OXFORD MULLS DROPPING HOMER, VIRGIL READINGS

LONDON Oxford University could remove Homer and Virgil from the compulsory Classics syllabus as part of a diversity drive.

Homer’s epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, are considered central works of ancient Greek literature, while Virgil’s Aeneid is one of the most revered poems in Latin literature.

Oxford classicists take papers on Homer and Virgil during exams at the end of their second year.

But under plans being considered by the Classics faculty, these papers could be removed from the syllabus altogether in a bid to end the disparity between those who took Latin and Greek A-levels and those who did not.

If the proposals go ahead, Homer and Virgil could still be studied during the latter two years of the degrees, known as the “Greats.”

However, dons fear that making the papers optional rather than compulsory may lead to students missing out on the writers entirely.