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Curated Articles

Studies in the Epic Technique of Oral Verse-Making: II. The Homeric Language as the Language of an Oral Poetry

[This article was originally published in 1932 in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 43:1-50. The original pagination of the printed version is embedded within brackets in this electronic version: for example, {1|2} marks where p. 1 stops and p. 2 begins.] i. The Homeric Language and the Homeric Diction: Older Theories of the Homeric Language (p. i); the Homeric Language as a Poetic Language (p. 4); the Homeric Language as… Read more

Curated Books

Michael Psellos. On Symeon the Metaphrast and On the Miracle at Blachernae: Annotated Translations with Introductions

The reader of this slender volume will encounter a figure of immense intellectual stature. Michael Psellos (1018–after 1077) combined the roles of scholar and court dignitary in Byzantium at the time of the Byzantine empire’s greatest territorial extent and political influence in the eastern Mediterranean world. The two essays presented here in translation have each attracted close scholarly attention because of their relevance to particular topics. The Discourse on the Miracle That… Read more

PUBLICATIONS

7. The Death of Pyrrhos

Chapter 7. The Death of Pyrrhos 7§1. As we contemplate the ritual aspects of the Iliadic hero, we are faced with a conflict between a trend and a constant: while Achilles is becoming Panhellenic by way of Epos, the powers of the hero in hero cult remain strictly local. [1] By evolving into the hero of the epic tradition that culminated in our Iliad, the… Read more

Curated Books

The Best of the Achaeans: Concepts of the Hero in Archaic Greek Poetry

Despite widespread interest in the Greek hero as a cult figure, little was written about the relationship between the cult practices and the portrayals of the hero in poetry. The first edition of The Best of the Achaeans bridged that gap, raising new questions about what could be known or conjectured about Greek heroes. In this revised edition, which features a new preface by the author, Gregory Nagy reconsiders his conclusions in… Read more

Curated Books

Greek Public Monuments of the Persian Wars

The purpose of this study is to recover, as far as possible, knowledge of the public monuments of the Persian Wars set up by the Greeks of the fifth century. A survey of the evidence is proposed. It will take the form of a catalogue; the evidence has been collected from inscriptions, scattered literary references, and archaeological research. The classification of monuments as public means that they were put up… Read more

PUBLICATIONS

Publications – Projects – Derveni

The Derveni Papyrus: An Interdisciplinary Research Project Principal Editor: Ioanna Papadopoulou Associate Editors: Leonard Muellner, Gregory Nagy Information Architects: Saïd Esteban Belmehdi, Julien Razanajao, François Recher. Over the last 45 years the text of the Derveni Papyrus has undergone extensive reconstruction and study. Theokritos Kouremenos, George M. Parássoglou, and Kyriakos Tsantsanoglou have been among the leaders of this effort, publishing an authoritative text of the papyrus along with extensive commentary in… Read more

Programs – Faculty – CIC

                Council of Independent Colleges Seminar Dates: June 17-25, 2018 Ancient Greece in the Modern Classroom In June 2018 The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the Center for Hellenic Studies will coorganize a seminar for faculty members in all fields. The seminar, designed for non-specialists, is led by Gregory Nagy, Francis Jones professor of Classical Greek Literature and professor of… Read more

PUBLICATIONS

Claude Calame, Choruses of Young Women-Chapter 2: Morphology of the Lyric Chorus

Morphology of the Lyric Chorus {18|19} The first step in comprehending what unites the participants in the choral performance is to study the various elements that make up a female lyric chorus during the Archaic period. To understand not only the formal character, but also the dynamic aspect of this unity, I shall study its function as much as its formal structure. The lyric Greek chorus is basically composed of… Read more

PUBLICATIONS

ABOUT US

About Us The Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS) is an institute affiliated with Harvard University located in Washington D.C.  It was founded in 1962 by means of an endowment made “exclusively for the establishment of an educational center in the field of Hellenic Studies designed to re-discover the humanism of the Hellenic Greeks.” This humanistic vision remains the driving force of The Center for Hellenic Studies. The CHS is a… Read more