, and Leonard Muellner have an informal discussion about the functioning of Greek dialects in Homer, focusing on the role of multiple parallel grammatical forms in the system. You can watch the video on the CHS YouTube channel, or in the frame below. Related topics Greek dialects and the poetic super-language Greek dialects in the language of Homer: Mycenaean, and Arcadia Share this:Click to… Read more
In this video, Leonard Muellner demonstrates and provides help for those learning dactylic hexameter—the meter of Homeric epic. You can hear the rhythm and, by pausing the video, you can practice by repeating what you have heard, or by reading ahead for yourself as demonstrated in the video. The text shown on screen, which includes some lines marked up in a visual way, is also available as a PDF handout… Read more