CLST 5 Epics of Greece and Rome
Epic poetry was central to the creation of Greek and Roman identity—it was the genre through which these cultures transmitted their most important stories and their most sacred values. In this discussion-based course, we will learn about the defining elements of epic as a genre. We will explore how the tradition of the oral performance created the Homeric epics (Iliad, Odyssey) and how oral performance is mimicked and adapted in the highly literary epics of Vergil (Aeneid) and Apollonius (Argonautica). We will end the term by considering the influence this genre has had on the literature and storytelling traditions of today, in such authors such as Anne Carson, C.S. Lewis, Toni Morrison, Vikram Seth, and Simone Weil.