English 240: Ancient Literature

Syllabus Page for Fall 2003

Al Drake. Hours Tu/Th. 11:30-12:30 | 714-434-1612

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Note: other sites are available from my Portal. Additional versions of this course: Fall 2004, Spring 2004, Interterm 2004.

Course Policies and Required Texts. (Please review this information.)

Term Paper 5-7 pages; see instructions. Rough draft due Thursday, 11/06; final draft due on day of final exam, Tuesday, 12/09.

Journal Instructions. (Journals will be due in class Thursday of Weeks 4 (9/18), 8 (10/16), 12 (11/13), and 15 (12/04). Click hyperlink for specific instructions.

Classics Sites: Didaskalia | Perseus | Diotima | Forum | Homeric Singing

General: College | Sample Paper | Grammar Guide | Deductive Essays | Citation | Analysis | Editing | Plagiphrasing | Rubric | Links

Guides: Odyssey Time Frame | Agamemnon Structure | Tennyson's "The Lotos-Eaters" | Tennyson's "Ulysses" | Nietzsche's Greeks

Questions: Homer | Aeschylus | Aristotle | Sophocles | Plato | Virgil | Ovid

Audio Note: If your browser has a media plug-in, left-click on class session audio links; if you have a separate player, right-click first and save file to disk. [Audio has been removed since the class is no longer current.]

Week 1

Tu. 08/26. Intro to class and to Homer.
Th. 08/28. Homer, The Odyssey. Book 1.

Week 2

Tu. 09/02. Homer, The Odyssey. Books 2-5.
Th. 09/04. Homer, The Odyssey. Books 6-8.

Week 3

Tu. 09/09. Homer, The Odyssey. Books 9-10.
Th. 09/11. Homer, The Odyssey. Books 11-13.

Week 4

Tu. 09/16. Homer, The Odyssey. Books 18-21. (skim 14-17 for plot)
Th. 09/18. Homer, The Odyssey. Books 22-24.

Week 5

Tu. 09/23. Intro to Greek Tragedy, Arisotle's Poetics.
Th. 09/25. Aristotle. Poetics.

Week 6

Tu. 09/30. Aeschylus. Oresteia. (film in class--Agamemnon)
Th. 10/02. Aeschylus. Oresteia. (film in class--Agamemnon)

Week 7

Tu. 10/07. Aeschylus. Oresteia. Discussion of Agamemnon.
Th. 10/09. Aeschylus. Oresteia. Discussion of Libation Bearers. (+ film)

Week 8

Tu. 10/14. Aeschylus. Oresteia. Discussion of Eumenides. (+ film)
Th. 10/16. Sophocles. Antigone. (film, 70 minutes)

Week 9

Tu. 10/21. Sophocles. Antigone. (film, 20 minutes), discussion.
Th. 10/23. Sophocles. Antigone, discussion.

Week 10

Tu. 10/28. Plato. Apology.
Th. 10/30. Plato. Apology.

Week 11

Tu. 11/04. Virgil. Aeneid. Books 1-2.
Th. 11/06. Virgil. Aeneid. Books 3-4. [Paper rough draft due]

Week 12

Tu. 11/11. Virgil. Aeneid. Books 5-6. Comment on 7-12, which aren't assigned.
Th. 11/13. Ovid. Metamorphoses. Book 1.

Week 13

Tu. 11/18. Ovid. Metamorphoses. Books 2-4.
Th. 11/20. Ovid. Metamorphoses. From Book 5, "Rape of Proserpine" and "Arethusa"; from Book 6, "Arachne" and "Tereus, Procne, and Philomela."

Week 14

Tu. 11/25. Ovid. Metamorphoses. From Book 7, "Medea and Jason," "Medea and Aeson," "Medea and Peleas," "Theseus"; from Book 8, "Daedalus and Icarus"; from Book 10, "Orpheus and Eurydice," "Cyparissus," "Ganymede," "Hyacinth," "Pygmalion"; from Book 11, "Death of Orpheus," "Midas," "First Foundation and Destruction of Troy."

Th. 11/27. Thanksgiving Holiday.

Week 15

Tu. 12/02. Ovid. Metamorphoses. From Book 12, "Expedition Against Troy," "Death of Achilles"; from Book 13, "Ajax and Achilles...," "Fall of Troy," " Pilgrimage of Aeneas"; from Book 14, "Pilgrimage of Aeneas, cont.," "Island of Circe," "Triumph and Apotheosis of Aeneas"; from Book 15, "Aesculapius," "Apotheosis of Julius Caesar," "Epilogue."

Th. 12/04. Course Review.

Finals Week

12/09. Tuesday, 10:45-1:15, regular location. (Notes, books allowed.) Final Draft of papers due along with final exam. [and Journals Due]