The Iliad and The Odyssey

Instructor: Nicolas Boulaine
January 31 & February 2 1-3 p.m.

Did Homer really exist?
Was Helen abducted or seduced?
Whose idea was it to make the Trojan Horse?
Was Ulysses a good or a bad guy?
Discover the answers to these questions and let the tales of the Iliad and the Odyssey become a lifelong passion as you learn the story of the poems and follow the adventures of their heroes.

Go back in time and travel with resourceful Ulysses to the war against Troy, to exotic venues, and learn about the ruses that made his reputation, experiencing passions, temptations, victories and losses.

Get acquainted with myriad anecdotes around these epics that have fascinated audiences and readers for three thousand years, and become familiar with the ways, beliefs, values and psychology of ancient peoples. The tales will be illustrated with images from ancient Greece, mosaics, ceramics, sculptures, and architecture, what is left of this archaic period with classical or academic works that reconstitute the deeds and the decor of these epic times.

Nicolas J. Boulaine, born in Béziers, France, entered the University of Orient, Cumaná, Venezuela in 1969. He is a retired tenured professor, has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Ateneo de Cumaná, Professor of Sacred Art, lecturer with extensive experience and translator for the Research Council. He has held various chairs in universities and is the author of several books. His newest, on the history of painting, is yet to be published.