Dr. Jonathan Fenno is an Associate Professor of Classics in the Department of Classics at the University of Mississippi.
Research Interests
Dr. Fenno’s research interests have focused on understanding ancient Greek poetry. His dissertation examines common topics in Pindar’s odes written for patrons from Aegina. He has published journal articles on the text and interpretation of works by Pindar and Semonides. He has also published on the structure and themes of Homer’s Iliad, especially the battle narrative. The subjects of his presentations at academic conferences include Greek epic (Homer), lyric (Pindar), and tragedy (Sophocles and Euripides), as well as Pythagoras. For five sample publications, see further below.
Biography
Jonathan Fenno earned his B.A. from Concordia College in Moorhead, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Classics from UCLA. His education abroad includes a summer session at the American School in Athens, a year at the University of Zurich, and a semester at the University of Tubingen. Before coming to the University of Mississippi, Dr. Fenno taught at the College of Charleston and Gettysburg College.
Publications
(Stretching out the Battle: Zeus and Measurement in the Iliad;
Pages 106–136)
From the publisher:
This essay offers a comprehensive interpretation of the obscure image of outstretched war (which occurs ten times in the Iliad and once in the Theogony) by recognizing the underlying practice and implications of extending cords to measure distances and make alignments. The Iliad, it is argued, programmatically presents Zeus as the divine ruler or judge with ultimate authority over the complementary but distinct spheres of weights and measures. The poem imagines him as stretching out the war evenly to extend the action across the battlefield or weighing unequal fates to tip the outcome to one side’s favor.
Selected Article(s):
“The Wrath and Vengeance of Swift-Footed Aeneas in Iliad XIII” Phoenix 62 (2008) 145–61.
“‘A Great Wave against the Stream’: Water Imagery in Iliadic Battle Scenes” American Journal of Philology 126.4 (2005) 475–504.
“Semonides 7.43: A Hard/Stubborn Ass” Mnemosyne 58.3 (2005) 408–11.
“Praxidamas' Crown and the Omission at Pindar Nemean 6.18” Classical Quarterly 53.2 (2003) 338–46.
Courses Taught
- CLSC 1060 Classical Mythology
- CLSC 3030 Greek and Roman Tragedy
- CLSC 3040 Greek and Roman Comedy
- CLSC 3070 Survey of Greek Literature
- LIBA 1020 First Year Seminar
Dr. Fenno also teaches Ancient Greek and sometimes Latin at all levels.
Education
B.A. Classics, Concordia College at Moorhead (1986)
M.A. Classics, University of California-Los Angeles (1989)
Ph.D. Classics, University of California-Los Angeles (1996)