Lecture, three hours. Introduction to topics in classical reception through investigation of influence of Greco-Roman poetry on poetry of Central and South America of colonial period and beyond. From Homer to Vergil, poets of classical antiquity established robust tradition of epic with well-established literary tropes and nationalistic aims, cultural voice contributing to development of unified sense of national identity. Classical definition of epic as genre and sense of epic as vehicle for affirming and questioning national identity persisted well beyond antiquity. Investigation of one such area by examining epic traditions of Central and South America, (mediated through European models that preceded and helped shape them) and their conscious engagement with classical tradition, through examples of both neo-Latin productions and vernacular poetry in Spanish and Portuguese. P/NP or letter grading.