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GRC40380

Academic Year 2025/2026

Teaching in Verse: Ancient Didactic Poetry (GRC40380)

Subject:
Greek & Roman Civilization
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Classics
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Dr George Prekas
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

Didactic poetry, deriving its name from the Greek verb didasko = “I teach”, is a genre that seeks to instruct its audience on a specific subject or field of knowledge. This can range from practical skills, such as agriculture, hunting, and astronomy, to more specialised attempts to explain the nature of the world around us and our roles within it through astrology or philosophy. This module explores selections from Greek and Latin didactic poetry, all of which will be studied in translation. It begins with the earliest example of the genre, Hesiod’s Works and Days (8/7th century BC) and culminates in Manilius’ Astronomica (early 1st century AD). Seminars will trace the evolution of the genre from Archaic Greece to Imperial Rome and the content of selected poems will be examined with consideration for the social and philosophical milieu in which they were produced. As we read, we will reflect on topics such as: the dynamic role of the poet as teacher and the reader as student; poems as both lessons and works of literature; didactic strategies (e.g. similes, analogies, exhortations, etc); the role of myth in didactic poetry; the relationship between didactic poetry and heroic epic.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the module students should be able to:
• identify and analyse key features of didactic poetry, tracing their development over time
• evaluate how didactic poems were influenced by, and responded to, their contemporary historical, societal, and intellectual
contexts
• demonstrate a thorough understanding of key theories and approaches in studying ancient didactic poetry (e.g., genre theory,
literary-critical theory, new historicism, intertextuality)
• critically engage with relevant modern scholarship
• demonstrate a solid understanding of the content and key themes of the set texts
• engage critically with modern scholarship and communicate arguments and ideas effectively, both orally and in writing

Indicative Module Content:

Indicative Module Content for Spring 2025/26

Introduction
1. Teaching in Verse: themes, topics, approaches in Ancient Didactic Poetry

Greece
2. The Father of Didactic: Hesiod and his Works and Days
3. Hellenistic Didactic 1: Aratus’ Phaenomena: stars and kosmos
4. Hellenistic Didactic 2: Nicander’s Theriaca and Alexipharmaca: Venoms and Antidotes

Rome
5. Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura 1: Atoms and Void
6. Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura 2: Love and Death
7. Virgil’s Georgics: Grafting Farming onto Politics
8. Falling in and out of Love: Ovid’s mock-didactic (Ars Amatoria – Remedia Amoris)
9. Manilius’ Astronomica 1: the Dance of the Zodiac
10. Manilius’ Astronomica 2: History as Fate

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Autonomous Student Learning

180
Seminar (or Webinar)

20
Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Face-to-face classes will last 2 hours. All classes will focus on group discussion of the set ancient texts and relevant modern scholarship. In some sessions students will also deliver a 10-minute, oral presentation that will be followed by Questions & Answer sessions from the class. The presentation will focus on a scholarly article or chapter focusing on ancient didactic poetry. Presentations examine key arguments, methodologies, and theoretical approaches employed by the author.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): 4,000 word essay Week 14 Alternative non-linear conversion grade scale 50% No
70
 No
Individual Project: 10-minute, oral presentation + Q&A on a scholarly article or chapter focusing on ancient didactic poetry focusing on key arguments, methodologies, and theoretical approaches employed by the author. Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10 Alternative non-linear conversion grade scale 50% No
30
 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

All coursework will receive written feedback within 20 working days. Oral feedback also will be delivered in real time on presentations through questions and answers and the group discussion that follows.

Name Role
Dr George Prekas Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Conor Trainor Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 1 Tues 11:00 - 12:50
Autumn Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 2, 7 Tues 11:00 - 12:50
Autumn Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 3, 5 Tues 11:00 - 12:50
Autumn Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 4, 6 Tues 11:00 - 12:50
Autumn Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 9, 10, 11, 12 Tues 11:00 - 12:50
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