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2. Course Overview
• Comprehensive Description: One of the greatest challenges for the student of Ancient Greek is the transition from heavily adapted texts to original literature. This seminar aims to bridge that gap with a reading of selected episodes of the Odyssey in a prose paraphrase written in real, unsheltered Ancient Greek. Reading Homer through prose paraphrases is an old practice, preserved in school papyri and Byzantine schoolbooks, and from that very tradition comes the text itself: the paraphrase of the Odyssey by Neophytos Doukas (1760–1845), a scholar of the Neohellenic Enlightenment. The seminar is conducted entirely in Ancient Greek: each passage is read aloud, worked through by question and answer, and retold by the students in their own simple Greek; new words are glossed in Greek, and grammar is consolidated lightly in context as it arises.
3. Proficiency & Requirements
• Language Level:
◦ Framework Reference: Designed for students who have completed at least Athenaze through chapter 12, or Polis level 3, or an equivalent curriculum.
◦ General Description: Advanced beginners: students should be comfortable with the aorist and the participle system. Since the seminar is conducted entirely in Ancient Greek, they should also be able to engage in basic active dialogue. Familiarity with the genitive absolute, indirect statement with the infinitive, and the articular infinitive (τό + infinitive) is recommended.
• Estimated Self-Study Time:
◦ Time Commitment: 1–2 hours per week
◦ Preparation Type: Students read in full, in a translation in their own language, the books of the Odysseyfrom which each week’s episodes are taken, so that the whole story, including what happens between them, is familiar before they meet the Ancient Greek text.
4. Materials & Bibliography
• Required Textbooks:
◦ Primary Text: All instructional materials will be provided by the instructor.
◦ Disclaimer: The only required book is a complete translation of the Odyssey in the student’s own language (any translation will serve; in English, for example, Richmond Lattimore’s) or Gareth Hinds’s graphic adaptation.
5. ATTENDANCE, CERTIFICATION AND RECORDINGS
By enrolling, you agree to our standard academic regulations. These guidelines include the minimum attendance required to earn a Certificate of Completion, policies regarding lesson recording availability, mandatory parental consent for minors, and intellectual property protections. Please read our complete Attendance, Certifications, and Recordings Policy herefor full details on attendance, certifications, session recordings, user privacy, intellectual property rights, and special learning accommodations.
