Paula J Perlman

This seminar will examine topics and problems in the social, political and economic history of the ancient city-state of Sparta from the foundation of the settlement on the Eurotas river in the lOth century B.C. to the refoundation of Messenia in the 4th century B.C. We will pay attention both to internal and external representations of Sparta (e.g. as a community of equals [internal] or as the conservative other to Athenian invention [external]) and what the evidence (material, literary, and documentary) suggests about the reality behind the representations.

“The Persian Wars” is an advanced intermediate level Greek course for students who have taken the sequence in Attic Greek through GK 312, or the equivalent. We shall concentrate on close reading of major Greek authors who write about the Persian invasions of Greece in 490 and 480/79 BCE, focusing on the authors Aeschylus, Herodotus, and Diodorus Siculus (with additional dollops of inscriptions on stone that pertain to the wars (epigrams, the Themistocles Decree, etc.) and on their descriptions of the battle at Salamis and its place in the Athenian imaginary. Attention will be paid both to grammar and to building vocabulary and critical sensibilities within the genres of tragedy, history, and epigram.

C C 383 Studies in Classical Civilization:

Studies in various aspects of Greek and Roman literature, history, and culture.

GK 324 Advanced Greek:

Reading and analysis of classical authors such as Homer, Herodotus, Euripides, and Plato.

Prerequisites: Greek 312K or 312L (or 322) with a grade of at least C; or Greek 412 with a grade of at least A-, and consent of the undergraduate adviser.

During much of the 5th century BCE Athens was the cultural and intellectual center of the Greek world. The citizens of 5th-century Athens enjoyed an unprecedented level of power in governing a state whose wealth was derived largely from slave labor and imperial tribute. This course will explore Athenian society, democracy, and empire from the development of Athenian hegemony in the 470’s BCE through the break-up of the Athenian Empire in 404 BCE.

This upper division course carries a writing flag and will be conducted as a seminar with student participation central to its success. The structure of the class will be topics-oriented (a selection of key topics and problems rather than a historical survey). We will explore the full range of evidence availble to the ancient historian: literary, documentary (inscriptions and papyri), and the material record as documented through archaeological excavation (from temples to coins and everything in between). Our focus will be these ancient sources and the methods modern historians use in their interpretation.

This course carries the Writing flag.

Solon the Athenian: Archaic Greek Poetry and Politics

The main goal of this course is to improve the students’ facility in reading and understanding Greek. We will achieve this goal by reading, translating, and analyzing a selection of archaic Greek verse and classical prose concerning the Athenian poet and statesman, Solon, as well as archaic verse attributed to other poets (including inscribed verse) that served a similarly public and political function. The functions of poetry in archaic political life (persuasive, apologetic, etc.) will be a central theme.

This course focuses on essential developments in Greek history (social, cultural, and political) during the Archaic and Classical Periods (ca. 750-338 BCE): from the rise of the Greek city-states in the eighth century BCE to the subordination of Greece by Philip II of Macedonia in 338 BCE. We will devote roughly equal time to covering major events and personalities, exploring key developments in culture and society, and examining the various types of evidence available for the era (both written and archeological). We will begin (Weeks 1-3) with a brief look at the geography and climate of Greece and its prehistory, including the Bronze and Early Iron Ages (ca. 1600-800 BCE). Then (Weeks 3-5) we will consider the major developments of the Early Archaic Period (ca. 800-600 BCE), including the rise of the city-state (or polis) and the first forms of (small “d”) democracy, the invention of the Greek alphabet, the introduction of massed infantry (or hoplite) warfare, and the diaspora of Greeks across the Mediterranean. Thereafter (Weeks 6-15), we will focus on the two most famous city-states of Greece, Athens and Sparta, and follow their trajectories from their foundation in the Bronze Age, through the Persian War period (490-478 BCE), the Peloponnesian War (430-404 BCE), and the complex period of unstable hegemonies in the first half of the fourth century BCE, culminating in 338 BCE when Philip II of Macedonia established his control over Greece.

Will be Ancient Greek Diplomacy and International Law with Professor Perlman

Thursdays 2-5pm WAG 10

This course will explore ancient Greek diplomacy and international law from the Archaic through the end of the Hellenistic period. Our focus will be on the historical, but there will be ample room for exploring more literary concerns (e.g., the rhetoric of diplomacy in interstate agreements and literary accounts). Some topics we are likely to consider are:

• the earliest inscribed interstate agreements (perhaps looking also at diplomacy in archaic poetry and later representations of diplomacy in the Archaic period)
• the development of diplomatic institutions such as proxenia and the expansion of political institutions to serve diplomatic functions
• euergetism and diplomacy
• the question were interstate agreements considered to be legally binding (in other words, were they enforceable)? And (see following)
• the role of oaths and “entrenchment clauses” to secure interstate agreements
• spaces within and without the polis where diplomacy was “performed” (e.g., interstate sanctuaries, the Athenian assembly and jury courts, theaters)
• the use of third-parties (usually states) in arbitration

Our schedule will leave the last three weeks or so for preparing drafts of papers and
shopping them in seminar.

In this course, we shall concentrate on close reading of major Greek prose authors. Attention will be paid both to grammar and to building vocabulary and critical sensibilities within the genres of history and biography.  We shall read most of Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles together with passages from Thucydides, Herodotus and Aristotle (Constitution of the Athenians) and inscriptions that concern this infamous Athenian statesman and general.

Continuation of Greek 601C or 507. Introductory readings from classical authors such as Lysias, Plato, and Xenophon. Includes grammar review.

Although interest in the story of settlement on Crete during the long first half of the first millennium (ca. 1100-500 BCE), hereafter LFHFM, is not a recent phenomenon, during the past several decades an increasing number of scholars have been attracted to its study by the astonishing wealth of the archaeological remains, the apparent precociousness of the recovery of its population following the Bronze Age "collapse", the richness of the epigraphic record for latter part of the LFHFM, and so on. Publications (monographs, conference proceedings, articles) have followed apace, making it possible today to explore the story of settlement both in focused detail, e.g., individual sites or categories of material, and broadly, e.g., island-wide or regional settlement patterns and "big questions" like the origins of the polis.

We will begin with a diachronic sweep of the LFHFM organized into four periods (Weeks 2-5), looking both broadly and closely at settlement patterns, settlement types (especially the organization of space), and material culture (e.g., use [or not] of narrative in art, burial, cult). The following six weeks or so will be devoted to various topics; six broad categories are listed below (Weeks 6-11), but I am always open to suggestions for others depending on your interests. Depending on the number of participants, we will spend the last month or so of the semester workshopping your term papers.

Throughout the semester I would like us to explore two questions, one methodological and the other substantive, that in my opinion are key to understanding LFHFM Crete.

Method: Of what use are the late Classical and Hellenistic political-philosophical treatments of Cretan society (e.g., those of Plato, Aristotle, Ephorus, local historians, and Polybius) in writing the story of LFHFM Crete?

Substance: Was LFHFM Crete exceptional? That is, did its development diverge in significant ways from developments in the Greek mainland and if so, how are we to explain this?

Tentative Schedule

• Week 1. Introduction

• Week 2. 11th-10th centuries
• Week 3. 9th-8th centuries
• Week 4. 7th century
• Week 5. 6th century

• Week 6. kinship groups
• Week 7. social institutions
• Week 8. political authority
• Week 9. economy
• Week 10. religion
• Week 11. culture

• Week 12. No Class

• Week 13. Paper Workshop
• Week 14. Paper Workshop
• Week 15. Paper Workshop

Final Grades: will be based on the usual: active and informed participation, short papers, term paper.

Continuation of Greek 311. Extensive selections of Greek prose and/or poetry. Class meetings will be devoted especially to translation, grammar and syntax, and secondarily to discussion of the texts in their cultural context.

Greek 312K and 312L may not both be counted.

Prerequisites Greek 311 with a grade of at least C.

This course will investigate the practices, premises, and cultural contexts of ancient Greek religion using a variety of ancient sources and modern approaches. Among the topics we will consider are:

• the nature of the evidence
• the Mediterranean context
• continuity and change
• divine poiesis
• sacred space
• festivals
• religion, philosophy, and science
• personal piety
• prophecy, divination, and dreams

The format will be a combination of lectures, discussion, and student presentations.

Herodotus’ Histories. This seminar has two general objectives. First, you will develop a good command of Herodotus and the scholarship on Herodotus, with close attention to certain key topics (see below) and to significant scholarship. By course’s end, students should feel confident to teach a course in Herodotus later in their career. The second goal is to use this seminar as a vehicle to develop a Herodotean research topic, or at least a topic connected with Herodotus, for inclusion in a “folder of possible publication plans and projects”.

We will explore the Histories from multiple angles, both literary and historical. Topics are likely to include:

• Herodotus’ contribution to historia as process and historiography
• Herodotus and his sources: “oral tradition” and oral traditions; Near Eastern, Persian, and Egyptian texts; Herodotus and the material record
• Herodotus and his intellectual milieu
• composition and style (among other questions, “What is archaic about Herodotus?”)
• Herodotean narrative
• chronography and geography, ethnography and ethnicity
• Herodotus’ Histories and writing Greek history today

The week-by-week rhythm will require (1) close reading of a substantial portion the Histories in the Greek, and (2) topical readings in the scholarship, including (a) books or articles in focus for the entire group (i.e. read by everyone), (b) assigned specific items that you will bring in summary to the group for consideration, and (c) investigational forays that reflect your own interests and help prepare you for the research topic that will form your symposium (see below) and research paper.

Course requirements include periodic translation quizzes (15%), participation in seminar discussions, including short oral reports (30%), oral presentation of your research project paper at an in-house Herodotus Symposium we will schedule for late in the semester (15%), and a final research paper (40%).

Herodotus’ Greek is not difficult, but participants should expect and be willing to read a substantial amount of Greek and modern secondary scholarship.

I strongly encourage all of you to read (or re-read) the Histories in translation (preferably Strassler’s Landmark Herodotus), between now and the start of the spring term.

Texts

C. Hude, Herodoti Historiae. Oxford Classical Text. Vols. 1 & 2

R. Strassler, The Landmark Herodotus.

"Ancient Mediterranean World" surveys the major civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Italy from the dawn of the city around 3000 BC through the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 400s AD. Beyond providing a basic historical framework, the course explores the surprising ways in which the various civilizations of the area influenced one another culturally. We will examine interactions between Egyptians, Sumerians, Hittites, Hebrews, Persians, Greeks and Romans, among others. Students will also learn about the different types of evidence, both literary and archaeological, on which knowledge of the ancient world is based. There are two lectures and one discussion section per week.

Carries the Global Cultures flag and fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought course area requirement.

Continuation of Greek 601C or 507. Introductory readings from classical authors such as Lysias, Plato, and Xenophon. Includes grammar review.

"Ancient Mediterranean World" surveys the major civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Italy from the dawn of the city around 3000 BC through the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 400s AD. Beyond providing a basic historical framework, the course explores the surprising ways in which the various civilizations of the area influenced one another culturally. We will examine interactions between Egyptians, Sumerians, Hittites, Hebrews, Persians, Greeks and Romans, among others. Students will also learn about the different types of evidence, both literary and archaeological, on which knowledge of the ancient world is based. There are two lectures and one discussion section per week.

Carries the Global Cultures flag and fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought course area requirement.

"Ancient Mediterranean World" surveys the major civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Italy from the dawn of the city around 3000 BC through the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 400s AD. Beyond providing a basic historical framework, the course explores the surprising ways in which the various civilizations of the area influenced one another culturally. We will examine interactions between Egyptians, Sumerians, Hittites, Hebrews, Persians, Greeks and Romans, among others. Students will also learn about the different types of evidence, both literary and archaeological, on which knowledge of the ancient world is based. There are two lectures and one discussion section per week.

Carries the Global Cultures flag and fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought course area requirement.

Writing Ancient History Today

In the past twenty years or so, the focus of much of the research into ancient history has shifted from political/military history to social/economic/cultural history. At the same time, the sources available to the ancient historian are much the same today as they were twenty years ago. Thus, ancient historians must ask new questions of the sources and develop new methods for their study of them. This course is designed to introduce students who already have some background in ancient Greek history to the questions that engage ancient historians today and to the methods that they use.

Our focus will be the archaic Greek world (ca. 750-475 B.C.). The structure of the class will be problem-oriented (a selection of key topics and problems rather than a historical survey). We will explore the full range of evidence used by today’s ancient historian: literary, documentary (inscriptions and papyri), the material record as documented through archaeological excavation and survey, and ancient landscape and environmental studies.

Among the topics that we will consider are:

• assessing Greek colonization in the post-colonial world
• the bully pulpit: public discourse and democratic ideology in ancient Athens
• ‘orientalizing’ and ‘hellenizing’ in elite Athenian society
• literacy and the early Greek polis: the impact of writing on the early state
• how different was archaic Spartan society (or, what’s normative about archaic Athens?)

The class will be conducted as a seminar with student participation central to its success.

This course carries Writing and Independent Inquiry flags

"Ancient Mediterranean World" surveys the major civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Italy from the dawn of the city around 3000 BC through the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 400s AD. Beyond providing a basic historical framework, the course explores the surprising ways in which the various civilizations of the area influenced one another culturally. We will examine interactions between Egyptians, Sumerians, Hittites, Hebrews, Persians, Greeks and Romans, among others. Students will also learn about the different types of evidence, both literary and archaeological, on which knowledge of the ancient world is based. There are two lectures and one discussion section per week.

Carries the Global Cultures flag and fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought course area requirement.

This course has several objectives:

1. to prepare Ph.D. students for the Qualifying Exam in Greek History, which will form the Final Examination of the seminar itself;

2. to master a narrative of Greek history of the Archaic and Classical periods;

3. to explore the claims of competing narratives through a close study of key topics (sources, methods, approaches);

4. to identify key themes.

Attention will be paid to social, economic and intellectual history of the ancient Greeks, as well as political and military history. Class sessions will combine lectures, short student presentations, and discussion. Sealey (available on Blackboard), Osborne, and Hornblower will provide the basic narrative framework. Sealey covers the period 700-338, Osborne the period 1200-479, and Hornblower the period 479-338. It will be useful to compare Sealey and Osborne/Hornblower. We will pursue the third and fourth objectives through the examination of topics and problems including e.g.:

1.  polis and ethnos, origins

2.  the development of the Spartan taxis

3.  asty and chora, the unification of Attica

4.  Persian Wars and Greek nationalism: rhetoric and iconography

5.  Thucydides and the Athenian Empire

6.  the philosophers as historical sources: Aristotles' politeiai

7.  experiments in federalism: the Boiotian League

8.  utopianism in the late Classical period

9.  how the Greeks organized their past

Particular attention will be paid to the nature and evaluation of the sources for the study of Greek history, both literary and non-literary.  Every effort will be made to consider important trends and key topics in the social, economic and intellectual history of the ancient Greeks, as well as political and military history, and to avoid an overwhelmingly Athenocentric perspective.

Texts:

The following four books are required for the course:

Osborne, R. 1996. Greece in the Making 1200-479 BC. Routledge.

Hornblower, S. 2002. The Greek World 479-323 B.C.3. Routledge.

Meiggs, R. and D. Lewis. 1990. A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions. Oxford UP.

Rhodes, P. and R. 2007. Osborne, Greek Historical Inscriptions 404-323 B.C. Oxford U.P.

Key passages of ancient authors will be treated in the original. Participants are urged to acquire their own copies of Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon, Hellenica in the original. The recommended editions of Herodotus and Thucydides are: 

Strassler, R. B. (ed.). 1998. The Landmark Thucydides. Simon & Schuster.

Strassler, R. B. (ed.). 2007. The Landmark Herodotus. Simon & Schuster. 

Strassler, R. B. (ed.). 2009. The Landmark Xenophon’s Hellenika. Simon & Schuster. 

English translations of the inscriptions in Meiggs/Lewis and Rhodes/Osborne are available in:

Fornara, C. 1983. Translated Documents of Greece and Rome I. Cambridge UP.

Harding, P. 1985. Translated Documents of Greece and Rome II. Cambridge UP.

This course will investigate the practices, premises, and cultural contexts of ancient Greek religion using a variety of ancient sources and modern approaches. Among the topics we will consider are:

• the nature of the evidence
• the Mediterranean context
• continuity and change
• divine poiesis
• sacred space
• festivals
• religion, philosophy, and science
• personal piety
• prophecy, divination, and dreams

The format will be a combination of lectures, discussion, and student presentations. Grading:

• Daily questions: 10%
• Quizzes: 20% (10% each)
• Presentation: 10%
• Midterm 25%
• Final: 35%

Texts:

• Kearns, Emily. Ancient Greek Religion. A Sourcebook. Wiley-Blackwell 2010.
• Mikalson, Jon D. Ancient Greek Religion. Blackwell. 2005.
• Price, Simon. Religions of the Ancient Greeks (Key Themes in Ancient History). Oxford. 1999.

Solon the Athenian: Archaic Greek Poetry and Politics

The main goal of this course is to improve the students’ facility in reading and understanding Greek. We will achieve this goal by reading, translating, and analyzing a selection of archaic Greek verse and classical prose concerning the Athenian poet and statesman, Solon, as well as archaic verse attributed to other poets (including inscribed verse) that served a similarly public and political function. The functions of poetry in archaic political life (persuasive, apologetic, etc.) will be a central theme. Initial assignments will be limited to what we can translate in class; but the pace will pick up as we proceed. There will be written exercises and translation tests along the way, and a comprehensive ?nal exam; all tests will include unseen passages, aka sight translation.

Grading:

• Students in GK 365 will have additional writing assignments.
• Students in GK 385 will have additional reading assignments.
• Grades for 365: class participation and exercises 20%, tests 30%, ?nal exam 25%,
• term paper 25%.
• Grades for 385: class participation and exercises 20%, tests 40%, ?nal exam 40%.

Texts:

M. L. West, Iambi et Elegi Graeci ante Alexandrum cantati vol. II, editio altera. OUP, 1992. ISBN 0-19-814096-7.

.

During much of the 5th century BCE Athens was the cultural and intellectual center of the Greek world. The citizens of 5th-century Athens enjoyed an unprecedented level of power in governing a state whose wealth was derived largely from slave labor and imperial tribute. This course will explore Athenian society, democracy, and empire from the development of Athenian hegemony in the 470’s BCE through the break-up of the Athenian Empire in 404 BCE.

This upper division course carries a writing flag and will be conducted as a seminar with student participation central to its success. The structure of the class will be topics-oriented (a selection of key topics and problems rather than a historical survey). We will explore the full range of evidence availble to the ancient historian: literary, documentary (inscriptions and papyri), and the material record as documented through archaeological excavation (from temples to coins and everything in between). Our focus will be these ancient sources and the methods modern historians use in their interpretation.

FINAL GRADE is based 1/3 upon attendance and participation, 1/3 upon reports, and 1/3 upon the term paper (10-12 pages).

DISCUSSION.  Students are expected to attend and to PARTICIPATE in discussion.  Reporters have responsibility for opening and directing class discussion, because their reports offer positions and relevant facts that set the seminar's debate.   Reporters are urged to consult with me and to cooperate with each other. ? 

REPORTS.  Each student is required to write TWO reports from among those offered on the syllabus. The report is an essay (4-5 pages) based upon the relevant general readings and specific readings assigned for each topic.  Copies of each report must be made available (via Blackboard) for the entire class NO LATER THAN 9:00 A.M. on the MONDAY of the week the report is to be discussed so that all members of the seminar can read these reports as part of their assignment. 

TERM PAPER.   Each student will write a term paper (10-12 pages) based on primary and secondary sources on a topic of her/his choice in consultation with the professor.

BOOKS

Joint Association of Classical Teachers. The World of Athens: An Introduction to Classical Athenian Culture (Reading Greek). Cambridge UP, 2008. 

Strassler, Robert B. (ed.). The Landmark Thucydides. Simon and Schuster.

Fornara, Charles W. (ed.). Translated Documents of Greece & Rome. 1. Archaic times to the end of the Peloponnesian War. Cambridge UP.

Scott-Kilvert, Ian (ed.). Plutarch. The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Lives. Penguin.

Barrett, David and Alan H. Sommerstein (eds.). Aristophanes. The Knights, Peace, The Birds, The Assemblywomen, Wealth. Penguin

This course provides an intermediate level Greek course for students who have taken the

sequence in Attic Greek through GK 322, or the equivalent. In this course, we shall

concentrate on close reading of major Greek prose authors. Attention will be paid both to

grammar and to building vocabulary and critical sensibilities within the genres of history

and biography.  We shall read most of Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles together with

passages from Thucydides, Herodotus and Aristotle (Constitution of the Athenians) and

inscriptions that concern this infamous Athenian statesman and general.

I. REQUIRED TEXTs: 

Marr, J. L. Plutarch, Life of Themistocles. Introduction, Text, Translation and

Commentary (Warminster, 1998).

There will be additional readings, both Greek texts and commentaries and modern

scholarship.

II. GRADES

 I do not grade on a curve. The following components will be considered in computing

your grade:

 25%      attendance & participation

10%      quizzes                                        

15%      Exam I

20%      Exam II

20%      Exam III

10%      paper (commentary)

"Ancient Mediterranean World" surveys the major civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Italy from the dawn of the city around 3000 BC through the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 400s AD. Beyond providing a basic historical framework, the course explores the surprising ways in which the various civilizations of the area influenced one another culturally. We will examine interactions between Egyptians, Sumerians, Hittites, Hebrews, Persians, Greeks and Romans, among others. Students will also learn about the different types of evidence, both literary and archaeological, on which knowledge of the ancient world is based. There are two lectures and one discussion section per week.

Textbook:

D. Brendan Nagle, The Ancient World: A Social and Cultural History (7th edition). Prentice Hall.

John Haywood. The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Civilizations (Penguin Books). 2005.

This course has several objectives:

1. to prepare Ph.D. students for the Qualifying Exam in Greek History, which will form the Final Examination of the seminar itself;

2. to master a narrative of Greek history of the Archaic and Classical periods;

3. to explore the claims of competing narratives through a close study of key topics (sources, methods, approaches);

4. to identify key themes.

Attention will be paid to social, economic and intellectual history of the ancient Greeks, as well as political and military history. Class sessions will combine lectures, short student presentations, and discussion. Sealey (available on Blackboard), Osborne, and Hornblower will provide the basic narrative framework. Sealey covers the period 700-338, Osborne the period 1200-479, and Hornblower the period 479-338. It will be useful to compare Sealey and Osborne/Hornblower. We will pursue the third and fourth objectives through the examination of topics and problems including e.g.:

1.  polis and ethnos, origins

2.  the development of the Spartan taxis

3.  asty and chora, the unification of Attica

4.  Persian Wars and Greek nationalism: rhetoric and iconography

5.  Thucydides and the Athenian Empire

6.  the philosophers as historical sources: Aristotles' politeiai

7.  experiments in federalism: the Boiotian League

8.  utopianism in the late Classical period

9.  how the Greeks organized their past

Particular attention will be paid to the nature and evaluation of the sources for the study of Greek history, both literary and non-literary.  Every effort will be made to consider important trends and key topics in the social, economic and intellectual history of the ancient Greeks, as well as political and military history, and to avoid an overwhelmingly Athenocentric perspective.

Texts:

The following four books are required for the course:

Osborne, R. 1996. Greece in the Making 1200-479 BC. Routledge.

Hornblower, S. 2002. The Greek World 479-323 B.C.3. Routledge.

Meiggs, R. and D. Lewis. 1990. A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions. Oxford UP.

Rhodes, P. and R. 2007. Osborne, Greek Historical Inscriptions 404-323 B.C. Oxford U.P.

Key passages of ancient authors will be treated in the original. Participants are urged to acquire their own copies of Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon, Hellenica in the original. The recommended editions of Herodotus and Thucydides are: 

Strassler, R. B. (ed.). 1998. The Landmark Thucydides. Simon & Schuster.

Strassler, R. B. (ed.). 2007. The Landmark Herodotus. Simon & Schuster. 

Strassler, R. B. (ed.). 2009. The Landmark Xenophon’s Hellenika. Simon & Schuster. 

English translations of the inscriptions in Meiggs/Lewis and Rhodes/Osborne are available in:

Fornara, C. 1983. Translated Documents of Greece and Rome I. Cambridge UP.

Harding, P. 1985. Translated Documents of Greece and Rome II. Cambridge UP. 

The Ancient Mediterranean World is an introductory survey of the history, culture, and society of the peoples of the ancient Mediterranean (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Italy) from ca. 3000 B.C. to ca. A.D. 650 focusing on the active cultural exchange among the diverse civilizations of the broader region that shaped their history and cultural identity and the development of ideas and institutions in the Greek and Roman worlds. The ancient Mediterranean is an especially fascinating region to study because of the diversity of the civilizations that emerged and developed in a relatively small geographical area. Each had its distinctive character, but vigorous cultural exchange in the region and beyond led to the assimilation, adaptation, or rejection (or a combination) by one culture of the ideas and practices of others. Thus, as we study a particular civilization, a major theme will be cultural interaction, and its consequences and implications for understanding the historical development of the various cultures living in this broad region. Other broad themes include the origin and diffusion of civilizations, the rise and fall of empires, and urbanization. The tools (evidence) of the ancient historian are wide-ranging and include literary texts, documents, artifacts, coins, art and architecture, and more. The lectures, discussion sections, and written assignments will introduce you to the wide-ranging tools of the ancient historian and give you experience in interpreting these primary sources and constructing historical arguments based upon reason and evidence.

Required Texts

D. Brendan Nagle and S.M.Burstein, The Ancient World: A Social and Cultural History (6th ed.).

John Haywood and Simon Hall, The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Civilizations (Penguin Historical Atlas).

From time to time there will be additional readings on Blackboard.

This course covers essential developments in Greek history during the Archaic and Early Classical Periods (ca. 800-400 B.C.). Emphasis will be divided between political/military history and ancient Greek society and culture (e.g. gender and class, religion, economy, performance). The course will consist of two hours of lecture per week plus a mandatory one-hour discussion section. Particular attention will be paid to the interpretation of ancient sources, both written works and the archaeological remains.

This course carries a Global Cultures flag; it may also be counted as an elective.

Grades will be based on:

25%    midterm examination

40%    final examination

35%    discussion section (short quizzes, 8 short writing assignments, active and informed participation in discussion)

There are no prerequisites.

Required Texts:

1. Ian Morris and Barry B. Powell, The Greeks. History, Culture, and Society. Prentice Hall

2. Robert B. Strassler (ed.), The Landmark Herodotus. Simon and Schuster

3. Robert B. Strassler (ed.), The Landmark Thucydides. Simon and Schuster

4. Charles W. Fornara (ed.), Translated Documents of Greece & Rome 1. Archaic Times to the End of the Peloponnesian War. Cambridge UP

Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Greek 312K or 312L with a grade of at least C; or Greek 412 with a grade of A, and consent of the undergraduate adviser.In this course, we shall concentrate on close and continuous reading of major Greek authors. Attention will be paid both to grammar and to building vocabulary. 

In this semester, we shall focus on the Greek orators Lysias (Lysias 3) and Isaios (Isaios 2) and the tragic poet Euripides (choral odes from Medea). 

History of Greece from the end of the Peloponnesian War to  the defeat of Greece by Rome (404-146 B.C.)

This course covers essential developments in Greek history during the 4th century and the Hellenistic period. Emphasis will be divided between political/military history (Alexander the Great is the pivotal figure of the course) and the changing social, cultural, and intellectual scene of the expanding Greek world. The course will consist of two hours of lecture per week plus a mandatory one-hour discussion section.

This course carries a Global Cultures flag; it may also be counted as an elective.

Grades will be based on:

25%    midterm examination
45%    final examination
35%     discussion section (short quizzes, short writing assignments, participation in     discussion)

There are no prerequisites.

Texts:

Walbank, F. W., The Hellenistic World. Harvard, 1993.

Arrian, The Campaigns of Alexander, trans. A. de Sélincourt, Penguin 1971

Austin, M. M., The Hellenistic world from Alexander to the Roman conquest. Cambridge, 1981.

Plutarch, The Age of Alexander. Penguin, 1973.

In this course, we shall concentrate on close and continuous reading of major Greek prose authors. Attention will be paid both to grammar and to building vocabulary and critical sensibilities within the genres of history and biography.  We shall read most of Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles together with passages from Thucydides, Herodotus and Aristotle (Constitution of the Athenians) that concern this infamous Athenian statesman and general.

Prerequisite: Greek 322, or consent of the undergraduate adviser and the instructor.

Grades will be computed as follows:

Participation        35% (attendance, translation, quizzes)
Midterm I        15%
Midterm II        20%
Midterm III        20%
Paper            10%

AHC/CC 319D is a survey of the history, culture, and society of the peoples of the ancient Mediterranean (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Italy) from ca. 3000 B.C. to A.D. 476 focusing on the active cultural exchange among the diverse civilizations of the broader region that shaped their history and cultural identity and the development of ideas and institutions in the Greek and Roman worlds. It is intended to provide participants with a historical framework, to serve as a gateway to more advanced study of the ancient Mediterranean world, and to introduce students to the sources and methods used in its study. The course consists of two lectures and one mandatory discussion section per week.

Requirements/Grading Basis:
mid-term (30%)
final exam (40%)
papers (20%)
discussion section participation (10%)

Texts: D. Brendan Nagle and S.M.Burstein, The Ancient World: A Social and Cultural History (most recent edition, 6th?). Prentice Hall
ISBN-13: 9780131930414

D. Brendan Nagle and S.M.Burstein, The Ancient World: Readings in Social and Cultural History (most recent edition, 3rd?) Prentice Hall
ISBN-13: 9780131930407

John Haywood and Simon Hall, The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Civilizations (Penguin Historical Atlas)
ISBN 9780141014487

The object of this graduate seminar is to prepare Ph.D. students for the Qualifying Exam in Greek History, which will form the Final Examination of the seminar itself.  Within the framework of a general overview of Greek history during the Archaic and Classical periods we will examine in depth key topics including:

1.  polis  and ethnos, origins
2.  the development of the Spartan taxis
3.  asty  and chora, the unification of Attica
4.  the Persian wars and Greek Nationalism:  Rhetoric and iconography
5.  Thucydides and the Athenian Empire
6.  the philosophers as historical sources:  Aristotles' Politeiai
7.  experiments in federalism: the Boiotian League
8.  utopianism in the late Classical period
9.  how the Greeks organized their past

Particular attention will be paid to the nature and evaluation of the sources for the study of ancient history, both literary and non-literary, and to the field of historiagraphy (how history is written).  Every effort will be made to consider important trends and key topics in the social, economic and intellectual history of the ancient Greeks, as well as political and military history, and to avoid an overwhelmingly Athenocentric perspective.

Course grades will be based on the Final Examination, regular and active classroom participation, one oral presentation (length will depend upon enrollment) and two papers, one on an assigned topic and the other on a topic of your choice.  Class format will combine brief introductory or overview lectures and discussion.

Key passages of ancient authors and inscriptions will be treated in the original.  Participants should acquire their own (or library) copies of Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon (Hellenica).  Every attempt has been made to limit the reading list to the essentials; but it is, I regret, an expensive one. 

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See Attached

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This course carries Writing and Independent Inquiry flags.

C C 383 Studies in Classical Civilization:

Studies in various aspects of Greek and Roman literature, history, and culture.

GK 324 Advanced Greek:

Reading and analysis of classical authors such as Homer, Herodotus, Euripides, and Plato.

Prerequisites: Greek 312K or 312L (or 322) with a grade of at least C; or Greek 412 with a grade of at least A-, and consent of the undergraduate adviser.

Myths accompanied Greek and Roman culture as a constant from the pre-literate era before the Homeric epics through the hyper-literary myths of the Roman period. These myths helped the ancient Greeks and Romans to make sense of their world and to address issues with regard to religion, philosophy, and even early attempts at natural science. In different forms, myths still inform our understanding of the world, and Classical mythology in particular has continued to influence western art and literature up to the present day. This class begins with an examination of the Greek understanding of the creation of the world, the pantheon of gods, and the creation of humanity. Time will also be spent on the origins of Greek mythology, looking to the mythologies of Near Eastern cultures, which have influenced Greek thought. Throughout the course attention will be given to particular gods, goddesses, heroes and heroines and the myths which surround them in both the Greek and Roman traditions.

Fulfills the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Carries the Global Cultures flag.

Fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought Course area requirement.

Continuation of Greek 311. Extensive selections of Greek prose and/or poetry. Class meetings will be devoted especially to translation, grammar and syntax, and secondarily to discussion of the texts in their cultural context.

Greek 312K and 312L may not both be counted.

Prerequisites Greek 311 with a grade of at least C.

"Ancient Mediterranean World" surveys the major civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Italy from the dawn of the city around 3000 BC through the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 400s AD. Beyond providing a basic historical framework, the course explores the surprising ways in which the various civilizations of the area influenced one another culturally. We will examine interactions between Egyptians, Sumerians, Hittites, Hebrews, Persians, Greeks and Romans, among others. Students will also learn about the different types of evidence, both literary and archaeological, on which knowledge of the ancient world is based. There are two lectures and one discussion section per week.

Carries the Global Cultures flag and fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought course area requirement.

C C 383 Studies in Classical Civilization:

Studies in various aspects of Greek and Roman literature, history, and culture.

Please check back for updates.

This course carries Writing and Independent Inquiry flags.

GK 324 Advanced Greek:

Reading and analysis of classical authors such as Homer, Herodotus, Euripides, and Plato.

Prerequisites: Greek 312K or 312L (or 322) with a grade of at least C; or Greek 412 with a grade of at least A-, and consent of the undergraduate adviser.

Myths accompanied Greek and Roman culture as a constant from the pre-literate era before the Homeric epics through the hyper-literary myths of the Roman period. These myths helped the ancient Greeks and Romans to make sense of their world and to address issues with regard to religion, philosophy, and even early attempts at natural science. In different forms, myths still inform our understanding of the world, and Classical mythology in particular has continued to influence western art and literature up to the present day. This class begins with an examination of the Greek understanding of the creation of the world, the pantheon of gods, and the creation of humanity. Time will also be spent on the origins of Greek mythology, looking to the mythologies of Near Eastern cultures, which have influenced Greek thought. Throughout the course attention will be given to particular gods, goddesses, heroes and heroines and the myths which surround them in both the Greek and Roman traditions.

Fulfills the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Carries the Global Cultures flag.

Fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought Course area requirement.

C C 348 Topics in Ancient Civilization:

The development and progress of ancient civilization, including history, philosophy, literature, and culture. No knowledge of Greek or Latin is required.

Continuation of Greek 311. Extensive selections of Greek prose and/or poetry. Class meetings will be devoted especially to translation, grammar and syntax, and secondarily to discussion of the texts in their cultural context.

Greek 312K and 312L may not both be counted.

Prerequisites Greek 311 with a grade of at least C.

C C 383 Studies in Classical Civilization:

Studies in various aspects of Greek and Roman literature, history, and culture.

GK 324 Advanced Greek:

Reading and analysis of classical authors such as Homer, Herodotus, Euripides, and Plato.

Prerequisites: Greek 312K or 312L (or 322) with a grade of at least C; or Greek 412 with a grade of at least A-, and consent of the undergraduate adviser.

Myths accompanied Greek and Roman culture as a constant from the pre-literate era before the Homeric epics through the hyper-literary myths of the Roman period. These myths helped the ancient Greeks and Romans to make sense of their world and to address issues with regard to religion, philosophy, and even early attempts at natural science. In different forms, myths still inform our understanding of the world, and Classical mythology in particular has continued to influence western art and literature up to the present day. This class begins with an examination of the Greek understanding of the creation of the world, the pantheon of gods, and the creation of humanity. Time will also be spent on the origins of Greek mythology, looking to the mythologies of Near Eastern cultures, which have influenced Greek thought. Throughout the course attention will be given to particular gods, goddesses, heroes and heroines and the myths which surround them in both the Greek and Roman traditions.

Fulfills the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Carries the Global Cultures flag.

Fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought Course area requirement.

C C 348 Topics in Ancient Civilization:

The development and progress of ancient civilization, including history, philosophy, literature, and culture. No knowledge of Greek or Latin is required.

C C 348 Topics in Ancient Civilization:

The development and progress of ancient civilization, including history, philosophy, literature, and culture. No knowledge of Greek or Latin is required.

Two-semester sequence surveying the major forms and genres of Greek literature from the Archaic through Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods

C C 348 Topics in Ancient Civilization:

The development and progress of ancient civilization, including history, philosophy, literature, and culture. No knowledge of Greek or Latin is required.

Myths accompanied Greek and Roman culture as a constant from the pre-literate era before the Homeric epics through the hyper-literary myths of the Roman period. These myths helped the ancient Greeks and Romans to make sense of their world and to address issues with regard to religion, philosophy, and even early attempts at natural science. In different forms, myths still inform our understanding of the world, and Classical mythology in particular has continued to influence western art and literature up to the present day. This class begins with an examination of the Greek understanding of the creation of the world, the pantheon of gods, and the creation of humanity. Time will also be spent on the origins of Greek mythology, looking to the mythologies of Near Eastern cultures, which have influenced Greek thought. Throughout the course attention will be given to particular gods, goddesses, heroes and heroines and the myths which surround them in both the Greek and Roman traditions.

Fulfills the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Carries the Global Cultures flag.

Fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought Course area requirement.

Two-semester sequence surveying the major forms and genres of Greek literature from the Archaic through Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods

This course continues the introduction to reading Ancient Greek begun in Greek 506.  Starting with a brief review, we shall complete the basic grammar and move on to read passages from various Greek authors.

Daily assignments covering grammar, vocabulary, composition, and translation will enable the diligent student to acquire a firm grasp of Attic Greek.  Regular attendance is essential.

Prerequisite:  Greek 506 or equivalent (i.e. one semester of Greek).

This course can be counted for partial fulfillment of foreign language requirements.

Two-semester sequence surveying the major forms and genres of Greek literature from the Archaic through Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods

Myths accompanied Greek and Roman culture as a constant from the pre-literate era before the Homeric epics through the hyper-literary myths of the Roman period. These myths helped the ancient Greeks and Romans to make sense of their world and to address issues with regard to religion, philosophy, and even early attempts at natural science. In different forms, myths still inform our understanding of the world, and Classical mythology in particular has continued to influence western art and literature up to the present day. This class begins with an examination of the Greek understanding of the creation of the world, the pantheon of gods, and the creation of humanity. Time will also be spent on the origins of Greek mythology, looking to the mythologies of Near Eastern cultures, which have influenced Greek thought. Throughout the course attention will be given to particular gods, goddesses, heroes and heroines and the myths which surround them in both the Greek and Roman traditions.

Fulfills the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Carries the Global Cultures flag.

Fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought Course area requirement.

GK 390 Seminar in Classical Studies:

Selected topics in Greek studies. Topics given in recent years include Mycenaean documents, Aristotle's ethics, Archaic poetry, and Plato's Symposium.