ARCADIA CENTER ANCIENT GREEK LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION: EURIPIDES’ PHOENISSAE AND THE THEBAN PLAYS OF THE EXTANT TRAGIC CORPUS Course Lecturer: Anna Lamari. Ms. Lamari will be available for office hours after class. Aim of the Course: The aim of this course is to familiarize students of Greek literature with one of the most fertile mythical traditions, that of the city of Thebes. Our focus will be Greek tragedy and we will use one of the latest Euripidean plays (The Phoenissae -409/408 B.C.) as the basis for our discussion. The students will become acquainted with modern critical tools such as narratology and intertextuality, which are now widely employed in the textual analysis of classical texts. Chief topics will be: the myth of Oedipus and his exile, the teichoskopia scene, the quarrel between the two brothers Polyneices and Eteocles and the expedition against Thebes, the figure of Teiresias, the figures of Kreon and Menoeceus, the confrontation of the two armies in front of the walls of Thebes, the myth of Jocasta, Antigone’s character, marriage and exile, and last, but not least, a general overview of the role of the Chorus. These main themes will be examined not only as parts of the Phoenissae, but also intertextually, with reference to other relevant plays of the Theban Cycle. What is more, the text of the Phoenissae will be analyzed under a narratological scope; relevant issues such as anachronies, the use of time, narrators, and focalizers will be regularly raised. Course Format: Most of the classes will involve both lecture and discussion. Students should feel free to ask questions at any time during a lecture if they feel unclear about what has been said. Sessions marked ‘discussion’ will be devoted to student-led discussion. There will be a mid-term exam in March (a sample test will be distributed in advance) and a final in May. There are also two required essays, which will be due by the begging of March and end of April respectively. Finally, during the last weeks of April there will be class presentations of selected topics. Grades: All essays and exams are graded by the course instructor. Each examination counts for 25% of the total. The two essays count for 40%, while class presentation and class contribution and attendance count for 10%. Obligation on Students: Regular and timely attendance is expected. The required essays must be handed on the prescribed date. All materials marked as ‘required readings’, together with the relevant texts must be read for the day prescribed. Required Texts: Aeschylus, vol.2, ed. Grene and Lattimore (Chicago) Euripides, vol.5, ed. Grene and Lattimore (Chicago) Sophocles, vol.1, ed. Grene and Lattimore (Chicago) MEETINGS: Session 1 Introduction to the Course, Introduction to Attic Theatre and Tragedy: Introductory Lecture and Discussion (views about the genesis of drama, the definition of drama by Aristotle, its content and form, time and place of performance). Required Readings: P. D. Arnott, Introduction to the Greek Theatre, London 1959, pp.15-25, 30-31. Session 2 Introduction to Tragedy: Lecture and Discussion: Euripides, Greek mythical tradition and its role in shaping the plot of tragedy, Phoenissae and the Theban myth. Required Readings: E. Craik, Phoenician Women, Warminster 1988, pp. 17-22. D. J. Mastronarde, Euripides. Phoenissae, Edited with Introduction and Commentary, Cambridge 1994, pp. 1-11, 17-30. Session 3 The Theatre of Dionysus: Lecture and Discussion. Topography of the ancient Attic Theatre: the orchestra, the theatron, the skene; the chorus; the costumes; the Ancient Festivals, the Tragic Contests, the Choregoi. Required Readings: E. Simon, The Ancient Theater, trans. C. E. Vafopoulou-Richardson, London 1982, pp.1-15, 20-27. P. D. Arnott, Introduction to the Greek Theatre, London 1959, pp.32-62. Session 4 Introduction to Narratology: Narrative, Story, Fabula, Narrative Text, Narrator. Required Readings: M. Bal, Narratology: Introduction to the Theory of Narrative, Toronto 1997, pp.3-9, 19-31. G. Genette, Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method, trans. J. Lewin, Ithaca 1980, pp.25-32. Session 5 Introduction to Narratology: Focalization, Narrative Levels. Required Readings: Order-Narrative Time, Duration-Speed, Frequency, M. Bal, Narratology: Introduction to the Theory of Narrative, Toronto 1997, pp.142144. G. Genette, Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method, trans. J. Lewin, Ithaca 1980, pp.33-40, 86-88, 94-95, 113-117, 227-234. Session 6 Phoenissae 1-87: Jocasta’s monologue and Oedipus’ myth (the discussion will also look forward, towards the very end of the play, lines 1595-1624). Required Readings: Euripides, Phoenissae. Session 7 Theban Plays: Oedipus’ myth. Lecture and Discussion. Required Readings: H. C. Baldry, ‘The Dramatization of the Theban Legend’, Greece and Rome 25 (1956) 24-37. Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus. Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus. Session 8 Phoenissae 88-260: Teichoskopia. Lecture and Discussion. Required Readings: D. J. Mastronarde, Eupipides. Phoenissae, Edited with Introduction and Commentary, Cambridge 1994, pp. 168-173. Session 9 -The identity of the Chorus and the parodos. Why Phoenician Women? -Theban Plays and Homer’s Iliad: Teichoskopia. Lecture and Discussion. Required Readings: K. Hartigan, ‘Why “Phoenician” Women?’, Eranos 98 (2000) 25-31. Aeshylus, Seven Against Thebes. Homer, Iliad 3. W. G. Thalmann, Dramatic Art in Aeschylus’s Seven Against Thebes, London 1978, pp. 38-42. Session 10 Phoenissae 261-637: Polyneices, Eteocles; their verbal confrontation (the discussion will also look forward to Phoenissae 1217-1422, i.e. the two brothers’ confrontation and the ensuing fratricide in the battlefield). Required Readings: A. J. Podlecki, ‘Some Themes in Euripides’ Phoenissae’, Transactions of the American Philological Association 93 (1962) 355-373, pp. 357-362. Session 11 -The agon in Sophocles and Euripides. -Theban Plays: Polyneices, Eteocles; their confrontation and fratricide. Lecture and Discussion. Required Readings: C. Collard, ‘Formal Debates in Euripides’ Drama’, Greece and Rome 22 (1975) 58-71 Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes W. G. Thalmann, Dramatic Art in Aeschylus’s Seven Against Thebes, London 1978, pp. 20-22 Session 12 Unofficial test paper on which the Mid Term Examination will be based. Session 13 Mid Term Examination. Session 14 Phoenissae 638-959 and Bacchae : the figure of Teiresias. Lecture and Discussion. Requiered Readings: Euripides, Bacchae Homer, Odyssey 11 Session 15 Phoenissae 896-1018: the figures of Kreon and Menoeceus (the discussion will also look forward to Phoenissae 1625-1638) Required Readings: D. J. Mastronarde, Contact and Discontinuity [University of California Publications Classical Studies, 21], Berkeley, Los Angeles, London 1979, pp. 92-97. Session 16 -The poetics of sacrifice in Euripides. -Theban Plays: The figures of Kreon and Menoeceus. Lecture and Discussion. Required Readings: P. Vellacot, Ironic Drama. A Study on Euripides’ Method and Meaning, Cambridge 1975, pp.178-204. Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus Session 17 Phoenissae 1090-1422: the confrontation of the two armies and the fratricide. Required Readings: E. M. Blaiklock, The Male Characters of Euripides, New Zealand 1952, pp. 191-208. Session 18 Seven Against Thebes and Phoenissae: The manifestations of power. Required Readings: Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes A. Hecht, H. Bacon, Aeshylus; Seven Against Thebes, London 1974, pp. 8-16 Session 19 Phoenissae 1423-1459: the myth of Jocasta; a general overview (discussion will also look back to Jocasta’s monologue, lines 1-87). Required Bibliography: D. J. Mastronarde, ‘The Optimistic Rationalist in Euripides: Theseus, Jocasta, Teiresias’, in M. Cropp, E. Fantham, S. E. Scully (edd.), Greek Tragedy and its Legacy, Alberta 1986, pp. 201-211. Session 20 Phoenissae 1460-end: the presence of Antigone; her exile and marriage. Required Readings: E. Segal, ‘Antigone: Death and Love, Hades and Dionysus’, in E. Segal (ed.), Oxford Readings in Greek Tragedy, Oxford 1983, pp. 167-176. Session 21 Theban Plays: the myth of Antigone and Jocasta. Lecture and Discussion. Required Readings: Sophocles, Antigone H. C. Baldry, ‘The Dramatization of the Theban Legend’, Greece and Rome 25 (1956) 24-37. Session 22 Phoenissae: the burial of Polyneices (discussion concerning all the textual evidence available to us confirming or refuting the burial of Polyneices). Session 23 Exodus and the end of the play. Euripidean or not? Required Readings: Conacher, D. J., ‘Themes in the Exodus of Euripides’ Phoenissae’, Phoenix 21 (1967) 92-101. Session 24 Phoenissae: The role of the chorus. Required Readings: M. B. Arthur, ‘The Curse of Civilization: The Choral Odes of the Phoenissae’, Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 81 (1977) 163-185. D. J. Conacher, Euripidean Drama, Toronto 1967, pp. 245-9. Session 25 Final Examination.