Latin 8910

I've mentioned this article in class a few times but haven't, until now, had the precise reference handy. A copy will (shortly) be on reserve in the CNES library:

R. Hexter, "What Was the Trojan Horse Made of?: Interpreting Vergil's Aeneid." Yale Journal of Criticism 3.2: 109-31.

Although this article is specifically directed to passages in Aeneid 2, it is also useful on the idea of puzzles within the poem generally--that is, as Hexter sees it, there are passages of the poem that are structured in such a way that they call out for interpretation. (Other examples are the hesitating Golden Bough and the gates of sleep passage, both in Bk. 6.)

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In class, we'll pay particular attention to Aeneid 6.14-41 (the ecphrasis of the temple doors); we'll also talk about ecphrasis in general. Some suggested readings:

Putnam, M. C. J. 1998. Virgil's Epic Designs: Ekphrasis in the Aeneid. New Haven. 75-96. A version of this appeared as "Daedalus, Virgil, and the End of Art" AJP 108 (1987) 173-98.

A useful point of departure for theoretical considerations of ecphrasis is

Fowler, D. 1991. "Narrate and Describe: The Problem of Ekphrasis." JRS 81: 25-35. Reprinted in D. Fowler, Roman Constructions: Readings in Post-Modern Latin (Oxford 2000) 64-85.

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Here is fuller information on sources for Greek and Roman myths:

Roscher = Ausfuerliches Lexicon der griechischen und roemischen Mythologie (multiple volumes, starting in 1884-)

Preller-Robert = Griechische Mythologie (4th edition 1894, Robert's revision)

LIMC = Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae (multiple volumes)

Another work that is sometimes useful is

StithThompson = Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (6 vols.).

There is a copy of Roscher in the CNES library. LIMC can be found in Wilson Library reference. I don't think that the University owns a copy of Preller-Robert, but there are copies of Preller's unrevised Griechische Mythologie and Roemische Mythologie (in the CNES library and also in the Wilson annex, where a number of older things is kept--if you go for them in person, you'll have to do it during the day when they're open.) Stith Thompson is also available in Wilson reference.

The other work we discussed, not necessary as useful for Vergilian scholarship as for other things (like teaching a myth class) is

Reid, J. D. The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1300-1900s (Oxford 1993). This is a 2 volume work. There is a copy next to Roscher in the CNES library.

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