LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY IN THE GREEK WORLD

This lecture course is part of the MA Degree Programme in Antiquities (Philology curriculum). It allows students to further their knowledge and understanding of the historical evolution of Ancient Greek through a specialist lecture course. The course aims to train specialists able to analyse and discuss with competence the diachronic evolution of the language within its socio-historical and cultural context, also in the light of the latest linguistic methodologies.

Among the expected learning outcomes, it is envisaged that students will:
– know different forms of the literary culture of ancient Greek civilization and the relative historical-cultural contexts;
– know some notable features of the tragic genre, both in terms of its formal aspects and in terms of dramaturgy;
– know the main features of a relevant tale of the Greek mythical heritage, as well as some aspects of its literary fortune between the Archaic and the Classical periods;
– be able to translate, with a critical awareness of language structures and, where applicable, of the linguistic features of poetry, some texts of Greek literature;
– be able to apply some tools of literary analysis to works of classical Attic drama;
– be able to recognize, at least partially, the complexity - in formal, structural, and performative terms - of tragedy.

A good previous knowledge of Ancient Greek and a good command of Italian are required.

The course will primarily deal with fifth-century Attic tragedy. In particular, one of Sophocles’ fully extant plays will be analyzed: ‘Philoctetes’. Specific focus will be placed on the play’s text: the analysis will cover its formal features (from language to rhetorical-stylistic devices, and more), the play’s dramaturgy, and its themes, also within the frame of the play’s historical-cultural context. The ‘Philoctetes’ will be read in the original Greek language and a thorough commentary will be provided for every translated bit. The relations between Sophocles’ play, the earlier literary tradition (from archaic epic to classical Attic drama), and the Greek mythical heritage will also be investigated, and this will provide an opportunity to reflect on the dynamics of reception of literary culture in the ancient world. This theme will be further examined by analyzing a brief prose text of the Imperial age: Dio of Pruse’s Oration 52. Dio’s text valuably documents an ancient “comparative” reading of three tragic plays all dealing with the same subject (the extant Sophoclean ‘Philoctetes’, “compared” with those by Aeschylus and Euripides, of which only fragments remain). This will also allow to reflect on the changing ways in which Attic plays were accessed in periods centuries apart, and, more generally, on the processes of textual transmission.

(1) Literary texts (to be studied in the original language):
(1.1) Sofocle. Filottete. Introduzione e commento di P. Pucci, testo critico a cura di G. Avezzù, traduzione di G. Cerri, Mondadori, Milano 2003. (Text available at the Biblioteca Area Umanistica [BAUM].)
Students may also avail themselves of the ample commentary in S.L. Schein’s edition of the play (Sophocles. Philoctetes, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2013) (Available at the BAUM.)
(1.2) Dio of Pruse, Oration 52. The oration’s text will be made available on Moodle and will be taken from H. von Arnim’s critical edition (Dionis Prusaensis quem vocant Chrysostomum quae extant omnia edidit apparatu critico instruxit J. de Arnim, Berolini, apud Weidmannos 1896, vol. 2, pp. 104-9).
(1.3) Further texts from other Greek literary works (both from archaic epic and from fragmentary Attic tragedies) will also be made available on Moodle.

(2) Essays (all available at the BAUM):
(2.1) S. Kaczko, “La tragedia”, in A.C. Cassio (a c. di), Storia delle lingue letterarie greche, Le Monnier, Firenze 2016, pp. 307-19.
(2.2) L. Battezzato, “The Language of Sophocles”, in A. Markantonatos (ed.), Brill’s Companion to Sophocles, Brill, Leiden-Boston 2012, pp. 305-24.
(2.3) G. Ugolini, “Il ritorno di Alcibiade”, in G. Ugolini, Sofocle e Atene. Vita politica e attività teatrale nella Grecia classica, Carocci, Roma 2000, pp. 185-212.

(3) Further readings and scholarly tools:
(3.1) On the myth of Philoctetes, students may read the introductory chapter in G. Avezzù, Il ferimento e il rito, Adriatica editrice, Bari 1988, pp. 27-84 (optional).
(3.2) For Greek metre, students may use either of the following books (both available at the BAUM):
– M.C. Martinelli, Gli strumenti del poeta. Elementi di Metrica greca, Cappelli Editore, Bologna 1997, ristampa riveduta e corretta (1995).
– B. Gentili, L. Lomiento, Metrica e ritmica. Storia delle forme poetiche nella Grecia antica, Mondadori, Milano 2003.

The expected learning outcomes will be assessed via an oral examination. This will aim to test:
– the knowledge that students will have acquired as to the course contents and its overall depth;
– the ability autonomously to translate the literary texts dealt with during the course and to explain the translation choices thus made;
– the ability to provide a commentary on the textual passages translated during the test, and to elucidate both the formal and the thematic aspects thereof;
– the ability to establish meaningful connections between the literary texts studied.
The evaluation will particularly consider the level of knowledge and its relative depth, the degree of autonomy and awareness achieved in translating the texts, the ability accurately to reflect on them in critical terms, and the overall clarity of the exposition.

oral

In grading the examination, the following scheme will be adopted:
– scores between 18 and 22 will be awarded in the case of: sufficient knowledge of the course contents; limited autonomy and awareness in translating and commenting on the literary texts; sufficient clarity of exposition;
– scores between 23 and 26 will be awarded in the case of: decent knowledge of the course contents; decent autonomy and awareness in translating and commenting on the literary texts; decent clarity of exposition;
– scores between 27 and 30 will be awarded in the case of: good/very good knowledge of the course contents; good/very good autonomy and awareness in translating and commenting on the literary texts; good/very good clarity of exposition.

Lectures. A PowerPoint presentation will also be used, whenever helpful in facilitating and deepening analysis of the literary texts under scrutiny. All texts and further didactic materials provided by the lecturer in class will be made available on Moodle.

The assessment methods will be the same for all students, whether they have attended the course or not.