Readings in Greek Literature (301-0-1)

Topic

Euripides' Medea

Instructors

Marianne I Hopman
847/491-8361
Kresge Hall 4361
Office Hours: Tu/Th from 3:30-4:30pm

Meeting Info

Kresge 4364 Classics Sem Rm: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

The range of contemporary retellings of the myth of Medea attests to the powerful resonances that a modern audience may attach to a story of exile, abandon, and infanticide. Yet a full appreciation of the significance of these plays, films, or novels as discourses on contemporary culture requires a careful examination of their relation to Euripides' paradigmatic treatment of the myth in his 431 BCE tragedy. The course will explore how Euripides' _Medea_ is shaped by, responds to, and challenges the social and cultural background of fifth century Athens. In order to better appreciate the specificity of the Euripidean version, a comparative perspective will be offered by looking at earlier and later treatments of the story, including Pindar, Apollonios of Rhodes, Pasolini, and Christa Wolf.

Class Materials (Required)

Mastronarde, D. J. 2002. _Euripides: Medea_. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 9780521643863
Morwood, James, ed. and trans. 2008. _Euripides: Medea and other plays_. Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. 978-0199537969
Hunter, R. 1993. _Jason and the Golden Fleece: the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes_. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 978-0199538720
Wolf, C. 1998. _Medea: A Modern Retelling_. Translated from the German by John Cullen. New York: Nan A. Talese. 978-0385518574

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area