Calendar of Events for the months of:
All presenters will speak during the midday break for ariston (lunch).
This month we will celebrate poetry and the dramatic arts.
Day 1: This month Tattannu of Nuzi and Wakare of Heliopolis (Egyptian On) will discuss and recite examples of poems from our eastern and southern neighbors. Sumerian literature will be represented by The Cursing of Akkade, from Ur's Third Dynasty, and by the poetry of the Akkadian High Priestess of Ur, Enheduana, the daughter of Sargon. Akkadian poetry will also be discussed, including The Birth Legend of Sargon and The King of Battle, which both describe the life of Sargon of Akkad. Babylon will be represented by a discussion of the well known Epic of Gilgamesh, which was reworked into its final form by Sin-liqi-unninni. The Enuma Elish and the Atra-hasis Epic will also be covered. The city of Ugarit in northern Canaan will be represented by a discussion of The Epic of Kirta and The Rapiuma. Egyptian epic poetry, such as The Drama of Osiris and The Battle of Kadesh, as well as love poetry from Egypt's New Kingdom, will also be discussed.
Day 8: Agathias of Thessalonika and Demetrius of Calabria will examine Greek and Roman epic poetry. They will compare the well known Iliad and Odyssey with other epics that deal with the Trojan War, such as the Cypria, which deals with events leading up to the Trojan War, the Aethiopis, which features the death of Achilles, the Little Iliad, where the Trojans take the famous horse into Troy, The Sack of Troy, and The Returns, which features the return of the warriors to their homes. They will also cover Kinaithon's epic story of Oedipos. Two Roman epics will be compared, Ennius' Annales and Virgil's Aeneid. Ennius' Annales covers Roman history from the time of Aeneas' flight from Troy to 184 BC. It was the most famous and popular Roman epic until Virgil wrote the Aeneid. They will also discuss Naevius' The Punic War, which is another early Roman epic. The discussion will end with a comparison of Homer's Odyssey in the original Greek with the famous Latin translation by Livius Andronicus.
Day 15: Agathias of Thessalonika and Demetrius of Calabria will return to discuss Greek and Roman lyrical poetry. They will highlight early poets, such as the famous Hesiod, Arkhilokhos, Semonides of Amorgos, and the well-known Sappho. Later poets include Stesikhoros, whose long poems inspired many classical tragedians. From the 5th century BC, they will focus on Pindar and his rival, Corinna of Tanagra. Poets from the 4th century BC include Philetas of Cos, who helped to revive poetry in 320 BC, and Erinna of Tenos and Anyte of Tegea. Works from Kallimakhos (Callimachus), the cataloger of the Library of Alexandria, will also be discussed, especially his Aitia ('Origins') and his short epic, the Hecale. They will also examine Apollonius of Rhodes' long Argonautica, about the epic voyage of Jason and the Argonauts, and Aratus of Soli's Phaenomena, which tells the stories of the constellations. Highlights from Roman poets, such as Livius Andronicus, Catullus of Verona, and Ovid will also be covered.
Day 22: The month will end with a day-long celebration of tragedy. Anaxagoras of Tanagra will begin with a discussion of the origin and history of Greek drama. At the conclusion of the discussion, The Berean Players will perfom a special tetralogy of plays. The tetralogy will start with Thespis of Attika's Pentheus. Pentheus was an early ruler who opposed the cult of Dionysos. Thespis of Attika (c 535 BC)is of course well known as the Father of Drama. He was the first to add an actor to the chorus. Aiskhylos of Athens (525 - 455 BC) later added a second actor and Sophokles of Colonus (in Athens, 496 - c 406 BC) added a third. Our second play will represent the classical period of tragedy and will feature Euripides' beloved Bacchae, which also deals with the introduction of the cult of Dionysos. For a Roman perspective on this topic, we will end with Lucius Accius' Bacchae. Lucius Accius lived from 170 BC to 86 BC. Since no good performance would end without a satyr play, we will end our afternoon with Pratinos' Palaestrae. Pratinos of Phlius (c 500 BC) is known as the inventor of satyr plays.
Sources:
Ancient Greek Literature, K. J. Dover (ed.), New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.
Classical Drama: Greek and Roman, Meyer Reinhold, New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1959.
Classical Women Poets, Josephine Balmer, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Bloodaxe Books, 1996.
Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley, New York: Penguin Books, 1994, 1995.
Hypatia's Heritage: A History of Women in Science from Antiquity through the Nineteenth Century, Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.
Norton Book of Classical Literature, Bernard Knox (ed.), New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1993.
Penguin Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations, Arthur Cotterell (ed.), New York: Penguin Books, 1980, 1988.
Roman Literature and Society, R. M. Ogilvie, New York: Penguin Books, 1980.
Women in Ancient Egypt, Gay Robins, London: British Museum Press, 1993.
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