CLASPHIL 295 / MEDGREEK 295: The Greek Anthology

“For our knowledge of virtually the entire history of the classical epigram, we are dependent on two celebrated and remarkable manuscripts: the so-called Palatine Anthology … and the Planudean Anthology” (Cameron 1993, 16). These two manuscripts make up what we today commonly refer to as the Greek Anthology, the most important source not only of ancient but also of early Byzantine epigrams. In this course, we will study these anthologies both as sources of individual epigrams and as works of art in their own right that weave these epigrams into “garlands” of poetry. We will trace the long and complex formation history of the Greek Anthology, explore the various subgenres and thematic strands contained in it, and discuss formal and functional (dis)continuities of the Greek epigram from the classical to the Byzantine period.