[Xenophon] [Xenophon2010_readingodyssey.org] Xenophon'sHellenika ReadingGroup - First Call

Thu Jan 14 20:50:58 UTC 2010

All,

Tim Albright here.  As a day job, I manage a large, online support
community for Cisco Systems. I live in Austin, Texas with my wife and
two goofy cats.   I have also been involved with the RO for some time,
reading Homer, Darwin, Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, and Thucydides.  The
discussions are the best part and I always gain some kind of perspective
that hadn't occurred to me during my own reading.   I also enjoy a lot
of other reading, recently including Netherlands by Joseph O'Neill,
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue by John
McWhorter, and Stanley Lombardo's new translation of the Inferno (which
is highly recommended).  Stan is also a friend of the RO, so look for
more events where he'll be performing works like the Odyssey.

If my first foray into Book One is any indication, the Xenophon reading
is a little tougher to get used to than Thucydides or Herodotus.  I am
enjoying it though.  Boy, would I like to have dinner with Alcibiades.
Man, he is on all sides of everything.   Looking forward to all our
chats.

Cheers,

Tim

.:|:.:|:.  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  

Tim Albright  |  Manager, Cisco Support Communities   |  +
1.512.632.1810 (gmt -6)

A room without books is like a body without a soul.

- Cicero

From: xenophon2010-bounces at readingodyssey.org
[mailto:xenophon2010-bounces at readingodyssey.org] On Behalf Of Mark Casey
Sent: Sunday, January 03, 2010 9:57 PM
To: Upbin, Bruce
Cc: Xenophon2010 at readingodyssey.org
Subject: Re: [Xenophon] [Xenophon2010_readingodyssey.org]
Xenophon'sHellenika ReadingGroup - First Call

Hi Everyone,

My name is Mark Casey. I live in San Francisco with my wife Carrie and
my 16 month old boy Joseph.  I read Herodotus and Thucydides and Homer's
Odyssey with Reading Odyssey, and I'm looking forward to Xenophon.  My
job is as a investment analyst at a mutual fund company, and my main
hobby is singing in a men's a cappella group called the Richter Scales.

Talk to you all soon.

Mark

On Sat, Jan 2, 2010 at 4:19 PM, Upbin, Bruce <BUpbin at forbes.com> wrote:

Hello fellow Hellenika readers,

My name is Bruce Upbin and I'm an editor in NYC. I've been on the
Reading Odyssey calls since 2005 starting with Homer's Odyssey. I've
group-read Thucydides, Herodotus, the Old Testament, Aristotle, Plato
and various Greek plays-and loved every minute of it. It's a great way
to stretch yourself and better understand these great works. I also
enjoy reading science books, histories and novels. Recents reads include
Sean Carroll's Endless Forms Most Beautiful; Andre Agassi's
autobiography Open; Leo Tolstoy's Art; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half
of a Yellow Sun. I'm also on the board of the Reading Odyssey so I want
to thank and welcome all new readers to our growing community.

Andre (hey there!) is a great guide for what I think will be a somewhat
difficult book. Having Bob Strassler on the first call is real treat. If
you have time, read the piece I did in Forbes on Bob a few years back.
It might help you understand his background.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0129/111.html

Welcome to the Xenophon's Hellenika reading group!
I am Andre Stipanovic and will be your moderator for the next 7 months
as we discuss this great book, published in the Landmark series and
edited by Robert Strassler.  We are fortunate to have Robert Strassler
himself join us on our first call scheduled for Monday January 11, 2010.

Here is the game plan for our first call.

I would like to start out by introducing you to information important to
reading this key text of early 4th century Greek history.  First, we
will talk a little bit about how to get the most out of this particular
edition of Hellenika.  Please make sure to get a copy of the Landmark
Xenophon edited by Robert Strassler if you haven't already done so.
Then read the Editor's Preface (pp. lxvii-lxxiv) and Key to Maps (p.
lxxxii) to help you get acquainted with the format of this very
user-friendly book.  I also suggest you briefly look over the
Chronological Outline of Text (p. lxxix) and bookmark it for later
reference as a handy 'road map' of how events unfold in later books.  I
will briefly comment on these sections before I take us through events
leading up to Book I (pp. ix-xii) as well as Xenophon's life (pp.
xvii-xxi).

Then Robert Strassler will share his experience with this text,
especially in terms of seeing Xenophon's Hellenika in respect to other
sources we have of events in Greece in the 4th century B.C.  He will be
explaining to us why comparing sources is critical in terms of
understanding Xenophon's intent and veracity.  You can look over pp.
xxvi-xxx and lix-lxii in the Introduction to get acquainted with these
issues if you like before or after the call.

I would like to keep our calls as focused as possible on our reading, so
as a way of getting to know each other before our first call, would you
'reply to all' on this email with a little bit about yourself:  What
motivates you to read books like Xenophon's Hellenika?  What other kinds
of books do you enjoy reading and why?

Summary of passages (all taken from Introduction to Landmark Xenophon's
Hellenika) that will be referred to next call:
Editor's Preface (pp. lxvii-lxxiv, strongly recommended)
Key to Maps (p. lxxxii, strongly recommended)
Chronological Outline of Text (p. lxxix, recommended)
Section 1, p. ix (strongly recommended)
Section 2, pp. ix-xii (strongly recommended)
Section 4, pp. xvii-xxi (recommended)
Section 7, pp. xxvi-xxx (optional)
Section 14, pp. lix-lxii (optional)

Xenophon 2010 Hellenika - Conference Call Schedule
Call 1 - Monday January 11, 2010:  Introductory call with Robert
Strassler
Call 2 - Monday February 22, 2010:  Books I-II.3.10
Call 3 - Monday March 22, 2010:  Books II.3.11 - III
Call 4 - Monday May 10, 2010:  Books IV & V
Call 5 - Monday June 7, 2010:  Book VI
Call 6 - Monday July 12, 2010:  Book VII

Your phone number is:  1-888-350-0075 or 201-793-9022*
Your passcode is:  1100494#

* If readers have unlimited long distance on their home phones and can
call in from non-cell phones, then we ask they use the 201 number to
help us save money, if possible.

Managing the Conference Call
The following commands may be used participants during the conference
call:

*1 Play menu of features so you know what's available
*2 Mute/Unmute your own line so other people can't hear you talking.

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