Classics

The course aims to provide in-depth knowledge of the methodologies and didactic tools specific to the teaching of Greek language and culture. A first section will focus on the framework of Ancient Greek teaching in Italian Licei Classici, with particular attention to the ministerial curricula and the main methodological orientations currently in use. The course will then address the construction of teaching pathways through the concrete example of a thematic and interdisciplinary module that integrates linguistic, cultural, and historical-critical competences. In particular, the course will explore how the Greeks constructed their own cultural identity in relation to—and in opposition to—otherness, with special reference to social practices and literary reflection in the 5th century BCE. Within the differentiation between the condition of barbaros—a category consolidated in the 5th century in relation to the Persians, defining those outside the ethnic and linguistic nature of the Greeks—and xenos, which designated the foreigner within the framework of social and legal status, the teaching pathway will be structured as a thematic investigation of the representation of the “other,” both as an entity external to the community and as a liminal presence. Two main fields of inquiry will be considered: dramatic production and epigraphic documentation of the 5th century. The course will examine how tragic theatre constructs and problematizes the image of the other, and how this representation corresponds to the social and institutional dimension. Tragedy, both as a mirror of the civic community and as a space of symbolic elaboration, portrayed the other as an external enemy embodying values opposed to those of the polis, but also as an internal presence, destabilizing and at the same time necessary for the process of Greek self-representation. Analysis will focus on exemplary dramas to illustrate the oscillation between exclusion and integration, threat and hospitality, distance and proximity. Beginning with the paradigmatic representation of the enemy in Aeschylus’ Persians—where historical memory of war intertwines with a collective discourse on identity and victory—special attention will be devoted to foreign female figures who embody otherness not only in ethnic, but also in social and gendered terms, destabilizing and redefining the identity categories of the community. Examples include Cassandra, the Trojan prophetess in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, whose unheeded and misunderstood prophetic voice remains excluded from the community and becomes a symbol of the fragility of communication between Greeks and barbarians; and Medea in Euripides, who subverts the cultural and social norms of the polis. This literary inquiry will be accompanied by an analysis of Athenian epigraphic vocabulary and practices concerning foreigners. The early openness of Athens towards foreigners is documented in public inscriptions: decrees and honorary texts regulating their status will be examined, with attention to epigraphic terminology and the ways in which civic practice integrated the status of the xenos within the structures of the community. This thematic and integrated approach, through both literature and epigraphy, will highlight how classical Athens conceptualized otherness not only in literary terms but also in institutional and civic reality. The course will also provide a model for designing autonomous teaching pathways in Greek language and literature, adaptable to different thematic and methodological frameworks. Ultimately, the course will enable students to acquire critical tools for understanding “the other” as a central category in the definition of the Athenian polis and its cultural identity, while at the same time serving as a model pathway for the didactics of Ancient Greek based on thematic framing and diverse types of sources.

The course is intended for students with a solid background in the Classics—particularly in Greek literature, Greek history, and the fundamentals of Greek epigraphy—and with an advanced knowledge of the morphology and syntax of Ancient Greek.

Main texts that will be studied in selection: Eschilo, Agamennone; Persiani: transl. A.H. Sommerstein, Loeb Classical Library 145 (2008) Euripide, Medea: transl. D. Kovacs, Loeb Classical Library 9 (1994). A selection of epigraphical texts will be lifted from M. Guarducci, Epigrafia Greca, vol. II, Roma 1969. The texts studied during the course will be gradually indicated, and the final list of texts will be provided at the end of the course.

Students are required to attend classes; participatory and active learning will be a constant element of the course. No distinction will be made between attending and non-attending students. However, non-attending students are asked to contact the instructor, who will provide clarifications and support through periodic meetings scheduled during the academic year. For the course start date, class schedule, and location, please consult the “Notices” section of the instructor’s webpage. For rapid communication and the distribution of materials, a virtual classroom (Google Classroom) will be activated. Students will be invited to enroll, and detailed information will be provided in advance on the instructor’s webpage.

The final assessment will consist of an oral examination, to be held at the end of the course on dates established in the Academic Calendar. The oral examination is designed to evaluate: Application of linguistic knowledge in context: based on a selection of documents and materials studied during the course, students will be asked to translate and analyze texts from a grammatical perspective (morphology and syntax), and to situate them in their literary and historical-cultural framework. Critical skills and argumentative effectiveness: students will be expected to use their knowledge of the course themes and bibliography to develop original arguments, demonstrate mastery of specialized terminology, interpret historical and cultural phenomena correctly, and establish meaningful connections. Autonomy, analytical skills, and independent inquiry: students will be invited to design their own didactic pathways on selected topics, showing their ability to formulate and illustrate a thesis by using sources and documentation effectively.

Main bibliographical references and teaching resources: - L. Canfora, U. Cardinale (a cura di), Disegnare il futuro con intelligenza antica. L’insegnamento del latino e del greco antico in Italia e nel mondo, Bologna 2012. - G. Alvoni, R. Batisti, C. Neri, P. Rosa, Didattica del greco antico. Modelli, metodi e percorsi per l'insegnamento, Roma 2025 M. Bettini, Lo straniero ovvero l’identità culturale a confronto, «Biblioteca di cultura moderna», Bari 1992 E. Hall, Inventing the Barbarian. Greek Self-Definition through Tragedy, Oxford 1989 M. Zeitlin, Playing the Other: Gender and Society in Classical Greek Literature, Chicago 1996 (in selezione) C. Pace, «Ho riflettuto»: la responsabilità di fronte allo straniero da Omero alla tragedia. In L.P. F. Aronadio (a cura di), Lo straniero e le voci della città, Napoli 2020, 15-63 M. Valente, “Decreto ateniese per i difensori della democrazia”, Axon 174, 2. 1 (2018), 65-90 [https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/journals/axon/2018/1/iss-2-1-2018_d6MrPng.pdf] D.M. Lewis, “Public Speakers and the Role of Foreigners in Athenian Inscriptions”, Classical Quarterly 11 (1961), 14–26 M. Osborne, Naturalization in Athens, Brussels, 1981–1983 (in selezione) P. Gauthier, Les cités grecques et leurs bienfaiteurs. Contribution à l’histoire des institutions, Paris, 1985 (in selezione) A. Chaniotis, “Foreigners and the Greek Polis: Status, Integration and Identity”, Mediterranean Historical Review 14 (1999), 35–63. Additional bibliographical references will be suggested throughout the course.

The course will combine lectures with critical learning strategies (optional readings and selected sources), cooperative learning, learning by doing, and heuristic workshops. Activities will include the reading, translation, and textual analysis of the literary and epigraphic dossier studied in the course, as well as the analysis of cultural and historical phenomena reflected in these texts. Students will be directly involved in discussing the themes addressed and the didactic methodologies proposed. In the final part of the course, they will be invited to design an autonomous didactic project—organized, for example, around themes, authors, or literary genres—based on additional bibliography.