In fall 2023, Emily Wilson’s much-anticipated translation of the Iliad was published, following the success of her 2017 Odyssey.

Over the course of eight months (September to April), this group will read the entirety of Wilson’s new Iliad. Discussion topics will include ancient epic composition techniques, Greek mythology, the question of translation, and others. While it will be beneficial for members to have familiarity with the Odyssey, this is not necessary. (It will, naturally, be difficult to resist asking whether the Iliad lives up to the Odyssey, in Wilson’s or any translation.)

During our last meeting, we will explore two recent and profoundly compelling engagements with the Iliad: David Diop’s 2018 novella, At Night All Blood is Black (winner of the 2021 International Booker Prize), and Ayşe Papatya Bucak’s 2019 short story “The Trojan War Museum.”

Sessions will take a seminar format, with mini-lectures by the convener on historical/mythical background and technical points of Homeric poetics followed by group discussion.

This group meets on the 1st Tuesday of the month from 5:30-7pm, in the Athenæum’s Bound.

Members should purchase Wilson’s Iliad and Diop’s novella (in any edition). Copies of Bucak’s short story will be distributed by the convener.

Tues, September 3
Iliad 1-3

Tues, October 1
Iliad 4-6

Tues, November 5
Iliad 7-9

Tues, December 3
Iliad 10-12

Tues, January 7
Iliad 13-15

Tues, February 4
Iliad 16-18

Tues, March 4
Iliad 19-21

Tues, April 1
Iliad 22-24

Tues, May 6
David Diop, At Night All Blood is Black (translation by Anna Moschovakis); Ayşe Papatya Bucak, “The Trojan War Museum” (photocopy of the latter to be distributed)

Johanna Hanink is Professor of Classics at Brown University. She writes and teaches on various aspects of Greek antiquity and its legacy. Her work in Classics focuses on the literature and culture of classical Athens, while her work in Modern Greek Studies is centered on how ideas about the ancient past shape the modern world.

She holds a PhD in Classics from the University of Cambridge. She is also a translator of Greek: ancient, modern, and in-between.