CLU33218 Greek Erotic Poetry

Desire (eros, Aphroditê) has always been a favourite theme in poetry, history, philosophy, rhetoric and other genres in the ancient Greek world. It was particularly (although not uniquely) prominent in poetry, which was often forceful and direct, sometimes explicit. It was also extremely sophisticated in its literary, poetic, linguistic and historical sensibilities, keen in its consideration of human behaviour and emotion, and, as we shall learn in this course, fundamentally embedded in its social, cultural, and indeed political contexts as a powerful, dangerous, but likewise productive force. In this module we will read selected poems (in English translation) from various ancient Greek authors. Through these poems we shall have an opportunity to discuss general issues of erotics, poetics, gender, sexuality, society, history, politics, and culture in the ancient Greek world. The module will present and deploy a broad range of contemporary critical methods and approaches.