THE GOLDEN AGE OF ATHENS

MCLT 221

with Margaret Cook and Scott Richardson

Fall 2008

Offices: Quad 255A (Cook), Quad 253E (Richardson)

Office phones: 3103 (Cook), 2510 (Richardson)

Office hours: 1-3-5, 1:00-2:00 (Cook); 2-4-6, 2:15-4:00 (Richardson)

The Golden Age

For several generations in and around the 5th century B.C. Athens was the cultural capital of the western world. It produced the first writers of drama, philosophy, and history; it created great achievements in art and architecture, much of which people still travel far to see; and its political structure has had great influence on the development of modern democracy. We will read works of four playwrights (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes), two historians (Herodotus and Thucydides), and two students of Socrates (Plato and Xenophon).  Besides discussing these great books, the class will take a look at art, architecture, archaeological remains, and evidence about the Greeks' daily lives.

The Schedule

Aug 28     Prologue; introduction to Perseus, a database of texts, maps, plans and photographs of art, architecture, coins, and archaeological sites available on the              campus  network. (In labs and public access areas only.)

Sept 1         Herodotus, The Histories I.1-94

Sept 3         Herodotus, V.30-126

Sept 5         Herodotus, VI.1-50, 85-131

Sept 9         Herodotus, VII.1-60, 100-152, 172-end

Sept 11         Herodotus, VIII (all)

Sept 15         Aeschylus, Agamemnon

Sept 17         Aeschylus, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides

Sept 19         Mabel Lang, The Athenian Citizen and some xeroxed handouts; we will use Perseus in class to familiarize ourselves with Athenian public spaces, particularly in the Agora. (Use Browser, sites; choose Attica on the regions menu, then Athens as the site.)

Sept 23         Sophocles, Electra

Sept 26         Euripides, Electra

Sept 30         Sophocles, Antigone

Oct 6             Euripides, Medea

Oct 8             Athenian empire (some Handouts from Margaret)

Paper #1

Oct 10     John Camp, Ancient Athenian Building Methods and some xeroxed handouts; use Perseus to familiarize yourself with the Athenian Acropolis, particularly the Parthenon and the Propylaia. (Use the Browser set to Architecture, site: Athens.

Oct 14         Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, Book I, sections 1- 23 (methods); 24-44; 66-88; 118-125; 139-146 (causes and preparations)

Oct 16         Thucydides, Book 2, sections 1-25; 34-65; 2.83-92 (Perikles and his strategy)

Oct 20         Thucydides, 2.1-6; 2.71-78; 3.20-24; 3.52-68 (Plataea); 3.2-50 (the Mytilene Revolt)

Oct 22         Sophocles, Philoctetes

Oct 24         Aristophanes, The Birds

Oct 28         Thucydides, 3.82-84 (Stasis in Corcyra); 4.1-5; 4.8-23; 4.26-41 (the Pylos affair); 5.84-116 (the Melian Dialogue)

Oct 30         Thucydides, 6.1-32; 46-50; 60-61; 89-93; 7.50-87 (the Sicilian Expedition)

Nov 3         Aristophanes, Lysistrata

Nov 5         Euripides, Alcestis

Xenophon, The Estate-manager 3.1-3.3 (pp. 295-300) and 7.1-10 (pp. 310-326)

Nov 7     Carol Lawton, Women in the Athenian Agora and Athenian artistic depictions of women; use the Browser in Perseus to look at depiction on Greek vase paintings of women [Note: use the Keywords menu and select generic people: women] and their lives; we will also look at some slides of sculpture in class.

Paper #2

Nov 11     Plato, Meno

Nov 13     Plato, The Apology and Crito

Nov 17     Xenophon, Socrates’ Defense (entirety) and Memoirs of Socrates, 1.1-1.3 (pp 68-85) and 4.1-4.6 (pp 177-211); Mabel Lang, Socrates in the Agora

Nov 19     Plato, Symposium

Nov 21     Aristophanes, The Clouds

Nov 25     Plato, The Republic, I

Dec 2         Plato, The Republic, II.357-376c; IV.427c-445

Dec 4         Plato, The Republic, V.474b-VII.521b

Dec 8         Sophocles, Oedipus the King

Dec 10         Euripides, The Bacchae

Dec 12 Athenian art; explore in Perseus how Greek sculpture changed over the course of the 5th century.

Paper #3

Dec 17 Final exam, 3:30 p.m.

 

The Requirements

Class participation: We plan on considerable involvement from the students during most class sessions and attendance at all of them: absences will affect the class participation grade, and more than three absences will lower the course grade drastically. At times one of the teachers will need to talk at some length, but much of our time together will be spent in conversation about the reading assigned for the day. We expect all of you to have faithfully read the assignment and given it some thought so that in class you will participate actively in the discussion. 20% of the final grade.

Papers: You will write three papers of 3-5 pages in length due at the beginning of class on the specified dates. The topics will be your own, though we will have some suggestions for ways of arriving at a topic. The stipulation is that you write one of the first two papers on a largely historical/cultural issue and the other on a literary topic; the third paper will deal in a substantial way with philosophy. Each 20% of the final grade.

Final exam: You will write a two-hour essay final exam covering the reading and discussion throughout the term. We will offer a specific study guide to help you focus your preparation. 20% of the final grade.