CLASSICS 303: The Proverb in Ancient Greek Literature

Course Description

This course explores the use of the proverb in ancient Greek poetry and prose. We will examine the role proverbs play across the many different genres of Greek literature as part of a larger "quotation culture" in antiquity, as evinced in oral performance, ancient reading habits, and educational practices. Part of our study will involve tracing the use, reuse, and transformation of certain proverbs to the extent that they become autonomous literary works in their own right. This will lead us to consider what separates a "quotation" from other discourse. Does anyone ever speak without "quoting" something? Texts include selections from Homer, Hesiod, Greek lyric poetry, Greek tragedy and comedy, Herodotus, Plato, and Aristotle. We will also have a special guest lecturer, Prof. Matthew Wright from the University of Exeter, on the surviving fragments of ancient Greek tragedy and Athens' quotation culture during the week we examine proverbs in tragedy.