고대 로마 문학과 고고학: 아에네이스 읽기와 이해

(A) Required Experience: 

This is a 10-week course addressed to students who have at least a basic background on ancient civilizations, and a special interest in the ancient Roman Culture and Mythology. 

(B) Teaching style and students interaction:

The Aeneid is not the first time Roman authors tried to write Latin epic poetry, but a few years after the death of its creator (Virgil) this particular epic work was already a classic reading for educated Romans. Unlike the Iliad and the Odyssey, the epic stories of Aeneas were mostly a popular reading amongst a circle of Roman educated elite men. However, its influence over authors of the European Middle Ages and the Renaissance grew stronger, and its captivating story cast its spell upon medieval, as much as upon modern audience. In this 7-week course we are going to understand the Aeneid by combining the story itself with the history of the mythological birth of Rome, the broader mythological background of the Greco-Roman world, the corpus of artistic depictions of the epic scenes from Aeneas' life, as well as a sense of what this work really meant for the ancient Romans after the end of a long period of brutal civil wars and the rise in power of emperor Augustus. 

The learning process of this class is based on a combination of a power-point presentation, a lecture that asks students to participate, class dialogue, questions based on the ongoing lecture, and new ideas based on the participants. There is not one universal solution to teach. Rather I combine techniques to achieve the maximum of my strengths and of my students. Having taught so far young kids, teenagers, University students and mature learners, I know that teachers need to approach students with understanding. After all, such a small class has the advantage of making the combined technique of ppt presentation-lecture-dialogue feasible and efficient. Thanks to Zoom, engaging students and interacting with them is always possible. 

(C) Class structure: 
*the discussion will often be accompanied by ancient Roman art related to the rhapsodies*

day 1: Introduction (the Greek background of the story of Aeneas - the cult of Venus by the Julii - the poet Virgil and his poem "Aeneid" in the political and intellectual life of ancient Rome) 

day 2: Rhapsody 1 (Aeneas in Carthage)

day 3: Rhapsody 2 (the Fall of Troy)

day 4: Rhapsody 3 (Aeneas journey to the Sea and Back in Carthage)

day 5: Rhapsodies 4 (Aeneas and Dido)

day 6 : Rhapsody 5 (Aeneas lands in Sicily)

day 7 and 8 : Rhapsody 6 (Aeneas in the Underworld; one of the greatest literary descriptions of the Underworld in ancient Greco-Roman literature!)

day 9 and 10: Rhapsodies 7 to 9 and 10 to 12 (Aeneas in Italy)