Greek 491D. Lateiner
Thoukydides/‘Hippokrates’Spring 2008
This class/tutorial introduces the student to the Greek of two of the most significant fifth-century Greek writers: the Attic historian’s text and the Ionic medical tradition conveniently named “Hippokrates.” You will meet Greek prose at its intellectually challenging and muscular phase. This course will concern itself with Greek investigators of the Fifth century and our knowledge of them.
The earlier Hippocratic doctors/writers and Thoukydides lived after the Persian Wars of 504-480.It was an era of Hellenic expansion. Pericles dominated their political worlds. The results of his policies could be seen around them: subject allies, multiplication of imperial tools, the rebuilding of the Athenian Acropolis in a spectacular way, increasing hostility from non-subordinated poleis and the Peloponnesians. We shall start with Thoukydides the Athenian and his version of the Attic/Ionic dialect, one influenced by Homer, by the Sophists, and by that dark presence in history, Herodotos. We’ll read some selected incidents of the Peloponnesian Wars. We’ll jump directly into the eventually disastrous Athenian expedition to Sicily (415-13 bce).We’ll open the (Ionian subjects’) Hippocratic corpus when reading Thoukydides’ account of the Athenian Plague of 429.
Books:
You should own Liddell & Scott’s Lexicon (intermediate or higher) and Smyth’s Grammar. It would be wise to have accessible the OCD, 3rd ed. rev., edd. Hornblower & Spawforth, and DO PURCHASE:
Nagy, Bl. Thucydides Reader, Focus Classical Commentary (bookstore)
Dover, K.J. Thucydides Book VI, Oxford U. Press, Bristol reprint (purch.from me).
Hippocratic texts will be provided in xerox copies, probably Oath, Ancient Medicine, Epidemics.
Nagy’svolume is usefully elementary in its notes. But Thoukydides is never elementary (except where the “Lion smiled”). No vocabulary is provided in any of these texts—by design. The second volume expects more familiarity with the history and historiography, while not neglecting problems of Thucydides’ intellectual and syntactical peculiarities (which are numerous).
For understanding Thoukydides’ predecessor, Herodotos, Lateiner’s Historical Method of Herodotus seems dependable, but there are many choices. Simon Hornblower’s Thucydides is perhaps the best one volume introduction to our Attic author. His recent full commentary however is rarely preferable to AW Gomme et al.’s Historical Commentary on Thucydides. See Lateiner’s review of Hornblower in Histos 2 (1998) on (naturally) the WW web:
Lowell Edmunds at RutgersUniversitymaintains a Thucydides site (bibliography):
Lateiner has convenient editions of both historians in the Barnes and Noble’s Classics series.
For a review of the leading translations of Thucydides, see:
Grading: There will be a mid-term on Thoukydides (20%) and a final on Thoukydides and Hippocratic readings (20%, with a comparative question). There will be two short papers, (10%, 20% ). Perfect attendance is expected—five absences and you have failed the course. Attendance/daily performance provides 30% of your grade (consistently high quality and thorough preparation is expected).
Robin Collingwood de Herodoto: “The conversion of legend-writing into the science of history was not native to the Greek mind, it was a fifth-century invention, and Herodotus was the man who invented it.”
J. Lipsius: de Thucydidis sententia nostra: Thucydides, qui res nec multas nec magnas nimis scripsit palmam fortasse praeripit omnibus qui multas et magnas. Quem quo saepius legas, plus auferas; et numquam tamen dimittat te sine siti.
Assignment for next class: Nagy, Introductory Essay and first passage 1.1.1-3. Also OCD article on ‘Thucydides’ by Wade-Gery.