Myth and Greco-Roman Drama

Professor Matthew McGowan Fall Semester '06
Time: MWF 1:00-1:50; Place: Kauke 237; Course #: CCIV 221
Office: Kauke 201; Office Hours: Mon. 9-10, Tues. 11-12, and by appointment
Tel.: 330-263-2320; Email: mmcgowan@wooster.edu

Required Texts:
Aeschylus, Oresteia: Agamemenon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides (trans. R. Lattimore)
Sophocles, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone (trans. D. Grene)
Euripides, Medea (trans. A. J. Podlecki), Hippolytus (trans. M. Halleran), Bacchae (trans. S. Esposito)
Aristophanes, The Frogs (trans. R. Lattimore), The Clouds & The Birds (trans. W. Arrowsmith)
Plautus, Persa (Iran Man), Poenulus (Towelheads), Curculio (Weevil) (trans. A. Richlin)

Course Description: This course provides an introduction to classical myth in the context of Greco-Roman drama. We will start by looking at how myth functions in select works of the tragic poets Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Here we will examine how religion, law, and politics relate to the dramatic recreation of myth on stage. We will ask: to what extent does tragedy both influence and reflect what it means to be a citizen in fifth-century Athens? We will then study three plays of the comic poet Aristophanes. The focus of our inquiry will shift: how does Greek comedy work together with tragedy to represent the values of Athenian citizenry in the late fifth and early fourth century BC? We will end the course with three Latin plays of the comic poet Plautus. Here we will consider the problem of translation: how does a Greek idiom, comedy, function in a Roman context?

Course Requirements: This class is reading, writing, and discussion intensive. There will be weekly in-class writing assignments with identifications from the readings (15 min.), a mid-term exam (10/13), two analytical papers on topics distributed in class (3-5 pages), and a final comprehensive exam (12/15). Grades will be determined on the basis of work in class, i.e. preparation, identifications, essays, and participation (30%), the mid-term (15%), the two papers (30%), and the final (25%). Out of 100 points: 94-100 = A, 90-93 = A-, 87-89 = B+, 83-86 = B, 80-82 = B-, 77-79 = C+, 73-76 = C, 70-72 = C-, 60-69 = D, 59 and below = F. All assignments are due when they are due, and late papers will be docked a grade for every session that they are late (e.g. A –> A-). Attendance is expected, and there will penalties on the final grade for excessive absences: for each absence beyond two unexcused you will be docked a grade. In the case of an absence, excused or unexcused, you are responsible for making up the work from the missed class.

Reserve Reading: Articles on electronic reserve may be discussed in class on Wednesday and then included on Friday’s quiz. Readings are accessible on the library’s website via the password: myth.

The Writing Center: You are encouraged to take advantage of the support offered by the College’s Writing Center located in Andrews Library. Stop in or call ext. 2205 to set up an appointment.

The Learning Center: Any student with a documented disability needing academic accommodation is requested to speak with Pam Rose, Director of the Learning Center (ext. 2595) and the instructor as early in the semester as possible. All discussions will remain confidential.

Academic Integrity: The College’s understanding and expectations in regard to issues of academic honesty are fully articulated in the Code of Academic Integrity as published in The Scot’s Key. Academic integrity forms an essential part of the implicit contract between the student and the College. Cheating or plagiarism of any kind in your academic work mark a serious breach of this contract and are grounds for an F for the entire course.

The following is a provisional schedule subject to change over the course of the semester:

Week 1 (8/28-9/1) Introduction to Greek Tragedy; Aeschylus, Oresteia: Agamemnon
Reserve: Maurice Valency, “Tragedy;” Jean-Pierre Vernant, “The Historical Moment of Tragedy in Ancient Greece: Some of the Social and Psychological Conditions”

Week 2 (9/4-8) Aeschylus, Oresteia: Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides
Reserve: Froma Zeitlin, “Dynamics of Misogyny: Myth and Mythmaking in Aeschylus’ Oresteia”

Week 3 (9/11-15) Aeschylus, Oresteia: Eumenides; Sophocles: Oedipus the King
Reserve: E. R. Dodds, “On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex”

Week 4 (9/18-22) Sophocles, Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Paper I—Thesis Statement, 9/22
Reserve: Jean-Pierre Vernant, “Ambiguity and Reversal: The Enigmatic Structure of Oedipus Rex”

Week 5 (9/25-29) Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone; Paper I—Final Draft, 9/29
Reserve: Charles Segal, “Antigone: Death & Love, Hades & Dionysus”

Week 6 (10/2-6) Euripides, Medea; Friday, October 6: In-class essay on Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Medea (on reserve in the Media Library); Reserve: Bernard Knox, “Medea of Euripides”

Week 7 (10/9-13) Euripides, Hippolytus; MIDTERM EXAM: 10/13
Reserve: Peter Burian, “Myth into Muthos”

Week 8 (10/16) Fall Break, no class; (10/18-20) Euripides, Bacchae
Reserve: Jean-Pierre Vernant, “The Masked Dionysus of Euripides’ Bacchae”

Week 9 (10/23-27) Introduction to Greek Comedy; Aristophanes, Frogs
Reserve: Jeffrey Henderson, “The Demos and Comic Competition”

Week 10 (10/30-11/3) Aristophanes, The Clouds
Reserve: William Arrowsmith, “Introduction to the Clouds” (text p. 13-20)

Week 11 (11/6-10) Aristophanes, The Birds; Paper II—Thesis Statement, 11/10
Reading: William Arrowsmith, “Introduction to the Birds” (text p. 173-83)

Week 12 (11/13-17) Introduction to Roman Comedy; Plautus, Persa; Paper II—Final Draft, 11/17
Reserve: David Konstan, “Roman Comedy”

Week 13 (11/20) Plautus, Persa; 11/22-24: Thanksgiving recess!

Week 14 (11/27-12/1) Plautus, Poenulus
Reserve: Niall Slater, “Plautus in Performance”

Week 15 (12/4-8) Plautus, Curculio; Course Review
Reserve: Timothy Moore, “The Theatre of Plautus”

FINAL EXAM: Friday, December 15, 2:00 pm