Students will approach poems about the same topos of the descent to the underworld treated by different authors from different ages. Thanks to the analysis of a wide anthology of poems, students will learn how to recognize some of the recurring features of poetic Latin and will become aware of some of the key elements that made this language process develop. 

The course will be focused on the topos of the descent to the underworld in Latin poetry, starting from the Virgilian Georgics and Aeneid, where the descent to Hades by Orpheus and Aeneas is described. Then the study will move on to Ovid, Lucan, Silius Italicus, Claudian and other authors who imitated or revised this model. 

Students must have an adequate knowledge of the Latin language, guaranteed by a written assessment test, specific for the master’s degree, compulsory, preparatory to this and all other examinations that require knowledge of the Latin language (that is, in the SSD L-FIL-LET/04 and L-FIL-LET/05), which cannot be supported if the test is not passed. The test will consist of questions on the morphology and syntax of the Latin language and the translation of a passage from the work of an author of Latin literature, with the possibility of using vocabulary. Detailed information will be available both in the Blended Learning platform 'Assessment of Latin Language Knowledge' and in the website of the School of Humanities Arts Philosophy  https://www.uniurb.it/corsi/1756846/latino-prova-scritta. There is a single test for each exam session and the dates to take the test will be placed on the first useful day of the exam session and communicated on the website of the School and on the Blended Learning platform (Moodle). The test results will be made available on the Blended Learning platform (Moodle). 

knowledge and understanding: students will have to get to know the essential lines of the development of the topos of the descent into the underworld in Latin literature.

applied knowledge and understanding: students will have to apply knowledge of Latin grammar and syntax in the translation of literary texts.

autonomy of judgment: students must acquire the ability to judge a Latin literary text on the basis of language and style.

communication skills: students must be able to read a Latin literary text in the original language, they must be able to translate and comment on it with adequate clarity from a grammatical, syntactic and stylistic point of view. They will also have to be able to explain the evolution of the topos of the descent into the Underworld in the context of Latin literature.

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

- Seminars on Latin:

Prof.ssa Chiara Celata, Latin in an Indo-European perspective

Prof. Roberto M. Danese, Phonetics and phonology of Latin

Prof.ssa Giorgia Bandini, The Latin of the Archaic Age.

- Metric exercises on the dactylic hexameter:

Prof. Andrea Bacianini.

- Seminar activities to deepen the fortune of the theme of descent into the underworld in modern and contemporary culture.

During the course there will be optional evaluation activities that will allow students to evaluate the degree of their preparation and the effectiveness of the method of study of the subject, in relation to the program carried out up to that time. These tests are therefore only self-evaluation tests to make students more aware of their preparation.

Teaching

Lectures and seminars.

Attendance

Students must attend at least 2/3 of the classes.

Course books

1. Monographic part

Students must demonstrate that they can translate and comment on all the texts discussed in class. The main texts (made available to students on the moodle platform) will be proposed in the following critical editions:

P. Vergili Maronis, Opera, recognovit R.A.B. Mynors, Oxford 1969;

P. Ovidii Nasonis, Metamorphoses, ed. W.S. Anderson, Leipzig 1988;

T. Macci Plauti, Comoediae, recognovit W. M. Lindsay, Oxford 1910;

L. A. Senecae, Tragoediae, recognovit O. Zwierlein, Oxford 1986;

Claudian, De raptu Proserpinae, ed. J.B. Hall, Cambridge 1969.

They should also study the following tests: 

C. Pascal, Le credenze d'Oltretomba nelle opere letterarie dell'antichita classica, Forlì (Victrix) 2006;

G. Pasquali, Acheruns, Acheruntis, SE, (1927), pp. 291-305 (now in Pagine stravaganti, I, Firenze, 1968, pp. 351-359);

A. Torino, Gli inferi come spazio scenico in Plauto, in Rosario López Gregoris (cur.), Drama y dramaturgia en la escena romana, Zaragoza (Planetarium) 2019, pp. 35-50.

During the course we will often refer to a series of works, so we recommend reading, in Italian translation, of:

Omero, Odyssey. Book XI, edited by A. Heubeck, Milan (Fondazione Lorenzo Valla) 1983;

Homeric Hymn to Demeter, in Homeric Hymns, edited by F. Càssola, Milan (Lorenzo Valla Foundation) 1975;

Esiodo, Teogonia, curated by G. Ricciardelli, Milan (Fondazione Lorenzo Valla) 2018;

Aristofane, Le Rane, edited by D. Del Corno, Milan (Fondazione Lorenzo Valla) 1992 (1985);

Claudiano, Il kidnappo di Proserpina, edited by L. Micozzi, Milan (Mondadori) 2013.

The editions of the works listed above can be replaced with other editions commonly marketed. Many of the passages in question are collected in the anthology of T. Braccini - S. Romani,  Una passaggiata nell'Aldilà, Turin (Einaudi) 2017 of which we recommend reading.

2. General part

Knowledge, in the essential lines, of Latin literature from the origins to Apuleius is required, for which reference is made to G.B. Conte, Letteratura latina. Manuale storico dalle origini alla fine dell'impero romano, Le Monnier 1995 (single volume), or other good manual of high school.

Adequate knowledge of Latin grammar and syntax is required, also from a language history perspective, for which reference is made to A. Tranina - G. Bernardi Perini, Propedeutica al latino universitario, Bologna (Pàtron) 1998.

Knowledge, at least theoretical, of the dactylic hexameter is required, for which reference is made to S. Boldrini, La prosodia e la metrica dei Romani, Rome 1992.

Students of the classical curriculum will have to demonstrate the ability to translate and to comment from a grammatical and syntactic point of view on the following works:

Horace, Satire, Book I;

Seneca, De brevitate vitae.

Students of the modern curriculum will have to demonstrate the ability to translate and to comment from a grammatical and syntactic point of view on the following works:

Ovid, Metamorphosis, Book I;

Cesare, De bello Gallico, Book VI.

Assessment

Oral exam (after passing the written test of assessment of the knowledge of Latin, for which see above 'Bridging courses').

The main part of the exam will focus on the linguistic aspect. Students must demonstrate that they can translate all the texts proposed in class during the monographic course and the texts of the general part (Horace and Seneca for the classical curriculum, Ovid and Caesar for the modern curriculum see above 'Course books'). At the same time they will have to prove that they possess a good level of knowledge of Latin grammar and syntax (see also 'Course books'). It will not be possible to pass the exam without having demonstrated adequate language skills.

Second, students will have to demonstrate that they know how to expose the content of the essays indicated (see again 'Course books'), to know how to orient themselves in the history of Latin literature from the origins in Apuleius and, finally, to know the operation, at least theoretical, of the dactylic hexameter.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Course books

Knowledge, in the essential lines, of Latin literature from the origins to Apuleius is required, for which reference is made to G.B. Conte, Letteratura latina. Manuale storico dalle origini alla fine dell'impero romano, Le Monnier 1995 (single volume), or other good manual of high school.

Adequate knowledge of Latin grammar and syntax is required, also from a language history perspective, for which reference is made to A. Traina - G. Bernardi Perini, Propedeutica al latino universitario, Bologna (Pàtron) 1998.Knowledge is required, at least theoretical, of the dactylic hexameter, for which reference is made to S. Boldrini, La prosodia e la metrica dei Romani, Rome 1992.

Students of the classical curriculum will have to demonstrate the ability to translate and to comment from a grammatical and syntactic point of view on the following works:

1. Virgil, Aeneid, Book VI;

2. Horace, Satire, Book I;

3. Seneca, De brevitate vitae.

Students of the modern curriculum will have to demonstrate the ability to translate and to comment from a grammatical and syntactic point of view on the following works:

1. Virgil, Aeneid, Book VI;

2. Ovid, Metamorphosis, Book I;

3. Cesare, De bello Gallico, Book VI.

Assessment

Oral exam (after passing the written test of knowledge of Latin, for which see above 'Bridging courses'). 

The main part of the exam will focus on the linguistic aspect. Students must demonstrate that they are able to translate all the texts indicated in the program (see above 'Courses books'). At the same time they must demonstrate that they possess a good level of knowledge of Latin grammar and syntax (see again 'Courses books'). It will not be possible to pass the exam without having demonstrated adequate language skills.

Second, students must demonstrate that they know how to expose the content of the essays indicated, to know how to orient themselves in the history of Latin literature from the origins in Apuleius and, finally, to know the operation, at least theoretically, of the dactylic hexameter (see still 'Courses books')

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Non-attending students are advised to contact the teacher at least a few months before the exam.

Those who intend to take the exam as a single course must refer to the program for students not attending. The written test of knowledge of the Latin language (see above Bridging courses) is therefore also mandatory for them.