Greek & Roman Epic

Isaak O

October 13, 2011 - 11:23 AM

I am enrolled in my first Classics course this term, titled, "Greek & Roman Epic." We are reading through Homer's, "Iliad" and "Odyssey", and Virgil's "Aeneid." This is not my first encounter with these works, but I knew even before I came to school that I wanted to take a class that studied in detail these great canons of ancient epic.

Having worked my way through the entire, "Iliad" and just now starting the, "Odyssey" things have gone well thus far. We are reading the translations of Stanley Lombardo, whom I was unaware of before, but am now unable to forget. Any time I reach for any ancient Greek or Latin translations, I'll be sure to look for his works first. The course has been satisfying, one part literary analysis and one part historically educative. The professor is very young, breathing his freshness with the works into the discussion of the class, which has been very engaged. I know few disciplines with longer academic traditions than the study of ancient Greek and Latin texts, and I feel truly within the role of a student in studying them.