Final (Study Test 2 Flashcards First)
classics
the study of the cultures of Greece
and Rome from the Bronze Age to the
end of the Roman Empire
ROMAN
TRANSLATION
PROJECT
Denis Feeney’s term for the process by
which the Romans created Latin-language
literature on Greek models
HELLENISTIC
PERIOD
the period of Greek history beginning
with the death of Alexander the Great
Livius Andronicus
- c. 280/270 –200 BCE
- possibly a freedman of a Roman senator
- considered the first Roman to translate Greek literature into Latin
- including a translation of the Odyssey
- also composed his own Latin literature using Greek forms
Genres Imported from Greek Literature
epic, hymns, tragedy, comedy,
historiography, oratory, didactic, philosophical, dialogue
INTERPRETATIO
ROMANA
“Roman translation,” including religious
syncretism (the assimilation of non-
Roman religion to Roman religion)
Roman Names for Greek Gods
-Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon, Zeus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hephaestus, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Athena
Hestia-Vesta
Demeter-Ceres
Hera-Juno
Poseidon-Neptune
Zeus-Jupiter
Aphrodite-Venus
Hermes-Mercury
Hephaestus-Vulcan
Ares-Mars
Apollo-Apollo
Artemis-Diana
Athena-Minerva
VERGIL’S AENEID
- 19 BCE (early Roman Empire)
- picking up Trojan War mythology
- integrating Roman history and
culture into Greek mythology
OVID’S METAMORPHOSES
- 8 CE (early Roman Empire)
- a variety of Greek myths merging
into history - united around the theme of
transformations
The geographical and historical proximity of ancient Greek and
Roman culture led to
cultural influence on the Romans
The “Roman translation project” incorporated Greek mythology
into
Latin-language literature
LATIUM
the region of the Italian peninsula to
which Rome belonged
Latinus and Amata’s daughter
Lavinia
Lavinia is betrothed to
Turnus
Aeneas marries
Lavinia
Aeneas’ parents
Anchises and Venus
Aeneas’ first wife
Creusa
Aeneas’ son
Ascanius (Iulus)
The Aeneid tells the story of Aeneas,
the legendary founder of the
Roman people
Vergil blends the mythology of the Trojan War with
Roman
historical legend to create the Aeneid
Aeneas is a figure with roots in the mythology of
the Trojan War
Jacques Derrida
- 20th-century French philosopher and
literary theorist - Author of Archive Fever (1995) and other
works - Originator of deconstructionist literary
criticism
DECONSTRUCTION
an approach to literary criticism that
emphasizes the fundamental instability
and indeterminacy of meaning in a text
Archive Fever (1995)
- originally published in French as Mal
d’Archive - a theory of the archive and archiving
as storage sites for cultural
information
ARCHONTIC
PRINCIPLE
“that drive within an archive that seeks to always produce more archive, to enlarge itself”
DICTATOR
a Roman official appointed by the Senate
to hold absolute authority in order to
resolve a crisis
Augustus
- nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar,
claiming descent from Venus - winner of the civil wars in the 1st century BCE
and first Roman emperor - in power from 27 BCE to 14 CE
- champion of Roman nationalism and social
and political values
Roman Republican Government consisted of
ELECTED MAGISTRATES
and
THE SENATE
ELECTED MAGISTRATES
*military and political leaders
*judicial authorities
*elected by Roman citizens
THE SENATE
*advisory body
*composed by appointment
*including wealthy property holders
and former magistrates
PRINCEPS SENATUS
“first of the senate,” an honorary title for
the senator who had the privilege of
speaking first in the Roman senate
Future Romans
-Silvius: son of Aeneas and Lavinia and king at Alba Longa
-Romulus: founder and first king of Rome
-Augustus: first emperor of Rome
The Aeneid was composed in a traumatic period of Roman history
in which Roman identity had been shaken by
civil war
The Aeneid establishes continuity between Greek myth and
Roman history, paralleling Augustus’ project of
creating political
continuity
Vergil draws on the authority of Greek mythology to
strengthen
this narrative of Roman continuity
Vulcan (Hephaestus)
GOD O F F I R E , V O L C A N O E S , A N D C R A F T —
E S P E C I A L LY M E TA L LU R GY
EKPHRASIS
an extended, often detailed and vivid,
description of a work of art in a literary
text
Roman History on Aeneas’ Shield
- Ascanius’ (therefore Aeneas’) descendants
- Romulus and Remus
- Rape of the Sabine Women
- Alliance of the Romans and Sabines
- Execution of Mettius Fufetius
- Porsenna’s Siege
- Gallic Invasion of Rome
- Romans in the Underworld
- Battle of Actium
Romans in the Underworld
-CATILINE, BYWORD FOR TREASON
-CATO THE ELDER, PARAGON OF ROMAN VIRTUE
INTERTEXTUALITY
a relationship between literary texts in
which a reader’s knowledge of one text
shapes their interpretation of another
Scenes on the Shield of Achilles
*the universe: earth, sea, and sky
*a city at peace: weddings and a trial
*a city at war: a siege, an ambush, a raid, and a battle
*agriculture: plowing and harvesting grain and grapes, herding cows
and sheep
*leisure: dancing and a festival
The Shield of Aeneas in Book VIII of the Aeneid parallels
the Shield
of Achilles in Book XVIII of the Iliad
The Shield of Aeneas is decorated with
illustrious scenes from
Roman history
Vergil places the Shield of Aeneas in direct, intertextual
conversation with
the Homeric Shield of Achilles
HISTORIOGRAPHY
the study of written history with
emphasis on the style and agenda of its
composition
(Some) Key Questions in Historiography
- What do the writers of history choose to include in their
histories? What do they omit? - What are writers of history trying to accomplish? What
are their goals, biases, and blind spots? - Who were the writers of history writing for?
Herodotus
- Greek author of an early work of history known as “The Histories” or “The Persian Wars”
- Probably lived in the 6th or 5th centuries BCE (500s or 400s)
- from Halicarnassus, a Greek city on the coast of Asia Minor
- Concerned with the causes of the Persian Wars between the Persian Empire and Greek city-states (approx. 500 –450 BCE)
Titus Livius (“Livy”)
- Roman historian of the early Empire (59 BCE –17 CE)
- Author of the Ab Urbe Condita Libri (“Books from When the City was Founded”)
- Historical narrative of Rome from 753 BCE to Livy’s own time
- Fragmentary: Most of the work has been lost over time
ELEGY
poetry associated with loss, lament, and
mourning
love elegy
unhappy relationships
emotive
elegiac couplets
Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid)
- Roman poet living in the Augustan Age
- approximate lifetime: 43 BCE –17 CE
- made his name writing love elegy
- exiled by Augustus in 8 CE
ARS AMATORIA
“The Art of Love,” Ovid’s didactic poem
about establishing and conducting sexual relationships
Augustan Marriage Laws
- morality laws instituted between 18 BCE and 9 CE
- promoted marriage and childbirth among citizens
- punished adultery with exile and property confiscation
METAMORPHOSES
“changes of shape” or “transformations”
Metamorphoses
- composed by Ovid around his exile in 8 CE
- structured around myths featuring
transformations - a universal history from creation to his
present day
Palatium
root of the English word “palace”
PROGRAMMATIC
tone-setting; a programmatic passage
reveals the underlying agenda and
priorities of a literary work
The Metamorphoses was composed by Ovid,
a Roman poet with a
complicated relationship to Augustus
The Metamorphoses collects and organizes mythology
thematically around
transformations
The myths of Lycaon and Daphne can help us to interpret Ovid’s
attitude toward
contemporary history
MYTHOGRAPHY
the collection and compilation of myths
mythography
anthologies of myths
informational
prose
THE FATES
three chthonian goddesses who embody
destiny and foreknowledge
CATALOG POEM
a poem that compiles a list of things,
characters, or stories, generally within a
certain category
Mythological Catalog Poetry
Hesiod
*Theogony
*genealogy
of gods
Homer
*Odyssey 11
*the dead in
Hades
Ovid
*Metamorphoses
*chronology of
myths
The Metamorphoses can be considered a type of
mythography
Unlike Hyginus, Ovid structures his mythography using
literary
characteristics of epic and catalog poetry to serve his narrative
These literary characteristics reveal Ovid’s underlying interest both
in
the storytelling aspect of mythology and in literature
ARCHETYPE
a primary and definitive example of a
literary type
Orpheus’ parents
Apollo and a Muse
Orpheus’ wife
Eurydice
MISE-EN-ABYME
the repetition in a work of art or
literature of the work itself (literally
“placed in the abyss”)
The Song of Orpheus features
Ganymede
Hyacinth
Pygmalion
Myrrha
Atalanta & Hippomenes
Adonis
METAPOETRY
poetry about poetry
MIMESIS
“imitation” or representation, especially
in visual or performance art
VERISIMILITUDE
the probability of what is represented in
art or literature; its resemblance to reality
MAENAD
female devotees of Dionysus who are
driven into madness by the chaos-
inspiring power of the god
VATES
poet-prophet, a Latin word for “seer” that takes on connotations of divinely-inspired artistry
Ovid casts Orpheus as
the archetypal poet and storyteller par
excellence
The myths in the Song of Orpheus raise questions about
the
power and truthfulness of art and literature
