Classics

MAURIZIO SONNINO

At the end of the course the student: will acquire an adequate knowledge of ancient Greek literature of the classical, Hellenistic and Roman age (Dublin descriptor n. 1); will be able both to place the main literary genres of these periods in context and will consolidate his skills through analysis and interpretation of some selected texts of both these periods (Dublin descriptor n. 2); will be capable to form a personal opinion of the course’s main arguments (Dublin descriptor n. 3); will be capable to speak about the course’s main arguments with specialists and non-specialists and will look for problems’ solution (Dublin descriptor n. 4); will able to study the main aspects of Greek literature and language in depth and independently (Dublin descriptor n. 5).

The main aim of the course is to promote an in-depth study of Greek literature of the classical age through the reading of highly significant works in their original language. Particular attention will be paid both to the historical-philological aspects that characterize these works and to their linguistic peculiarities. Students will be expected:
1) to develop a full understanding of the examined texts and to put them in their correct historical and cultural frame;
2) to deepen their critical methodologies and to use the most common philological tools.

The notions of grammar and syntax learned during secondary school and the notions of historical grammar learned during the course of Greek Language and Literature I must be reviewed, because they will be required in the final exam anyway.

Crisis of Traditional Morality in 5th-4th Cent. Athens: from Sophocles, Aristophanes and Euripides to Plato
It is in the 5th-century Athens that the traditional idea about knowledge and morality (the inherited conglomerate”, according to Murray and Dodds’ definition) is called into question. If man is the measure of all things, as Protagoras claims, how can we avoid inferring that there is no universal idea of justice and good? The aim of the course is to show how this ethical crisis is reflected in the works of the great 5th-century dramatists and how it subsequently throws the basis for the re-foundation of knowledge that Plato will pursue from the early 4th century onwards. We will therefore start with the reading of significant sections from four works that students are required to read in their entirety for the final exam: Book I of Plato’s Republic, with Socrates’ and Thrasymachus’ opposite definitions of justice; Aristophanes’ Clouds, with a Socrates that is the complete opposite, personality-wise, of the Socrates in Plato’s works; Sophocles’ Antigone, which highlights the risks of a society that, in the name of human law, rejects the unwritten laws of the gods; Euripides’ Suppliants Women, where the story of the mothers of the heroes fallen in the Theban war, seeking help from Theseus, is reinterpreted to show — in Zuntz’s words — “a world ... abandoned by the gods, who had left mankind to seek its own paths, to determine its own values, to descry its goal for itself”.

Testi da portare all’esame
• Sofocle, Antigone: lettura integrale del testo greco. Ediz. di riferimento: M. Griffith, Sophocles. Antigone, Cambridge 1999 (fotocopie in vendita presso la copisteria Copy Net, Via degli Irpini, 10); Traduz. italiana di riferimento consigliata: F. Ferrari, Sofocle. Antigone. Edipo Re. Edipo a Colono, Milano (BUR) 1982)
• Euripide, Supplici: lettura integrale del testo greco. Ediz. di riferimento: Ch. Collard, Euripides. Supplices, Groningen 1975 (fotocopie in vendita presso la copisteria Copy Net, Via degli Irpini, 10). Traduz. italiana di riferimento consigliata: A. Gianotti - A. Capra, Euripide. Supplici, Milano (BUR) 2023
• Aristofane, Nuvole: lettura integrale del testo greco e del commento. Ediz. di riferimento: G. Guidorizzi, Aristofane. Le Nuvole. Traduzione di D. Del Corno, Milano 1996 (Mondadori/Fondazione Lorenzo Valla).
• Platone, Repubblica. Libro I. Ediz. di riferimento: D. Sansone, Plato. Republic. Book 1, Cambridge 2023 (fotocopie in vendita presso la copisteria Copy Net, Via degli Irpini, 10). Per una traduzione di riferimento si consiglia: F. Adorno - F. Gabrieli, Platone. La Repubblica, Milano (BUR) 1981
Manuali/articoli
• L.E. Rossi, Letteratura Greca, Firenze (Le Monnier) 1995 (ediz. fuori-commercio: fotocopie in vendita presso la copisteria Copy Net, Via degli Irpini, 10). In alternativa è possibile studiare su un altro manuale a scelta dello studente, purché vengano abbracciate tutte le fasi della letteratura greca dalle origini alla tarda età imperiale.
• E.R. Dodds, I Greci e l’Irrazionale, Firenze 1959

The course will be divided into two different parts. In the first semester we will proceed to the reading of relevant sections from Plato's Republic Book I and Aristophanes’ Clouds. In the second semester we will proceed to the reading of sections from two tragedies (Sophocles, Antigone; Euripides, Suppliants), which students will have to read in full to take the final exam. There will be a translation test from Greek, which will allow access to the oral exam if students will show a good knowledge of Greek language.

 Students are required to attend classes. If students miss classes they should inform staff of their absence and the reason for it. Students are also invited to join the virtual classroom (Classroom), which is useful for sending quick communications and distributing files. Information about this will be communicated in due time on the teacher's website.
 Attention: the course is divided into two different classes (G-O: Prof. Maurizio Sonnino; A-F: Prof. Roberto Nicolai; P-Z: Prof. Luca Bettarini). It is not allowed to switch from one class to the other without previous authorization from the staff.

During the course, there will be a translation test from Greek, which, if successful, will allow access to the final oral exam.The oral exam will be devoted to ascertain students' skill in Greek language, metrics and literature. Students will have to translate some of the chosen texts and answer questions about Greek language (morphology and syntax). Afterwards, they will be asked to put what they have read in the right historical frame. The exam will conclude with some questions about the history of Greek literature. The ability to deal with these three aspects of the oral exam entitles students to a full mark.

˗ Examine the following passage taken from Book I of Plato's Republic. Translate it and explain its contents. Analyze the verb and noun forms that I will indicate gradually.
˗ Read the following verses from Euripides' Suppliants. Translate the text. Indicate which are the verb forms of the third declension and their declensions. Specify which are the verb forms and conjugate the aorist for each of them.
˗ Present the contents of the Euripides text you have read and relate it to the main topic of the course.
˗ Tell me about the developments of Greek literature during the age of Plutarch

• In the first semester
  we will proceed to the reading of relevant sections from Plato's Republic Book I and Aristophanes’ Clouds. 


• In the second semester
  we will proceed to the reading of sections from two tragedies (Sophocles, Antigone;
  Euripides, Suppliants), which students will have to read in full to take
  the final exam.