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Live theatre was the popcorn fare of the ancient Greeks.

鈥淧eople came from all over the Mediterranean to view these tragedies,鈥� enthuses Professor Leona MacLeod. 鈥淭oday, everyone comes to film. Film performs the same role in our society as it (drama) did in Athens.鈥�

Skeptics doubting that such classical literature could be 鈥渆ntertaining鈥� to modern crowds are directed to Homer鈥檚 epic poems. Filled with dramatic love affairs, massive action and tons of beach scenes, The Iliad is the original summer blockbuster.

The Iliad鈥檚 staying power is epic; after presumable millennia in development hell, a silver screen Iliad remake 鈥� Troy 鈥� was released in 2004. Featuring Eric Bana as Hector and an implausibly stalwart Brad Pitt as Achilles, Troy is just one of many聽films on the syllabus when Dr. MacLeod premiers her new course offering 鈥� 聽(CLAS 2515).

Nor is Prof. MacLeod stopping at Troy. During our interview, I鈥檓 boggled to see the DVD of 300 sitting on her desk. 鈥淵ou can go and watch them as entertainment or you can get something more out of it鈥� There鈥檚 a lot of enthusiasm out there for something like this,鈥� she says cheerfully, describing the course as an 鈥渋ntroduction to the ancient world through the medium of film.鈥�

鈥淢y second love after classics is film, so this is just perfect for me, (but) I wasn鈥檛 sure how well it would go over,鈥� she adds. 鈥淪ome classicists are a little, um, reluctant to bring in the popular culture.鈥� When the course was proposed, however, her peer response was overwhelmingly supportive. Now, as September looms closer, Prof. MacLeod is fine-tuning the 鈥渞eading list鈥� for Myth into Film.

"You can divide people into two kinds of people鈥�Iliad people and Odyssey people." 鈥� Prof. Leona MacLeod

It won鈥檛 all be swashbuckling adventure flicks, of course. She will be teaching historical texts as well, including Homer鈥檚 Iliad.

鈥淵ou can divide people into two kinds of people,鈥� Professor MacLeod declares, 鈥�Iliad people and Odyssey people.鈥� She is an Iliad person. 鈥淭he very first work I read (in university) was The Iliad, and I just fell in love. Homer is a fantastic storyteller. I find myself today still impressed by his storytelling capabilities... he takes this little slice out of what is a much larger story and makes that the main level. I sometimes think we鈥檝e never surpassed it in terms of storytelling techniques.鈥�

Of course, no one鈥檚 going to argue that The Iliad isn鈥檛 literature. But the movie version is a harder sell. 鈥淭he first time I watched it (Troy)鈥︹�� Professor MacLeod shakes her head. 鈥�(But) you have to kind of look beyond that, see why things are the way they are. He鈥檚 much more sympathetic to the Trojans than the Greeks鈥� Why is (the director) so uncomfortable with a character like Achilles? Why all these changes? ... This movie is far more about us than it is about the ancient world.鈥� The divergences, the 鈥渕odernizations鈥� and anachronisms, are part of the point. 鈥淲e return to the Greek world again and again鈥� we find something in those stories.鈥�

So, what will this class have that you can鈥檛 get anywhere else? What are people going to 鈥榝ind鈥�?

鈥淎 blend of the ancient and modern world,鈥� Prof. MacLeod replies. 鈥淲hat the ancient world can do is offer us a broad perspective, a new way of looking at the modern world.鈥�

Plus Brad Pitt. Really, what more do you want?