First and foremost in my series of ancient Greek and Roman literature classes, the most important goal is for young students, who genuinely love mythology, to read not a modern book about mythology (as they most often do) but an ancient Greek or Roman work containing the original myths.

In this course in particular, we are going to learn the story of the quest of Jason and the Argonauts for the Golden Fleece and of Jason’s relations with the Colchian princess Medea which clearly belong to the very early strata of Greek myth. We are going to decode the detailed allusions throughout the “Argonautica” of the ‘prehistory’ of the story. 

At the same time, the audience of “Argonautica” is expected to know the subsequent history of Jason and Medea, whose story is more fully explored in the classical Athenian drama of Euripides “Medea”. With my help, students will be introduced to this tragic aspect of Jason’s life which mesmerised the Athenians in the various versions of the story played in the ancient theatre.

Jason’s story, also, resembles that of Orestes and Theseus, who had to succeed in terrible challenges before claiming their rightful royal inheritance. In order to do that, Apollonius reworks the poems of Homer in a creative new way in his “Argonautica”. In this course we will not fail to draw comparisons between Jason and other heroes of Greek mythology.

The “Argonautica” was so successful that had an enormous impact on Roman poetry, influencing Ovid and Virgil, and imitated by Valerius Flaccus in his own version of “Argonautica”. Our last class will be dedicated to these influences.

Finally, in the course we will explain the significance of the author of the “Argonautica” Apollonius from Alexandria as the Royal Librarian under Ptolemy II Philadelphus (perhaps ca. 270-245 BCE) and a tutor to the future king Ptolemy III Euergetes. In the wake of Alexander’s conquests (334-323 BCE), the centre of literary gravity shifted from Athens and mainland Greece (where the “Odyssey” and the “Iliad” were born), to the new, cosmopolitan city of Alexandria in Egypt. It is an era characterised by the Hellenic literary past as something to be collected, preserved and studied, especially in the Museum and the Library of Alexandria. The Hellenistic poets, like Apollonius, faced with this staggering amount of great literary activity in the past, found themselves with the challenge to make new poetry. Thus, the “Argonautica” reflects the centuries-old Greek exploration of the ancient world and the recording of its geography and ethnography, it explores new psychological dimensions of individual gods, local divinities and heroes, it depicts the spread of Greek civilization and the taming of hostile forces and people.

I have a BA in ancient Greek History and Archaeology, an MA in ancient Greek Archaeology and History of Art and an MA in the History and Philosophy of Religions, and I am a PhD Candidate of Religion, specialized in ancient Greek and Roman religions.

Homework Offered
The students are asked to read in advance the assigned chapters for each week of the course. This is why I schedule the class every other week, to allow students have enough time to read carefully and come prepared for class dicussion. If this is still not possible for students before every single week of the course, or if students prefer to read some of the chapters before each class, they will still be able to follow the entire course. If they decide to do all the readings, this will help them considerably in terms of class participation, they will absorb the material easier and at the end they will have the pleasure of having read the entire epic poem.
2 - 4 hours per week outside of class
Assessments Offered
I do not believe that a letter grade is meaningful for a 7-week course on the Iliad. However, as I often do with my one-time classes, which are always small classes (up to 5 or 6 students), I communication with the parents and the children directly, providing my personal comments, private feedback and an informal assessment.
Grades Offered