Classical Mythology
A.Y. 2019/2020
Learning objectives
The course aims to place the discipline within the history of studies, anchoring it to the disciplines "sisters" of "History of religions of the classical world" and "Anthropology of the classical world". The discipline is placed within the more traditional hermeneutical approaches, such as philology, historical research, archaeological research, with the aim of examining the mythical pattern from a poly-perspective perspective, both in a synchronic sense: local myths, pan-Hellenic myths, contributions and influences from geographically and culturally contiguous areas, as well as in a diachronic sense, enhancing, in this case, changes and persistence of the mythical narrative over time.
It will be essential to define the concept of variant and the polymorphic nature of the sources and their usefulness in building an overall picture will also be enhanced.
It will be essential to define the concept of variant and the polymorphic nature of the sources and their usefulness in building an overall picture will also be enhanced.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge: the course will introduce students to the awareness of the different hermeneutic possibilities available to those who face the study of the classical myth and will also provide a series of investigative tools (including digital) useful to work on an ancient mythical tale.
Skills: students will acquire skills in reasoning and interpreting sources of different times, nature and complexity, also using visual language. They will also be able to understand and use the concepts of variation and variant and to appreciate the dynamic relationship between the local variant and the mythical pan-Hellenic (national) narrative.
Skills: students will acquire skills in reasoning and interpreting sources of different times, nature and complexity, also using visual language. They will also be able to understand and use the concepts of variation and variant and to appreciate the dynamic relationship between the local variant and the mythical pan-Hellenic (national) narrative.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
The aim of the course is to examine the main themes of the myth of Dionysus in relation to women's world: births, the experience of being nursed by the nymphs, the relationship with Ariadne and, as a result, marriage. Then, we will develop a broader investigation by using, together with literary sources, an iconographic corpus that allows to take into account the affinities but also, above all, the discontinuities between the "literary history" of Dionysus and the iconographic one.
Prerequisites for admission
This course has not access requirements and is not restricted to students in classics. However, a good knowledge of Greek and Latin is certainly useful to take the exam.
Teaching methods
The teaching method is lecture based. This course has no formal entry requirements. However, attendance is highly recommended and a basic knowledge of Greek and Latin is of help.
This course will be held in collaboration with the course of Numismatics given by Professor Alessandro Cavagna (as regards the didactic unit B), with the aim of enriching education programmes and showing the contribution that the study of ancient coinage can offer in reconstructing the iconographic representation of Dionysus.
Students will have the opportunity to present short reports on specific topics, under the direction of both teachers.
This year the course also includes a lecture series given in Italian by Visiting Professor Gabriella Pironti, Director of Studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in the Section des Sciences religieuses (Paris), entitled: "The divine family in vascular iconography". (a specific bibliography on the subject will be provided during the course).
This course will be held in collaboration with the course of Numismatics given by Professor Alessandro Cavagna (as regards the didactic unit B), with the aim of enriching education programmes and showing the contribution that the study of ancient coinage can offer in reconstructing the iconographic representation of Dionysus.
Students will have the opportunity to present short reports on specific topics, under the direction of both teachers.
This year the course also includes a lecture series given in Italian by Visiting Professor Gabriella Pironti, Director of Studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in the Section des Sciences religieuses (Paris), entitled: "The divine family in vascular iconography". (a specific bibliography on the subject will be provided during the course).
Teaching Resources
Attending students
Unit A
All students are required to read: F. Graf, Il mito in Grecia, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2011.
Unit B
All students are required to read:
· Marcel Detienne, Dioniso e la Pantera Profumata, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2007.
· Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), alla voce "Dionysos" e "Bacchus", v. III, pp. 414-566. (available on the Ariel platform at the beginning of the class)
Non-attending students
Unit A
All students are required to read:
· Fritz Graf, Il mito in Grecia, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2011.
· Françoise Frontisi Ducroux, "Dioniso e il suo culto", in S. Settis, I Greci: storia, cultura, arte e società II, 2 (Einaudi 1997) (available on the Ariel platform at the beginning of the course)
Unit B
All students are required to read:
· Francesco Massa, "Dioniso e la costruzione del linguaggio letterario e iconografico cristiano, in Tra la vigna e la croce: Dioniso nei discorsi letterari e figurativi cristiani (2.-4. secolo), Stuttgart, Steiner, 2014, pp. 121-155 (available on on the Ariel platform at the beginning of the course)
· Marcel Detienne, Dioniso e la Pantera Profumata, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2007.
· Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), alla voce "Dionysos" e "Bacchus", v. III, pp. 414-566. (available on the Ariel platform at the beginning of the course)
Unit A
All students are required to read: F. Graf, Il mito in Grecia, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2011.
Unit B
All students are required to read:
· Marcel Detienne, Dioniso e la Pantera Profumata, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2007.
· Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), alla voce "Dionysos" e "Bacchus", v. III, pp. 414-566. (available on the Ariel platform at the beginning of the class)
Non-attending students
Unit A
All students are required to read:
· Fritz Graf, Il mito in Grecia, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2011.
· Françoise Frontisi Ducroux, "Dioniso e il suo culto", in S. Settis, I Greci: storia, cultura, arte e società II, 2 (Einaudi 1997) (available on the Ariel platform at the beginning of the course)
Unit B
All students are required to read:
· Francesco Massa, "Dioniso e la costruzione del linguaggio letterario e iconografico cristiano, in Tra la vigna e la croce: Dioniso nei discorsi letterari e figurativi cristiani (2.-4. secolo), Stuttgart, Steiner, 2014, pp. 121-155 (available on on the Ariel platform at the beginning of the course)
· Marcel Detienne, Dioniso e la Pantera Profumata, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2007.
· Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), alla voce "Dionysos" e "Bacchus", v. III, pp. 414-566. (available on the Ariel platform at the beginning of the course)
Assessment methods and Criteria
The examination is exclusively oral, and the grading system is based on a 30 points scale (18 is the minimum passing grade). The oral assessment will test the knowledge both of the general topics presented in the first teaching unit and of the specific topics related to the other two units. The exam also aims at testing the ability both to discuss critically the topics studied and to use the appropriate discipline-specific vocabulary. Performance descriptors are: knowledge accuracy, ability to present critically a topic, speech organization, fluency and appropriate vocabulary.
National and international students or Erasmus incoming students are invited to contact the teacher in charge of the course in a timely manner.
The examination procedures for students with disabilities and/or with DSA must be agreed with the teacher, in agreement with the competent office.
National and international students or Erasmus incoming students are invited to contact the teacher in charge of the course in a timely manner.
The examination procedures for students with disabilities and/or with DSA must be agreed with the teacher, in agreement with the competent office.
Unita' didattica A
M-STO/06 - HISTORY OF RELIGIONS - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
M-STO/06 - HISTORY OF RELIGIONS - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)
Reception:
Thursday 10.30 (in person)
in person, cortile della legnaia, first floor (geography's section, first door on the left); on line via teams (scheduled only)