I will lead an on-line discussion series concerning law and morality in the heroic world, with the help of junior colleagues recruited from Harvard's Classics Department, including project leaders Mary Ebbott and Tom Jenkins.
Enrollment is open to the public and is free of charge.
No knowledge of Greek or of ancient literature is required. This experimental project will utilize RealVideo, messaging boards, and real-time chat for instruction. The starting point for the course can be instantly grasped by reading chapter 6 of this forthcoming book, which I offer to precirculate electronically to those interested in engaging in our on-line dialogues. These concepts are in turn an ideal introduction to the study of ancient Greek values in general. As I point out in my essay, cited above, Homer critics have begun to interpret the resolution of the Iliad in Book 24, at the end of the epic, as a reflection of a new spirit that emerges from the heroic tradition and culminates in the ethos of the City State or polis.