GRK30060 Greek Texts: Aeschylus

Academic Year 2023/2024

This module focuses on Aeschylus' Eumenides, to be studied in the original Greek. This play is the final part of the great Oresteia trilogy (458 B.C.). The module is taught in small classes, which are devoted to reading the text and discussing points of interest. Students will be expected to prepare a section of the text for each class, and to be able to translate and discuss it.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students should be able to:

* translate the text with confidence and accuracy;
* evaluate modern interpretations of the text;
* answer questions on specific points in the text;
* construct a relevant and analytical essay on the text.

Indicative Module Content:

Indicative Coursework Essay Titles

(a) ‘The questions are indeed answered and the conflicts resolved’ (Richard Seaford). Is this a fair assessment of Eumenides as a conclusion to the Oresteia?

(b) How far should Eumenides be seen as ‘a play for its day’ (Alan Sommerstein)?

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

18
Specified Learning Activities

70
Autonomous Student Learning

12
Total

100
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The module is taught in small classes, typically 2-3 students, and focuses on reading the text in Greek and discussing points of interest. There will be 18 classes in total. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Requirements:

Students taking this module should have at least one year's experience of reading unadapted Greek texts.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Essay: 1,500-word essay. Students taking the module as part of a research degree programme shall do another class test instead of the essay. Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

30
Class Test: 50-minute test (translation and comment) Week 11 n/a Graded No

35
Class Test: 50-minute test (translation and comment) Week 5 n/a Graded No

35

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students will receive detailed individual feedback on all their assignments.

Prescribed Text

Aeschylus, Eumenides, ed. A.H. Sommerstein (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989).


Translations

The Loeb translation by Sommerstein is reliable, as is the translation by C. Collard in the Oxford World’s Classics series.


Recommended Secondary Literature

M. Lloyd (ed.), Oxford Readings in Aeschylus (Oxford, 2007), 20–29
E.R. Dodds, ‘Morals and politics in the Oresteia’, in The Ancient Concept of Progress (Oxford, 1973), 45–63. Reprinted in Oxford Readings in Aeschylus.
C.W. Macleod, ‘Politics and the Oresteia’, Journal of Hellenic Studies 102 (1982), 124–44. Reprinted in Collected Essays (Oxford, 1983), 20–40, and also in Oxford Readings in Aeschylus.
O.P. Taplin, The Stagecraft of Aeschylus (Oxford, 1977), ch. 8
R.P. Winnington-Ingram, Studies in Aeschylus (Cambridge, 1983)
A.J. Podlecki (ed.), Aeschylus: Eumenides (Warminster, 1989)
S.D. Goldhill, Reading Greek Tragedy (Cambridge, 1986), chh. 1 & 2


Name Role
Professor Michael Lloyd Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Ms Suzanne Lynch Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
 
Autumn
      
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Fri 12:00 - 12:50
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Tues 14:00 - 14:50
Autumn