The aim of the seminar is to introduce undergraduate students to reading of Homer’s epics: understanding of these works is often a sine qua non for comprehending primarily philosophical texts, as well as for the overall cultural orientation of a humanities scholar. The course’s methodology is primarily hermeneutic: the art of interpretation unlocks a spiritual and mental world that is, in a certain sense, close to us—since our world originates in it—yet is at the same time historically, religiously, and culturally foreign, distant, and in many respects fundamentally different; holding both similarities and dissimilarities in mind simultaneously allows us to glimpse the non-self-evident and non-definitive nature of our world, and to better understand the conditio humana of Western man—that is, our own fate.
Poslední úprava: Kružík Josef, Mgr., Ph.D. (13.10.2026)
The aim of the seminar is to introduce undergraduate students to reading of Homer’s epics: understanding of these works is often a sine qua non for comprehending primarily philosophical texts, as well as for the overall cultural orientation of a humanities scholar. The course’s methodology is primarily hermeneutic: the art of interpretation unlocks a spiritual and mental world that is, in a certain sense, close to us—since our world originates in it—yet is at the same time historically, religiously, and culturally foreign, distant, and in many respects fundamentally different; holding both similarities and dissimilarities in mind simultaneously allows us to glimpse the non-self-evident and non-definitive nature of our world, and to better understand the conditio humana of Western man—that is, our own fate.
Poslední úprava: YMFA33\5019684 (09.09.2026)
Literatura -
Povinná:
Munro, David B., Allen, Thomas W. Homeri Opera Tomus 1, Iliadis libros I-XII. Oxonii: Ex Typographeo Clarendoniano, 2006, 266 s. ISBN 0198145284.
Munro, David B., Allen, Thomas W. Homeri opera. Tomus 2, Iliadis Libros XIII-XXIV. Oxonii: Ex Typographeo Clarendoniano, 1998, 310 s. ISBN 9780198145295.
Heubeck, Alfred, West, Stephanie. Odissea. Milano: Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, 1981, s. ISBN .
Homéros. Ilias. Praha: Academia, 2010, 582 s. ISBN 978-80-200-1839-7.
Homéros. Odysseia. Praha: Academia, 2012, 479 s. ISBN 978-80-200-2187-8.
Doporučená:
Schadewaldt, Wolfgang. Z Homérova světa a díla : stati a pojednání k homérské otázce. Praha: OIKOYMENH, 2019, s. ISBN 978-80-7298-255-4.
de Jong, Irene. Homer : critical assessments (vol I. The Creation of Poems; vol II. The Homeric World, vol III. Literary Interpretation, vol IV. Homer’s Art). New York: Routledge, 1999, 4 vols s. ISBN .
Finkelberg, Margalit (ed.). The Homer encyclopedia. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, 2 vols s. ISBN 978-1-4051-7768-9.
Heubeck, Alfred, West Stephanie et al. A commentary on Homer’s Odyssey. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988, 3 vols s. ISBN .
Kirk, Geoffrey Stehphen. The Iliad : a commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985, 6 vols s. ISBN .
Poslední úprava: Kružík Josef, Mgr., Ph.D. (30.08.2022)
Obligatory:
Homéros. The Odyssey. Volume I. Books 1-12. Cambridge ; London: Harvard University Press, 1998, 481 s. ISBN 0-674-99561-9.
Homéros. The Odyssey. Volume II : Books 13-24. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995, 476 s. ISBN 0-674-99562-7.
Homéros. The Iliad. Volume I., Books 1-12. Cambridge ; London: Harvard University Press, 1999, 591 s. ISBN 0-674-99579-1.
Homéros. The Iliad. Volume II., Books 13-24. Cambridge ; London: Harvard University Press, 1999, 656 s. ISBN 0-674-99580-5.
Recommended:
de Jong, Irene. A Narratological Commentary on the Odyssey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004, 627 s. ISBN 0-511-03953-0.
Heubeck, Alfred, West Stephanie et al. A commentary on Homer’s Odyssey. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988, 3 vols s. ISBN .
Kirk, G. S. Hainsworth, J. B. Janko, Richard, Edwards, Mark W., Richardson, N. J. . The Iliad : a commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993, 6 vols. s. ISBN 0-521-28173-3.
Poslední úprava: Kružík Josef, Mgr., Ph.D. (09.09.2026)
Kontroly studia předmětu a podmínky pro jejich úspěšné vykonání, způsob hodnocení
All students will take an online test in Moodle. It will have 10 questions on the topics covered in the seminars, each worth 2 points, for a maximum of 20 points. For bachelor's students, the test is the whole assessment and is graded as follows:
0–10 points: fail
11–13 points: good
14–15 points: very good
16–20 points: excellent
Master's students must also write a paper. Choose one scholarly article on Homer (about 30 suitable articles are in the shared Dropbox folder), work through it and engage with it critically. The paper should be 3–5 pages long and must be sent to kruzik@fhs.cuni.cz by 31 January 2027 at the latest. The final grade for master's students is the average of the grades for the test and the paper.
Poslední úprava: Kružík Josef, Mgr., Ph.D. (06.10.2026)
Sylabus - angličtina
1. Introduction; Homer: The Educator of Hellas 2. Dactylic Hexameter 3. Structure, Composition, and Brief Summary of Both Epics 4. Homer’s Cosmography: The Shield of Achilles 5. Bodies and Souls in Homer 6. Achilles’ Dilemma: A Beautiful Death or a Long Life 7. The Case of Thersites: Hero and Antihero in the Homeric Epics 8. Women’s Work 9. Odysseus’ Descent into the Underworld 10. The Easy-Living Gods 11. Furor Poeticus 12. Prometheus’ Offering and Adam’s Sin
Poslední úprava: YMFA33\5019684 (09.09.2026)
Výsledky učení - angličtina
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
Critically evaluate major philosophical themes in Homeric epics (e.g., heroism, mortality, cosmology, soul) within their historical and intellectual context.
Analyse Homeric texts using advanced hermeneutic and interdisciplinary approaches (philosophy, literary theory, and cultural analysis).
Produce structured and logically consistent written responses demonstrating clarity and depth of interpretation.
Evaluate the ethical and existential dimensions of Homeric thought in relation to broader philosophical questions.
