Join Professor Gregory Nagy on a 24-“Hour” journey that lasts a lifetime!


Red-figured kalathos attributed to the Brygos Painter: obverse, Sappho and Alcaeus, each with barbiton and plectrum, ca. 470 BC. Munich, Antikensammlungen 2416.
Registration is now open for the latest session of “The Ancient Greek Hero,” a groundbreaking open, online project from HarvardX that uses Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) technology to introduce participants to the literature and heroes of ancient Greece. The project is directed by Gregory Nagy, Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University.
Based upon one of Harvard College’s longest running residential courses, “HeroesX,” invites learners to experience, in English translation, some of the most beautiful works of ancient Greek literature and songmaking: the Homeric Iliad and Odyssey; tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; songs of Sappho and Pindar; dialogues of Plato, and On Heroes by Philostratus.
Throughout the project, Nagy and his Board of Readers, chaired by Professor Leonard Muellner, model techniques for “reading out” of these ancient works instead of reading into them, all the while referencing a wide variety of cultures, popular as well as canonical, modern as well as ancient. Ultimately, even participants with little experience in the subject can gain an understanding of how classical literature serves as an exquisite system of communication, revealing what it means to be human today through the lens of the Greek heroes of the past.
The project begins on January 12, 2017. Registration via edX is open to all. HarvardX learners may explore the content and the project’s activities for free, or may register for an edX Verified Certificate through another registration procedure. Students seeking college credit for their transcripts may enroll in an associated course through Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education.