Course Catalogue

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The conquests of Alexander (336 to 323BC) greatly expanded the horizons of the Greek world: this course examines the changed situations and contexts in which the poets of the period following these conquests worked. These contexts were very different from those of earlier poets, such as the relationship between the different Hellenistic poets (and their poems), and their attitudes to and reform of the past, from their use of Homer to their treatment of perceptions of the Greek world. The most important poets of the period, Callimachus, Theocritus, and Apollonius of Rhodes, working principally in the recently founded city of Alexandria, helped to shape all later views of ancient literature, from those of Virgil and Ovid onwards.

1 x 1 hour lectures per week, over 10 weeks, and 1 x 1 hour seminars per week, over 10 weeks.

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GREEK**** Hellenistic poets in Greek [UG mirror course of this course], CLASSIC4096 [Hons version of this course]

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The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Commentary on a translated poem 1,200 words 35%

■ Essay 2,500 words 65%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ There are no alternatives to the assessments, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

This course aims to:

■ Study one of the most interesting and influential periods in Greek literature.

■ Develop in students a broad but deep knowledge of central texts of Greek poetry.

■ Increase students' awareness of current debates on a wide variety of relevant critical and theoretical topics.

■ Develop skills in close reading and analysis of literary texts, studied in translation

■ Develop students' exploration of an important body of literature from a variety of different perspectives, reflecting the key themes of the course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Produce detailed readings of the poems of Callimachus, Theocritus and Apollonius (among others) 

2. Show evidence of understanding of the social, historical, and cultural contexts of Hellenistic poetry

3. Present their own research relating to the themes of the course in a coherent and scholarly form

4. Show awareness of the interrelated nature of literature with cultural and historical contexts