Homerathon 2023
For the first time since 2019, the event will be in person—a tradition that was interrupted due to the pandemic but one that the Department of Classics is excited to be resuming now. Over the course of twelve hours, UI faculty, staff, students, and community members will have the chance to read aloud and listen to the complete text of Homer’s Iliad in English translation. The Department of Classics hopes that this event will be an opportunity not only for scholars, students, and enthusiasts of the ancient world to come together around their shared love of Homer, but also to celebrate the end of another successful academic year!
If you have any questions or problems please contact the Homerathon committee:
Marcia Lindgren, marcia-lindgren@uiowa.edu
Justin Vorhis, justin-vorhis@uiowa.edu
Lindsay Vella, lindsay-vella@uiowa.edu
Department of Classics YouTube channel Homerathon Facebook Page
Virtual Homerathon 2021
The University of Iowa Department of Classics and Eta Sigma Phi, the undergraduate honors society for classics students, will be hosting it's second virtual Homerathon on April 30! This year, 215 participants will read Homer's entire Iliad, with videos available through our departmental Department of Classics YouTube channel. Stay tuned for more information!
Virtual Homerathon 2020
The University of Iowa Department of Classics and Eta Sigma Phi, the undergraduate honors society for classics students, is proud to present a reading of Homer’s entire Odyssey in English translation through our Department of Classics YouTube channel (videos now included below).
Although some four thousand years have passed, Homer’s epic tale of adventure is still a cracking good read. After the Trojan War, the Greek warrior Odysseus sets off on a perilous journey home that ends up lasting ten years. Meanwhile, his son Telemachos comes of age and his wife Penelope uses her wiles to fend off a crowd of suitors determined to take Odysseus’s place.
Many thanks to our 135 volunteers for making Homerathon 2020 such a success! We've seen events cancelled, postponed, and rescheduled, and our calendars have never been so simultaneously packed and empty, but we all found time in our lives to read a little bit of a timeless tale to complete strangers, thousands of miles away. This year's Homerathon committee has been simply floored by the responses, enthusiasm, and creativity all of our participants showed. We have such diversity in terms of ages, genders, races, and nationalities - it is inspiring to see and really speaks to the universality of Classical literature. This entire endeavor has been a testament to human willpower during difficult times. Like our hero Odysseus, we have no doubt we'll get through this with plenty of stories to tell when it is over - except unlike Odysseus, we aren't alone in our journey.