The Iliad - The Council of Independent Colleges

The Iliad
A Seminar for Faculty Members
Directed by
Gregory Nagy
Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature, Harvard University
Kenneth Scott Morrell
Associate Professor and Chair of Greek and Roman Studies, Rhodes College
July 23–27, 2013 • The Center for Hellenic Studies • Washington, DC

The Iliad
Center for Hellenic Studies 4 July 23–27, 2013
The seminar, designed for non-specialists, addresses the challenge of keeping alive
in undergraduate education classical texts such as the Iliad, Odyssey, Homeric
Hymns, poetry of Hesiod, and Histories of Herodotus that a generation ago were
read and understood by every college graduate. Full-time faculty members in all
disciplines at CIC member colleges and universities who might have occasion to use
classical texts in their courses are encouraged to apply.
Homeric poetry occupies a unique position in the evolution of ancient Mediterranean civilizations,
playing a formative role in the development of epic in the Greco-Roman world. The study of this
poetry requires a careful analysis of literary genres viewed in the historical contexts of performance
traditions. Such traditions are conditioned by a wide variety of artistic, political, religious, and even
economic conventions. Many of these conventions have found their way into our modern cultural
contexts. This seminar will offer an opportunity to examine the many dimensions of the Iliad in its
various historical contexts and explore how the poem (to be read in translation) can be studied in
courses that address a variety of literatures and disciplines. Participants will discuss diverse topics
ranging from the exchange of luxury goods to the adjudication of disputes arising from athletic
contests.
Along with providing information and background for understanding Homeric poetry in its
ancient contexts, the seminar will devote a substantial portion of each day to reading and analyzing
the poem itself.
On the first day participants will explore the “Homeric Questions”—that is, what is the role
of an individual singer in an oral tradition; how did performances from an oral tradition become
literary artifacts; and how did the various versions of the transcribed poem evolve into the text
we commonly use today In addition, participants will discuss Iliad 1–2, which depicts the feud
between Agamemnon and Achilles, Agamemnon’s dream, the omen and the snake and the birds,
and preparations for battle, which include the catalogue of ships.
The second day will begin with a brief overview of the relationship between Homeric studies and
archaeological research on the material evidence that currently informs our understanding of the
Bronze Age and the Archaic period as depicted in the Iliad. Discussions will then shift to the poem
as participants examine Iliad 3–7, which includes the “τειχοσκοπία” (teikhoskopía, “the view from the
wall”), the introduction of Helen, the duel between Menelaus and Paris, the wounding of Menelaus,
Diomedes’ ἀριστεία (aristeía) and his moment of martial excellence, Hector’s return to the city and
final meeting with Andromache, and the duel between Hector and Ajax.
Cover images provided courtesy of Lanah Koelle and Allie Marbry of the Center for Hellenic Studies.

The third day will review responses to the Iliad—from the perspective of performance genres, such
as lyric poetry and tragedy, which evolved after the disappearance of the oral tradition. Participants
will then examine Iliad 8–10, which concerns the building of the wall, the embassy of Odysseus,
Phoenix, Ajax to Achilles, and the nighttime raid of Odysseus and Diomedes on the camp of the
Thracians. Next, participants will discuss Iliad 11–12, which focuses on Agamemnon’s turn as the
preeminent warrior and the Trojans’ breach of the Greeks’ defensive wall.
The fourth day will feature a discussion of the Iliad as a source of cultural paradigms, vignettes that
served to illustrate moral dilemmas, appropriate and inappropriate modes of social interaction, and
the relationship between certain characters and other elements of their immediate and more distant
circumstances. Participants will look at how these exempla have migrated into other artistic media—
including film. A discussion of developments in Iliad 13–15, when the fighting reaches the Greeks’
ships, Hera distracts Zeus allowing the Greeks to repel the Trojans, and the Trojans counterattack,
will be followed by Iliad 16–18, where the narrative focuses on the return of Patroklos to the fighting,
his death, the fight to recover his body, and the armor Achilles receives to replace what Patroklos wore
and lost to Hector.
On the fifth day, participants will explore Iliad 19–24, featuring the return of Achilles to the
fighting, his aristeía, the death of Hector, Priam’s trip to the Greek camp to recover his son’s body,
their return to the city, and the mourning for Hector. The workshop will conclude with summative
observations and assessment, followed by drinks and dinner.
Gregory Nagy is the Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and
professor of comparative literature at Harvard University. He has served as chair
of Harvard’s Literature Concentration, chair of the Department of the Classics,
president of the American Philological Association (APA), and, since 2000,
director of the Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS). His publications include
The Best of the Achaeans: Concepts of the Hero in Archaic Greek Poetry, which
won the APA’s Goodwin Award of Merit; Greek Mythology and Poetics; Pindar’s
Homer: The Lyric Possession of an Epic Past; Poetry as Performance: Homer and
Beyond; Homeric Questions; Plato’s Rhapsody and Homer’s Music: The Poetics of the Panathenaic Festival
in Classical Athens; and Homeric Responses. In spring 2002, he delivered the Sather Lectures at the
University of California, Berkeley, on “Homer the Classic.”
Kenneth Scott Morrell is associate professor and chair of Greek and Roman
Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and is director of outreach
at CHS. In addition to publishing and teaching on ancient Greek and Latin
literature, he has participated in an archaeological survey in southwestern
Turkey and been active in a variety of initiatives related to the use of information
technology. He was an original member of the Perseus Project and has more
recently been involved with Sunoikisis (http://sunoikisis.org) and the Collaboratory
for GIS and Mediterranean Archaeology (CGMA) Project (cgma.depauw.edu).

Participants, Location, and Expenses
Up to 20 individuals will be selected by competitive nomination. Participants must be full-time
faculty members at CIC member institutions and can be in any field or department. The seminar will
take place at CHS in Washington, DC. Housing will be provided at the Center. Rooms, most meals,
books, and other expenses will be covered by CIC, CHS, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The
only expense to participants or their institutions will be transportation to and from Washington, DC,
although CIC will offer reimbursements of up to $200 for travel expenses.
Nomination Process
The chief academic officer of the nominee’s institution must nominate the faculty member who wishes
to participate. Each institution may nominate more than one individual, and faculty members of all
academic ranks are eligible to participate. The seminar is open to individuals who have participated in
previous CIC/CHS seminars, but preference will be given to first-time participants. The nomination
instructions and form are available online at www.cic.edu/AncientGreece and may be submitted by mail
or online. Each nomination package should consist of the following:
1. Nomination letter from the chief academic officer;
2. Completed nomination form;
3. Nominee’s curriculum vitae; and
4. Nominee’s statement of reasons for wishing to participate in the seminar and of anticipated
outcomes (no more than one page).
Nomination Deadline
Please send the completed nomination in a single package to CIC by Friday, February 1, 2013.
Selection of Participants Announced: Friday, March 1, 2013
Submit Nominations
Materials to:
Stephen Gibson
Director of Programs
Council of Independent Colleges
One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 320
Washington, DC 20036-1142
Phone: (202) 466-7230
Email: sgibson@cic.nche.edu
www.cic.edu/AncientGreece
The seminar is held on the Center for Hellenic
Studies’ campus in Washington, DC.
XX%
Cert no. XXX-XXX-000