Commentary Assignment

Introduction to Greek Literature Cornell College Resources | Deadlines | Authors | Bibliography | Syllabus for GRE 205

What to include:

The basic idea is that this commentary will be useful to other students in the class if they want to read the passage, too. It should fall into five parts:

a general introduction (1-2 pages), including but not limited to some brief biographical background on the author, background on the genre (e.g. biography, history, lyric, etc.), its context within the entire work, meter (if poetry), and any other general knowledge that is important for understanding the passage.
a copy of the text on a single page (with line numbers added if not already included).
your own translation (demonstrating your understanding of the Greek).
a line by line commentary providing glosses for new vocabulary and explanations of unusual grammar, allusions, historical references, mythology, etc.
a one or two page appreciation/synthesis of your reaction to the passage from a literary, scientific, or historical point of view.

Questions you might answer in part 5: how does an understanding of the Greek enrich your appreciation of the passage (i.e. nuances in meaning, plays on words, use of tenses, use of voice)? What stylistic choices does the author make (e.g. vocabulary, constructions, subordination)? How does the passage fit into the rest of the work in terms of characterization, plot, mood, etc.? Is it representative or unusual?

Deadlines

first Friday: have an author chosen
second Tuesday: have a passage chosen
third Monday: commentary completed

List of Authors

Listed below are some of the authors that you may choose from in selecting your passage. Most can be found on-line in Perseus Primary Text Index or in paper form in the Loeb Classical Library, green bound volumes in the 880's (* denotes most accesible authors).

Perseus includes the texts of many of the authors listed above in both Greek and English as well as an on-line Greek-English Lexicon and Morphological Analysis Tool. It also includes maps, plans, and images of Greek art, artifacts, and archaeological sites.

Commentaries and other works in printed form concerning these authors can be found through Cole On-Line. I would be happy to assist you in finding material on these authors.

Click here for up-to-date links about Greek Writers

PROSE

Biography: *Plutarch
Biology/Medicine: Aristotle, Aelian, Galen, Hippocrates
History: Herodotus, Thucydides, *Xenophon, Polybius, *Arrian
Mathematics: Archimedes, Euclid (in Greek Mathematics)
Mime: Herodas
Mythology and Religion: Andocides On the Mysteries, *Apollodorus, *Pausanias, *Cassius Dio
Novel: *Chariton, Longus, Xenophon of Colophon
Oratory and Law: Gorgias, Lysias, Andocides
Politics and Philosophy: Plato, Aristotle, *Plutarch's Moralia, *Xenophon's Memorabilia, The Old Oligarch, Theophrastus' Characters, *Diogenes Laertius
Satire/Fantasy: Lucian, *Aesop, Babrius
Travel Literature: *Pausanias, *Strabo

POETRY

Tragedy: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides
Comedy: Aristophanes, *Menander
Lyric Poetry: Sappho, Anacreon, Attic Scolia (drinking songs), Theognis, *Solon (all in Greek Lyric), the Greek Anthology (includes epigrams and short poems by both men and women poets [in Greek Anthology])

Reference Works on the Ancient Greek World

Boardman, John, et al. The Oxford History of the Classical World. Oxford: Clarendon, 1986. Political, as well as social, cultural, and literary history. 938 Ox2
Bonnefoy, Yves, and Wendy Doniger, eds. Mythologies. 2 Vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. Ref 291.13 M999
Easterling, P.E. and B.M.W. Knox, eds. The Cambridge History of Classical Literature. Vol. 1: Greek Literature. Cambridge, 1985.
Grant, Michael, ed. Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome. 3 vols. Riverside, NJ: Scribner's, 1988. Covers all aspects of the ancient world with short, authoritative articles. Ref 938 C499
**Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. 3rd ed. Oxford, 1996. Brief, authoritative entries on nearly every aspect of the ancient world. Ref 913.38 Ox2 1996
Leach, Maria, ed. Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1949. Excellent; not limited to Greco-Roman world. Ref 398 F6
Lefkowitz, Mary R., and Maureen B. Fant. Women's Life in Greece and Rome. A Sourcebook in Translation. 2nd Ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1992. Greek and Roman documents. 305.420945 W842 1992
**Luce, T.J., ed. Ancient Writers: Greece and Rome, 2 vol. New York: Scribners, 1982. Includes biography of and criticism on most ancient authors, and a good starting bibliography. Ref 928.8 An22
Morford, Mark, and Robert Lenardon. Classical Mythology. 3rd ed. New York: Longman, 1985. Useful compilation of material on each of the major gods and heroes of the Greco-Roman world. 292 M819c
Smyth, Herbert Weir. Greek Grammar. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1956. 485 Sm9g
Snyder, Jane M. The Woman and the Lyre: Women Writers in Classical Greece and Rome. Carbondale: Southern Illinois, 1989. 880.99287 Sn92wo

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Last Update: 29 July 1999

Site Maintainer: classical_studies@cornellcollege.edu


	Commentary Assignment Introduction to Greek Literature Cornell College Resources \| Deadlines \| Authors \| Bibliography \| Syllabus for GRE 205 What to include: The basic idea is that this commentary will be useful to other students in the class if they want to read the passage, too. It should fall into five parts: a general introduction (1-2 pages), including but not limited to some brief biographical background on the author, background on the genre (e.g. biography, history, lyric, etc.), its context within the entire work, meter (if poetry), and any other general knowledge that is important for understanding the passage. a copy of the text on a single page (with line numbers added if not already included). your own translation (demonstrating your understanding of the Greek). a line by line commentary providing glosses for new vocabulary and explanations of unusual grammar, allusions, historical references, mythology, etc. a one or two page appreciation/synthesis of your reaction to the passage from a literary, scientific, or historical point of view. Questions you might answer in part 5: how does an understanding of the Greek enrich your appreciation of the passage (i.e. nuances in meaning, plays on words, use of tenses, use of voice)? What stylistic choices does the author make (e.g. vocabulary, constructions, subordination)? How does the passage fit into the rest of the work in terms of characterization, plot, mood, etc.? Is it representative or unusual? Deadlines first Friday: have an author chosen second Tuesday: have a passage chosen third Monday: commentary completed List of Authors Listed below are some of the authors that you may choose from in selecting your passage. Most can be found on-line in Perseus Primary Text Index or in paper form in the Loeb Classical Library, green bound volumes in the 880's (* denotes most accesible authors). Perseus includes the texts of many of the authors listed above in both Greek and English as well as an on-line Greek-English Lexicon and Morphological Analysis Tool. It also includes maps, plans, and images of Greek art, artifacts, and archaeological sites. Commentaries and other works in printed form concerning these authors can be found through Cole On-Line. I would be happy to assist you in finding material on these authors. Click here for up-to-date links about Greek Writers PROSE Biography: Plutarch Biology/Medicine:* Aristotle, Aelian, Galen, Hippocrates History: Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Arrian Mathematics: Archimedes, Euclid (in Greek Mathematics) Mime: Herodas Mythology and Religion: Andocides On the Mysteries, Apollodorus, Pausanias, Cassius Dio Novel:* Chariton, Longus, Xenophon of Colophon Oratory and Law:* Gorgias, Lysias, Andocides Politics and Philosophy: Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch's Moralia, Xenophon's Memorabilia, The Old Oligarch, Theophrastus' Characters, Diogenes Laertius Satire/Fantasy:* Lucian, Aesop, Babrius Travel Literature:* Pausanias, Strabo POETRY Tragedy: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides Comedy: Aristophanes, Menander Lyric Poetry:* Sappho, Anacreon, Attic Scolia (drinking songs), Theognis, Solon (all in Greek Lyric), the Greek Anthology (includes epigrams and short poems by both men and women poets [in Greek Anthology]) Reference Works on the Ancient Greek World Boardman, John, et al. The Oxford History of the Classical World. Oxford: Clarendon, 1986. Political, as well as social, cultural, and literary history. 938 Ox2 Bonnefoy, Yves, and Wendy Doniger, eds. Mythologies. 2 Vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. Ref 291.13 M999 Easterling, P.E. and B.M.W. Knox, eds. The Cambridge History of Classical Literature. Vol. 1: Greek Literature. Cambridge, 1985. Grant, Michael, ed. Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome. 3 vols. Riverside, NJ: Scribner's, 1988. Covers all aspects of the ancient world with short, authoritative articles. Ref 938 C499 Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. 3rd ed. Oxford, 1996. Brief, authoritative entries on nearly every aspect of the ancient world. Ref 913.38 Ox2 1996 Leach, Maria, ed. Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1949. Excellent; not limited to Greco-Roman world. Ref 398 F6 Lefkowitz, Mary R., and Maureen B. Fant. Women's Life in Greece and Rome. A Sourcebook in Translation. 2nd Ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1992. Greek and Roman documents. 305.420945 W842 1992 Luce, T.J., ed. Ancient Writers: Greece and Rome, 2 vol. New York: Scribners, 1982. Includes biography of and criticism on most ancient authors, and a good starting bibliography. Ref 928.8 An22 Morford, Mark, and Robert Lenardon. Classical Mythology. 3rd ed. New York: Longman, 1985. Useful compilation of material on each of the major gods and heroes of the Greco-Roman world. 292 M819c Smyth, Herbert Weir. Greek Grammar. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1956. 485 Sm9g Snyder, Jane M. The Woman and the Lyre: Women Writers in Classical Greece and Rome*. Carbondale: Southern Illinois, 1989. 880.99287 Sn92wo Return to Cornell College Classical Studies Home Page

	Last Update: 29 July 1999 Site Maintainer: classical_studies@cornellcollege.edu