Università Roma Tre

The course aims to frame the literary phenomenon in ancient Greece in a historical-literary perspective firmly rooted in the linguistic dimension. The course includes:
I) A cycle of lectures that focuses on genre as a central aspect of the literary fact, both in the relationship that is established between authors and the public and from the more general point of view of the historical dimension of literature itself. The framework drawn by the teacher must be integrated independently by the students with the systematic study of the textbook.
II) A general overview of the principles underlying the interpretation of literary texts that also takes into account the cognitive approaches that characterize the most recent criticism.
III) The reading, translation, and critical discussion of a selection of passages from Homer's Iliad. Ample space will be given to the representation of heroic passions in Homeric epic: this thematic approach allows us to explore the centrality of Homer in ancient Greek culture from a perspective - that of emotions - that continues to pose complex challenges to humanistic research.
Attendance of the course, although optional, is strongly encouraged. For attending students, a reduction in the bibliographic load and the exam test (see below) is foreseen. Attending students must guarantee attendance at at least two-thirds of the lessons (24 hours out of 36).

(A) It is essential to study a comprehensive textbook on the history of Greek literature from among those on the market; (B) a specific bibliography on Homer will be provided during the course; (C) a translation of the Iliad with the Greek text is necessary; (D) A. Ercolani, Omero. Introduzione allo studio dell’epica greca arcaica (Carocci: Roma 2006).