Welcome to introduction to Western Literature, a year-long course which will introduce you to the great works of Antiquity and the Middle Ages in the Mediterranean and Western Europe (in English). This is the first part of the course, which will focus, by-and-large on the epic tradition which comes out of the Ancient World. We will primarily study Hebrew Bible, the Odyssey by Homer, and the Aeneid by Virgil. These readings will be supplemented with examples of poetry from Sappho, the Metamorphoses by Ovid, two readings by Augustine of Hippo, and, finally, a couple readings from commentaries on the Aeneid by Virgil.

Through these readings, you will be introduced to foundational texts of the Western tradition, read and re-read by the authors you will study in other literary courses. We will see and discuss how literature in the Ancient world developed from theurgic (how gods affect humans) concerns to (among other matters) explorations of the inner-workings of nature, societal relationships, and, most importantly, the development of literary devices and genres.