Gregory Nagy

Now Available Online | Masterpieces of Metonymy: From Ancient Greek Times to Now

Masterpieces of Metonymy: From Ancient Greek Times to Now, by Gregory Nagy The Center for Hellenic Studies is pleased to announce the online publication of Masterpieces of Metonymy: From Ancient Greek Times to Now, by Gregory Nagy on the CHS website. The work will soon be available for purchase in print through Harvard University Press. In Masterpieces of Metonymy, Gregory Nagy analyzes metonymy as a mental process that complements metaphor. If metaphor… Read more

Short Writings Volume III | “A poetics of sisterly affect in the Brothers Song and in other songs of Sappho,” by Gregory Nagy

Featured research on The Brothers Song and “Sappho’s sisterly identity” “What would be so delightful about songs expressing an aristocratic woman’s tormented feelings about a brother who squandered his family’s wealth on a courtesan in Egypt?” In an attempt to answer this question, Gregory Nagy comments on the “mixed feelings” of a sister on his essay “A Poetics of Sisterly Affect in the Brothers Song and in… Read more

Short Writings Volume III | “A poetics of sisterly affect in the Brothers Song and in other songs of Sappho,” by Gregory Nagy

Featured research on The Brothers Song and “Sappho’s sisterly identity” “What would be so delightful about songs expressing an aristocratic woman’s tormented feelings about a brother who squandered his family’s wealth on a courtesan in Egypt?” In an attempt to answer this question, Gregory Nagy comments on the “mixed feelings” of a sister on his essay “A Poetics of Sisterly Affect in the Brothers Song… Read more

Classical Inquiries | “Genre, Occasion, and Choral Mimesis Revisited,” by Gregory Nagy

"What happens if the occasion for performing a given genre of song becomes obsolete?" Gregory Nagy considers this question in his recent article on Classical Inquiries: "Genre, Occasion, and Choral Mimesis Revisited—with special reference to the 'newest Sappho'.” (2015.10.1) Drawing on the songs of Sappho and the modern lyrics of Lesley Gore, Nagy argues that genre can compensate for, and even absolutize, the occasion of performance. For Nagy, the occasion of choral performance is the mimesis of emotions by way of song and dance. "The emotions themselves are not the occasion." Read more

Classical Inquiries | "Genre, Occasion, and Choral Mimesis Revisited," by Gregory Nagy

"What happens if the occasion for performing a given genre of song becomes obsolete?" Gregory Nagy considers this question in his recent article on Classical Inquiries: "Genre, Occasion, and Choral Mimesis Revisited—with special reference to the 'newest Sappho'.” (2015.10.1) Drawing on the songs of Sappho and the modern lyrics of Lesley Gore, Nagy argues that genre can compensate for, and even absolutize, the occasion of performance. For Nagy, the occasion of choral performance is the mimesis of emotions by way of song and dance. "The emotions themselves are not the occasion." Read more

Coming soon in the Hellenic Studies Series

We are happy to share the following publications that will soon be available through Harvard University Press. Gregory Nagy Masterpieces of Metonymy In Masterpieces of Metonymy, Gregory Nagy analyzes metonymy as a mental process that complements metaphor. If metaphor is a substitution of something unfamilar for something familiar, then metonymy can be seen as a connecting of something familiar with something… Read more

Now Available Online – The Best of the Achaeans: Concepts of the Hero in Archaic Greek Poetry

The CHS is pleased to announce that The Best of the Achaeans: Concepts of the Hero in Archaic Greek Poetry by Gregory Nagy is now available online on the CHS website. 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… Read more

Now Available Online – The Singer of Tales

The Center for Hellenic Studies is pleased to announce that The Singer of Tales by Albert B. Lord is now available online, for free, in an electronic form, on the newly redesigned CHS website. Albert Lord’s book builds on Milman Parry’s work in his search of the oral traditions in the Yugoslavia of 1933–35. Parry began recording and studying a live tradition of oral narrative poetry to further understand how… Read more

HeroesX "Epic and Lyric" begins September 2

Registration is now open for the latest session of “The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours,” a groundbreaking, open-access educational project from HarvardX that introduces participants to the literature and heroes of ancient Greece. Based upon one of Harvard College’s longest running residential courses, “HeroesX,” for short, is now divided into five separate but integrated units, or learning “modules,” all running on the edX platform. Directed by Gregory Nagy,… Read more

HeroesX “Epic and Lyric” begins September 2

Registration is now open for the latest session of “The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours,” a groundbreaking, open-access educational project from HarvardX that introduces participants to the literature and heroes of ancient Greece. Based upon one of Harvard College’s longest running residential courses, “HeroesX,” for short, is now divided into five separate but integrated units, or learning “modules,” all running on the edX platform. Directed by Gregory Nagy, Francis Jones… Read more