The Center for Hellenic Studies

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News, Publications

Rethinking Classical Education

We are pleased to highlight the following publications and resources which offer fresh perspectives on the theme of classical education in all its multiforms. To access these resources and more, visit CHS online at chs.harvard.edu. Image: detail from The School of Athens, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City, by Raphael [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.  Online Publications Leonard Muellner, Classics@ Vol. 3, "Discovery Procedures and Principles for Homeric Research" Working from Benveniste's idea that the study of Homeric vocabulary is still in its infancy, Muellner describes a way to do research on Homer and then shows how to work inductively, rebuilding the categories of thought and expression from within the epic world. Claude Calame, Choruses of Young Women in Ancient Greece Calame's ground-breaking work argues that the songs sung by choruses of young girls in ancient Greek poetry are more than literary texts; rather, they functioned as initiatory rituals in Greek cult practices. Read more

News, Publications

Gregory Nagy’s Short Writings, Vol. 1 & 2

New in Online Publications Gregory Nagy is a renowned authority in the field of Homeric and related Greek studies and has written almost one hundred articles and reviews. In Short Writings, Volumes 1 and 2, we have collected together in digital form almost thirty of his most influential works. Many of these articles have been expanded or updated since their original publication. See below for contents and details. The links provided lead directly to the full text on the CHS website. Short Writings, Volume 1 "The Aeolic Component in Homeric Diction." Expanded online edition of an article originally published in 2011 in Proceedings of the 22nd Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference (ed. S. W. Jamison, H.C. Melchert, B. Vine) 133–179. Bremen: Ute Hempen Verlag. Copyright, Ute Hempen Verlag. "'Dream of a Shade': Refractions of Epic Vision in Pindar’s Pythian 8 and Aeschylus’ Seven against Thebes." 2012 online version of an article that originally appeared in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 100 (2000) 97–118. Published here by permission of Harvard University Press. Copyright, Harvard University Press. "Epic." 2010 online version of an essay that originally appeared as Chapter 1 of The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Literature (ed. R. Eldridge; Oxford 2009) 19-44. Copyright, Oxford University Press. Read more

Publications

Gregory Nagy's Short Writings, Vol. 1 & 2

New in Online Publications Gregory Nagy is a renowned authority in the field of Homeric and related Greek studies and has written almost one hundred articles and reviews. In Short Writings, Volumes 1 and 2, we have collected together in digital form almost thirty of his most influential works. Many of these articles have been expanded or updated since their original publication. See below for contents and details. The links provided lead directly to the full text on the CHS website. Short Writings, Volume 1 "The Aeolic Component in Homeric Diction." Expanded online edition of an article originally published in 2011 in Proceedings of the 22nd Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference (ed. S. W. Jamison, H.C. Melchert, B. Vine) 133–179. Bremen: Ute Hempen Verlag. Copyright, Ute Hempen Verlag. "'Dream of a Shade': Refractions of Epic Vision in Pindar’s Pythian 8 and Aeschylus’ Seven against Thebes." 2012 online version of an article that originally appeared in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 100 (2000) 97–118. Published here by permission of Harvard University Press. Copyright, Harvard University Press. "Epic." 2010 online version of an essay that originally appeared as Chapter 1 of The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Literature (ed. R. Eldridge; Oxford 2009) 19-44. Copyright, Oxford University Press. Read more

Publications

Q&A with Anna Bonifazi

We recently had a chance to talk with Anna Bonifazi about her research, Homeric diction, and her new book, Homer's Verisicolored Fabric: The Evocative Power of Ancient Greek Epic Wordmaking. CHS: Your book examines two main subjects: 1) the pronominalization of Odysseus as ἐκεῖνος and as αὐτός 2) the treatment of particles and adverbs deriving from αὐ- and from αὐτός with a focus on the notion of discourse markers. Why was it important to consider these two subjects together? Bonifazi: There is a specific and a general reason. The specific one is that the au- adverbs I discuss and autos share some discourse functions (which supports the hypothesis that autos derives from *au-, by the way); sometimes grammatical distinctions do not help identifying cognate significances. The general reason is that both groups of words are particularly sensitive to the context of their utterance; far from having a stable (univocal) meaning, they contribute, together with their verbal environs, to signal different communicative intentions, a situation which prompts purposive rather than mechanical usages. Read more

News, Publications

Q&A with Anna Bonifazi

We recently had a chance to talk with Anna Bonifazi about her research, Homeric diction, and her new book, Homer’s Verisicolored Fabric: The Evocative Power of Ancient Greek Epic Wordmaking. CHS: Your book examines two main subjects: 1) the pronominalization of Odysseus as ἐκεῖνος and as αὐτός 2) the treatment of particles and adverbs deriving from αὐ- and from αὐτός with a focus on the notion of discourse markers. Read more

Hellenic Studies Series

Homer’s Versicolored Fabric: The Evocative Power of Ancient Greek Epic Word-Making

Anna Bonifazi suggests that the Homeric text we have now would have enabled ancient audiences to enjoy the evocative power of even minimal linguistic elements. The multiple functions served by these elements are associated not only with the variety of narrative contexts in which they occur but also with overarching poetic strategies. The findings relate to two strategies in particular: unfolding the narrative by signaling the upcoming content with αύ- adverbs… Read more

Hellenic Studies Series

From Listeners to Viewers: Space in the Iliad

What do we mean by “space” in the Iliad? The aim of this book is to offer a systematic and comprehensive presentation of the different types and functions of space in the earliest work of Greek literature. By adopting a twofold division between simple and embedded story space, the former pertaining to the actions of characters and the latter to their thoughts, Christos Tsagalis shows how character drawing and authority are deeply influenced… Read more

Hellenic Studies Series

The Master of Signs: Signs and the Interpretation of Signs in Herodotus’ Histories

Readers of Herodotus’s histories are familiar with its reports of bizarre portents, riddling oracles, and striking dreams. But Herodotus draws our attention to other types of signs too, beginning with human speech itself as a coded system that can manipulate and be manipulated. Objects, gifts, artifacts, markings, even the human body, are all capable of being invested with meaning in the Histories and Herodotus shows that conventionally and culturally determined… Read more

Hellenic Studies Series

The Power of Thetis and Selected Essays

Laura Slatkin’s influential and widely admired book, here published in a second edition together with six additional essays, explores the superficially minor role of Thetis in the Iliad. Highly charged allusions reverberate through the narrative and establish a constellation of themes that link the poem to other traditions. Slatkin uncovers alternative traditions about the power of Thetis and shows how an awareness of those myths brings a far greater understanding of… Read more

Hellenic Studies Series

Kleos in a Minor Key: The Homeric Education of a Little Prince

As scholars have remarked, the word kleos in the Iliad and the Odyssey alike refers to something more substantive and complex than “fame” or “glory.” Kleos distinctly supposes an oral narrative—principally an “oral history,” a “life story” or ultimately an “oral tradition.” When broken down into its twin constituents, “words” and “actions” or “deeds,” a hero’s kleos serves to define him as a fully gendered social being. This book is a meditation on this concept as… Read more