Iliad – Discentes

Oct 6

Homeric Poetry and the Construction of Humane Understanding

Homeric Poetry and the Construction of Humane Understanding
By Eden Riebling

In recent years, an interdisciplinary subfield sometimes called Empathy Studies has become central to the literature on diversity, equity and inclusion. Yet empathy remains an elusive concept, more easily praised than implemented or understood. The Oxford English Dictionary defines empathy as “the ability to understand and appreciate another person’s feelings, experience, etc.

Dec 10

Discentes

Emily Wilson’s The Iliad Book Launch

Emily Wilson’s The Iliad Book Launch
By Riley Glickman

Following the success of her translation of The Odyssey, Penn’s favorite translator and resident celebrity classicist is back! Tuesday, September 26 marked the launch of Emily Wilson’s new book, a translation of The Iliad. The Free Library of Philadelphia in Center City hosted the book launch with a discussion, followed by a book signing for those who attended. The moderator of the talk was Penn’s very own Professor Murgnahan. Through Professor Murgnahan’s carefully guided questions, the packed auditorium spent an hour listening intently…

An Emotional, Brutal Translation of Iliad 5.1–29: The Beginning of Diomedes’ Aristeia

Sep 3

Discentes

An Emotional, Brutal Translation of Iliad 5.1–29: The Beginning of Diomedes’ Aristeia

An Emotional, Brutal Translation of Iliad 5.1–29: The Beginning of Diomedes’ Aristeia
By Noah Apter

Through my word choice and overall translation of the text, I want to preserve the vivid imagery and raw emotions we feel while reading Homer (examples include intense feelings of awe, glory, and dread). When reading any original narrative Greek text, I feel like I can produce a realistic and precise painting of what is happening in the passage inside my head…

The Anatolian Connection: Traditional Epithets of Apollo in the Iliad

Jul 23

Discentes

The Anatolian Connection: Traditional Epithets of Apollo in the Iliad

The Anatolian Connection: Traditional Epithets of Apollo in the Iliad
By Garrett Lincoln Ashlock

Ever since Milman Parry’s foundational study on Homer’s use of traditional epithets, L’Épithète traditionnelle dans Homère (1928), scholars have recognized that Homer relied on an ancient deposit of epithetic formulae due to the form of his dactylic hexameter…

Apr 30

Discentes

Iliad, Hector, and Andromache

Iliad, Hector, and Andromache
By Doulin Appleberry

In this excerpt from Book 6 of the Iliad, Hector is speaking with his wife Andromache for the last time before his death. Andromache begs him to stay, but he insists he must go fight. I have translated the Greek text, originally in dactylic hexameter, into English iambic pentameter blank verse…

Oct 30

Discentes

An Analysis of Fifty Days at Iliam

An Analysis of Fifty Days at Iliam
By Lily Nesvold

Fusing ancient storytelling and modern art, Fifty Days at Iliam is a ten-part canvas painting that uses a mixture of oil, crayon, and graphite. Based on Alexander Pope’s translation of Homer’s Iliad, it is permanently on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This unique installation recalls a story that everyone knows, classicists and non-classicists alike, and its expression packs so much meaning into so few brushstrokes.

Jul 24

Discentes

Pat Barker’s Classical Tradition

Pat Barker’s Classical Tradition
By Catherine Sorrentino

From the first sentence of Pat Barker’s novel The Silence of the Girls, it is obvious that she will not be aligning herself with “white male” classical tradition. “Great Achilles. Brilliant Achilles, shining Achilles, godlike Achilles…

Aug 2

Discentes

Either Language

Either Language
By Jinna Han

What was that word again? It’s there just at the edge of my mind, hovering, waiting, expecting me to be able to grasp it while I’m still too busy stumbling over the other words that are falling out of my mouth in a room full of people who wait and listen. It’s a lot of pressure, getting these words just right. Every day is a performance, and not just in English, either…

Dec 11

Discentes

The City in Peace

Iliad 18.490-508
By Stephen Jagoe

In this passage, Homer describes Achilles’ shield and the scenes that decorate it, specifically the “town in peace.” The imagery stands in direct contrast to the rest of the poem’s theme of war. It reminds the reader of the bygone days before the fighting started, and gives him hope that someday the fighting will stop…

Jul 24

Discentes

“A Widow in the Halls”

An Examination of the Lamentations of Hector in the Iliad
By Abhinav Suri

Classical epics share many characteristics, among which is an expression of loss: lamentation. From a literal perspective, a lamentation is an expression of sorrow or mourning. However, in the context of the epic, it takes on a far greater meaning in the storyline. As Murnaghan puts it, “Lament … confers praise … on the actions of heroes, and more particularly of dead heroes who have earned their right to be praised through the manner of their deaths” (Murnaghan 1999)…

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Discentes

Discentes

Penn's Classical Studies Publication

Tag: Iliad

Homeric Poetry and the Construction of Humane Understanding

Emily Wilson’s The Iliad Book Launch

An Emotional, Brutal Translation of Iliad 5.1–29: The Beginning of Diomedes’ Aristeia

The Anatolian Connection: Traditional Epithets of Apollo in the Iliad

Iliad, Hector, and Andromache

An Analysis of Fifty Days at Iliam

Pat Barker’s Classical Tradition

Either Language

The City in Peace

“A Widow in the Halls”

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