S/LI/262. Discuss the role of women in Homer's "Odyssey"

The paper examines the portrayal of female characters in Homer's "Odyssey" describing Athene, Calypso, Circe, Helen, Nausicaa, etc. and comparing them to the dominant character of Penelope, a representation of Homer's ideal woman. The role of women in Odysseus' life is discussed in the context of the gender inequality prevalent in classical Greek society.

S/LI/131. The Negativity of ‘Revenge’ and its Quality as Definer of Aristotelian Tragedy in The Oresteia by Aeschylus.

This essay examines the negativity of 'revenge' in the play The Oresteia by Aeschylus. It cites it as being definitive of Aristotlian tragedy, as set out by Aristotle in Poetics. Tragedy - its structure and meaning - are discussed.

P/LI/51. Peacetime themes in Homers Odyssey

The paper reviews Homers The Odyssey focusing on the episode of Odysseus meeting and staying with the Phaeacians. The theme of the Phaeacian peacetime civilisation is analysed with respect to cultural and ethical concepts of Ancient Greece, i.e. guest hospitality (Ñxenia), role of women, etc. The change of Odysseus from a warrior-hero in The Iliad to a peacetime civilian is discussed.

P/LI/50. Homers portrayals of mother-son relationships

The paper reviews Homers The Iliad and The Odyssey focusing on the portrayals of the mother-son relationships. The differences between Thetis and Achilles in the Iliad and Penelope and Telemachus in The Odyssey are analysed and compared to the relationships between Hecuba with her sons Paris and Hector. The issues of womens dependence upon men are discussed.

P/LI/48. Hospitality and feasting in Homers Odyssey

The paper reviews Homers The Odyssey focusing on the hospitality and feasting scenes. The Greek concept of guest-friendship, or Ñxenia, is discussed; the importance of normal daily life for Ancient Greeks is argued.

E/LI/11. Odysseus and Achilles: comparative literary analysis

The paper compares the characters of Odysseus and Achilles, heroes of Homers the Iliad and Odyssey, analysing the means of their portrayal in both poems, the methods by which they attain their goals, the moral aspects of deceit, etc.

P/LI/46. Themes of justice and revenge in ancient Greek tragedies

The paper offers a literary review of ancient Greek drama focusing on the theme of seeking justice. The story lines of Sophocles Antigone, Euripides Hecabe, and Aeschylus The Eumenides are retold; the characters actions are interpreted; the relation between justice and revenge is discussed.

P/LI/45. Heroic codes of Homers heroes

The paper analyses the concept of respect in ancient Greek ethics providing interpretative analysis of Homers Iliad. The significance of respect is highlighted; the attitudes of Diomedes, Hector and Achilles to fighting and their Ñheroic codes are discussed and compared.

E/LI/10. RENAISSANCE & GREEK TRAGEDY: SIMILARITY & DIFFERENCES

Lyndal Roper, in a remarkable introduction to her book Oedipus and the Devil, argues substantively about how we have come to see the historically distanced, or the primitive man: 'Å the concept of subjectivity with which we are presented is often a determinedly collective one. This collective subjectivity is then inscribed on the individual' (1994, 9). She sounds quite convincing when she tells us that we have come to see the early modern people (particularly Renaissance, although I will stretch it to the Greek culture as well) as a collection of wholes, governed by religion and politics, exhibiting and performing only collective and wholesome acts of obedience and subjugation. In doing this, we not only inscribe the early man with a set of collective and fixed habits, but worse, take away the essential strain of individualism from him. By basing my argument on Sophocles and Shakespeare, I will stress upon how their tragedies have evolved and re-defined Greek and Renaissance spirits, and have forced us to look for novelty and individuality among the polis of Greek state-cultures, and the 'groups' of the Medieval and Renaissance ages.

S/LI/49. Can Hippolytus plausibly be regarded as reflecting Euripides' engagement in the 'intellectual crisis' of later-fifth-century Athens?

This paper explores the cultural background against which Euripides wrote his 'Hippolytus'. Fifth Century Athens was a time of intellectual change, the develoment of the great Sophistic movement and introduction of scepticism. 'Hippolytus' is a finely woven challenge against traditional Greek thought. In giving a strikingly powerful voice to Phaedra (a much maligned lady), and challenging religious traditions, Euripides provokes his audience to react; he seeks our considered, intellectual response.

S/LI/48. What is Sophocles saying about 'heroic values' in Ajax? Does he endorse the traditional 'code', or problematize or reject it?

This paper considers the demise of the heroic Ajax - a figure lauded in the great Homeric tales - from war hero to broken man. How does Sophocles treat Ajax's path to self destruction and does he manage to maintain sympathy for this desolate figure? Despite the fact that Ajax purposely deceives his wife, abandoning her and his son in committing suicide, the entire play is designed to rehabilitate a broken man, a man who stands isolated from the gods and one who is at their mercy.

S/LI/22. Discuss the view that Oedipus is foolish, rather than tragic.

This essay discusses the view that Oedipus is áfoolish, rather than tragic

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