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Classics/Humanities & Cultural Studies
21
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* Available through electronic
reserve.
All plays are translated in Ten Greek Plays.
Martin: recommended reading from Ancient Greece from Prehistoric to Hellenistic
Times, Thomas Martin, 1996.
| Wk | Date | Topic | Assignments | Discussion Questions |
| 1 | Th 9/5 | Welcome | ||
| 2 | Tu 9/10 | Iliad | Iliad books 1-6 [Martin, pp. ix-xii, 16-35] |
1. What is the Iliad about? What is
the conflict about? 2. How is a man defined or evaluated? 3. Are Greeks and Trojans evaluated or presented differently? |
| Th 9/12 | Iliad books 8-9, 11, 14, 16 (read
summaries of other books online)
[Martin, pp. 36-51] |
Scholars have suggested that in these books Achilles periodically rejects the 'heroic code.' Do you find evidence of this? How are we expected to evaluate him? | ||
| 3 | Tu 9/17 |
Map Quiz |
Iliad books 18-19, 21-24 (read summaries of other books online) | What do you make of the ending? How or why does this set of events conclude the story? |
| Th 9/19 | Odyssey & Epic Music | 1. outline of Odyssey 2. Odyssey book 9 3. On-Line Homeric Music Project |
1. Who is civilized in the Odyssey? How are characters
defined as civilized or not? Why? 2. Which genres of music do you think best 'translate' Greek epic? Feel free to bring in your own suggestions on cassette or CD. |
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| 4 | Tu 9/24 | Archaic Greece
(lecture on archaic art & visual narrative) |
*O.
Murray, "Life Styles: the Aristocracy," in Early Greece,
2nd ed., Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978/1993, pp.
201-19.
[Martin, pp.51-69] |
What are the key features of the Greek symposion? Why is this information useful as we begin to look at archaic vase painting and literature? |
| Th 9/26 | Vase Painting
First Paper Due Friday |
On-Line
Vase Painting Project
[Martin, pp. 70-93] |
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| 5 | Tu 10/1 | Poets
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1. Selections "Archaic Poets" in Course Folder
2. André Lardinois, review of Eva Stehle. Performance and Gender in Ancient Greece: Nondramatic Poetry in Its Setting. American Journal of Philology 119 (1998) 633-636. 3. Ellen Greene, "Apostrophe and Women's Erotics in the Poetry of Sappho," Transactions of the American Philological Association 124 (1994) 41-56. |
1. Choose one of the selected poems and imagine
how your interpretation of it might change depending upon the context
of its performance. 2. What is Greene's thesis? How does she go about proving it? Are you convinced by her argument? |
| Th 10/3 | Classical Athens
Reports on archaic philosophers |
For class: On-line
Project on Tyrannicides, including reading in Thucydides
In class: introduction to Athenian democracy & city of Athens |
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| 6 | Tu 10/8 | Herodotus: Father of History? | Herodotus, Histories, book 1 (pp.
3-85).
[Martin, pp. 94-108] |
1. What is Herodotus' project? What interests
him? 2. According to Herodotus, why do things happen? What causes events, historical change? 3. How and why does Herodotus describe non-Greek peoples? |
| Th 10/10 |
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From Herodotus, Histories: Darius becomes king of Persia (3.38, 3.66-88), Ionian Revolt, history of Sparta & Athens (5.35-97), Battle of Marathon (6.101-17), Xerxes becomes king of Persia (7.1-11), Battle of Thermopylae (7.201-28), Battle of Plataea (9.44-82) | 1. What is Herodotus' answer to the question
of how the Greeks were able to defeat the Persians? Are all Greeks created
equal in these terms? 2. What genre is Herodotus' work? What are the possibilities? |
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| 7 | Tu 10/15 | Attic Drama | Aeschylus, Agamemnon
[Martin, pp.109-46] |
Why was a play such as this one sponsored by the Athenian government? How is it a product of the democracy? |
| Th 10/17 |
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*R. Rehm, "The Theater and Athenian Spatial Practice," in The Play of Space: Spatial Transformation in Greek Tragedy, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 35-62. | 1. Apply the information from the article to the Agamemnon.
How does this play reflect the physical and civic context of
its production? 2. What is the signficance of the fact that all the roles in tragedy were played by male citizens? |
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| 8 | Tu 10/22 | Second Paper Due Wednesday | Watch video of Eumenides in class.
[Martin, pp. 147-73] |
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| Th 10/24 |
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| 9 | Tu 10/29 | Euripides, Bacchae | Is this play pro-religion or anti-religion? How does it help explain why drama was performed in honor of Dionysos? | |
| Th 10/31 |
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J.
Barrett, "Pentheus and the Spectator in Euripides' Bacchae,"
American Journal of Philology 119 (1998) 337- 360.
OR |
Read the article assigned to your group. Summarize the argument in one sentence, then outline the evidence the author uses to prove that thesis. Your group will be presenting a summary and critique of the article for the rest of the class. | |
| 10 | Tu 11/5 | Aristophanes' Lysistrata | 1. How does comedy differ from tragedy? What are the generic
rules of comedy? How is it also a product of the democracy? 2. What is funny? What is mocked? |
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| Th 11/7 | Online Project on the Sculptural Program of the Parthenon | |||
| 11 | Tu 11/12 | Performance of Student Tragedies | ||
| Th 11/14 | Thucydides | 1. Woodruff's introduction, pp. ix-xix 2. Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Introduction (i.1-23, pp. 1-15 in translation) and Pericles and the Plague (ii.35-54, pp. 39-50) |
1. What does Thucydides see as the major factors affecting
the development of states and interstate relations? How is he similar
to Herodotus, how different? 2. What are the things Pericles boasts about Athens? How do they fit or not fit the picture of the democracy we have been developing? How is this similar to or different from the ideals of American government? |
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| 12 | Tu 11/19 |
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1. Thucydides, History, Mytilenean debate (iii.37-51)
and Melian Dialogue (v.84-116) 2. Woodruff's summary of the end of the war (pp. 155-60) |
What narrative strategies does Thucydides employ to present these events? Why? What do you think he expects his reader(s) to conclude from these accounts? |
| Th 11/21 | Plato | 1. Nehamas & Woodruff's introduction, pp.
ix-xxxvii (not entire introduction) 2. Plato, Phaedrus, 227A-257B (pp. 1-48) [Martin, pp.174-97] |
1. What narrative strategies does Plato employ
to present his philosophy? Why? What genre is he writing? 2. How is the action and character of the god Eros here similar or different to that we have seen elsewhere in Greek literature? |
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| 13 | Tu 11/26 |
Reports on late classical philosophers |
Plato, Phaedrus, 257B-279C | What in the world is Plato doing when he criticizes writing so harshly in a written work? How should this affect how we read the entire dialogue? |
| Tu 11/28 |
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| 14 | Tu 12/3 | Demosthenes | 1. Columbia
Encyclopedia entry on Demosthenes 2. Demosthenes, Third Philippic (in Course Folder) 3. Demosthenes (?), Against Neaera |
1. What rhetorical strategies does Demosthenes
use in both speeches to influence his audience? How is he characteristically
Athenian? 2. What are the specific charges in Against Neaera? Does Demosthenes address them? |
| Th 12/5 | Aristotle | Aristotle, Politics, book 1 | What is Aristotle's method of analysis? How does he make arguments and draw conclusions? | |
| 15 | Tu 12/10 |
Reports on Hellenistic philosophers |
Aristotle, Poetics, book 1 | What does Aristotle include under the category 'poetry'? Do you agree with his analysis of the various genres? Does anything surprise you about his interpretations? |
| Th 12/12 | Wrap-Up Third Paper Due in Class |
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Final Exam: Monday, December 16, 1:30 - 3:30 PM in our regular classroom
Ancient World I Homepage ~ Classics Department ~ Macalester College
