What do we know of the world inhabited by the heroes of Homer’s epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey? Do the poems describe a largely imaginary realm, or do they reflect a particular period of ancient Greek history—and if so, which one? How did the circulation of the poems help contribute to a collective sense of Greek identity over a wide area of the eastern Mediterranean?
This course explores the society, economy, and culture of Iron Age Greece with special emphasis on the Geometric and early Archaic periods, emphasizing what scholars have learned through archaeological discoveries along with study of the poems themselves. Topics include the excavations at Troy and other sites; contacts with Egypt and the Near East and overseas settlements in the Mediterranean world; trade, exchange, and the technology of travel; literacy and oral tradition; political communities and warfare; gender and family relationships; religion, burial practices, and the art of ritual and commemoration. We will also examine some of the ways scholars and artists today are re-exploring the poems and their enduring themes.
The primary purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the mythology of the ancient Greek world and to develop tools for using it to improve and interrogate our own understanding of ancient Greek culture. Our focus will be on the mythology of the Greek Archaic and Classical periods, for which we will cover the most of important myths that our sources preserve for us. Beyond the facts of the myths, however, we will study the nature of the literary, historical, and archaeological sources from which they come, their historical circumstances and generic characteristics. This will allow us to consider in an informed way the relationship between evidence, culture, and even author. In doing so we will consider what these myths reveal about cultural attitudes and realities of life in the ancient Greek world for all its inhabitants: Greek and non-Greek, native and immigrant, free and enslaved.
CLA 370 Greek and Roman Religion: Ancient Sacrifice: Belief and Ritual
How could humans forge meaningful and sustainable relationships with the gods, when the gods were believed to be infinitely more powerful than they were? This class will examine the ancient practice of offering sacrifice to the gods broadly across the Mediterranean basin, exploring a wide range of geographies, beliefs, customs, religions, and sources. The act of sacrifice, practiced in ancient Greece, Rome, the Levant, Egypt, and Mesopotamia, was practiced for a variety of reasons related to appeasing, supplicating, and currying favor with the gods. We will consider all types of sacrifice, including animal, vegetal, liquid, and even human offerings to the gods, while considering how concepts including expiation, catharsis, supplication, substitution, communion, and authority factored into the ritual. How did this ritual develop in response to changing or sustained religious beliefs? Did the gods of the ancient world eat the blood and flesh of sacrifices? What about the various minority groups in antiquity who rejected the practice of sacrifice? Throughout the class, students will examine the art historical, archaeological, and literacy evidence for this practice, while also critiquing different lenses and theoretical approaches to sacrifice.
GREEK 201-1 Introduction to Greek Literature: New Testament
This first course of the second-year Greek series is designed to build fluency in reading ancient Greek as students transition from the study of grammar to literature. This course will introduce students to the Greek New Testament, particularly the Gospel of Mark, the oldest and shortest of the Gospels, which students will read nearly in its entirety as they review the grammar, vocabulary, and morphology learned in first-year Greek. Additionally, students will read selections from other New Testament texts and apocrypha, as well as some other 1st – 4th century Greek literature, as we investigate how this unique genre functions.
Latin 101-1 is the first quarter of the year-long Elementary Latin sequence designed to introduce students to the basic principles of classical Latin grammar and syntax. In addition to the mastering of these basic tools, the course will focus on vocabulary acquisition and the development of translation skills and reading competency necessary to read, understand, and translate simple passages in both adapted and unadapted Latin. In addition to the exercises and readings included in the textbooks, students will see and read Latin as it appeared on ancient monuments, walls, coins, and everyday objects. By uniting the study of language and culture, this course provides unique insight into the daily life of the people who spoke Latin in the Roman world.
LATIN 201-1 Introduction to Latin Literature: Cicero's Pro Caelio
This first course of the 2nd year Latin series is designed to build fluency and proficiency in reading Latin through the introduction of students to major works of Latin literature. Students will be introduced to the work of Marcus Tullius Cicero, who, in the late Republic, emerged as Rome’s most skilled public speaker. We will read one of Cicero’s most famous speeches, Pro Caelio, in which Cicero defends the aristocratic Marcus Caelius Rufus, notably by attacking the (allegedly) debauched lifestyle of Caelius’ former lover, Clodia. Time in class will be spent reading the Latin text and reviewing essential points of grammar and syntax, as well as discussions that will deepen students’ appreciation of Roman oratory, Cicero’s style, and the political and social context of the late Roman Republic.
