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The following articles are in CJ 102.3
DONKEYS AND THE EQUINE HIERARCHY
IN ARCHAIC GREEK LITERATURE
Justina GregoryAbstract: Although donkeys must have been both ubiquitous and indispensable in ancient Greece, references to them in archaic and classical literature are rare and generally derogatory. The literary portrayal of donkeys does not do justice to their actual qualities, but attests to their position in a semiotic system in which they are negatively contrasted to horses, with mules complicating the polarity. This article situates donkeys in the equine hierarchy and considers how their portrayal in literature reflects archaic Greek attitudes toward class and gender, poverty and labor.
CAECILIUS’ RESPONSE TO THE INVITATION
IN CATULLUS 35
Wells S. HansenAbstract: The invitation and the nature of the cogitationes in Catullus 35 have been much discussed, but the expected response of Caecilius to the invitation has been largely ignored. By showing that Caecilius’ response is the crucial link to the rhetorical purpose of Catullus’ poem, I offer a reading of it as an invitation Caecilius is expected to refuse. I argue that the point of Catullus 35 is not that the Magna Mater is unfinished, but rather the manner in which Caecilius has begun the poem. The argument rests in part on a review of the force of venuste in literature, and of its specific importance in the penultimate line of Catullus’ poem.
THREE NOTES ON SALLUST
A.J. WoodmanAbstract: The paper comprises brief discussion of three textual cruces in Sallust.
VERSANE NATURA EST? NATURAL AND LINGUISTIC INSTABILITY IN THE EXTISPICIUM AND SELF-BLINDING OF SENECA’S OEDIPUS
Austin BuschAbstract: In the Naturales Quaestiones Seneca explains the efficacy of extispicia with reference to their intelligible position in the grand chain of fate ordering nature. Some aspects of the extispicium from Seneca’s Oedipus cohere with that explanation, especially the ritual’s obvious allegorical references. Others, however, raise the possibility that nature is fundamentally chaotic rather than rationally ordered: for example, the sacrifice’s bewildering rainbow-like flame with its obscuring cloud of smoke and the perplexing poetic discourse with which Manto describes the entrails. Oedipus’ self-blinding, likewise examined through the interpretive lens provided by the Naturales Quaestiones, constitutes a rational attempt to restore nature’s order. But this attempt is compromised both by Oedipus’ mad fury and by the same kind of linguistic confusion that destabilizes the extispicium.
Forum Articles in 102.3
COLLOQUIA FAMILIARIA HODIERNA:
ERASMUS ETIAMNUNC LATINE DOCET
Jeanne Marie NeumannAbstract: Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam has left us an unsurpassed treasure trove of beautifully written Latin in the Colloquia Familiaria. These witty and engaging dialogues provide a bridge between introductory courses in Latin and more advanced classes. Written originally as a teaching tool, the Colloquia rehearse a variety of Latin syntax and idiom. They also offer us views of a variety of people—including women and children—in their daily, 16th-century lives. Since they are funny and interesting, students want to read them. Since they were written as language lessons, students progress in their mastery of the language.
TEACHING ANCIENT FOLKLORE
D. and C.A. IngemarkFinely wrought pieces of storytelling, pithy sayings and clever riddles constituting oral traditions often labelled “verbal art” abound in ancient texts. Yet while it has long been recognised that such traditions—folklore—can be found in the Homeric poems, it is less well known that they have also been incorporated into many other types of texts. This paper aims to offer a concise description of how a course in ancient folklore highlighting the wealth of oral traditions available to us can be structured, focusing on how these traditions reflect ancient societies.
A STRUCTURAL ARRANGEMENT OF TEXT
TO FACILITATE READING
Rebecca R. HarrisonAbstract: This article describes a method of arranging text by indenting phrases and clauses on separate lines as an aid for students, especially in sight-translation. The method is explained using passages from Descartes, Caesar and Cicero. Examples also illustrate applications involving gapping, rhetorical devices, paragraph-structure and style.
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