OVERVIEW

This course aims to reflecti on the process of reconstructing Latin texts, refining students’ skills in ecdotics and textual criticism. Particular attention will be devoted to how the philologist must continually confront the silences of the text, filling its gaps — particularly significant in the case of works surviving in fragmentary or incomplete form — and reconstructing the lost meaning concealed behind their corruptions.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching of Latin Philology aims to make students acquire a good knowledge of the history of the manuscript tradition and of textual criticism (from antiquity to the modern age) and, consequently, of all the tools of investigation useful to face in general Ecdotic traditions and problems of Latin texts. At the end of the course the student will be able to read and analyze any critical apparatus, autonomously judging the publisher's choices, and to present a textual problem in a scientific and clear manner, describing and evaluating the solutions proposed for it (and possibly suggesting new ones). More specifically, they will be able to read and comment on the text and the apparatus of a series of famous passages addressed in class, and to apply the analysis and the appropriate critical-textual and exegetical methodology to them. They will also be able to deal with and describe a selection of the most famous loci vexati in Latin literature, to present the brilliant solutions offered for them by the great philologists of the past and to justify his choices among one or more speculations.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

- apply the methodological tools of Latin philology;

- read and discuss the critical apparatus of a scholarly edition;

- evaluate readings, variants, and conjectures;

- formulate hypotheses on the possible origin of a corruption;

- problematize translation and literary analysis in light of philological issues;

- discuss the philological problems specifically raised by the tragic fragments of Accius, with particular reference to the characteristics of indirect transmission and the reconstruction of fragmentary works;

- analyze the philological problems specifically raised by Petronius’ Satyrica.

PREREQUISITES

Advanced skills in Latin and familiarity with the tools of classical philology are required. 

Students who have not previously studied classical philology should refer to the manual by T. Braccini listed in the bibliography.

TEACHING METHODS

The lessons will focus on the analysis of the literary texts listed in the syllabus, which will be read in the original language, and on the discussion of the critical apparatus.

A workshop-based and seminar approach will be favoured, aimed at encouraging active participation and the critical contribution of students.

Teaching materials  necessary for exam preparation will be shared on the Aulaweb channel. ù

Attendance is strongly encouraged. Non-attending students will replace the workshop and seminar activities with independent preparation of the texts in the monographic programme. To this end, they should contact the instructors at least three months before the exam to agree on the passages to be analysed and the methodologies.

Students with disabilities or specific learning disorders will find information on how to request services, compensatory tools, dispensatory measures, and specific support in the document available at the following link: https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa/modulistica.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The Silences of the Text. Reconstructing Latin Works, between Errors and Lacunae.

This course will focus on works that have come down to us incomplete, whose rest​itutio is complicated by the fragmentary nature of their context.

The first part of the course will be devoted to the Atreus and the Tereus by Accius. The analysis of the fragments, conducted in a workshop-based and collaborative format, will allow for an in-depth examination of the specific problems related to the reconstruction of texts transmitted indirectly, and will consolidate, thanks to cooperative learning, the ability to read critical apparatus and evaluate textual problems. At the same time, the thematic selection will lead to reflect on the lexis of archaic tragedy and its peculiar taste for Pathetisierung. The problem of interpreting fragments and reconstructing lost theatre will also be addressed through its problematic reuse in later literature, with particular reference to the episode of Procne and Philomela in the sixth book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (the entire sixth book will be the subject of independent preparation by students).

The second part of the course will be devoted to Petronius’ Satyrica. After a few introductory lessons aimed at presenting the work and its manuscript tradition, students will be directly involved in a series of seminars dedicated to chapters 1–26. The analysis will focus on the main philological questions raised by the surviving text, with particular attention to the relationships between the different witnesses and the interpretive issues arising from them. First-hand work on the text, accompanied by the analysis of the principal modern editions, will allow for reflection on the methodological questions posed by a tradition consisting primarily of excerpt collections, florilegia, and indirect witnesses; the seminars will also offer an opportunity to reflect on the limits and possibilities of reconstructing a work only partially preserved, critically evaluating the various proposals concerning the overall architecture of the novel, the sequence of episodes, and the placement of the surviving fragments within the original narrative design.

The course will be developed in collaboration with the Université Côte d’Azur in Nice (Master Lettres - Parcours Recherche, création, agrégation. Lettres classiques et modernes, Prof. Giampiero Scafoglio), as part of the Ulysseus COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) programme.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reading list (all text must be read in Latin, with analysis of the apparatus)

a) Accius’ Atreus and Tereus

Tragicorum Romanorum Fragmenta, vol. IV. Accius, ed. J. Schultheiß, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2023

b) Petronius, Satyrica, 1–26

Petronii Arbitri Satyricon reliquiae, ed. K. Müller, München – Leipzig: Teubner 19954; Petronio. Satyrica, vol. I (Capp. 1-26,6), a cura di P. Fedeli e A. Stramaglia, trad. A. Fo, Milano: Fondazione Lorenzo Valla / Mondadori 2027

c) Ovid, Metamophoses, Book 6 

P. Ovidi Nasonis Metamorphoses, ed. R.J. Tarrant, Oxford: OCT 2004; Ovidio. Metamorfosi, vol. III. Libri V-VI, a cura di G. Rosati, trad. G. Chiarini, Milano: Fondazione Lorenzo Valla / Mondadori 2013

Textbooks: 

T. Braccini, La scienza dei testi antichi. Introduzione alla filologia classica, Le Monnier / Mondadori Education.

L.D. Reynolds, Texts and Transmission. A Survey on the Latin Classics, Oxford: OUP 1984

(See also Aulaweb)

Further reference textbooks:

History of Literature:

Gian Biagio Conte, Profilo storico della Letteratura Latina dalle origini alla tarda età imperiale, Le Monnier / Mondadori Education.

Latin language:

Marco Fucecchi, Luca Graverini, La lingua latina. Fondamenti di morfologia e sintassi, Le Monnier / Mondadori Education.

A.Traina, G. Bernardi Perini, Propedeutica al latino universitario, 6a ed. a cura di C. Marangoni, Pàtron. 

History of Latin language:

B. Santorelli, Storia della lingua latina, Carocci.

Metre and prosody:

S. Boldrini, La prosodia e la metrica dei Romani, Carocci.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Week of February 15th, 2027. 

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will be held in oral form.

An integral part will consist of the philological analysis and discussion of fragments of archaic tragedy and selected passages from the Satyrica; attending students will carry out this analysis during the lessons, in a workshop-based and seminar format.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Students will be required to:

- discuss the philological problems raised by a selection of tragic fragments of Accius, starting from the critical apparatus and the context of indirect transmission, and to reflect critically on their possible translation and on hypotheses for contextualisation within the plot. For attending students, this part of the programme will be supplemented by participation in workshop activities during the lessons (individual contribution will be assessed); at the oral exam, all students will be required to discuss 4 fragments of their choice from those shared on Aulaweb.

- analyze, from a philological perspective, a passage from the Satyrica agreed upon with the instructors. Attending students will present this analysis in seminar format during the lessons; at the oral exam, all students will be required to analyse a passage from chapters 1–26

- read metrically and translate a passage from the sixth book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and discuss its critical apparatus

- demonstrate the acquisition of a solid command of the tools of philology and the ability to use them to read the apparatus of a critical edition, to evaluate readings, variants, and conjectures, to reconstruct the possible origin of a corruption, and to understand the specific features of the transmission of different works of Latin literature.

The resulting assessment will follow this grading scale:

30 cum laude – 28: the student demonstrates confident command of the methodological tools of Latin philology, also contributing critical insights; uses consistently correct language, including specialised disciplinary vocabulary; has a high level of competence in Latin and makes consistently appropriate translation choices, also in relation to the philological problems raised by the text; is able to analyse a Latin text confidently and in depth, critically evaluating readings, variants, and conjectures and reconstructing the possible origin of corruptions.

27 – 23: the student demonstrates command of the methodological tools of Latin philology; uses correct language, employing specialised disciplinary vocabulary appropriately; has a solid competence in Latin and makes appropriate translation choices, also in relation to the philological problems raised by the text; is able to analyse a Latin text correctly, also evaluating readings, variants, and conjectures and reconstructing the possible origin of corruptions.

22 – 18: the student is familiar with the main methodological tools of Latin philology; uses generally correct language, employing specialised disciplinary vocabulary sufficiently appropriately; has a good competence in Latin and makes mostly correct translation choices, also in relation to the philological problems raised by the text; is able to analyse a Latin text, although not always able to evaluate readings, variants, and conjectures or to reconstruct the possible origin of corruptions.

Fail: the student has a fragmentary knowledge of the methodological tools of Latin philology; does not always use correct language, employing specialised disciplinary vocabulary poorly; has a weak competence in Latin and often makes incorrect translation choices, also in relation to the philological problems raised by the text; is unable to analyse a Latin text, to evaluate readings, variants, and conjectures, or to reconstruct the possible origin of corruptions.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For any further information, students are invited to contact the instructors by email or at the end of class.