![]() Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great epic poem attributed to Homer, telling the story of an intense episode in the Trojan War. So does the Trojan War story have any basis in fact? And why has it proved such an enduring legend?With Edith HallProfessor of Classics at King's College LondonEllen AdamsLecturer in Classical Art and Archaeology at King's College LondonSusan SherrattLecturer in Archaeology at the University of SheffieldProducer: Thomas Morris. But in the nineteenth century a series of archaeological discoveries provided startling evidence that Troy might really have existed, leading some scholars to conclude that there could even be some truth behind the myth. For centuries it was assumed to be a mythical event. Some of the most familiar names of Greek mythology are associated with the war, including Achilles and Hector, Odysseus and Helen of Troy - and it has also given us the story of the Trojan Horse.The war is the backdrop for Homer's epic poem The Iliad, and features in many other works from classical antiquity. A Greek army besieged Troy for ten years before the city was finally overrun and destroyed. According to the traditional version of the story, the war began when a Trojan prince, Paris, eloped with the Spartan queen Helen. He has been awarded a Graduate Teaching Award from Pembroke College (Cambridge) and twice won awards from the University of Oxford for an Outstanding Contribution to Teaching.Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Trojan War, one of the best known events of Greek mythology. ![]() From 2012-2013, he had a Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for research at the Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Leipzig. He has been a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge (2002-4) and a Visiting Fellow at Venice International University (2003-4). For his PhD, he studied in Cambridge (Pembroke College), where he investigated representations of verbal contest - or agon - in different ancient Greek genres, under the supervision of Simon Goldhill and Paul Cartledge. He studied Classical Civilisation at the University of Leeds, and went on to do a Masters in Greek Civilisation there, and then, in order to learn the languages, a further Masters in Greek and Latin at Ohio State University in the USA. He came to Classical Studies late - my "A" levels were in English, Geography and Mathematics. Before then, he had been a Tutor and Lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford (2004-9), and also lectured at Bristol, Nottingham and Reading. ![]() As we see during an in-depth study of Book 9, it is the latter approach that wins more kleos ('glory') for the hero, and not the knee-jerk violence of the Iliad.ĭr Elton Barker is Reader in Classical Studies, having joined The Open University as a Lecturer in July 2009. Here, we find Odysseus wavering between Iliad-style, impulsive violence, and a more considered approach. In the second module, we turn to the Odyssey. While this assembly eventually descends into chaos, it sets an important precedent (it is argued) that leads to the more orderly assemblies in Books 2 and 9, and ultimately to the law court scene depicted on Achilles' shield in Book 18. ![]() In the first module, we focus on the Iliad and Achilles' decision to summon an assembly in response to the dispute with Chryses. In a special set of two lectures, Dr Elton Barker (Open University) explores the worlds of the Homeric epics, suggesting in particular that both the Iliad and the Odyssey question the use of violence as a means of conflict-resolution.
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