Classics: Myths/Legends Trojan War

Homeric epics, Virgil's Aeneid, selections from tragedy dealing with the Trojan War and Greco-Roman cultural identity. Examples from art and archaeology supplement the literary theme.

Open to degree and PACE students

Lively provocative reading, rife with history, art, literature, philosophy, anthropology, geography, etc.: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid, several Greek tragedies, and other works about the "Trojan War." Overall, a great introduction to Greece and Rome via "the Classics," works not only old and venerable, but interesting and strange, and surprisingly relevant today. Students already familiar with Greece and Rome should find this a great opportunity to read these works anew: they reward repeated readings.

Read the readings, attend class, think hard about it all, create ways to present your thought, and participate.

Short written assignments, presentations, skits, posters, games: students need not do every assignment, but they must do a certain minimum. There is a mostly factual midterm and final and quizzes on the readings. Students with particular interests, from the visual arts to archaeology to history to language, are encouraged to propose their own assignments and present to the class.