GREEK 463 A: Hellenistic Greek Literature

Greek 463 Theophrastus Characters

Spring 2022

MW 2:30-4:20

DEN 210

Instructor: James J. Clauss, Department of Classics

Office: Denny Hall M262F (difficult to find); tel. 543-2266 (department office phone)

E-mail: jjc@uw.edu

Office Hours: by in-person or zoom appointment

Holidays: Monday, May 27

Please note that I’ll be unavailable April 3-5 and April 22-23. Please do the readings for these days and we’ll go over the material afterwards.

Required Texts:

James Diggle, Theophrastus: Characters. Cambridge Greek and Latin classics. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2022. For a colorful review of the book, see BMCR.

Extra Readings:

The life of Theophrastus in Diogenes Laertius: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diogenes_Laertius/Lives_of_the_Eminent_Philosophers/5/Theophrastus*.html

Wikipedia article on Theophrastus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophrastus

Menander’s Dyskolos: https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Grouch.php

Resources:

Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar Harvard University Press 1920 (on-line at Hathi Trust Digital Library: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001181313)

H.G. Liddell and R. Scott, Greek-English Lexicon is available on line at:

Logeion: https://logeion.uchicago.edu/lexidium

The Perseus Project: Text of Theophrastus with grammatical help but no translation.

The Loeb Classical Library is available through the UW Library: http://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/classics

Oxford Classical Dictionary, Oxford: OUP 4^th ed. 2012 (3^rd ed. revised 2003), also at the UW Library: http://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/classics

Goals of the Course:

• To increase facility in reading Greek prose by building vocabulary and familiarity with Greek morphology (forms), grammar and syntax.
• To read a fascinating study of human character by Aristotle’s student and successor that also sheds light on characters in Roman and Greek New Comedy. They are also hilariously funny! The characters described are delightfully strange but eerily familiar.
• The text and commentary by Diggle is outstanding and provides remarkable insights into the author’s style as well as the time in which he wrote (4^th century BCE).
• To recognize that even a student of Aristotle and head of the Lyceum has a wicked sense of humor. OMG!

Grade:

Test 1 (April 29): 25%

Test 2 (May 29): 25%

Final Paper: (6-8 pages; May 31): 30%

Participation: 20%

Note: both tests will involve essays and not translation.

Potential topics for the final paper will emerge during the quarter. You can choose an essay of your preference (e.g., analysis of one of the character types or comparison with several); summarize and critique an article or book chapter (bibliography at the end of the book); or write your own account of a “character” based on contemporary personality types in the style of Theophrastus or Menander! Note that, depending on your level of exposure, you may not complete class assignments. Read as much as you can in Greek and the rest in English. Your ability to read will improve as we move through the readings.

Schedule of Readings:

                                    Monday                                              Wednesday   

Week 1 (3/25)             Intro                                                    ΕΙΡΩΝ

Week 2 (4/1)               ΚΟΛΑΞ                                              ΑΔΟΛΕΣΧΗΣ

Week 3 (4/8)               ΑΓΡΟΙΚΟΣ                                        ΑΡΕΣΚΟΣ

Week 4 (4/15)             ΑΠΟΝΕΝΟΗΜΕΝΟΣ                       ΛΑΛΟΣ

Week 5 (4/22)             ΛΟΓΟΠΟΙΟΣ                                     ΑΝΑΙΣΧΥΝΤΟΣ

Week 6 (4/29)             Test 1                                                  ΜΙΚΡΟΛΟΓΟΣ

Week 7 (5/6)               ΒΔΕΛΕΡΟΣ/ ΑΚΑΙΡΟΣ                    ΠΕΡΙΕΡΓΟΣ/ ΑΝΑΙΣΘΗΤΟΣ

Week 8 (5/13)             ΑΥΘΑΔΗΣ/ ΔΕΙΣΙΔΑΙΜΩΝ            ΜΕΜΨΙΜΟΡΟΣ/ ΑΠΙΣΤΟΣ

Week 9 (5/20)             ΔΥΣΧΕΡΗΣ / ΑΗΔΗΣ                       ΜΙΚΡΟΦΙΛΟΤΙΜΟΣ

Week 10 (5/27)           Holiday                                               Test 2

Please note:

Department of Classics Undergraduate Textbook fund (for majors and minors in Classics): https://classics.washington.edu/undergraduate-textbook-fund

(Here's the official language of that link: The Classics Undergraduate Textbook Fund is designed to provide or defray the cost of textbooks needed for your courses taught by instructors from the Department of Classics. Requests must meet the following criteria to be eligible for funding:

1. You must be a current major or minor in the Department of Classics.
2. The textbook(s) must be required for the course by the instructor.
3. You must be enrolled in the course for which the textbook is required. 

To apply for funding, please fill out this web form and attach a receipt showing proof of purchase of your textbook(s).

Important UW policy-related things to know:

• The UW's Religious Accommodations Policy:“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.).”
• The UW's Student Conduct Code: "The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/."(Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.)
• Access and Accommodation: Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu.  (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions.  Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS.  It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

• Academic Integrity: University of Washington students are expected to practice high standards of academic and professional honesty and integrity as outlined here:http://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf (Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.)
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