The Center for Hellenic Studies

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Curated Books

Homer’s Text and Language

As Homer remains an indispensable figure in the canons of world literature, interpreting the Homeric text is a challenging and high stakes enterprise. There are untold numbers of variations, imitations, alternate translations, and adaptations of the Iliad and Odyssey, making it difficult to establish what, exactly, the epics were. Gregory Nagy’s essays have one central aim: to show how the text and language of Homer derive from an oral poetic system.  In Homeric studies,… Read more

Curated Books

Homer the Preclassic

Homer the Preclassic considers the development of the Homeric poems—in particular the Iliad and Odyssey—during the time when they were still part of the oral tradition. Gregory Nagy traces the evolution of rival “Homers” and the different versions of Homeric poetry in this pretextual period, reconstructed over a time frame extending back from the sixth century BCE to the Bronze Age. Accurate in their linguistic detail and surprising in their implications, Nagy’s insights conjure… Read more

Past Conferences (through 2010)

Past Conferences and Seminars The CHS presents a variety of conferences and collaborative events on an annual basis. The CHS seeks to support and develop new models and methods for academic conferences, the dissemination of research, and collaborative projects.  Read the Conference Guidelines to learn more about proposing a conference at the CHS. 2010 Sunoikisis Undergraduate Research Symposium (March 27)… Read more

Curated Books

Greek Literature in Late Antiquity: Dynamism, Didacticism, Classicism

Late Antiquity has attracted a significant amount of attention in recent years. As a historical period it has thus far been defined by the transformation of Roman institutions, the emergence of distinct religious cultures (Jewish, Christian, Islamic), and the transmission of ancient knowledge to medieval and early modern Europe. Despite all this, the study of late antique literary culture is still in its infancy, especially for the Greek and other… Read more

PUBLICATIONS

Gregory Nagy, Homer the Classic

This 2008 “born digital” text is an online edition of a 2009 work published by the Trustees for Harvard University. Copyright, Center for Hellenic Studies. The 2009 print edition is available for purchase via Harvard University Press here. Read more

Curated Articles

Review (part I) of M. L. West’s Indo-European Poetry and Myth (Oxford 2007)

[This review was first published in Indo-European Studies Bulletin 13 (2008) 60–65.] West’s book is most useful for researchers in the Classics and in Indo-European studies. I have produced two different and mutually complementary reviews of it, one for Classicists and one for Indo-Europeanists, with the collegial permission of the book-review editors of Classical Review and Indo-European Studies Bulletin. In the present review for IESB, I concentrate on the usefulness… Read more