Great Courses (Teaching Company) Masterpieces of Ancient Greek Literature (Course Number 2390 DVD)

"The best of ancient Greek literature retains a freshness and immediacy that reaches far beyond its time and place of creation and speaks to readers and audience members today. In these 36 lectures, we discuss selections from that group of masterpieces, starting in every case with the cultural and historical background of each, then focusing on close readings of the works themselves"--Page 1 (guidebook). Abstract: "The best of ancient Greek literature retains a freshness and immediacy that reaches far beyond its time and place of creation and speaks to readers and audience members today. In these 36 lectures, we discuss selections from that group of masterpieces, starting in every case with the cultural and historical background of each, then focusing on close readings of the works themselves"--Page 1 (guidebook) Masterpieces of 1 Ancient Greek Literature 1 Part I 1 Professor David J. Schenker 1 David J. Schenker, Ph.D. 2 Table of Contents 3 Masterpieces of Ancient Greek Literature 3 Part I 3 Masterpieces of Ancient Greek Literature 4 Course Notes 6 Lecture One 7 Definitions, Boundaries, and Goals 7 Outline 7 Lecture Two 10 Homer I—Introduction to Epic and Iliad 10 Outline 10 Lecture Three 13 Homer II—Iliad, The Wrath of Achilles 13 Outline 13 Lecture Four 15 Homer III—Iliad, The Return of Achilles 15 Outline 15 Lecture Five 17 Homer IV—Odyssey, Introduction and Prelude 17 Outline 17 Lecture Six 20 Homer V—Odyssey, The Adventures 20 Outline 20 Lecture Seven 22 Homer VI—Odyssey, Reintegration 22 Outline 22 Hesiod—Theogony and Works and Days 24 Outline 24 Lecture Nine 27 Homeric Hymns 27 Outline 27 Lecture Ten 29 Lyric Poetry I—Archilochus and Solon 29 Outline 29 Lecture Eleven 31 Lyric Poetry II—Sappho and Alcaeus 31 Outline 31 Lecture Twelve 33 Tragedy—Contexts and Conventions 33 Outline 33 Timeline 36 Glossary 38 Masterpieces of 40 Ancient Greek Literature 40 Part II 40 Professor David J. Schenker 40 David J. Schenker, Ph.D. 41 Table of Contents 42 Masterpieces of Ancient Greek Literature 42 Part II 42 Masterpieces of Ancient Greek Literature 43 Course Notes 45 Lecture Thirteen 46 Aeschylus I—Persians 46 Outline 46 Lecture Fourteen 49 Aeschylus II—Agamemnon 49 Outline 49 Lecture Fifteen 51 Aeschylus III—Libation Bearers and Eumenides 51 Outline 51 Lecture Sixteen 54 Sophocles I—Ajax and Philoctetes 54 Outline 54 Lecture Seventeen 57 Sophocles II—Oedipus the King 57 Outline 57 Lecture Eighteen 60 Sophocles III—Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone 60 Outline 60 Lecture Nineteen 62 Euripides I—Electra, Orestes, Trojan Women 62 Outline 62 Lecture Twenty 65 Euripides II—Medea and Hippolytus 65 Outline 65 Lecture Twenty-One 68 Euripides III—The Bacchae 68 Outline 68 Lecture Twenty-Two 71 Aristophanes I—Introduction to Old Comedy 71 Outline 71 Lecture Twenty-Three 74 Aristophanes II—Acharnians and Lysistrata 74 Outline 74 Lecture Twenty-Four 77 Aristophanes III—The Frogs and The Clouds 77 Outline 77 Biographical Notes 80 Masterpieces of 86 Ancient Greek Literature 86 Part III 86 Professor David J. Schenker 86 The Teaching Company ® 86 David J. Schenker, Ph.D. 87 Table of Contents 88 Masterpieces of Ancient Greek Literature 88 Part III 88 Masterpieces of Ancient Greek Literature 89 Course Notes 91 Lecture Twenty-Five 92 Herodotus I—Introduction to History 92 Outline 92 Lecture Twenty-Six 95 Herodotus II—The Persian Wars 95 Outline 95 Lecture Twenty-Seven 98 Thucydides I—The Peloponnesian War 98 Outline 98 Lecture Twenty-Eight 101 Thucydides II—Books 1\(5 101 Outline 101 Lecture Twenty-Nine 104 Thucydides III—Books 6\(7 104 Outline 104 Lecture Thirty 107 Plato I—The Philosopher as Literary Author 107 Outline 107 Lecture Thirty-One 110 Plato II—Symposium 110 Outline 110 Lecture Thirty-Two 113 Plato III—Phaedrus 113 Outline 113 Lecture Thirty-Three 116 Rhetoric and Oratory 116 Outline 116 Lecture Thirty-Four 119 Hellenistic Poetry I—Callimachus and Theocritus 119 Outline 119 Lecture Thirty-Five 122 Hellenistic Poetry II—Apollonius 122 Outline 122 Lecture Thirty-Six 125 Looking Back and Looking Forward 125 Outline 125 Bibliography 128 Content: Part 1: Lecture 1. Definitions, boundaries and goals -- lecture 2. Homer I--introduction to epic and Iliad -- lecture 3. Homer II--Iliad, the wrath of Achilles -- lecture 4. Homer III--Ilian, the return of Achilles -- lecture 5. Homer IV--Odyssey, introduction and prelude -- lecture 6. Homer V--Odyssey, the adventures -- lecture 7. Homer VI--Odyssey, reintegration -- lecture 8. Hesiod--Theogony and works and days -- lecture 9. Homeric hymns -- lecture 10. Lyric poetry I--Archilochus and Solon -- lecture 11. Lyric poetry II--Sappho and Alcaeus -- lecture 12. Tragedy--contexts and conventions. Part 2: Lecture 13. Aeschylus I--Persians -- lecture 14. Aeschylus II--Agamemnon -- lecture 15. Aeschylus III--libation bearers and Eumenides -- lecture 16. Sophocles I--Ajax and Philoctetes -- lecture 17. Sophocles II--Oedipus the King -- lecture 18. Sophocles III--Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone -- lecture 19. Euripides I--Electra, Orestes, Trojan women -- lecture 20. Euripides II--Medea and Hippolytus -- lecture 21. Euripides III--the Bacchae -- lecture 22. Aristophanes I--introduction to old comedy -- lecture 23. Aristophanes II--Acharnians and Lysistrata -- lecture 24. Aristophanes III--the frogs and the clouds. Part 3: Lecture 25. Herodotus I--introduction to history -- lecture 26. Herodotus II--the Persian Wars -- lecture 27. Thucydides I--the Peloponnesian War -- lecture 28. Thucydides II--books 1-5 -- lecture 29. Thucydides III--books 6-7 -- lecture 30. Plato I--the philosopher as literary author -- lecture 31. Plato II--Symposium -- lecture 32. Plato III--Phaedrus -- lecture 33. Rhetoric and oratory -- lecture 34. Hellenistic poetry I--Callimachus and Theocritus -- lecture 35. Hellenistic poetry II--Apollonius -- lecture 36. Looking back and looking forward. Lectures 13-24 of this 36 lecture series which covers selections from ancient Greek literature, starting with the cultural and historical background of each, then focusing on close readings of the works themselves