Teaching Documents by Christopher Polt
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Rome overflowed with spectacle: theatrical shows and gladiatorial combats, chariot races and mili... more Rome overflowed with spectacle: theatrical shows and gladiatorial combats, chariot races and military parades, animal hunts and funeral processions, ritual sacrifices and Christian martyrdoms. This course will explore what public spectacles looked like in Rome and why they were ubiquitous sights in antiquity, paying special attention to: who produced public spectacles and what benefits they derived from them, tangible or otherwise; how spectators responded to and participated in such events; and how spectacular displays reinforced and/or challenged social norms and traditional values, both individually and for society at large. Students will have hands-on opportunities to reconstruct and perform select spectacles in order to reflect upon the ancient and modern experience of spectacular public display.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The Roman poet Lucretius is one of the key figures in the history of Western philosophy, expoundi... more The Roman poet Lucretius is one of the key figures in the history of Western philosophy, expounding in his work De Rerum Natura (“On the Nature of Things”) upon the primary tenets of Epicurean thought. In this course we will read selections from De Rerum Natura in Latin, aiming to acquire a greater knowledge of Latin grammar and vocabulary and to improve facility in reading Latin poetry. We will use Lucretius’ poem as a focal point to explore ancient Epicureanism, its views on human ethics and the workings of the physical world, its place within ancient philosophy more broadly, and its continuing relevance for modern thought.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Articles by Christopher Polt
Hermes, Jan 2016
Vergil’s unusual phrase "temptare Thetin" (Ecl. 4.32) has long been recognized as an allusion to ... more Vergil’s unusual phrase "temptare Thetin" (Ecl. 4.32) has long been recognized as an allusion to Catullus’s equally striking "imbuit Amphitriten" (64.11). This note shows that Vergil’s allusion is more complex, however, evoking the descriptions of the Argo’s construction in both Catullus (64.8–11) and Apollonius (Argon. 1.111–14), and in particular the phrase "ἐπειρήσαντο θαλάσσης" that occurs in the latter. Vergil employs Catullus as a “window reference” that colors Apollonius’ Argo with darker notions of the sea’s violation that become dominant in the Roman tradition.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Mnemosyne 68
In his monograph "Plautus in Performance," Niall Slater suggests that at Plautus Epidicus 81-101 ... more In his monograph "Plautus in Performance," Niall Slater suggests that at Plautus Epidicus 81-101 the actor playing Epidicus may remove his mask and converse with it as they seek a solution to their predicament. This note argues that wordplay and double entendre throughout the passage encourages interpreting the staging of the scene in this way. The metatheatrical break between actor and mask early in the performance prepares the audience for the disorder that will dominate the rest of the play.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Classical Journal 110, Dec 2014
Throughout his allegedly biographical prologues and epilogues, Phaedrus represents his work as de... more Throughout his allegedly biographical prologues and epilogues, Phaedrus represents his work as developing gradually from submissive translation of Aesop to independent literary creation. While scholars usually take this progression at face value, closer scrutiny reveals that Phaedrus modifies Aesopic material to serve his own ends long before he overtly asserts his poetic autonomy. In poem 1.2, Phaedrus adapts a fable about Athenian democracy for uniquely Roman audiences, engaging allusively with Cicero’s De Re Publica. At the same time, he adjusts Cicero’s ideas about political change in the Republic to fit realities of life in the Empire. Poem 1.2 also functions programmatically by establishing Cynic-Stoic resignation as a major theme for the rest of the fable collection.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Catullus 64 revises traditional mythological chronology by making the Argo the first ship; this “... more Catullus 64 revises traditional mythological chronology by making the Argo the first ship; this “correction” strongly influenced subsequent Latin poetry. Varro of Atax, a young contemporary of Catullus, alludes to this temporal “correction” and to poem 64 more broadly in his Latin translation of Apollonius’ Argonautica, problematizing his principal source text. This allusive technique reveals a complex recreative relationship between translation and source text vis-à-vis other poems that allude to and “correct” this source. Ovid nods at Varro’s “correction” significantly and repeatedly. Varro played an important role as an allusive bridge between Neoteric and Augustan poetry and poetics.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Book Reviews by Christopher Polt
Phoenix, 2016
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
BMCR 2013.11.27, Nov 2013
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
CJ Online 2012.12.12, Dec 2012
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Teaching Documents by Christopher Polt
Articles by Christopher Polt
Book Reviews by Christopher Polt