This course will serve as an introduction to the history, culture, and peoples of the Ancient Greek world between the age of Homer (c. 7th century BCE) and the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE). Our emphasis will be on social, political, artistic, and intellectual developments across the period. We will pay special attention to the unique nature of ancient Athenian democracy as well as the politics and culture of other city-states, including Sparta. Our primary sources will be literary, but we will also examine evidence from ancient art and archaeology for unique insights into ancient people’s lives, ideas, and values.

Stimulated by current interest in decolonization and globalization, the study of ancient empires is now thriving. A major research tend adopts a comparative, cross-cultural framework to try to understand and explain commonalities and differences, which this course explores. Did the first complex territorial states we call empires emerge and develop in similar ways? What factors or institutions were crucial to their trajectory and success, and what theories have been proposed to account for them? What are the benefits and challenges of a comparative, multidisciplinary perspective, and what new kinds of histories might it produce? Many recent investigations compare Rome and Qin/Han China; others consider the historical sequence of empires in the Middle East, such as the Neo-Assyrian and Achaemenid Persian empires; still others analyze characteristics of imperial formation and rule in historically unrelated empires in different geographical regions and eras.

This course examines selected case studies drawn from a wide geographical and chronological range, with special focus on the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East. We will examine different aspects of territorial expansion, consolidation and rule, including state ideology, bureaucracy, cosmopolitanism, urbanism, borders and frontiers, religion, and the creation and circulation of the imperial image. Readings will represent contributions by scholars working in different disciplines, including history, art history, and archaeology.

This course is the first in an accelerated two-quarter series designed to teach students to read ancient Greek, making accessible much of the world’s most influential literature, from the biblical New Testament to Homeric poetry and Platonic philosophy. Since this is an ancient language there will be no spoken component and we will move swiftly through the grammar and basic vocabulary required to read actual texts. These two quarters will, in fact, teach all the fundamentals of the language and lead students directly into second-year courses in the New Testament, classical Greek oratory, and Homeric epic. Thereafter students will be able to progress even further to a wide range of genres from the classical and post-classical periods, including ancient Greek history, poetry, philosophy, drama, and more.

This course will serve as an introduction to the study Greek lyric poetry, and it will principally cover lyric song from the archaic and early classical periods. We will concern ourselves with investigating the political and social significance of poetic performance in ancient Greece, as well as the relationship between lyric and other genres of performance poetry, especially epic. Since the readings for this class will showcase a number of Greek dialects, this course will also serve as an introduction to Greek dialectology. 

Latin 201-2 is designed to improve students’ understanding of Latin language by close reading of major poetic texts such as Vergil’s Aeneid, with special attention to grammar, vocabulary, and style. Class activities will include careful reading and translation of the Latin text combined with literary discussion and interpretation. The course also provides a systematic introduction to the basics of Latin metrics and versification

Learning Objectives.

Students will learn how to
1) approach ancient Latin texts in the original language;
2) analyze Latin grammar and syntax;
3) evaluate our source materials and different linguistic interpretations of Latin texts and their composition.

Prerequisites: Latin 201-1 OR by online Latin Placement Test.

For further information, contact the Director of Latin Instruction Prof. Francesca Tataranni (f-tataranni@northwestern.edu).