|
Radcliffe
G. Edmonds III Office:
Thomas 245 Office
Phone: 526-5046 redmonds@brynmawr.edu |
Carpenter 17 MWF 11:00-12:00 Office Hours: MWF
10-11 or by appointment |
Required
Texts:
Plato,
Symposium – Cambridge Edition and Commentary by Kenneth Dover
Plato,
Symposium – Bryn Mawr Text and commentary by Gilbert Rose
Thucydides,
Book VI – Text and Commentary by Kenneth Dover
Thucydides,
Book 6 – Bryn Mawr Commentary by Cynthia Shelmerdine
Suggested
Texts:
Plato,
The Symposium and the Phaedrus: Plato's Erotic Dialogues, trans. Cobb
Thucydides,
The Landmark Thucydides,
ed. Strassler
Plutarch,
The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives, trans. Scott-Kilvert
Course
Description:
Greek
201 is designed to introduce the student to two of the greatest prose authors
of ancient Greece, the philosopher, Plato, and the historian, Thucydides. These two writers set the terms in the
disciplines of philosophy and history for millenia, and philosophers and
historians today continue to grapple with their ideas and influence.
The
Symposium (or Drinking Party) of Plato provides an engaging introduction to the
philosophy of Plato in its depiction of Plato's teacher, Socrates, discussing eros at an Athenian drinking party. The Symposium also reveals Plato's
mastery of the Greek language as he creates the speeches of a number of
different individuals, including the famous comic poet Aristophanes and the
tragedian Agathon. Particularly
memorable is the speech of the brilliant statesman Alcibiades, who crashes the
party and provides a drunken eulogy of Socrates before compelling everyone to
drink heavily for the rest of the evening.
Alcibiades
provides a link between the two texts in this course. The sixth book of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian
War is concerned with the beginnings of the Athenian Sicilian expedition,
Athens' greatest disaster in the Peloponnesian War. The Sicilian expedition was urged and undertaken by
Alcibiades, and his spectacular downfall and defection during the mission
perhaps doomed it to failure. In
this course we will examine the ways in which both writers handle the figure of
Alcibiades as a point of entry into the comparison of the varying styles and
modes of thought of these two great writers.
Course
Requirements:
Class
participation:
Participation,
of course, includes attendance, since you cannot participate if you are not in
class. If, for some reason, you
cannot attend class, please inform me in advance. In each class session, we will translate aloud from the
portions of the text assigned for the week. Please be prepared to translate any of the readings
specified in the previous class session.
If, for some reason, you cannot prepare for class, please attend
anyway-you will be better prepared for the next class.
We
will also spend time discussing the characters and ideas that animate these
texts, since the value of Plato and Thucydides lies not merely in their
incomparable mastery of Greek prose, but in the thoughts which they expressed
so well. We will often look at
some secondary reading on the section of text covered in the classes for the
week. For each reading, one
student will be responsible for introducing and starting discussion on the
material, but every student is expected to contribute intelligently to the
discussion. The readings will be
available on blackboard, and they can also be reached by link from the on-line
version of the syllabus at: http://www.brynmawr.edu/classics/redmonds/grek20108.html.
Writing
Assignments:
A
short writing assignment will be assigned for each of the authors covered in
the class. The assignment for
Plato's Symposium will take the form of a speech in praise of eros, whereas the
assignment for Thucydides Book VI will take the form of a commentary on a short
passage. Students are encouraged to submit draft versions for comment before
turning them in for a grade.
Quizzes:
There
will be a short (10 minute) quiz every Monday on the material covered in the
previous week. One quiz may be
missed without penalty, but there are no make-up quizzes. If no quiz is missed, the lowest quiz
grade may be dropped. The quizzes
are intended to ensure that you keep up with the readings and give you further
practice to build your Greek syntax and vocabulary.
Exams:
There
will be a mid-term and a final for this class on all the materials covered to
that date in class. The Midterm
will be in class on the Friday following the Autumn break. The Final Exam will be self-scheduled
during the Exam period. Both the
Midterm and the Final may include essays dealing with the themes discussed in
the works as well as passages for translation.
Students
who think they may need accommodations in this course due to the impact of a
learning, physical, or psychological disability are encouraged to meet with me
privately early in the semester to discuss their concerns. Students
should also contact Stephanie Bell, Coordinator of Access Services
(610-526-7351 or sbell@brynmawr.edu), as soon as possible, to verify their
eligibility for reasonable academic accommodations. Early contact will help to avoid unnecessary inconvenience
and delays.
Grade
Distribution:
Class
Participation 15%
Written
Assignments 10%
Quizzes 40%
Midterm Exam 15%
Final Exam 20%
Week I:
Introduction
Review
of syntax
172a-174a
Apollodorus' Prologue
174a-178a
Aristodemus' Introduction
Secondary
Reading: Symposium in English
Week II:
174a-180b
Aristodemus' Introduction & the Speech of Phaedrus
Secondary
Reading: Halperin,
"The Erotics of Narrativity"
Week
III:
180c-189b
the Speeches of Pausanias & Eryximachus
Secondary
Reading: Edelstein,
"The Role of Eryximachus"
Week IV:
189c-199c
the Speeches of Aristophanes and Agathon
Secondary
Reading: Plochmann,
"Supporting Themes in the Symposium"
Week V:
199c-215a
the Speeches of Socrates and Diotima
Secondary
Reading: Halperin,
"Why is Diotima a Woman?"
Week VI:
199c-215a
the Speeches of Socrates and Diotima
215a-223d
the Speech of Alcibiades
Secondary Reading: Moravcsik,
"Reason and Eros in the 'Ascent'-Passage of the Symposium"
Encomium
Assignment Due Friday
Week VII: No
Class! – Autumn Break
Week VIII:
215a-223d
the Speech of Alcibiades
Secondary
Reading: Nussbaum,
"The Speech of Alcibiades"
Symposium
Conclusions
Midterm
Exam
Week IX:
Introduction
to Thucydides
Thucydides
VI.1-8
Secondary
Reading: Thucydides I. 1-22
Week X:
Thucydides
VI.9-17
Secondary
Reading: Plutarch Life of Nicias,
Plutarch Life of Alcibiades
Week XI:
Thucydides
VI.18-29
Secondary
Reading: Tompkins,
"Stylistic Characterization in Thucydides"
Week
XII:
Thucydides
VI.30-33, 53-55
Secondary Reading: Murray, "The
Affair of the Mysteries: Democracy
and the Drinking Group"
Week
XIII:
Thucydides
VI.56-60; 76-80
Secondary Reading: Melian dialogue (V.84-111); Aristophanes Clouds,
Euripides Trojan
Women
Thanksgiving-no
class Friday
Week
XIV:
Thucydides
VI.81-88.2; 89-93
Secondary
Reading: Andocides, On
the Mysteries
Commentary
Assignment Due
Week XV:
Conclusions
Review