First day ideas

Myths and Legends of the Trojan War

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Oh, by the way, about me, I'm on a quixotic quest to learn Sanskrit and Arabic: if you want to learn OLD NORSE next Fall, please talk to me after class or email me.

What are we dealing with in our readings?

Epics: Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid
Tragedies: Philoctetes, Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Electra, Eumenides, Trojan Women, Ajax.

Setting the stage: some puzzling aspects of our material:
In all, this is about: a war that may not have actually happened
3200 years ago, if it actually happened
in a place that may not be identifiable: archaeology has found a place that matches the description, but it's pre-literate, so there were no inscriptions to clinch the identification
and
two Greek epic poems, which surely do exist!
attributed to a man who may not have existed
but is a representative of a whole bunch of singers
who played the lyre and sang the poems
in a language that no one really spoke
in a culture that never actually existed as described in the poem.
AND
several Greek musical/dance/poetic/civic/religious stage productions (aka "Tragedies)
for which we have lost all the music and dance and costumes and props
AND
a Latin epic
that the author didn't want published.

An interesting situation, I'd say. By the end of the course, you should be able to explain all of the above observations about our course material.

Mapping it:
mediterranean trade
Greek colonization
early empires of the Near East
Homeric Greece
Travels of Aeneas
Ortelius Map of Aeneas' travels

Some Chronology to this course: a Timeline:

Mycenaean Greece	about 1600-1100 BC: the last part of the Greek Bronze age: this is a 'historic age' because we have records in writing from it
Collapse of Palace Culture of Mycenaean Age	1200-1150BC: the Greeks lost writing around this time
Trojan War?	traditional date given by Ancient Greeks is 1184 BC (but they had no good evidence): 3200 years ago
Greek Dark Age/Geometric Period	1100- circa 800 BC: the Greeks did not have writing in this age
Greek Archaic Age	starting circa 800 BC: the Greeks borrowed the alphabet from Phoenicians: they have writing again, which makes this a 'historic' age the Archaic age lasts until 480 BC (480 BC is when the huge Persian empire was repulsed by the Greek city-states for the second time)
Homer	IF there was a "Homer" (a big if: WE KNOW NOTHING DEFINITE ABOUT HOMER: all the things said about him probably originate from well after he could have lived) he lived in the 8th/9th century BCE (i.e. 750-900 BCE). The epic poems are at the very start of the archaic age: the epic poems mark the revival of writing in Greece: over 2800 years ago
Greek Tragedies in Athens	5th c. BCE: 2500 years ago
... a huge leap, geographically and politically and culturally, from Greece to Rome...
Traditional date of Founding of Rome	753 BCE
Battle of Actium: Augustus defeats Marc Antony: end of Roman Republic: Roman Empire begins	31 BCE
Virgil's Aeneid	19 BCE: 2000 years ago

Now, some practicalities: THIS IS ALL ON THE Graded Materials and Assignments link, which is one click back from here and is the official description of it:

Quiz questions: my way of taking attendance and more: you write a question that is about the reading for the class on a piece of paper with your name and the date and hand it in: these are due every day.
Beginning of class Quizzes: To keep you honest and up to date with the reading.
After Class Quizzes: on Brightspace
Each of you will do 2 or so of the following:

Poster: at the end of this semester, we will have a poster session: you can display your poster there. More later.
Class Presentations: You can present on various material to the class if you like. More later.
Skits: What it sounds like: you create a skit inspired by class readings. More later.

Public Reading: we will, I hope, be reading the Iliad to passersby on campus: not an official or required part of this class: more later.
Midterm: factual matters (a document will be provided with a list of facts for you to master), explanation of key concepts and phenomena, and identification and discussion of passages from our reading. There will be a fairly detailed study guide and a sample midterm.
Final: same as midterm.

THESE EXAMS ARE TO HELP CEMENT YOUR KNOWLEDGE SO THAT YOU MAY RELY ON IT AS TIME PASSES

LET'S READ the beginning of Iliad: where to find almost any Greek or Latin ancient text in English and the original language ('The Loeb Classical Library, available via Howe Library)

The primary aim of this course is to propel all of us forward in Engaged, Curious, Informed, Interested, and Interesting Lives (and that is pretty much the purpose of life according to Prof. Bailly). The Trojan War is a focus, through which, you should expand your horizons both inwardly and outwardly.