What did you read?

[ClemSnide]

Many schools ask for a list of Latin and Greek texts read, both in classes and on your own. What are your lists like? Both in terms of length and authors.

[LateAntique]

I'm too lazy to remember everything, but here are a few off the top of my head

Greek:

New Testament (virtually the whole thing)

Philostratus, "Life of Apollonius"

Sophocles, "Antigone"

Aeschylus, "Agamemnon" (next semester....this is going to be tough)

Homer, "Odyssey" (various books, but not the whole thing)

Martyrdom of Polycarp

Ignatius' Epistles (all 7)

Latin:

Sallust, "Bellum Catalinae"

Cicero, "First Catilinarian Oration" and his personal letters

Virgil, "Aeneid"

Pliny the Younger, various letters

Some Catullus

Romans (in the Vulgate)

[Sparky]

So I'm not a classicist, and it is lucky that no program asked me to submit a list, because mine is basically a bunch of medieval hagiography and then the modern translation of Harry Potter. But I just wanted to say this:

In intellectual snob discussions, you people have the ultimate trump card. Because whenever the philosophy and literary theory people get all, "Well, I first became familiar with Heidegger through the translations of Schmuckmanheiserheimhausen, of course, but I think in general he leaves too much of an epistemological impression on the work and I find it more helpful to read the original alongside Niffellungenmachen's recent translation,"

you guys can just say, "Oh yeah? Well, I read the Odyssey. In Greek."

Game over.

Edited December 14, 2009 by Sparky

[ClemSnide]

It's funny you say that Sparky; I was a Philosophy major before I switched to Classics. And guess why I switched? Because I found philosophy impossibly hard. At least Greek and Latin get easier with practice and dedication.

[LateAntique]

So I'm not a classicist, and it is lucky that no program asked me to submit a list, because mine is basically a bunch of medieval hagiography and then the modern translation of Harry Potter. But I just wanted to say this:

In intellectual snob discussions, you people have the ultimate trump card. Because whenever the philosophy and literary theory people get all, "Well, I first became familiar with Heidegger through the translations of Schmuckmanheiserheimhausen, of course, but I think in general he leaves too much of an epistemological impression on the work and I find it more helpful to read the original alongside Niffellungenmachen's recent translation,"

you guys can just say, "Oh yeah? Well, I read the Odyssey. In Greek."

Game over.

Those German names cracked me up. And, unfortunately, we've got the whole pomo literary criticism going on in Classics circles as well. I don't really get into it (not smart enough, I just want to read Greek and Latin) - but, even we aren't immune from Schmuckmanheiserheimhausen's theories (though I've always been a fan of Farfenflaubengeiserschnell's work).

[Joe001]

Lemme think...

Greek:

New Testament - parts from John and Mark, Romans, part of Hebrews

Plato - Phaedrus (about half)

Herodotus - selections from first 3 books

Homer - Odyssey 5, 19, and something else ;p

Xenophon - Memorabilia (can't remember how much)

some random lyric poetry

Latin:

Cicero - some letters, parts of De Rerum Natura

Virgil - Aeneid 1, 3, Eclogues 1,4

Catullus - a lot xD

Propertius - a number of poems from every book

Juvenal - Satires 1, 4

Horace - some of the Odes

[LateAntique]

Lemme think...

Greek:

New Testament - parts from John and Mark, Romans, part of Hebrews

Plato - Phaedrus (about half)

Herodotus - selections from first 3 books

Homer - Odyssey 5, 19, and something else ;p

Xenophon - Memorabilia (can't remember how much)

some random lyric poetry

Latin:

Cicero - some letters, parts of De Rerum Natura

Virgil - Aeneid 1, 3, Eclogues 1,4

Catullus - a lot xD

Propertius - a number of poems from every book

Juvenal - Satires 1, 4

Horace - some of the Odes

I love Catullus. I've had the good fortune of studying with Peter Green and his translation of Catullus is very funny. I think he channeled Catullus when he wrote it.

[LateAntique]

Also, nothing shocks a first year Latin class quite like a recitation of Poem 16.

[Joe001]

hahaha it's a good one. Cracks me up.

[spozik]

Here's mine! Hope it makes sense the way that it's formatted and isn't embarrassingly minimal... There are a few other things that probably belong on this list, but they are short enough that I doubt they'd make a real difference. Also, while we're on the subject of dirty Latin poems, have you read Horace's 8th Epode?

LateAntique, did you guys really read ALL of the Aeneid? That's impressive if so! It's not the most difficult Latin, but there is a lot of it. I guess it's a good place to start.

Latin ::

Vergil – Aeneid I, II, IV; Eclogues; Georgics

Cicero – Pro Archia; Epistulae (approx. 15pp.)

Cornelius Nepos – Life of Alcibiades, Life of Atticus, Life of Dion

Ovid – Metamorphoses I (all), VI (Arachne, Niobe), VIII (Daedalus and Icarus), X (Pygmalion); Epistulae ex Ponto, Amores, Heroides (approx. 10pp. in total)

Seneca – Troades

Petronius – Satyricon Ch. 1-18, 26-78, 99-112

Apuleius – Metamorphoses I; Cupid and Psyche

Catullus – 1-11, 63, 64; other selections (approx. 20pp.)

Horace – Epodes; Odes I, II, III, IV (approx. 75%)

Greek ::

Homer – Iliad I, VI, IX; other selections (approx. 10pp.)

Demosthenes – First Philippic

Euripides – Alcestis

Sophocles – Philoctetes, Antigone

Xenophon – Anabasis I

Herodotus – I, selections from VI (approx. 30pp. total)

Plato – Apology

Thucydides – Funeral Oration; Plague at Athens (6.42-54)

Lysias – 24, 35

[LateAntique]

Here's mine! Hope it makes sense the way that it's formatted and isn't embarrassingly minimal... There are a few other things that probably belong on this list, but they are short enough that I doubt they'd make a real difference. Also, while we're on the subject of dirty Latin poems, have you read Horace's 8th Epode?

LateAntique, did you guys really read ALL of the Aeneid? That's impressive if so! It's not the most difficult Latin, but there is a lot of it. I guess it's a good place to start.

Latin ::

Vergil – Aeneid I, II, IV; Eclogues; Georgics

Cicero – Pro Archia; Epistulae (approx. 15pp.)

Cornelius Nepos – Life of Alcibiades, Life of Atticus, Life of Dion

Ovid – Metamorphoses I (all), VI (Arachne, Niobe), VIII (Daedalus and Icarus), X (Pygmalion); Epistulae ex Ponto, Amores, Heroides (approx. 10pp. in total)

Seneca – Troades

Petronius – Satyricon Ch. 1-18, 26-78, 99-112

Apuleius – Metamorphoses I; Cupid and Psyche

Catullus – 1-11, 63, 64; other selections (approx. 20pp.)

Horace – Epodes; Odes I, II, III, IV (approx. 75%)

Greek ::

Homer – Iliad I, VI, IX; other selections (approx. 10pp.)

Demosthenes – First Philippic

Euripides – Alcestis

Sophocles – Philoctetes, Antigone

Xenophon – Anabasis I

Herodotus – I, selections from VI (approx. 30pp. total)

Plato – Apology

Thucydides – Funeral Oration; Plague at Athens (6.42-54)

Lysias – 24, 35

Nice list!

I didn't list everything, just some stuff off the top of my head in order to get the ball rolling here. Yeah, the entire Aeneid. My list has a big mix of stuff we read in class and stuff I just read on my own. I try to dedicate at least an hour (30 mins Greek/30 mins Latin) outside of homework to read. I figure if I'm going to use these languages the rest of my life, I might as well go ahead and do as much as I can now.

[Joe001]

Nice Spozik! Ugh. Makes me realize how lazy I've been since I've been outta school. Ah well, there's plenty of time to make up for lost time

[LateAntique]

Nice Spozik! Ugh. Makes me realize how lazy I've been since I've been outta school. Ah well, there's plenty of time to make up for lost time

You can always start tomorrow!

[melusine]

@ catullus' 16!

sorry to intrude on your thread, respected classisists, but this just reminded me of something i'd like to share (especially for those of you who might have also an inclination towards renaissance studies)!

Is anyone familiar with Claude Chappuy's 1536 "Ode to the cunt"? It's part of the "anatomical blason" ande "contre-blason" trend, popular in Francois I's time. There's actually quite a few, ranging from the surprisingly sweet to the decidedly filthy.

I also find that kinkiness often works as a trump-card when trying to legitimize your studies with people not familiar/interested in literature. Hmmm.. The empire just keeps falling and declining, doesn't it?

[LateAntique]

@ catullus' 16!

sorry to intrude on your thread, respected classisists, but this just reminded me of something i'd like to share (especially for those of you who might have also an inclination towards renaissance studies)!

Is anyone familiar with Claude Chappuy's 1536 "Ode to the cunt"? It's part of the "anatomical blason" ande "contre-blason" trend, popular in Francois I's time. There's actually quite a few, ranging from the surprisingly sweet to the decidedly filthy.

I also find that kinkiness often works as a trump-card when trying to legitimize your studies with people not familiar/interested in literature. Hmmm.. The empire just keeps falling and declining, doesn't it?

I'm not familiar with it, but I will go read it.

Catullus is just good for shocking people out of viewing the Classics with Renaissance lenses, imagining a culture of nothing but refined European-esque individuals with fanciful tales. Plus, it just helps keep freshmen interested in Latin when you start telling them what "Pedicabo ego uos irrumabo" means.

As far as trump cards go, I like to quote Catullus in situations wherein someone's being a bit of a snob. If they start bringing up Farfenflaubengeiserschnell's theories, I'll just quote the most obscene thing I can think of in Latin and then tell them it means something completely different. "Oh yes, as the poet Catullus has said, 'Pedicabo ego uos', or: 'friendship is the best'." People totally fall for it.

P.S. - If someone's reading the thread and wants to know what that little line means, feel free to PM me. I felt it best not to translate it in public.

[spozik]

It's always amusing when a commentary / professor goes into the meanings of pedicabo and irrumabo after talking about various literary allusions or other real philological details.

Also, Joe, LateAntique's reading of the entire Aeneid made me feel the same way. I feel like I've read a lot, and fortunately a lot of it is relevant to a lot of MA lists. I'm sure it's all relative!

[johndiligent]

I only had to submit a list of read texts for one school and I unfortunately didn't save it, but I listed it by class and year.... So I'd list the first section of, for example, third year Latin, and list the author and works that we read in the class. Sadly, mine also asked for works read in translation (which, for an Honours Classics student should be just about every major Classical work, right?) so it was an irritatingly long process.

[gnothiseauton]

These are works I've read in my coursework, and I'm hoping they're adequate. I would really like some input!

GREEK: Plutarch, Themistokles (excerpts); Plato, Ion; Xenophon, Symposium; Plato, Apology; Lysias, 1. On the Murder of Eratosthenes; Lysias, 3. Against Simon; Demosthenes, 32. Against Zenothemis; Demosthenes, 57. Against Conon; Hesiod, Theogony.

LATIN: Sallust, Bellum Catilinae and Bellum Jugurthinum (excerpts); Suetonius, Divus Augustus; Petronius, Satyricon (excerpts); Apuleius, Asinus Aureus Liber III; Apollnius of Tyre (excerpts); Aeneid, Liber I-IV; Cicero, Pro Caelio;

Edited January 19, 2010 by gnothiseauton

[spozik]

These are works I've read in my coursework, and I'm hoping they're adequate. I would really like some input!

GREEK: Plutarch, Themistokles (excerpts); Plato, Ion; Xenophon, Symposium; Plato, Apology; Lysias, 1. On the Murder of Eratosthenes; Lysias, 3. Against Simon; Demosthenes, 32. Against Zenothemis; Demosthenes, 57. Against Conon; Hesiod, Theogony.

LATIN: Sallust, Bellum Catilinae and Bellum Jugurthinum (excerpts); Suetonius, Divus Augustus; Petronius, Satyricon (excerpts); Apuleius, Asinus Aureus Liber III; Apollnius of Tyre (excerpts); Aeneid, Liber I-IV; Cicero, Pro Caelio;

I'm replying because you said you'd like some input. How many years have you been studying each language?

To me, part of the reason programs request this is to see if you're serious about what you say you want to study. If, for instance, I were on an adcomm, and you came to me with this list and said you were interested in studying Attic oratory or Roman history, I'd listen. If you said you were interested in studying Latin poetry, I might be a little hesitant.

But as far as the volume of what you've read goes, I think you're fine for most MAs and some PhDs. You've got a ways to go to match up with the reading list of any program; but, then again, most of us do.

[gnothiseauton]

I'm replying because you said you'd like some input. How many years have you been studying each language?

To me, part of the reason programs request this is to see if you're serious about what you say you want to study. If, for instance, I were on an adcomm, and you came to me with this list and said you were interested in studying Attic oratory or Roman history, I'd listen. If you said you were interested in studying Latin poetry, I might be a little hesitant.

But as far as the volume of what you've read goes, I think you're fine for most MAs and some PhDs. You've got a ways to go to match up with the reading list of any program; but, then again, most of us do.

Fortunately I do want to study the Latin historians and said that in my SOP, so I think I'm out of the looney bin on that account. I have been studying each language for three years so far, and have been tutoring others for a year. I really have no knowledge of what is typical in other undergraduate programs, and I really appreciate your feedback!

Edited January 19, 2010 by gnothiseauton

[LateAntique]

By the way, Aeschylus is killing me.