History 261:  Ancient Greece

Dr. John Lewis        Fall, 2006
Office:  113 Andrews    Phone: 289-5346  jlewis8@ashland.edu
Office Hours:  Before / after class, and by appt.
If you like Greece, please come and talk to me!

This course will consider the political and cultural history of Classical Greece, from pre-classical periods through Epic poetry, the first city-state settlements to the loss of Greek independence and the Macedonian conquests.  The course will aid your understanding of the main political and intellectual events in the classical Greek tradition, and the importance of that tradition to the present day.

Primary reading materials, taken directly from the Greeks and translated into English, are the historical evidence we will use.  Be ready to discuss the readings for that class.  Class lectures are designed primarily to add to the material in the text. The readings are mandatory, and must be completed prior to the assigned class date.  Short quizzes will be given, both to assess reading comprehension and to reward those who persevere at the subject.  10 of them will count towards your final grade.  The secret to this class is to remain up to date on the readings and the questions.

Two Writing Assignments will focus on the narrow questions in Greek history and thought.  For each, develop a title and a theme that addresses the issue at hand. These papers must follow the writing guidelines distributed in the class.

A Research Paper will be the capstone of the course.  Select your topic and follow the guidelines from the attached bibliography / research topic sheet.  You must have a topic selected by the Midterm exam.

Research Topics and Bibliography link
 

NO INTERNET SOURCES ARE ACCEPTABLE FOR ANY WRITING CITATIONS!

The only exception is the use of photos for an art or architecture project.

(OK, there are a couple of other exceptions—see me first!)

Grading:           Writing assignments: Each         10%
Midterm Exam:                          20%

Research Paper:                        30%

Final Exam:                               30% 

Accommodations Statement from Classroom Support Services: “For students who have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let me know early in the semester so that your learning needs can be appropriately met.  It is your responsibility to provide documentation for your disability to the Office of Disability Services, 105 Amstutz Hall, ext. 5953.”

Academic Responsibility and Integrity Statement: “Academic integrity must be maintained at all times.  No form of cheating or plagiarism will be tolerated.  Such actions will be dealt with in accordance with the procedures documented in the Ashland University Student Handbook.”

 

Primary Sources:

Hesiod’s Works and Days tr. Tandy and Neale

Greek Lyrics tr. R. Lattimore (Phoenix books, 0-226-46944-1)

Aristophanes Lysistrata, The Acharnians, The Clouds (Penguin edn)

Aristotle Constitution of Athens tr. Rhodes (Penguin edn)

Thucydides The History of the Peloponnesian War (Penguin edn.)

Secondary Reading:

R. Morkot, The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece.

The Oxford Classical Dictionary for topics and persons. 

YOU MUST CONSULT THIS LIBRARY RESOURCE FOR EVERY WRITER WE USE

The Cambridge Ancient Histories have essays about every topic.

See the bibliography for other, suggested, secondary sources.

Week 1 (8/28): Class Objectives.  Historical Outline. The Heroic Age. 

Minoan and Mycenean Civilizations.

Approaches to Classical Studies.

            Read: Historical Atlas up to “Rise of the City-States” (p. 49)

Week 2 (9/4): Labor Day: No Class

Week 3 (9/11) Early Poetry and Philosophy.  Cosmology, Theology and Justice.

Read: Hesiod Works and Days
First writing assignment due week 3: What views of justice are found in Hesiod? 1000 words. (Note: Cite at least one text passage, and discuss it with close attention to the text.)

Week 4 (9/18): Archaic Poetry, Mythology and the Rise of the Polis.  Moral Values and the Polis.

            Read: Lyric Poets: Archilochus, Semonides, Hipponax, Tyrtaeus, Mimnermus, Solon, Theognis. 

                        Historical Atlas 50-56 (Colonies, Tyrants)

            Question: What moral and civic values do these writers project? How do these

values compare with what we find in Hesiod?

Week 5 (9/25): Early History.

            Read:  Thucydides, Book 1

                        Historical Atlas on Rise of Athens and Sparta, and Persian Wars

            Question: What special problems does Thucydides see in investigating early history?

Week 6 (10/2): The Peloponnesian War.

            Read: Thucydides, Books 1, 2

                        Historical Atlas 86-99 Perikles and the Athenian Empire.

            Question: What are the democratic ideals that Perikles presents in his speeches? 

How is this also propaganda for war?

Week 7 (10/9):   The Peloponnesian War: The Aegean and Sicily

            Read: Thucydides Books 5.84-116, and Books 6 and 7 (the Sicilian Expedition).

                        Historical Atlas 96-99

Second writing assignment due week 8:  Consider Thucydides’ view of the causes of the

war. What were the particular causes of the Peloponnesian War, how can we understand them, and how does Thucydides make them universal? (Note: Cite at least one text passage, and discuss it with close attention to the text.) 1000 words.

Week 8 (10/16): Responses to the War

Read: Aristophanes’ Lysistrata (with translator’s introduction)

            Question: What does this say about the position of women in Athens? Compare this to Perikles’

Funeral Oration, in Thucydides

Week 9 (10/23): Reponses to the War; The Defeat of Athens

            Read:  Aristophanes’ Acharnians (keep Thucydides on the front burner!)

Week 10 (10/30):  The Athenian Democracy: Constitutional History

Read: Aristotle AthPol Sections 1-41 (and translator’s introduction)
            Question: What are the Eleven Constitutional Stages that Aristotle presents?

Week 11: (11/6):The Athenian Democracy: Constitutional History and the Fourth Century

            Read: Aristotle AthPol Sections 1-61.

Questions: What is Aristotle’s evaluation of democracy in Athens?

What are the main institutions of the government, and how did they work in practice?

Week 12 (11/13): The Fourth Century and Rhetoric

            Read:  TBA

                                Historical Atlas 100-107

Week 13 (11/20): The Fourth Century Macedonian Expansion and the Aftermath

            Read:  TBA

Historical Atlas 110-135

            Question: What was Alexander’s main influence on History?

Week 14 (11/27): Tragedy, Science and Religion

            Read: Aristophanes Clouds

            Question: Is Socrates’ school a scientific research institute, or a religious cult?

            Research Paper Due Friday.

Week 15 (12/4): The Philosophic Schools, and the Greek Achievement in History

            Read: TBA

Week 16 (12/11):   FINAL DISCUSSION AND FINAL EXAM L

 

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This page updated 9/20/07             Dr. John Lewis  jlewis8@ashland.edu