Admission requirements
The course is an elective open to MA and ResMA students. A working knowledge of Ancient Greek (e.g. a language acquisition course) is required, and students preferably have some experience with Homeric Greek. In case of doubt, please contact the instructor.
Description
Mycenaean civilization flourished in mainland Greece and on the Aegean islands in the Late Bronze Age. The Mycenaeans have left behind an impressive material legacy as well as thousands of clay tablets (about 1400-1180 BCE). These tablets, which all form part of local administrations, are written in a highly archaic form of Greek in the Linear B script. On the other hand, the Homeric epics, our oldest alphabetic Greek sources (about 700 BCE), are separated from Mycenaean world by some five centuries. There are various reminiscences but also stark differences between these two worlds, both linguistically and culturally. This course develops an understanding of how Homeric language and culture are connected with the Mycenaean world, but at the same time separated from it by a long evolution that we can try to reconstruct.
The first part of this course gives an introduction to Mycenaean language (grammar, Linear B) and to Mycenaean culture and society as it appears from the tablets. The language will be taught in a hands-on manner, by reading a selection of texts (in transliteration) and secondary literature. In addition, students are expected to independently prepare a few texts and articles for the midterm exam, which will round off the first part of the course.
During the second half of the course, we will delve into the Greek epic tradition and its prehistory. We will read sections from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey that may contain cultural or linguistic reflexes of the Mycenaean period (e.g. hospitality scenes, technology, onomastics) and compare these with the Linear B texts. We will learn about the complex ways in which Homeric language evolved as the result of an oral tradition and its contact with various dialects, leading not only to the transformation of linguistic forms and cultural concepts, but also to the preservation of archaic features.
The course will be assessed with a written midterm exam and a final paper on the linguistic or cultural background of the Homeric poems and their language. All texts and syllabi will be made available through Brightspace.
Course objectives
At the end of the course, students:
have knowledge about the Linear B writing system (in transliterated form) and its relation to Mycenaean phonology and morphology as we reconstruct it;
are able to discuss the linguistic relation between Mycenaean, later forms of Greek, and Indo-European, and with this knowledge evaluate interpretations of Mycenaean words;
are able to contextualize Mycenaean texts with the help of secondary literature;
are able to discuss theories on how Homeric language was shaped by its long prehistory (dialects, metre, oral versification);
are able to interpret and evaluate claims regarding the connection between Homeric and Mycenaean language and culture.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
Midterm exam on Mycenaean language and prepared texts
Final paper on the (Mycenaean) prehistory of Homeric language and/or culture
Weighing
midterm exam 40%, final paper 60%.
Additional requirement: the grade of both parts must be at least 5.
Resit
There is one resit option for both parts of the assessment.
inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will be organized.
Reading list
Y. Duhoux and A. Morpurgo Davies (eds.), A Companion to Linear B: Mycenaean Greek Texts and their World. Part 1. Louvain-la-Neuve: Peeters, 2008. (ISBN: 9789042918481)
Course syllabus on Mycenaean spelling, phonology and morphology.
Course syllabus on the language of Greek epic
Selected articles (to be communicated at the start of the semester)
Course slides will be made available via Brightspace
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration Exchange
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Reuvensplaats
Remarks
Not applicable.