Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 10 hours ago
Discussion topics include an exploration of the first choral passage of the Bacchae which proves to be quite an emotional text. Participants note the chorus' connection not just with theater goers but also characters within the Heroic Age. Chorus is also said to be a ritual agent — ritual in a myth complex. Reenacting myth is in a sense enacting the ritual and the prime vehicle for this enactment is the chorus. Professor Nagy also finds that the chorus, whether in the Athenian city center or other conservative places, is capable of mimesis that far surpasses the mimesis an actor is capable of. As a traditional medium it can reenact any role one can imagine and is thus very versatile.
Participants also examine the close connection between chorus songs and the genre of 'love-songs' especially given the relation to Phaedra in Euripides Hippolytus. Other themes include traditions of women's lament in ancient and modern Greek song culture. In these contexts, Professor Nagy notes, it is easy for female voices to modulate from one stage of life to another in a nonlinear or 'zig zag' manner. The discussion also moves to an exploration of kleos as it pertains to both Achilles and Phaedra, and the question as to whether there is grounds for Phaedra to be considered an epic hero.
Recorded in Spring 2020 during v13 of the MOOC The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours, focusing on Hours 20 and 21, and responses to the Discussion Questions.
With Gregory Nagy, Keith DeStone, and members of the HeroesX Team.
Discussion topics include an exploration of the first choral passage of the Bacchae which proves to be quite an emotional text. Participants note the chorus' connection not just with theater goers but also characters within the Heroic Age. Chorus is also said to be a ritual agent — ritual in a myth complex. Reenacting myth is in a sense enacting the ritual and the prime vehicle for this enactment is the chorus. Professor Nagy also finds that the chorus, whether in the Athenian city center or other conservative places, is capable of mimesis that far surpasses the mimesis an actor is capable of. As a traditional medium it can reenact any role one can imagine and is thus very versatile.
Participants also examine the close connection between chorus songs and the genre of 'love-songs' especially given the relation to Phaedra in Euripides Hippolytus. Other themes include traditions of women's lament in ancient and modern Greek song culture. In these contexts, Professor Nagy notes, it is easy for female voices to modulate from one stage of life to another in a nonlinear or 'zig zag' manner. The discussion also moves to an exploration of kleos as it pertains to both Achilles and Phaedra, and the question as to whether there is grounds for Phaedra to be considered an epic hero.
Recorded in Spring 2020 during v13 of the MOOC The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours, focusing on Hours 20 and 21, and responses to the Discussion Questions.
With Gregory Nagy, Keith DeStone, and members of the HeroesX Team.
