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We invite you to the West End Neighborhood Library for an exciting new lecture series brought to you by the West End Neighborhood Library Friends!
From death and devastation to glory and enduring poetry, the Trojan War has held the Western imagination in its thrall for over three millennia.
In this four-part, in-person lecture series, renowned Georgetown professor Ori Soltes, PhD will lead participants on an unforgettably illuminating journey. Join him as he traces how—and why—the Trojan War cycle has managed to fire the Western imagination and seep into a startlingly diverse array of media—from ancient Greek tragedy to James Joyce’s Ulysses, and all the way to contemporary Hollywood’s own Iliad-based film, Troy.
All lectures will meet in the Large Meeting Room at West End Neighborhood Library. The first three lectures will meet from 7:00-9:00 PM. The final lecture on June 26 will meet from 6:30-8:00 PM in the Large Meeting Room.
Lecture dates are as follows:
Monday, April 10
Monday, May 1
Tuesday, May 30
Monday, June 26
Please read on for more details about each lecture.
Session One: The Iliad. (Monday, April 10)
A fragment of the Great War and its engagement of men, gods, and fate. The tragic, noble, and irony-filled quest by mortals for immortal glory.
Session Two: The Odyssey. (Monday, May 1)
The delayed homecoming of Odysseus—and the yearning for home—in shaping the great adventure. The weaving of tales within the weaving of a tale of monsters and goddesses—and the wonder of the hero’s future articulated at the edge of the Underworld.
Session Three: Preludes and Aftermaths to Homer. (Tuesday, May 30)
From Aeschylos’ Agamemnon to Euripides’ Iphigenia Among the Colchians: What happened to others after the taking of Tory and why? What happened before the War to make it happen?
Session Four: Echoes of Troy and Its Meanings in Modern Media. (Monday, June 26)
From James Joyce’s epic novel, Ulysses (1922); to Nikos Kazantzakis’ epic poem, Odyssey: A Sequel (1938); to Joseph Strick’s 1967 film Ulysses and Wolfgang Peterson’s 2004 film Troy—how and why have key aspects of the dramatic story been re-shaped and re-directed with verve, passion, and poignancy?
About Ori Z. Soltes, PhD
Ori Z Soltes has spent a lifetime wrestling with questions that resonate through the history of the human experience. His dynamic teaching, lecturing, curating and writing reflect a broad series of interests and a unique ability to combine them in unusual ways that are thought-provoking and both challenging and intellectually exciting.
He currently teaches theology, philosophy and art history at Georgetown University. He has also taught across diverse disciplines for many years at The Johns Hopkins University, Cleveland State University, Case Western Reserve University, Siegel College in Cleveland, and other colleges and universities.
Dr. Soltes has lectured at dozens of museums across the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
-- My Nguyen
