History of Classical Studies

History of Classical Studies

• Language matters more in university literature studies than in school.
• In high school, English and literature are combined.
• At university, literature study is divided by language.
• Studying a writer like Kafka necessitates learning German.
• Studying Homer requires learning Ancient Greek in the Classics Department.
• Studying Classical literature in translation was possible but still in the Classics Department
• The German Department focuses on literature in German, similar to the English Department's focus on literature in English.
• Reduced language study has caused some departments to combine at certain institutions.
• The Department of Classical Studies has consistently existed.
• Greek and Latin have always been combined into Classics
• Both contribute to a single tradition through shared forms and subjects.
• Roman sources provide information on Greek mythology.
• Greek sources complete Roman mythology.
• Understanding the Aeneid requires Homeric knowledge.
• Interpretation of Homer includes understanding the "Aeneid," an expansion of the Homeric universe.

Syncretism

• Roman and Greek religions share similarities through shared origins and Greek cultural influence.
• Syncretism Definition: The assimilation or merging of two or more religions.
• Romans adopted Greek literary forms and stories in the third century BCE.
• Roman Mythology largely adopts stories from Greek mythology
• Differences exist, such as varying emphasis linked to cultural context.
• Both Euripides and Seneca rewrote old myths for new times
• Homer adapts even older myths from east of the Aegean, like the story of Gilgamesh

Creative Imitation

• The same story differs across cultural and historical contexts.
• The biggest difference between the Greek Heracles and the Roman Hercules is that different parts of the story will speak more powerfully in a new context.
• Roman innovation lies in adapting foreign literary forms into the vernacular.
• Vernacular literature enabled widespread literacy and creation of the modern world
• Vernacular languages help to create widespread literacy
• Creative imitation occurs in all literature.
• People learn and develop identity through imitation.
• Literary reception, how an audience receives a text, is vital.
• Understanding an audience's reaction is more important than what the writer is trying to do with it
• The Iliad's meaning evolved for Greeks after the Persian Wars.
• Homeric myth and tragedies helped interpret Athenian culture after the Persian Wars.
• Reception studies analyze how works are received across time and place.

Virgil

• Full name: Publius Vergilius Maro.
• Romans had at least a first name and a family name
• Cognomen: A third name indicating a branch of the family
• Born near Mantua, Italy, on October 15, 70 BCE; died at Brundisium, Italy, on September 21, 19 BCE.
• Three major works: Eclogues (Bucolics), Georgics, Aeneid.
• Wrote poems between 42 and 39 BCE that describe fictional Shepards in an idyllic landscape
• Wrote a poem in four books of dactylic hexameter about farming.
• Between 29 BCE and 19 BCE, he composed an epic in twelve books.

The "Aeneid"

• Author: Publius Vergilius Maro (Virgil).
• Written between 29 and 19 BCE; unfinished at Virgil's death.
• Virgil wrote the epic in prose before converting it to verse.
• Incomplete lines exist due to Virgil's process.
• On his deathbed, Virgil wanted the manuscript destroyed, but Emperor Augustus had it published.
• Author spent time in and around Rome, and at his family farm in Mantua.
• Originally written in Latin.

Synopsis: Books 1-6

• Book 1: Juno stirs a storm, sending Aeneas to Carthage.
• Aeneas meets Queen Dido in Carthage, who welcomes the Trojans.
• Book 2: Aeneas recounts the fall of Troy.
• Book 3: Aeneas tells of his travels with the refugees.
• Book 4: Aeneas and Dido fall in love.
• Hermes reminds Aeneas of his mission, leading to Dido's suicide and curse.
• Book 5: Aeneas holds funeral games for Anchises in Sicily, modeled after the funeral of Patroclus.
• Book 6: Aeneas visits the Sibyl and tours the underworld with Anchises, who shows him future Romans.

Synopsis: Books 7-12

• Book 7: Aeneas agrees to marry Lavinia, causing war between Trojans and Italians.
• Book 8: Aeneas gains allies, including Pallas; Venus provides new armor.
• Book 9: Nisus and Euryalus die during a mission to reach Aeneas.
• Book 10: Aeneas returns, Turnus kills Pallas, and Aeneas rages, killing Mezentius and Lausus.
• Book 11: Camilla dies in battle.
• Book 12: Aeneas defeats and kills Turnus after seeing Pallas' sword belt.

Origin of the Legend of Aeneas

• Tarentum enlisted Pyrrhus of Epirus to resist Roman conquest in 280 BCE.
• Pyrrhus' coin is the first evidence of the Trojan origin of Rome theory.
• Origin of Rome: Romulus and Remus, sons of Mars, raised by a wolf, Romulus killed Remus and named Rome.
• Pyrrhus, claiming descent from Achilles, vowed to defeat the Trojan-descended Romans.
• Integration of Romans into Greek mythology positioned them in the Mediterranean world.

Aeneas and Mythology

• Aeneas: Came to Italy and founded Lavinium
• Aeneas' son Iulus/Ascanius: Founded Alba Longa
• In Alba Longa, the Trojans lived for centuries, until Romulus and Remus
• Virgil wrote the story of Aeneas, his journey from Troy to Italy, his war against the Italians