- Spring 2019
Syllabus Description:
Latin 463: Latin Literature of the Empire Sp 2019 MW 2:30-4:20 Prof. Connors cconnors@uw.edu Office hours Thurs 2:45-4:45 and by appointment. Denny 262
Metamorphoses in Ovid and Apuleius
To round out this year’s 461-2-3 sequence of Latin literature courses we will read selections in Latin on the theme of transformation. The first book of Ovid's Metamorphoses represents cosmic and individual transformations that bring Ovid's world into being. Apuleius' Metamorphoses (or The Golden Ass) tells the story of a one man's transformation into an animal and back again. Both Ovid and Apuleius explore themes of religion, storytelling and identity in ways that sometimes seem strikingly modern. We will consider Ovid and Apuleius' portrayals of the social life of the Roman empire and their uses and transformations of previous works in Latin, especially Virgil's Aeneid.
Course requirements include midterm, final, short report and final project.
Required texts:
Ovid, Metamorphoses 1, A. G. Lee (Bloomsbury)
An Apuleius Reader: Selections from the Metamorphoses, Ellen D. Finkelpearl (Bolchazy-Carducci).
The Classics Department's Latin 461, 462 and 463 courses offer a rotating selection of authors annually and can be taken more than once (up to three times, 15 credits total, for each course).
Io being welcomed by Isis (fresco from Pompeii)
Detailed Schedule
Mon 1 April Apuleius 1.1.1-1.2.1
Wed 3 April Apuleius 2.1.-2.2; 2.6-7;
Mon 8 April Ovid, Met. 1.1-50
Wed 10 April Apuleius 3.1.1-3.2.5; 3.2.7-9; 3.8.1-4; 3.9.5-3.11.6
Mon 15 April Ovid Met. 1.164-252 Lycaon episode
Wed 17 April Apuleius 3.21-1-3.22.5; 3.24-26
Mon 22 April Ovid Met 1. 254-310 The Flood, 351-415 Deucalion and Pyrrha
Wed 24 April Apuleius
Mon 29 April Ovid Met 1. 438-451 The Python 452-542 Daphne
Wed 1 May Midterm exam. passages for translation and comment along with an essay question, which will be distributed in advance.