Greek 204/304 - Fifth-CenturyDrama 
Monday/Wednesday 3:30-4:45 PM
McIver 232
University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Instructor: John H. Starks, Jr.
McIver 236 
336-334-5727, office hours by appointment
jhstarks@uncg.edu
Heracles rescuing Alcestis from Death
Objectives: Students will gain functional competence in reading the Greek tragic language and style of Euripides, and an introduction to Aristophanes' comedy (Upper-level students will also read some Sophocles). By careful out-of-class preparation and daily sight reading, students will learn good procedures for advancing through dramatic texts. Students will also learn the iambic trimeter meter basic to tragedy, and gain some competence in dramatic reading in Greek. Students will also advance beyond basic translation of Greek drama to a fuller understanding of tragedy and comedy as literature. As students learn about fifth-century theatrical technique, they will also be introduced to scholarly treatments of tragedy, and upper-level students will show their understanding of modern scholarship on Greek drama through writing.

Required Texts:

Course-pak containing texts of Euripides' Alcestis and Aristophanes' Frogs - I'll let you know when it's ready for pickup
Hamilton, R. and M.W. Haslam, comm. Euripides' Alcestis. Bryn Mawr Commentaries, 1980.

Course Requirements and Rules:

Tests: These two (2) term exams will primarily cover material learned since the last test. Makeup exams FOR ANY REASON will require a delayed and
much more difficult test, so do not miss a test. Tests will include seen and sight passages, as well as literary interpretation questions and basic questions on grammatical forms.

Quizzes: The last day of every week that does not include a test, there will be a ten-minute timed quiz over the week's work, usually basic translation of seen passages and basic grammatical identification. Your lowest quiz will be dropped, so make ups will not be allowed except by prior notification and instructor approval.

Oral Reports and Paper: All students will read a modern scholarly article on Euripides (204 students will also read one on Aristophanes) and present a less-than-ten minute report on the article's content at a date TO BE marked on the syllabus. 304 students will report only on Euripides, but will write a 5-8 page paper on a topic to be discussed with the instructor, and submitted by the date listed on the syllabus.

Class Participation: ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED. You will receive a daily grade for participation in class that suggests your level of preparation on
material covered (A, B, C, D or 0) and your involvement in class activities, including dramatic readings of the prepared texts. An absence from class for ANY REASON must be counted as a 0 since you cannot participate if you are absent. Two (2) absences will be dropped at the end of the term allowing 7% of class days for illness, family matters, etc. Absences can hurt your grade significantly as well as your comprehension of Greek.
Bring your text and a LEXICON to every class session for use in sight reading.

Final Exam: CUMULATIVE AND COMPREHENSIVE!!

RULES:
1) ALL written work to be turned in for a grade must be pledged with an honor code showing that the work is yours.
2) Get the phone number, email, etc. of 1 or 2 other students in class so you can work together, ask questions of each other, double check assignments, send work with another if you cannot be in class, etc. Send me a message the first week of class giving me your most used email address which you check regularly.
3) Keep on your syllabus. This class will allow little time for catching up if you fall behind.
4) Enjoy learning Greek drama in its original language. Let's make our time in class productive, but also, as often as possible, interesting, enjoyable and thought-provoking. We will talk frequently about the way Greeks thought and lived to try to understand what they are saying to us. We will not sit in a dull translation session 2 days per week. We will change exercises and engage in discussion of ideas often. Many of the works we will read this term have some element of satirical comedy within them as well, so be prepared to understand a joke in a foreign culture.

Grade Distribution:
 
Greek 204
35% = 2 tests @ 17.5% each
25% = Final exam
15% = Average of Quizzes
15% = Participation/Preparation
10% = 2 reports on articles at 5% each		 Greek 304
30% = 2 tests @ 15% each
25% = Final exam
15% = Paper
10% = Average of Quizzes
10% = Participation/Preparation
5% = Report on article
I must insist on a firm grade scale as follows: 97-100 A+, 93-96 A, 90-92 A-, 87-89 B+, 83-86 B, 80-82 B- (and so forth down to the lowest passing grade of 60. A+ designation is for class only and is not recognized by the university as a quality point for GPA purposes)
 

Syllabus/Daily Assignments: Numbers listed below are line numbers for the texts of Euripides' Alcestis and Aristophanes' Frogs. Lines listed are to be read outside of class for the class session that day, and those lines in parentheses () are to be read at sight in class that day. Occasionally you will also see lines to be read in English translation for which I have placed links you may use. Bring your text AND Greek lexicon to every class session.

Greek texts of Alcestis and Frogs 830ff, transliterated with morphological help. Oedipus Tyrannus
M 1-8 Alcestis 1-21 M 3-12 Alcestis 850-884 (885-899)
W 1-10 22-44 (45-53) W 3-14 900-933 (935-943)
M 1-15 *Martin Luther King's Birthday* M 3-19 944-981 (982-1005)
W 1-17 54-76 [77-243 in English] (244-257) W 3-21 1006-1036 (1037-1050)
M 1-22 258-279 (280-289) M 3-26 1051-1082 (1083-1095)
W 1-24 290-308 (309-319) W 3-28 1096-1131 (1132-1143)
M 1-29 320-341 (341-352) M 4-2 1144-1163 - TEST 2
W 1-31 353-377 (378-403) W 4-4 Frogs 830-850 (851-859) PLEASE note changes from original syllabus
M 2-5 404-424 (425-434) [435-508 in English] M 4-9 860-883 (884-894) [895-904 in English]
W 2-7 509-535 [536-613 in English] 614-619 (619-628) W 4-11 905-930 (930-944)
M 2-12 629-654 (654-666) M 4-16 945-979 [980-1003 in English] (1004-1016)
W 2-14 666-682 - TEST 1 W 4-18 1017-1048 (1049-1061) 
M 2-19 683-709 (710-724) M 4-23 1062-1088 [1089-1118 in English] 1119-1130 (1131-1140)
W 2-21 725-755 (756-764) [304 students meet with 
Prof. Starks about paper topics]		 W 4-25 1141-1179 (1180-1195)
[1195-1377 in English] 
M 2-26 765-793 (794-806) M 4-30 1378-1413 [1414-end in English]
W 2-28 807-836 (837-849) W 5-2 Reading Day [Papers due by end of day]
M 5-5
W 507		 *Spring Break* M 5-7 Final Exam - 3:30-6:30 PM