Greek Authors : Hellenistic and Roman Periods

The course is intended for students who have followed the courses of ancient Greek at Bachelor level, or able to demonstrate a reading level considered sufficient by the lecturer.

The course deals with the following themes:

1. The translation of two major Greek literary works of the Hellenistic and Roman period;
2. The problem of establishing the text;
3. Systematic commentary presenting the context of the work, as well as the literary and human values contained therein.

In-depth analysis of works of Greek authors of the Hellenistic and Roman period.

At the end of this course, the student will be capable to translate, analyse and comment on texts of an advanced level. He will be able to explain the historic and cultural context, to bring out the human values expressed therein, as well as to undertake a personal research as an extension of the course.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Oral exam covering:

- the texts studied during the course;
- the oral presentation of the personal commentary prepared by the student.

The translations prepared by the students will be corrected during the course, and will be the subject of the widest possible commentary. The use of several editions will highlight the problems of establishing the text.

The authors chosen for the course are the poets Callimachus and Theocritus. After an introduction setting the author and his work in their context, the translation will  be the subject of a methodical commentary. The students will be required to prepare a brief personal commentary of the authors and texts studied during the course, which they will present orally during the exam.

Editions:

1. The basic text is that of the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, i.e; mostly the Oxford edition.

2. The Belles-Lettres edition, e.g. :
- Callimachus. Text and translation by E. Cahen, Paris, 1940.
- Theocritus. Text and translation by Ph.-E. Legrand, Paris, 1925.

A complementary bibliography will be distributed during the course.

Reference grammar:
D. Planque Grammaire grecque, 8th edition Namur, 1977 (pdf version).

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