The Odyssey
A Seminar for Faculty Members
Directed by
Gregory Nagy
Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature, Harvard University
Kenneth Scott Morrell
Associate Professor and Chair of Greek and Roman Studies, Rhodes College
July 22–26, 2014 • The Center for Hellenic Studies • Washington, DC
The Odyssey
Center for Hellenic Studies 4 July 22–26, 2014
The seminar, designed primarily for non-specialists, addresses the challenge of
keeping alive in undergraduate education classical texts such as the Iliad, Odyssey,
Homeric Hymns, poetry of Hesiod, and Histories of Herodotus that a generation
ago were read and understood by every college graduate. Full-time faculty members
in all disciplines who might have occasion to use the Homeric Odyssey in their
courses may be considered for nomination.
Homeric poetry occupies a unique position in the evolution of ancient Mediterranean civilizations,
playing a formative role in the development of epic in the Greco-Roman world. The study of this
poetry requires a careful analysis of literary genres viewed in the historical contexts of performance
traditions. Such traditions are conditioned by a wide variety of artistic, political, religious, and even
economic conventions. Many of these conventions have found their way into our modern cultural
contexts. This seminar will offer an opportunity to examine the many dimensions of the Odyssey in
its various historical contexts and explore how the poem (to be read in translation) can be studied
in courses that address a variety of literatures and disciplines. Participants will study diverse topics
that range from the exchange of luxury goods to the adjudication of disputes arising from athletic
contests.
Along with providing information and background for understanding Homeric poetry in its
ancient contexts, the seminar will devote a substantial portion of each day to reading and analyzing
the poem itself.
On the first day participants will address the “Homeric Question,” that is, what is the role of an
individual singer in an oral tradition, how did performances from an oral tradition become literary
artifact, and how did the various versions of the transcribed poem evolve into the text we commonly
use today? Participants also will explore Odyssey 1–3, which depict the situation in the house of
Odysseus after his long absence and the need for Telemachus to establish his place in Ithaca and his
reputation in the Peloponnese as Odysseus’ son.
The second day will begin with a brief overview of the relationship between Homeric studies and
archaeological research on the material evidence that currently informs our understanding of the
Bronze Age and the Archaic period as depicted in the Odyssey. Discussions will then shift to the
poem as participants examine Odyssey 4, the concluding part of the “Τηλεμαχία” (Tēlemakhía,
“the story of Telemachus”), and Odyssey 5–8, which recount Odysseus’ release from Ogygia,
Calypso’s island, his arrival on Scheria, and the hospitality of the Phaeacians. Of particular interest
in Odyssey 8 are references to the media of songmaking in the depiction of Demodokos and his
performances for the assembled Phaeacians and their guest Odysseus.
Cover images provided courtesy of Lanah Koelle and Allie Marbry of the Center for Hellenic Studies.
On the third day participants will review responses to the Odyssey—first from the perspective of
performance genres, such as lyric poetry and tragedy, which evolved after the disappearance of the oral
tradition, and then through an examination of literary epic as reflected in the works of later poets from
antiquity such as Apollonius of Rhodes, Virgil, and Ovid. Participants also will discuss perhaps the
most famous part of the poem, Odyssey 9–12, which contain Odysseus’ stories about his adventures
after sailing away from Troy.
The fourth day will feature a discussion of the Odyssey as a source of cultural paradigms that served
to illustrate moral dilemmas as well as appropriate and inappropriate modes of social interaction.
Participants also will look at how the figure of Odysseus, the returning warrior, migrated into a variety
of cultural contexts and other artistic media—including film. Additional discussion will address
developments in Odyssey 13–14, when Odysseus arrives in Ithaca, assumes his disguise as a beggar,
and meets Eumaios, his loyal swineherd; Odyssey 15–16, which feature Telemachus’ return to Ithaca
from Sparta and the reunion of father and son; and Odyssey 17–18, which depict the first encounters
between Odysseus and the suitors.
On the fifth day, participants will examine Odyssey 19–24, which include the first meeting of
Odysseus (still disguised) and Penelope in 20 years, the contest of the bow, the slaughter of the suitors,
the test and recognition of Odysseus, and Odysseus’ visit to his father, Laertes. The workshop will
conclude that afternoon with summative observations and assessment, followed by drinks and dinner.
Gregory Nagy is the Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and
Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University. He has served as
chair of Harvard’s Literature Concentration, chair of the Department of the
Classics, president of the American Philological Association (APA), and, since
2000, director of the Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS). His publications
include The Best of the Achaeans: Concepts of the Hero in Archaic Greek Poetry,
which won the APA’s Goodwin Award of Merit; Greek Mythology and Poetics;
Pindar’s Homer: The Lyric Possession of an Epic Past; Poetry as Performance:
Homer and Beyond; Homeric Questions; Plato’s Rhapsody and Homer’s Music: The Poetics of the
Panathenaic Festival in Classical Athens; and Homeric Responses. In 2013, Harvard offered his
popular class, The Ancient Greek Hero, as a massive open online course through edX.
Kenneth Scott Morrell is associate professor of Greek and Roman Studies
at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and director of fellowships
and curricular development at CHS. In addition to publishing articles and
teaching courses on ancient Greek and Latin literature, he has participated in
an archaeological survey in southwestern Turkey and been active in a variety
of initiatives related to the use of information technology. He was an original
member of the Perseus Project and has more recently been involved with
Sunoikisis (http://wp.chs.havard.edu/sunoikisis) and the Collaboratory for GIS and
Mediterranean Archaeology (CGMA) Project (http://cgma.depauw.edu).
Participants, Location, and Expenses
Up to 20 individuals will be selected by competitive nomination. Participants must be full-time faculty
members at CIC member institutions and can be in any discipline or department. Materials for the
workshop will be available in electronic or printed format in advance of the seminar. Participants will
be asked to read the Odyssey before the seminar in Washington begins. The seminar will take place
at CHS in Washington, DC. Housing will be provided at the Center. Rooms, most meals, books,
and other expenses will be covered by CIC, CHS, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The only
expense to participants or their institutions will be transportation to and from Washington, DC,
although CIC will offer reimbursement of up to $200 toward travel-related expenses.
Nomination Process
The chief academic officer of the nominee’s institution must nominate the faculty member who
wishes to participate. Each institution may nominate more than one individual, and full-time faculty
members of all academic ranks are eligible to participate. The seminar is open to individuals who have
participated in previous CIC/CHS seminars, but preference will be given to first-time participants.
Nominations should be submitted online. The nomination instructions and form are available online
at www.cic.edu/AncientGreece. A complete nomination should consist of the following:
1. Nomination letter from the chief academic officer;
2. Completed nomination form;
3. Nominee’s curriculum vitae; and
4. Nominee’s statement of reasons for wishing to participate in the seminar and of anticipated
outcomes (no more than one page).
Nomination Deadline
Please submit the completed nomination online by Friday, January 17, 2014.
Selection of Participants Announced: Friday, February 28, 2014
Nomination materials should be submitted
online. For questions about the seminar or
the nomination process, please contact
Stephen Gibson, CIC director of programs,
at (202) 466-7230 or sgibson@cic.nche.edu.
w w w.cic.edu/AncientGreece
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The seminar will be held on the Center for
Hellenic Studies’ campus in Washington, DC.