B026306 - CLASSICAL PHILOLOGY

Italian

The course is articulated into 3 parts and aims to introduce students to the history of classical philology (1) and to the principles of textual-criticism (2), through close reading and philological analysis of Greek and Latin literary texts. The third part focuses on the tradition of the literary work included in the course program and on its philological study (3).

M.L. West, “Textual Criticism and Editorial Technique”, Stuttgart 1973

L.D. Reynolds, N.G. Wilson, “Scribes and Scholars. A guide to the Transmission of Greek and Latin Literature”, Oxford 2013_4

G. Pasquali, s.v. Edizione, in Enciclopedia italiana [1932], repr. in Id., “Rapsodia sul classico”, Roma, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana 1986, 255-267

Euripides, Bacchae:
Euripidis Fabulae, ed. J. Diggle, vol. III, Oxonii 1994;
Euripide, Le Baccanti edited by V. Di Benedetto, Milano 2004;

Euripide, Baccanti edited by G. Guidorizzi, Milano 2020;

Euripides, Bacchae, edited with Introduction and Commentary by E.R. Dodds, Oxford 1988_2;

G. Zuntz, An Inquiry into the Transmission of the Plays of Euripides, Cambridge 1965.

Knowledge and Understanding - Knowledge of the history of the tradition of Greek and Latin literary texts in its broad outlines; knowledge of the principles and techniques of modern philological methodology, and its formation from antiquity to modern times; ability to interpret a Greek and Latin literary text and to understand the rationale of the constitutio textus in light of its witnesses.

Applying Knowledge and Understanding –Familiarity with the use of scholarly editions of Greek and Latin literary texts; ability to read and understand a critical edition of a Greek and Latin literary text; informed use of scholarly commentaries and other exegetical tools necessary to gain a satisfactory understanding of the various issues related to ancient Greek and Latin literary texts; ability to use bibliographic research tools and electronic databases available for Greek and Latin literatures.

Making judgements – Acquiring autonomous text-critical and exegetical skills in the fields of Greek and Latin literatures; fostering the formulation of independent critical opinions through the active participation in the discussion activities promoted during the course.

Communication skills – Command of the language and techniques proper to textual criticism; ability to translate and comment on a Greek and Latin literary text in the light of the data of the textual tradition; ability to understand and comment on scholars’ philological choices in relation to individual passages; ability to logically argue one' s own thoughts on a given text-critical problem.

Learning skills – Ability to interpret autonomously data from the textual tradition of a Greek and Latin literary work; capability to use effectively and independently the research tools for the study of Classical texts

Very good knowledge of Greek and Latin language and literature. Knowledge of Greek and Latin prosody, of the dactylic hexameter and of the main iambic metres.

Taught classes.
The course is mostly constituted by taught classes but requires a full-time active participation of the students. Students will participate in reading, translating, and commenting passages discussed in class and, through individual or common study activities, will be involved in the examination of some of the issues analyzed during the course

The course includes the examination of topics and issues concerning the transmission of Greek and Latin literary texts, and the principles of textual criticism through the exemplification of concrete cases of study, which will be part of the course program.
The handouts reproducing the examples which will be discussed in class, and the rest of the didactic material used during the course will be uploaded on the Moodle repository; all the editions and bibliographical entries indicated in the syllabus are available at the University Library.
The choice of a particular Italian/English translation, still available on market, can be discussed with the teacher in person.

Oral examination.
Along with the knowledge of the main phases of the history of the transmission of the Classical texts, the final exam aims to verify the students’ capability in translating, understanding, and analyzing Classical literary texts under a text-critical perspective. The students’ philological skills, as well as their autonomy in formulating analyses and judgments, will be evaluated through the text-critical exegesis and commentary of some Greek and Latin literary passages.
The oral exam will consist in the discussion of some of the topics and case studies analyzed in class (1) and surveyed in the books included in the syllabus (2), and includes (3) the reading, translation, and commentary of one or more passages from Euripides’ Bacchae; the metrical scansion of the iambic lines of the tragedy is requested.

The interactive part of the course will allow the teacher to verify the understanding of the topics explained during the course.
During the final examination, any additional study activities possibly carried out by students will be taken into consideration.

INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF CLASSICAL PHILOLOGY AND TEXTUAL CRITICISM (WITH A CLOSE READING OF EURIPIDES’ BACCHAE).

The first part of the course concerns the essential lines of the history and transmission of Greek and Latin literary texts, with elements of the history of studies. Particular attention is devoted to the origins of the grammatical and philological activities in the Greek and Roman World. The illustration of the main phases of the history of Classical Philology is also elucidated with the support of textual examples, and through the reproduction of ancient manuscripts (papyri and codices) which are variously connected with the issues examined during the lessons.
The second part of the course focuses on the principles and techniques of modern textual criticism. Students’ direct participation will continue to be of particular importance during that part of the course. Taught classes will alternate with interactive moments during which students will gain skills in reading, understanding, and commenting critical apparatuses of Greek and Latin literary texts.
The third and final part of the course concerns the transmission of Euripides’ "Bacchae" and the critical analysis of the text. Some passages from the tragedy will be translated and commented upon during the course; the analysis will be focused on the textual problems and the ecdotic choices of the editors, as well as on the critical and exegetical issues raised by the text.

In view of the final examination students have to read and translate Euripides’ "Bacchae" in its entirety, do the metrical scansion of the iambic lines, and gain skills in reading, understanding and commenting upon the critical apparatus.

During the course the teacher will provide textual handouts and will use power-point presentations in support of the lessons. All the didactic materials will be uploaded on Moodle repository and is part of the course program.

The reference critical edition and commentary for Euripides’ “Bacchae” will be:

Euripidis Fabulae, ed. J. Diggle, vol. III, Oxonii 1994;
Euripide, Le Baccanti. Premessa, introduzione, traduzione, costituzione del testo originale e commento di V. Di Benedetto. Appendice metrica di Ester Cerbo, Milano 2004
The critical commented editions and the other bibliographical items quoted in the section “Suggested reading” will be also taken into account.
The course program includes also:

M.L. West, "Textual Criticism and Editorial Technique", Stuttgart 1973, parts I and II.

L.D. Reynolds, N.G. Wilson, "Scribes and Scholars. A guide to the Transmission of Greek and Latin Literature", Oxford 2013_4

G. Pasquali, s.v. Edizione, in Enciclopedia italiana [1932], repr. in Id., “Rapsodia sul classico”, Roma, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana 1986, 255-267