Scholarly & Creative Engagement on Homer Appreciation Day
The winter term ended with a symposium that honoured the legacy of Homer’s epics through the ages. Hosted in St. Jerome’s Dragen Lab, Professors from North America and Europe explained the experiences and traditions that inspired Homer to compose his Iliad and Odyssey. The latter was of particular interest, not only with the peculiar role of the ‘pirate’ captain, but also with the blending of a purely fictional and an exotic land- and waterscape experienced in the 8th century BCE, which gradually transitions into an Other- and a Netherworld. Some presentations explored the meaning that the epics for later generations up to our own time. The day’s highlight was the performance of Canada’s Homeric Bard Jeff Wright (the author of The Full-Disclosure Iliad), who gave us first-hand insights into what it takes to engage a modern audience into ancient narratives, including their brighter and their darker parts. A novelty was the opportunity to create alternative plotlines for a 21st-century audience, brought to us by the editors of the student-run journal Epic Threads. Prizes for the best Homeric creations went to William LaMonica-Sleczkowski, Luisa Coskun, Kate Cofell, and Mica Rothlisberger. The event, which was co-sponsored by the Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies and the UW Shalom Trust, clearly demonstrated that that engagement with Homer can still inspire us intellectually and allow us to build community.