Chapter 1

Homer: The Iliad

The Trojan War: Myth and Reality

medium • 1 min read

Achilles and the Heroic Code

medium • 2 min read

Role of Gods in Human Affairs

medium • 3 min read

Concepts of Arete (Excellence) and Kleos (Glory)

medium • 4 min read

The Representation of Women: Helen and Andromache

medium • 5 min read

Chapter 2

Sophocles: Oedipus the King

Tragedy and the Concept of Hamartia

medium • 1 min read

Fate versus Free Will

medium • 2 min read

Dramatic Irony in Oedipus Rex

medium • 3 min read

The Role of the Chorus

medium • 4 min read

Aristotle's Poetics in relation to Sophocles

medium • 5 min read

Chapter 3

Aristotle: Poetics (Selections)

Mimesis (Imitation) and Catharsis (Purification)

medium • 1 min read

Elements of Tragedy: Plot, Character, Thought

medium • 2 min read

Peripeteia (Reversal) and Anagnorisis (Recognition)

medium • 3 min read

The Unity of Action, Time, and Space

medium • 4 min read

Comparison of Epic and Tragedy

medium • 5 min read

Chapter 4

Ovid: Metamorphoses (Selections)

Mythology and Transformation

medium • 1 min read

Bacchus, Pentheus, and the Theme of Hubris

medium • 2 min read

Philomela and Procne: Silence and Voice

medium • 3 min read

Creation and the Ages of Man

medium • 4 min read

Literary Influence of Ovid's Myths

medium • 5 min read

Chapter 5

Plautus: The Pot of Gold

Roman Comedy and Greek New Comedy

medium • 1 min read

Stock Characters: The Miser, the Clever Slave

medium • 2 min read

Social Class and Marriage in Roman Society

medium • 3 min read

Humor, Wit, and Wordplay

medium • 4 min read

Influence on Later European Comedy

medium • 5 min read