OVERVIEW

Greek Literature includes some of the greatest masterpieces of poetry and thought of all times. In the education of a European citizen, this knowledge has an essential function, because it fosters a critical understanding of the main human problems of every age.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

(History of literature with a written exam / Fundamentals of philology prosody and metrics) The “Greek Literature” course for the three-year degree course aims to give students the essential outlines and the most relevant figures and genres of ancient Greece in its historical evolution from the origins to the Imperial age. An integral part of the programme is the choice of important and meaningful texts that must be tackled in the original language. The “fundamentals of philology prosody and metrics” course aims to give students basic notions of Greek philology and metrics in their most relevant aspects. In relation to the fundamentals of philology, in the first place students must acquire an adequate knowledge of the critical-textual terminology to enable them to decipher and interpret a critical system; secondly, essential historical data and basic principles of textual criticism will be given. In relation to metrics, lectures aim to give students the fundamental notions of prosody and knowledge of the most common and widespread metric systems of Greek poetry beginning with the hexameter and iambic trimeter.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

To provide an advanced knowledge of the history of ancient Greek literature and to have some particularly significant texts read in the original language. Students are expected to acquire a sufficiently broad and in-depth critical knowledge of the various aspects of ancient Greek literature, broadening in quantity and quality the knowledge acquired in the three-year course in the same discipline.At the end of the course, students should be able to know and describe the most relevant figures and genres of the literary civilisation of ancient Greece, with adequate awareness of their value and historical and cultural significance for the development of modern civilisation. They should also be able to read the works of major authors in their original language.

PREREQUISITES

A good high school knowledge of the ancient Greek language and the basics of the history of Greek literature.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures.

Possible in-progress tests if deemed necessary.

Students unable to attend the lecture are invited to contact the lecturer well in advance in order to arrange an alternative programme.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Sophocles’ Philoctetes.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

PROGRAMME FOR 6 CFU

In addition to the monographic course and the textbook (to be chosen from the commercially available editions of:  A. Rodighiero - S. Mazzoldi - D. Piovan, Civiltà letteraria della Grecia antica, Bologna, Zanichelli, 1988; G. A. Privitera - R. Pretagostini, Storia e forme della letteratura greca, I-II, Torino, Einaudi Scuola, 1997; A. Porrho - W. Lapini, Greek Literature, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2017), students should present:

(1) Sophocles. Philoctetes (in any scholastic or popular edition, provided it has a preface, Greek text and commentary notes).

(2) Sophocles. Ajax (in any scholastic or popular edition, provided it has a preface, Greek text and commentary notes).

(3) F. Boer - M. Rubino, The Last Hero. Filottete, straordinarie fortune di un arciere greco, Il Melangolo, Genoa, 2018.

(4) One book of the Iliad to choose from: III, IV, VII, IX, XVI, XXII (in any scholastic or popular edition, provided it has a preface, Greek text and commentary notes).

As the syllabuses may change during the course, students are requested NOT to purchase the texts before the beginning of the courses.

PROGRAMME FOR 9 CFUs

In addition to the monographic course and the textbook (to be chosen from the commercially available editions of:  A. Rodighiero - S. Mazzoldi - D. Piovan, Civiltà letteraria della Grecia antica, Bologna, Zanichelli, 1988; G. A. Privitera - R. Pretagostini, Storia e forme della letteratura greca, I-II, Torino, Einaudi Scuola, 1997; A. Puorro - W. Lapini, Greek Literature, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2017), students should present:

(1) Sophocles. Philoctetes (in any scholastic or popular edition, provided it has a preface, Greek text and commentary notes).

(2) Sophocles. Ajax (in any scholastic or popular edition, provided it has a preface, Greek text and commentary notes).

(3) F. Boero - M. Rubino, The Last Hero. Filottete, straordinarie fortune di un arciere greco, Il Melangolo, Genoa, 2018.

(4) One book of the Iliad to choose from: III, IV, VII, IX, XVI, XXII (in any scholastic or popular edition, provided it has a preface, Greek text and commentary notes).

(5) G. Avezzù, Il ferimento e il rito. La storia di Filottete sulla scena attica, Bari, Adriatica, 1988.

(6) A book of the Odyssey to be chosen from: IV, VI, VIII, IX, XI, XIX (in any scholastic or popular edition, provided it has a preface, Greek text and commentary notes).

As the syllabuses may change during the course, students are requested NOT to purchase the texts before the beginning of the courses.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Second semester. Classes start: February 2026.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The examination will be preceded by an oral test of an imprint translation of a short text by a Greek author of medium difficulty, to be taken as part of the oral examination and as part of it. The remainder of the oral examination will consist of a test on the monographic course, on the texts of the examination programme (with translation of the passages, questions on language and on the historical-literary framework) and on the history of Greek literature based on the textbook.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

In relation to the stated learning objectives, a knowledge of Greek sufficient to read, translate and comment on the original texts will be ascertained, as well as a good knowledge of the fundamental aspects of ancient Greek literature.The examination comprises a translation test on the imprint of a short text, in an interview on the programme texts and the monographic course; it also includes questions on language, the literary historical framework and the history of literature.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Information on course and examination texts will be given at the beginning of the lectures. Useful materials will be made available on the Aulaweb. As the syllabuses may change during the course, students are requested NOT to purchase texts before the start of the course. Students who are unable to attend the course are requested to contact the lecturer well in advance in order to arrange an alternative programme.

Students with disabilities or with DSA are reminded that in order to request adaptations in the exam, they must first enter the certification on the University website at servizionline.unige.it in the “Students” section. The documentation will be verified by the University's Services for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and DSA Sector (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111).

Subsequently, significantly in advance (at least 10 days) of the examination date, an e-mail must be sent to the teacher with whom the examination will be taken, including in the knowledge copy both the School's Teacher Referent for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and with DSA (referent e-mail) and the above-mentioned Sector. The e-mail should specify: (1) the name of the teaching; (2) the date of the roll call; (3) the student's last name, first name and roll number; and (4) the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures deemed functional and required.

Requests should be sent at least 10 days before the date of the call in order to allow the teacher to evaluate the content. In particular, in the case of intending to make use of concept maps for the exam (which need to be much more concise than the maps used for studying) if the submission does not meet the deadline there will be no technical time to make any changes.

For more information regarding the request for services and adaptations see:https://unige.it/sites/unige.it/files/2024-05/Linee%20guida%20per%20la%20richiesta%20di%20servizi%2C%20di%20strumenti%20compensativi%20e_o%20di%20misure%20dispensative%20e%20di%20ausili%20specifici%20Maggio%202024.pdf