Arts & Humanities Faculty Events

Conflict and Consensus in Early Hexameter Poetry

Conference hosted by

the Durham Department of Classics and Ancient  History

and the Institute of Advanced Study

2^nd July 2012 to 4^th July 2012

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This conference aims to examine Conflict and Consensus in Early Hexameter Poetry from two main perspectives: as thematic concerns in the poems themselves and as aspects of their early reception.

Conflict is a key theme in The Iliad (which famously starts with a quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon), The Odyssey (the civil war in Ithaca), The Theogony (among generations of gods) and The Works and Days (Hesiod and his brother).

All these key conflicts happen between parties who should actually get along, and they are explored within poems that aimed to meet with consensus among Panhellenic audiences. The Certamen Homeri et Hesiodi dramatises the reception of early epic, and suggests that war — as a poetic theme — can actually be less divisive than peace.

The conference brings together advanced graduate students, early-career researchers and more experienced scholars in order to make an original and significant contribution to Homeric studies.

Provisional Schedule

Monday 2nd July

14.00–14.45 David Elmer (Harvard – Iliad)
14.45–15.30 Adrian Kelly (Oxford – Iliad)
15.30–16.00 Break
16.00–16.45 Jon Hesk (St. Andrews – Odyssey)
16.45–17.30 Don Lavigne (Durham – Odyssey) 

Tuesday 3rd July

10.00–10.45 Barbara Graziosi (Durham – Theogony)
10.45–11.30 Johannes Haubold (Durham – Theogony)
11.30–12.00 Break
12.00–12.45 Lilah Grace Fraser (Durham – Works and Days)
12.45–13.30 Andrea Ercolani (CNR Italy – Works and Days)
13.30–14.45 Lunch
14.45–15.30 Paola Bassino (Durham – Certamen Homeri et Hesiodi)
15.30–16.15 Alexander Beecroft (South Carolina – Certamen Homeri et Hesiodi)
16.15–16.45 Break
16.45–17.30 Jim Marks (Florida – The Epic Cycle)
18.45 Conference Dinner at University College (Castle)

Wednesday 4th July

10.00–10.45 Ivana Petrovic (Durham – Homeric Hymns)
10.45–11.30 Oliver Thomas (Cambridge – Homeric Hymns)
11.30–12.00 Break
12.00–13.30 Discussion chaired by Douglas Cairns (Edinburgh).

Contact l.g.fraser@durham.ac.uk; paola.bassino@durham.ac.uk for more information about this event.

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