Herodotus Part 1 (Selection from Scroll 1) First phase of translation by Lynn Sawlivich Second phase of translation by Gregory Nagy, Claudia Filos, Sarah Scott, and Keith Stone Note: The language of Herodotus in referring to the myths and rituals of the ancient world is exquisitely precise, and we have much to learn from it. Accordingly, the translators have taken special care in tracking key words above and beyond… Read more
Online edition (2013) of a volume originally published in 1990 in the series Harvard Dissertations in Classics, by Garland Press. Read more
Reversing the generally accepted notions about formula and meter in epic poetry, Gregory Nagy seeks to show that meter is an outgrowth of formula. To make his point he links the Parry-Lord techniques of formulaic analysis with the researches of Meillet, Jakobson, and Watkins on Indo-European metrics. In the process he evolves a new theory about the origins of the Homeric hexameter and offers controversial fresh material for pursuing the problem of… Read more
with Professor Leonard Muellner and Belisi Gillespie The following video series provides a guided introduction to the ancient Greek language. The videos are meant to correspond to the textbook Greek: An Intensive Course, 2nd revised edition, by Hardy Hansen and Gerald M. Quinn (New York: Fordham University Press, 1992). The text can be puchased directly from Fordham University Press; portions of the text are available for preview via… Read more
Appendix 1. Testimonia on the Kreophuleioi of Samos In Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus 4.4 we read how Lycurgus the Lawgiver acquired the Homeric poems from the descendants of Kreophylos in Samos and brought the poems back to the Spartans: ἐκεῖ δὲ καὶ τοῖς Ὁμήρου ποιήμασιν ἐντυχὼν πρῶτον, ὡς ἔοικε, παρὰ τοῖς ἐκγόνοις τοῖς Κρεοφύλου διατηρουμένοις, καὶ … ἐγράψατο προθύμως καὶ συνήγαγεν ὡς δεῦρο κομιῶν. ἦν γάρ τις ἤδη δόξα τῶν… Read more
Pillars, Columns, Cornerstones: Verticalism in Arts and Philosophy Workshop Conducted by Artemis Herber Sunday, April 24, 2016 from 11am–4pm Workshop Participation: Free and open to the public; reservation required. RSVP by April 20th, 2016 to events@chs.harvard.edu Parking available on-site. This workshop is presented by the Washington Sculptors Group in collaboration with the… Read more
This 2016 “born digital” work is an expanded edition of a publication that originally appeared May 11, 2010 on FirstDrafts@Classics@. Read more
[A French-language version of this essay was printed in Revue de Philosophie Ancienne 24 (2006), 51–62. In this online English-language version, the page-breaks in the printed French-language version are indicated within curly brackets “{…|…}”.] The language of Homeric poetry has often been used to help solve problems in interpreting the poetic language of Empedocles. Conversely, the language of Empedocles may at times help solve problems in understanding Homeric poetry. In… Read more
[Final draft of an essay by the same title published by Oxford University Press in The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Art and Architecture, edited by Clemente Marconi, 2015, 621-636.] §1. Anthropology has had an important role in studies of Greek and Roman art, albeit a role marked by such discontinuity and eclecticism that it does not lend itself to be described as a set of principles. What is… Read more
Leonard Muellner’s goal is to restore the Greek word for the anger of Achilles, menis, to its social, mythical, and poetic contexts. His point of departure is the anthropology of emotions. He believes that notions of anger vary between cultures and that the particular meaning of a word such as menis needs to emerge from a close study of Greek epic. Menis means more than an individual’s emotional response. On… Read more
