The Program in Cultures, Civilizations & Ideas presents two talks:
by Professor Jenny Strauss Clay:
Jenny Strauss Clay is the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Classics Emerita at the University of Virginia. Professor Clay is a leading scholar in Homeric Studies, and a former President of the American Philological Association. Among her more noteworthy research publications are: The Wrath of Athena: Gods and Men in the Odyssey (Princeton University Press, 1983); The Politics of Olympus: Form and Meaning in the Major Homeric Hymns (Princeton University Press, 1989); and Hesiod’s Cosmos (Cambridge University Press, 2003).
Thursday, October 4th, 2018 at 17:30 in the Bilkent Library Art Gallery
Light refreshments will be served before the talk starting at 17:00
Zeus’s Politics:
In the Iliad Zeus must thread his way between both divine and human resistance to accomplish his plan, as announced in the fifth line of the poem, a plan that is more complex than generally assumed. He must, above all, deal with the various factions on Olympus, pro and anti-Trojan, and shows himself to be a masterful leader, who can co-opt, manipulate, exploit, and, if necessary, coerce his opponents, and from whom important political lessons can be drawn.
Friday, October 5th, 2018 at 17:30 in the Bilkent Library Art Gallery
Light refreshments will be served before the talk starting at 17:00
Seeing Troy: Visualizing the Trojan Battlefield in the Iliad:
The Battle Books of the Iliad (Books 12-17) are often skipped because they seem to simply list a random series of deaths, but the poet has actually visualized the battlefield, and has not only kept track of his over 350 characters, but also demonstrated that the ebb and flow of the battles displays strategic coherence. Once we grasp the poet’s technique, several puzzling but crucial events, like the significance of Sarpedon’s breakthrough, Patroclus’ decision to attack Troy that leads to his doom, and why Achilles is unaware of Patroclus’ death make sense.