Fall 2009

LAT 365 • Lucretius

Course Description

Although Epicurus himself (341-270) took a rather dim view of poetry, many of his later followers considered vivid verse an important part of their philosophical way of life. Best known of these is an otherwise obscure Roman named Lucretius (?95-55?), who lavished over 7000 elegant Latin hexameters on the task of explaining what he took to be the key to salvation for mortal humans. In this course, we'll study both aspects of his poem--both the philosophical and the poetic dimensions of his genius; and we’ll explore both how and why he wove so much diverse material into a work of such emotional and intellectual power.

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