GREK

Plutarch’s biographies and his writing on literature and morality stand in a long tradition. In this class we will read passages from Plutarch in Greek and compare them to similar texts, such as the relevant sections of Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Poetics. The aim is to evaluate Plutarch’s contribution to a literary critical tradition while also comparing his Greek to that of his predecessors.

Athanasius was born and reared in Alexandria where he received a thorough classical education. He eventually became secretary to the bishop Alexander, with whom he attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 and whom he succeeded as bishop of Alexandria in 328. For the rest of his life, both in his theological writings and in his turbulent ecclesiastical career, he was a fervent advocate for the Nicene formulations, resisting Arianism at every turn. His most famous work, the De Incarnatione, expounds how Jesus the Word, by becoming flesh, restores to fallen humans the image of God in which they were created. We will read a good part (about 60 pages) of this celebrated treatise with attention to Athanasius’ straightforward Greek style, his portrait of the logos, and his enduring contribution to Trinitarian theology.

Homer’s Odyssey describes the homecoming of Odysseus in a series of poignant, half-hidden, and sometimes misaligned reunions with his loved ones. In this course we will read in Greek many of the Odyssey’s homecoming scenes of the Odyssey, including all of Books 19 and 23. Our focus will be on how the poem depicts the complex character of Odysseus through its recognition (and misrecognition) scenes. Much of our conversation will center on Penelope, the mutual testing between her and her husband, and the degree to which we can attribute “like-mindedness” (homophrosyne) to their relationship.

Immerse yourself in real writings from Ancient Greece. This course involves reading selections from a major monument of Greek literature (for instance, The Iliad). There will be discussion of the relationship between language and literary art, the legacy of the work or works studied, and study of grammar and vocabulary as necessary.

Immerse yourself in real writings from Ancient Greece. Readings this quarter concentrate on selections of Greek poetry (for instance, by Euripides), with an aim to improve reading skills, discuss key concepts in Greek history and culture, and expand knowledge of grammar and vocabulary as necessary.

Ancient Greek: for thousands of years, people have learned this language to go deeper into the thoughts and worlds of Plato, Homer, Sappho, and Early Christianity and more. In this course sequence, you too can begin to learn this language. GREK 102 continues the study of basic Ancient Greek. Course work involves reading practice, writing individual sentences and coherent stories, formal study of grammar and vocabulary, and other linguistic skills as necessary. Throughout the course, students will encounter authentic Ancient Greek texts. Students who complete this course will be able to understand complex sentences and combine them into larger units of meaning.

Ancient Greek: for thousands of years, people have learned this language to go deeper into the thoughts and worlds of Plato, Homer, Sappho, and Early Christianity and more. In this course sequence, you too can begin to learn this language. GREK 101 introduces the study of Ancient Greek. Course work involves reading practice, writing individual sentences and coherent stories, formal study of grammar and vocabulary, and other linguistic skills as necessary. Throughout the course, students will encounter authentic Ancient Greek texts. Students who complete this course will be able to understand simple sentences and combine them into larger units of meaning. This course is appropriate for students who have never studied Greek before.

This course comprises an introduction to Greek papyrus texts with a view to their contributions to Biblical and early Christian backgrounds. We will read and discuss examples of different genres of documentary papyri, including private letters, marriage contracts, adoption agreements, leases, receipts, and many others. We will also examine documents which directly illustrate religious practice, such as oracles and formal decrees regulating and prohibiting religious activity. In general we will address topics such as the important contribution of papyrology to the language of the New Testament, the form of papyrus letters compared with the NT “epistle,” and the contribution of historical, social, and religious insights gleaned from the papyri to the early Christian context.

Athanasius was born and reared in Alexandria where he received a thorough classical education. He eventually became secretary to the bishop Alexander, with whom he attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 and whom he succeeded as bishop of Alexandria in 328. For the rest of his life, both in his theological writings and in his turbulent ecclesiastical career, he was a fervent advocate for the Nicene formulations, resisting Arianism at every turn. His most famous work, the De Incarnatione, expounds how Jesus the Word, by becoming flesh, restores to fallen humans the image of God in which they were created. We will read a good part (about 60 pages) of this celebrated treatise with attention to Athanasius’ straightforward Greek style, his portrait of the logos, and his enduring contribution to Trinitarian theology.

In this course we will read in Greek the Theogony by Hesiod, one of the earliest preserved literary pieces in ancient Greek and a text that became a point of reference for cosmogonic literature and thought in later centuries. We will conduct a close reading, commenting on both poetic/literary aspects and mythical tropes, and will read (in English) comparative materials from other Greek and Near Eastern cosmogonies, as well as some interpretive essays. Exams will be based on translation work as well as engagement in discussions.