Hour 18 Text B - E | Philostratus Hērōikos 9.1-3 and more, Dialogue

Hour 24 Text E: Reading and Discussion | Iliad 19.368–379

Hour 24 Text F: Reading and Discussion | Iliad 18.587–589

Hour 24 Text H: Reading and Discussion | Iliad 18.203–214

Staging the Bacchants: discussion of Phaedo 69c-d, Matthew 22:14

Hour 21 Texts B and C: Discussion | Phaedo 69c–d and Matthew 22:14

An Odyssean Way for the Journey of Socrates: discussion of Hour 22 Text D: Homeric Hymn to Herakles 4–6 and Hour 22 Text E: Odyssey 1.1–5

Hour 22 Texts D and E: Reading and Discussion | Homeric Hymn to Herakles 4–6 and Odyssey 1.1–5

The swan song of Socrates: discussion of Plato Phaedo 84d–85b

Hour 22 Text F: Discussion | Plato Phaedo 84d–85b

Theorizing about theōriā: discussion of Plato Phaedo 102d

Hour 23 Text D: Discussion | Plato Phaedo 102d

Hour 23 Text D:  Community Reading | Plato Phaedo 102d

Hour 22 Text F: Plato Phaedo 84d–85b | Reading

The living word of Plato's Socrates: reading and discussion of Plato Phaedo 117a–118a

Hour 24 Text L: Plato Phaedo 117a–118a | Reading And Discussion

https://www.edx.org/course/ancient-greek-hero-24-hours-harvardx-hum2x-1

What is it to be human, and how can ancient concepts of the heroic and anti-heroic inform our understanding of the human condition? That question is at the core of The Ancient Greek Hero, which introduces (or reintroduces) students to the great texts of classical Greek culture by focusing on concepts of the Hero in an engaging, highly comparative way.
The classical Greeks' concepts of Heroes and the "heroic" were very different from the way we understand the term today. In this course, students analyze Greek heroes and anti-heroes in their own historical contexts, in order to gain an understanding of these concepts as they were originally understood while also learning how they can inform our understanding of the human condition in general.
In Greek tradition, a hero was a human, male or female, of the remote past, who was endowed with superhuman abilities by virtue of being descended from an immortal god. Rather than being paragons of virtue, as heroes are viewed in many modern cultures, ancient Greek heroes had all of the qualities and faults of their fellow humans, but on a much larger scale. Further, despite their mortality, heroes, like the gods, were objects of cult worship – a dimension which is also explored in depth in the course.
The original sources studied in this course include the Homeric Iliad and Odyssey; tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; songs of Sappho and Pindar; dialogues of Plato; historical texts of Herodotus; and more, including the intriguing but rarely studied dialogue "On Heroes" by Philostratus. All works are presented in English translation, with attention to the subtleties of the original Greek. These original sources are frequently supplemented both by ancient art and by modern comparanda, including opera and cinema (from Jacques Offenbach's opera Tales of Hoffman to Ridley Scott's science fiction classic Blade Runner).
The true hero of the course is the logos ("word") of reasoned expression, as activated by Socratic dialogue. The logos of dialogue requires both careful thought and close (or "slow") reading, which is a core skill taught in this class. The course begins by considering the heroes of Homer's epics and ends with Plato's memories of the final days of Socrates -- memories which can only be fully understood by a reader who has gained a thorough comprehension of the ancient Greek hero in all his or her various manifestations.
Using modern technology and engaging texts, The Ancient Greek Hero provides students who have no previous background in classical Greek civilization with a fully engaging and immediately accessible introduction to the most beautiful moments in this ancient literature, its myths, and its ritual practices.


HeroesX

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