Homeric Greek

“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns
Driven time and again off course, once he had plundered
The hallowed heights of Troy.”

The opening lines of The Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagles

“Achilles’ wrath, to Greece the direful spring
Of woes unnumber’d, heavenly goddess sing!”

The opening lines of The Iliad, translated by Alexander Pope

The stunning grandeur of Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey has provoked extraordinary interest in Homer’s epic: sales of translations are up manyfold.

We in the London Literary Salon are no strangers to the poem which, along with its sister epic The Iliad, has been the subject of many studies, recently in translations by Robert Fagles, Emily Wilson and Daniel Mendelsohn. If you have ever wondered what it may be like to read these great epics in the original language, now is your opportunity to find out!

Starting in January 2027, we are offering a course in Homeric Greek, consisting of three sets of 10 ninety minute sessions spread out over the year. Led by Tim Swinglehurst, our aim will be to read (however slowly) through as much of the first book of The Iliad as possible – a very good place to start reading through Homer! As Clyde Pharr (who wrote Homeric Greek: A Book for Beginners) has said, the student who achieves a read-through of The Iliad Book 1 “has come into vital contact with the magic and music of the Greek language, used in one of the most beautiful, one of the most varied, and one of the most influential compositions of all ages”.

In that first book we will leap into the explosive argument between Achilles and Agamemnon which, in its intensity and ferocity, places the nine-year conflict between Greeks and Trojans very much into the shade; we will stand upon the shore of the “wine-dark sea” to share in the moving encounter between Thetis, tender and compassionate mother, and Achilles, enflamed but tearful son; finally, we will take our seats on Mount Olympus to view the eternal bickering and eternal feastings of the eternal gods.

μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος

οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί’ Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε’ ἔθηκε.

“Rage – Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,

Murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses.”

The opening lines of The Iliad, translated by Robert Fagles

JOINING DETAILS:

• A series of three ten-meeting studies, each session 90 minutes, led by Tim Swinglehurst live on Zoom.
• Block 1: Sundays 4.00-5.30 pm (UK time), 10 January – 14 March 2027 (please note that we may make one Sunday a break and extend the run to 21 March if all participants agree).
• £100 for ten-meetings (£10.00 per 90 minute session).
• Required text: Homeric Greek: A Book for Beginners (Fourth Edition) by Clyde Pharr, revised by John Wright and Paula Debnar, University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN: ‎978-0806141640.
• On Sunday 11 October, 4.00-5.00 pm (UK time), we are offering an introductory session on Zoom for registrants and we will follow up with one or two more sessions before Christmas. We are encouraging participants to learn the alphabet as soon as possible (especially the lower case letters) and to begin to read some Greek words aloud ahead of the start of the study. We will provide more information and resources to participants on registration.