Leonard Muellner

The Meaning of Homeric εὔχομαι Through Its Formulas

The Center for Hellenic Studies is pleased to share Professor Leonard Muellner’s The meaning of Homeric εὔχομαι through its formulas, the 1976 landmark study based on his dissertation. This online publication is open to all and free of charge. Eukhomai had been glossed traditionally as “pray, long for, wish for; vow, promise; boast, brag, vaunt; profess, declare.” Muellner’s approach is to make a systematic analysis of the constraints in which this word is… Read more

Introduction to the Meter of Homeric Epic, with Leonard Muellner

We are pleased to share the following video about ancient Greek meter, featuring Professor Leonard Muellner. In this video, Muellner describes the basic rules of prosody, with a focus on dactylic hexameter, the meter of Homeric epic, and iambic trimeter, a meter used in ancient Greek tragedy. This presentation is accessible to those just beginning to learn about ancient Greek. Members can post your comments, questions and perhaps take a… Read more

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.44–62: Athena, Odysseus, and longing for home

We are pleased to share the latest video in the series on reading Homeric epic. In this episode Gregory Nagy (Harvard), Leonard Muellner (Brandeis), and Douglas Frame (CHS) read, translate, and discuss Odyssey 1.44–62 in an accessible and informal way. Specific topics of discussion include: the phrase γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη (sometimes translated as “grey-eyed Athena”) the mind of Odysseus and the heart of Athena associations between Kalypso and death the cosmic… Read more

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.27–43

We are pleased to share the latest video in the series on reading Homeric epic. Join Leonard Muellner, Gregory Nagy, and Douglas Frame as they read, translate, and discuss a brief passage in an informal and accessible way. If you’ve ever wanted to read Homer in the original, here is your chance to do so with teachers who have spent a lifetime thinking about this poetry. With this expert guidance… Read more

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.11–26: Threads of song

We are pleased to share the latest in this series on reading Homeric epic in the original Greek. In each instalment we read, translate, and discuss a small passage in the original Greek in the most accessible way. If you’ve ever wanted to read Homer in the original, here is your chance to do so with teachers who have spent a lifetime reading and thinking about this poetry. Together they… Read more