Corso di laurea magistrale in Filologia,
Letterature e Storia dell'antichità

"The Athenians of Aristophanes'"

The specific aim is the practice in reading and exegesis of Attic comedy with the purpose of a biographical reconstruction of some characters of the Athenian political life the last decades of the fifth century.

This research context fosters the student's acquisition and experience of the basic tools of the historical method for the reconstruction of the past through literary, but not historiographical sources.

 

The expected learning outcomes are:

- in-depth knowledge of the Athenian history with respect to  the years of the Peloponnesian War;

- consolidated skills and abilities in the historical  exegesis of literary sources (historiographical and not historiographical).

The assessment consists of an oral test about distinct parts of the program as it will be precisely stated during the lessons.

In addition to the knowledge of the contents offered in the lessons, the evaluation concerns the ability of exposition, the precision in the use of language, the working-out of the contents implementing the historical method.

In order to be prepared for the exam, in addition to class hours, the student will rely on the material shared on-line (including the audio of the lessons themselves and some suggestions on self-evaluation) and specific meetings about exam preparation before each examination  session (particularly useful for students who cannot be present at classroom lectures).

 

"The Athenians of Aristophanes'"

The course offers an itinerary of research that analyses the old Attic comedy (particularly the works of Aristophanes) to check the negative judgment performed by Thucydides against the infamous demagogues who, each of them similar to the other, would have ruled Athens after Pericles. The study of comic satire and of all available information allows a biographical reconstruction of some of the Athenian citizens demagogues known as demagogues (in particular Kleon, Kleonimos, Hyperbolos and Androkles are investigated): in this way the definition by Thucydides is tested and the Athenian political environment finds complexity and role differences between freedom of satire and political use of theatrical space, between allegations of social malpractices and actions to discredit political opponents.

 

Notes, handouts and lectures indicated in the classroom (available on the website of the teacher).

The non-attendant students can use online classes (mp3 audio) or consider the following program: G. Cuniberti, Iperbolo ateniese infame, Il Mulino; G. Cuniberti, Cleonimo di Atene, traditore della patria, Edizio dell’Orso,  with an accurate reading and analysis of the ancient sources quoted in the books.

 This course is part of the aggregate  learning module Greek History A (Cataldi-Cuniberti) cfu 12/6: the student who needs to acquire only 6 cfu can freely  choose between the two parts of the aggregate module, which, on the other hand, can be summed up to acquire 12 cfu.