The Trojan War, an ancient conflict immortalized in Homer's epic poem, The Iliad, is raging again this month -- on the Internet.

Classical scholar Gregory Nagy is leading an on-line discussion series, "Homer's Poetic Justice," concerning law and morality in the world of the ancient Greek epic. The series features lectures by Nagy, ongoing dialogues, message boards, and "electronic chats," plus readings and supplemental materials. Homer's verse is presented in Samuel Butler's English translation.

"I think a lot of humanists would like to disseminate their insights this way," said Nagy. "It can be a way of reaching people in Juneau, Alaska, retired people, high school students, whoever may be interested. We're trying to reach out to the general community and hoping we can lure them into reading the Classics."

The series, which Nagy thinks is the first of its kind at Harvard, began April 5 and will continue through the month. Nagy developed the concept with the aid of the Law School's Berkman Center for the Internet and Society. Ph.D. students Thomas Jenkins and Mary Ebbott were also instrumental in shaping the series.

The discussion series grows out of a Core Curriculum course that Nagy has taught for the last 20 years, The Concept of the Hero in Greek Civilization Nagy, the Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature, has also taught a parallel course in the Extension School. For the last few years, he has made extensive use of the Internet to post assignments and reading materials and to communicate with students.

The discussion group that is built into this series introduces participants to Nagy's unique lecturing style, which has made his courses perennial favorites with undergraduates. Appearing on the computer screen via RealVideo, an application that participants can download free of charge, Nagy paces back and forth, discoursing on such ancient Greek concepts as kleos (glory, fame) and hôra (seasonality, timeliness), which he illustrates with clips from feature and art films as well as videos of operas and ballets. Other RealVideo segments present discussions between Nagy and his junior colleagues on key passages and concepts.

The discussion series does not attempt to deal exhaustively with the entire Homeric poem, but rather focuses on a single descriptive passage and through that expands into an understanding of Homer's world view and the significance of his story of heroes struggling to achieve their identities.

The entry point is a passage in "scroll" 18, in which Homer describes the elaborately detailed shield of Achilles. Portrayed on the surface of the metal shield are scenes of city life including a law court in which litigants dispute the proper compensation for the taking of a human life.

According to Nagy, what may seem to be an overly detailed description is actually a key passage which, as Nagy writes in his preface to the series, "can serve as an overall introduction to ancient Greek concepts of the hero. These concepts are in turn an ideal introduction to the study of ancient Greek values in general."

Although The Iliad is one of the world's oldest pieces of literature, first written down perhaps as early as the 8th century B.C.E., Nagy sees nothing contradictory in using high-tech methods to present it to students.

He points out that classical art and literature has already established a notable presence on the World Wide Web, thanks in large part to the pioneering efforts of the Classics Department at Harvard. Another vital resource, Nagy adds, is the Perseus Project, headed by Gregory Crane, a classics professor at Tufts who is an alumnus of Harvard's Classics Department.

"There's a perception that classicists are very bookish, and indeed we are -- but we're actually also on the cutting edge of the Internet," Nagy concluded.

Registration is still open for anyone interested. There are no requirements, and admission is free.

"Homer's Poetic Justice," and all the information needed to register, can be found at: http://eon.law.harvard.edu/heroes/index.html.