What is so special about Virgil, and what is so special about his own epic, the Aeneid (1st century BCE)? This unit considers the role played by Virgil’s Aeneid within the epic tradition, how the poem has been interpreted and how it sets itself up for re-interpretation. More than a thousand years after the poet’s death, Virgil is chosen by Dante Alighieri as his pilgrim’s guide through hell and purgatory in his Christian epic poem, the Divine Comedy (14th century CE). We will discuss both the ways in which these dramas are responding to their ancient context, and how their characters, themes, and ideas still challenge and inspire us today. In reading their works, we will consider these not only as poetic texts but also as performance pieces, thinking about the ways in which the words on the page would have come alive in the great Theatre of Dionysus in Athens. Playwrights discussed include Aeschylus with his grand themes and majestic language Sophocles, regarded by some as the most perfect of ancient dramatists Euripides, the radical innovator who challenged the expectations of his audience and the comic playwright Aristophanes, whose vicious and often bawdy humour was the scourge of arrogance and hypocrisy in Athens. We will read, in English translation, plays by the extant playwrights of the fifth century BCE, a time regarded as the golden age of Greek drama. In this unit, we will explore the world of ancient Greek theatre. Tragedies and comedies were rooted in, and often responded to, the concerns of ancient Athens at the same time, they raise questions and touch on themes that still resonate with us nearly two and a half thousand years later. Tragic poets produced plays that drew on ancient myths to tell emotionally powerful and intellectually-challenging stories, while Athenian comedy skewered the pompous and powerful in plays that were pointed as they were hilarious. The city-state of Athens, famous as one of the first societies to call itself a democracy, was also one of Greece’s main centres of the dramatic arts. Theatre is one of the most enduring products of ancient Greek culture. More information can be found via the tuition fee bursaries page.Īll texts read in this course are in English translation, and this course requires no prior knowledge of ancient history, literature, or languages. The bursary is particularly intended for applicants working in deprived / disadvantaged settings and who would otherwise face financial barriers to engage with study. Please note that ICE now offers the Classics for All bursary. Five bursaries of £2500 each are intended to enable teachers or other education professionals working in UK-based settings to enrol on the Undergraduate Certificate in Classical Studies. We offer a range of tuition fee bursaries to promote access to and participation in continuing education. Our undergraduate courses are now being delivered entirely online, enabling students to study flexibly with the University of Cambridge from anywhere in the world. This one-year part-time course will give you a foundation to a broad range of analytical methods as well as providing students with a rigorous depth of knowledge in specific areas of study, reflecting the diversity of ancient Mediterranean society and its frontiers.
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