|
Radcliffe G. Edmonds III Office: Thomas 245 Office Phone: 526-5046 redmonds@brynmawr.edu |
Carpenter
15 MWF
10:00-11:00 Office
Hours: MWF 9-10 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, trans. Waterfield
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 millennia, 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 PlatoÕs teacher, Socrates, discussing eros at an Athenian drinking party. The Symposium
also reveals PlatoÕs 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 ThucydidesÕ History of the Peloponnesian War is
concerned with the beginnings of the Athenian Sicilian expedition, AthensÕ
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. Through this course, students should
improve their fluency with standard Attic prose and gain an appreciation of the
complexities and nuances of Greek style in the texts of two of the greatest
prose writers. Students should also
increase their understanding of the cultural context in which these texts were
produced, as well as of the scholarly tradition that has engaged with these
texts for over two millennia.
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 Moodle, and they can also be reached by link from the on-line
version of the syllabus at:
http://www.brynmawr.edu/classics/redmonds/grek20112.htm.
Writing Assignments:
A
short writing assignment will be assigned for each of the authors covered in
the class. The assignment for
PlatoÕs 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 before 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,
ÒThe Erotics of NarrativityÓ
Week III:
180c-189b
the Speeches of Pausanias & Eryximachus
Secondary
Reading: Edelstein,
ÒThe Role of EryximachusÓ
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,
ÒWhy is Diotima a Woman?Ó
Week VI:
199c-215a
the Speeches of Socrates and Diotima
215a-223d
the Speech of Alcibiades
Secondary Reading: Moravcsik,
ÒReason and Eros in the ÔAscentÕ-Passage of the SymposiumÓ
Midterm
Exam
Week VII: No Class!
– Autumn Break
Week VIII:
215a-223d
the Speech of Alcibiades
Secondary
Reading: Nussbaum,
ÒThe Speech of AlcibiadesÓ
Symposium
Conclusions
Encomium
Assignment Due Friday
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, ÒThe
Affair of the Mysteries: Democracy
and the Drinking GroupÓ
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, Murray,
"The Affair of the Mysteries: Democracy and the Drinking Group"
Commentary
Assignment Due
Week XV:
Conclusions
Review