Teaching code

4S02283

Teacher

Paolo Scattolin

Coordinatore

Paolo Scattolin

Credits

6

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

L-FIL-LET/02 - GREEK LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Period

1 A, 1 B

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars

Learning objectives

The course of Greek Philology aims to foster a philological approach to the texts of ancient Greek literature through (a) the study of their formal structures as related to different literary genres and interactions thereof, (b) ancient exegesis, and (c) the manuscript transmission of texts, so that students can develop in-depth critical and interpretive awareness. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to critically rework the knowledge they gained, and to explain the results achieved in an appropriate linguistic and argumentative form.

Prerequisites and basic notions

College-level knowledge of ancient Greek is required.

Program

DEMOSTHENES AND THE ANCIENT SCHOOL: READING THE ORATION ‘ON THE CROWN’ IN THE LIGHT OF ANCIENT COMMENTATORS.

The course will analyze in parallel the history of the corpus of Demosthenes’ orations and that of his commentators; in particular, it will propose a reading of the oration ‘On the Crown’, the Athenian orator’s masterpiece, from the point of view of the scholiasts who commented on it for the teaching of rhetoric until the late ancient age. The research will also consider the lexicons into which Demosthenic exegesis flowed (e.g., papyrus fragments, the ‘Lexicon of the Ten Orators’ of Harpocration, the medieval lexicon of Patmos), but will not forego the use of works devoted to the greatest orator of the classical age, e.g., the treatises of Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the rhetoric manuals of Hermogenes.

The critical reference text will be that of M. R. Dilts (vols. I-IV, Oxford 2002-2009; the oration ‘On the Crown’ can be found in vol. I): this and other useful material will be provided directly by the lecturer via the Moodle platform.

The purchase of an annotated edition of the oration ‘On the Crown’ with facing translation is recommended (e.g., the BUR edited by Laura Bartolini: https://bur.rizzolilibri.it/libri/per-la-corona-contro-ctesifonte/).

Bibliography

Didactic methods

(1) teaching will be delivered in-presence with recordings available on the Moodle platform for a period of no less than one month; (2) non-attending students must agree on an alternative program; (3) attending the seminars "Books and Writings of the Greek World" (3 CFU F), which will also deal with the papyri and the medieval manuscripts of Demosthenes, is strongly recommended.

Learning assessment procedures

Oral examination including the evaluation of a paper which must be delivered to the lecturer at least one week before the examination date.
The examination includes at least (a) one question on the topics covered in class; (b) the translation of a section from the oration 'On the Crown; (c) one question on the texts in the bibliography; (d) discussion of the paper assigned by the lecturer.
The duration of the oral examination is approximately one hour.

Evaluation criteria

(1) knowledge of the historical, philological and literary issues of the program;
(2) ability to translate and comment on texts studied in class;
(3) ability to write a paper with translation and comment of a passage from Demosthenes along with its ancient commentaries. The text is assigned ad personam by the lecturer.

Each of the above sections will correspond to 10/30 of the total grade.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

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Exam language

italiano ed eventualmente inglese per gli studenti Erasmus.