Seminar: Hellenistic Poetry

Catalog description

In this seminar we will read in their original Greek version extended portions of three major Alexandrian poets' works: Apollonius of Rhodes, Callimachus, and Theocritus, supplemented by readings in Hellenistic epigrams and other texts as well as secondary literature. We will pay attention to the social, political and literary environment of third century Alexandria, where –under very special conditions– these works were produced and received for the first time. We shall investigate the nature of the Hellenistic aesthetic, the relation of Hellenistic to archaic and classical poetry, and the way Hellenistic poetry is a reflection of its time and place.