(in Polish) Sylwetki zwierząt w refleksji etycznej i antropologicznej u Homera 3700-AZ-FAK-SZH
The aim of the course is to analyze the presence and function of animals in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Throughout the semester, students will examine the diverse ways animals are depicted—as companions, metaphors, omens, adversaries, and sacrificial beings—as well as their symbolic, cultural, and emotional significance. Textual interpretation is conducted within the contexts of ancient zoology, religion, mythology, anthropology, and ecocriticism.
The course invites students to critically read the Homeric epics through the lens of human–animal relationships and introduces them to the broader phenomenon of how animals are represented and conceptualized in culture. Readings will include selected passages from Homer in translation, and for interested students, we will also explore the Greek names of the most frequently mentioned animals.
Type of course
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge – The student:
knows the key animal motifs and metaphors in the Iliad and Odyssey (KW_13; P6S_WG)
understands the cultural and religious context in which animals function in the Homeric epics (K_W11; P6S_WG)
possesses knowledge of how to interpret texts from ancient culture (KW_07; P6S_WG)
Skills – The student:
is able to analyze literary texts from the perspective of animal studies and classical symbolism (K_U02)
can relate animal representations to specific values and ideas of Greek culture (K_U03)
is capable of independently formulating and developing a research problem concerning the studied texts (K_U04)
Social Competences – The student:
demonstrates reflection on the human–animal relationship (KK_06; P6S_KO)
actively engages in discussions on literary and cultural interpretations (KK_03; P6S_KK P6S_KO)
respects the ethical dimension of academic research (KK_04; P6S_KR )
Bibliography
Homer, Iliada tłum. K. Jeżewska (lub inny przekład)
Homer, Odyseja, tłum. J. Parandowski (lub inny przekład), Czytelnik Warszawa 1967 (i późniejsze wyd)
A.Bierl, Character, Narrator, and Simile in the Iliad, Cambridge University Press 2004
Heath, J. The Talking Greeks: Speech, Animals, and the Other in Homer, Aeschylus, and Plato, Cambridge University Press 2005
R. Mayhew,Aristotle's Lost Homeric Problems: Textual Studies, Oxford University Press 2019
https://www.literarymatters.org/17-2-homeric-dogma-of-dogs-and-men-in-the-iliad-and-odyssey/
M. Clarke, Between Lions and Man:Images of the Hero in the Iliad, Greek, Roman and Byzntine Studie t 36 1995, s 137-159
M. Miziur-Moździoch, Lew, który nie ryczy? Obraz lwa u Homera, Wratislaviensium Studia Classica, t 4 2015, s. 69-84
A. Bonnafe, Poésie, nature et sacré I, Homère, Hésiode et le sentiment grec de la nature, Maison de l'Orient, Lyon 1984.
P. Johnston et al. (eds.), Animals in Greek and Roman Religion and Myth.Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2016
G L. Campbell, The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life, Oxford University Press 2014
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: