The objective of the course is the acquisition of theoretical principles and methodological lines fundamental to the study of the history of the Greek language and includes articulation of the subject from a general historical overview and develops institutional issues concerning the phonology and the morphology of the Greek language in an Indo-European perspective, finally proposing a reading of poems from the Archaic and Hellenistic ages as concrete examples of paradigmatic value and of the use of poetic language, in this case the expression of specialized iambic content. The choice of topics is aimed at the acquisition of content, concepts and methodologies consistent with the educational and professional profile that characterizes the course of study and is absolutely relevant for the student in view of his job to come.

The program involves the study of the fundamental problems of the history of the Greek language, concerning at a historical level its origin and evolution and then at a prescriptive level the main phonological and morphological features of the different dialects. A significant part of the program is also formed by a deeper knowledge of selected poems of the Archaic and Hellenistic periods, which come to constitute the paradigm of the iambic genre.

In the various phases of the course, the following arguments will be covered in the order indicated:

- signs of ancient history on the territorial expansion of the Greeks, migration, the formation of tribes and dialects, with particular attention to the relationship between the mythical tales, archaeological data and the language;

- elements of the phonology of Greek in an Indo-European perspective;

- a brief treatment of the systems of writing and of the transmission of texts (from the local archaic alphabets to the Hellenistic version);

- the principle phonological and morphological characteristics of the various dialectic groups (Doric, Aeolian, Ionic-Attic, Arcadian-Cypriot);

- the concept of 'literary languages' and their relationship both of proximity and of alienation, with respect to the real and true dialects, documented by epigraphic texts;

- reading of poems from the Archaic and Hellenistic ages belonging to the iambic genre: first, their metric, linguistic and dialectic (especially, the Ionic dialectic with local variants) characteristics will be highlighted as well as the themes, the occasion, and the modality of execution, and the lexicon.  In particular, the following will be proposed: Archilochus, fragm. 5, 19, 23, 25, 43, 114, 115, 124, 125, 126, 128, 172, 173, 188, 196a West; Semonides, fragm. 1, 8 Pellizar-Tedeschi; Hipponax, fragm. 1, 2, 33, 36, 42, 43, 44, 121, 122, 126, 194 Degani; Callimachus, Iambus I.

The student will be guided to confront various fundamental arguments concerning the complex problems of the Greek language’s origin, formation, development and its principle morphological characteristics which mark not only the different dialects verified by the epigraphs but also the literary languages.  The student will be able to verify the acquisition of his/her skills through direct examination of the poetic texts of various ages, all belonging to the iambic genre; in the study of these poems, he/she will check, at least in part, the data acquired in theory and will come to know in a deeper way various valid examples of a consistent literary tradition that characterizes the Greek works.  The student will be able to improve and expand his/her linguistic and literary knowledge and the study skills acquired in the course of the three-year degree program and will acquire a more profound knowledge of the Greek language.  The student’s preparation, achieved through the study of ancient texts and specialized manuals, will allow a more complex and specialized approach to the classical literary texts, as required under the profile of this degree program’s course of study. 

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

There is no foreseen teaching support.

Teaching

Traditional classroom lessons and seminars.

 

Attendance

Knowledge of the Greek language is required. 

 

 

Course books

The fundamental textbook for this course is:  Storia delle lingue letterarie greche, a cura di A. C. Cassio, Milano 2008 (Le Monnier).  

The study of the institutional part will be based not only on the content of introductory lessons given during the course but also on the first three chapters of the manual mentioned above.

In addition to the first three chapters, the student may choose from the manual three more chapters which concern the language and the dialect used by the representative authors of the diverse literary genres.

The reference texts, which deal with components of translation and commenting, are:

1) M. L. West (ed.), Iambi et Elegi Graeci ante Alexandrum cantati. I-II. Editio altera, Oxford 1989-92 (Clarendon Press);

2) E. Pellizer-G. Tedeschi (edd.), Semonides. Testimonia et Fragmenta, Roma 1990 (Ateneo);

3) E. Degani (ed.), Hipponax. Testimonia et Fragmenta, Leipzig 1983 (Teubner);

4) R. Pfeiffer, Callimachus. I Fragmenta; II Hymni et Epigrammata, Oxford 1949-53 (Clarendon Press);

5) G. B. D’Alessio (ed.), Callimaco. I. Inni, Epigrammi, Ecale; II. Aitia, Giambi e altri frammenti, Milano 1996 (BUR).

 The texts mentioned above are available in the Library of the Department.

 

 

Assessment

The exam consists in an oral test on the theoretical part of the course and on the part concerning the metric interpretation, the translation and the linguistic commento of the iambic texts of the archaic and hellenistic period read and analyzed during the course.

Disabilità e DSA

Le studentesse e gli studenti che hanno registrato la certificazione di disabilità o la certificazione di DSA presso l'Ufficio Inclusione e diritto allo studio, possono chiedere di utilizzare le mappe concettuali (per parole chiave) durante la prova di esame.

A tal fine, è necessario inviare le mappe, due settimane prima dell’appello di esame, alla o al docente del corso, che ne verificherà la coerenza con le indicazioni delle linee guida di ateneo e potrà chiederne la modifica.

Attendance

Knowledge of the Greek language is required. 

 

Course books

The fundamental textbook for this course is:  Storia delle lingue letterarie greche, a cura di A. C. Cassio, Milano 2008 (Le Monnier). The students who don't attend the course, have to study the entire volume. 

The reference texts, which deal with components of translation and commenting, are:

1) M. L. West (ed.), Iambi et Elegi Graeci ante Alexandrum cantati. I-II. Editio altera, Oxford 1989-92 (Clarendon Press);

2) E. Pellizer-G. Tedeschi (edd.), Semonides. Testimonia et Fragmenta, Roma 1990 (Ateneo);

3) E. Degani (ed.), Hipponax. Testimonia et Fragmenta, Leipzig 1983 (Teubner);

4) R. Pfeiffer, Callimachus. I Fragmenta; II Hymni et Epigrammata, Oxford 1949-53 (Clarendon Press);

5) G. B. D’Alessio (ed.), Callimaco. I. Inni, Epigrammi, Ecale; II. Aitia, Giambi e altri frammenti, Milano 1996 (BUR).

 The texts mentioned above are available in the Library of the Department.

 

 

Assessment

The exam consists in an oral test on the theoretical part of the course and on and on the part concerning the metric interpretation,the translation and the linguistic commento of the iambic texts of the archaic and hellenistic period read and analyzed during the course.

Disabilità e DSA

Le studentesse e gli studenti che hanno registrato la certificazione di disabilità o la certificazione di DSA presso l'Ufficio Inclusione e diritto allo studio, possono chiedere di utilizzare le mappe concettuali (per parole chiave) durante la prova di esame.

A tal fine, è necessario inviare le mappe, due settimane prima dell’appello di esame, alla o al docente del corso, che ne verificherà la coerenza con le indicazioni delle linee guida di ateneo e potrà chiederne la modifica.