Odyssey of Ancient Classics: Ovid's Metamorphoses *Online* *NEW*

The Metamorphoses is made up of dozens of interlocking myths, each involving a metamorphosis (transformation) in some way. Ovid’s telling of these myths has inspired innumerable works of visual art and literature in the more than 2,000 years since he wrote it. In this class, we will read his work in translation and discover some of the art and literature inspired by his work. The focus of this class will be the books 1-6. You don’t need to have read books 1-6 to participate in this class. 2023 brought us two new translations of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, both of which attend to Ovid’s depiction of sexual violence in new ways. We will pay special attention to how these newer translations differ from older ones.
Required text: A translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, either C. Luke Soucy's (2023) or Stephanie McCarter's (2023). If you happen to own a different translation, please bring that along as well for extra fun!
Instructor: Emilio Saavedra

Sections

Instructor

Emilio Saavedra is an itinerant hellenist and linguist. Growing up between France the US, Germany, and New Zealand he developed and interest for languages, and specialized in ancient languages at the Vivarium Novum in Rome where Latin and ancient Greek were the only languages spoken. He followed a course in Art History at the Karlova Univerzita, then studied Roman Greek and middle French literature and linguistics the Sorbonne. He completed a Masters in Greek literature and linguistics at the Sorbonne Paris IV and continues to teach spoken and ancient languages internationally and locally. His courses tend to centre around myth, folklore, and social phenomena in archaic to hellenistic magna graecia.