The work of the Ancient Greek lyric poets suffered badly with the onset of the Dark Ages; only a small portion of their work survives. But these poets were highly regarded in antiquity and Sappho in particular has rightly seen her fortunes rise recently. What has survived of this poetry is beautiful, significant and recently augmented through exciting discoveries in papyrology. In this course of lectures we will seek to read all that has survived of Ancient Greek lyric and to contextualize it.
These poets all belong to the world of ‘Archaic Greece’, a Mediterranean world that is bustling with trade in commerce and, equally importantly, ideas: this age witnesses the rise of the Greek polis against the backdrop of Persian aggression, the consolidation of writing as a medium for poetic expression (and otherwise) and the miracle of rationalism that was to become Greek philosophy and science. But these poets also belong to a wider circle of hugely important archaic Greek poets such as Homer, Hesiod and Archilochus and to get a better understanding of lyric we will spend some time with all of them. We will start briefly with the epic background in Homer and Hesiod then move to Archilochus, an iambic poet of the previous generation. We will then study the early choral poet Alcman, then Sappho and Alcaeus and finally Stesichorus, whose lyrics paved the way for Bacchylides and Pindar. Handouts of all passages for discussion will be distributed in each class.
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for this course are:
- To gain a good understanding of the actual content of Ancient Greek lyric poetry
- To gain a good understanding of the historical context in which it was produced
- To gain a good understanding of key terms of analysis, including Ancient Greek words and metrical terms
Classes
1. Introduction: the nature of Ancient Greek epic and iambic poetry
2. Alcman
3. Sappho and Alcaeus
4. Stesichorus
5. Bacchylides and Pindar
Required reading
M. L. West (trans.), Greek lyric poetry, (Oxford World’s Classics, OUP, 2008)
Sappho, Stung with love: poems and fragments of Sappho (Penguin Classics, 2009).
Pindar, The Complete Odes, (Oxford World’s Classics, OUP, 2008) Or Pindar, Cecil Bowra (ed.), The Odes of Pindar, (Penguin Classics: 1982)
Students wanting fuller, authoritative texts and further scholarly information (including the original Greek) should consult Greek lyric (ed. and tr. David A. Campbell), a five volume set in the Loeb Classical Library, and Greek iambic poetry (ed. and tr. Douglas E. Gerber), also in the Loeb Classical Library.
Typical week: Monday to Friday
For each week of study you select a morning (Am) and an afternoon (Pm) course, each course has five sessions, one each day Monday to Friday. The maximum class size is 25 students. Your weekly courses are complemented by a series of two daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.
c.8.00am-9.00am |
Breakfast in College (for residents) |
9.00am-10.30am |
Am Course |
11.15am-12.30pm |
Plenary Lecture |
12.30pm-1.45pm |
Lunch |
1.45pm-3.15pm |
Pm Course |
4.00pm-5.15pm |
Plenary Lecture |
c.6.00/6.15pm-7.15/7.30pm |
Dinner in College (for residents) |
c.7.30pm onwards |
Evening talk/event |
Evaluation and Academic Credit
If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.
Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £65 per essay.
For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.
Certificate of attendance
A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically within a week of your courses finishing.