Classics 251: Classical Studies in Greece
January, 2009

Course Description:

This course introduces students to the history and art of ancient Greece. It covers more than two thousand years of Greek civilization, from the Bronze Age through the archaic, classical, and Hellenistic periods. The itinerary takes students to every major region of Greece, with extended stays in Athens and Thessaloniki. When not visiting museums and archaeological sites, students have the opportunity to experience modem Greek culture as well.

When they have completed the course, students should be familiar with the important people, places, and events of each major period of ancient Greek history, as well as the evolution of ancient Greek art and architecture. They should have a clear picture of the interplay between Mediterranean geography and the history of Greece and should be acquainted with the methods used by archaeologists and historians today to study the Greek past. Finally, they should have renewed appreciation for the contributions of the ancient Greeks to Western civilization.

The length of the interim is 25 days, which includes two days of travel to and from Greece. Each of the 23 days in Greece is a mixture of visits to archaeological sites and museums, class discussion (held in the hotel each evening before dinner), and free hours for reading, writing, and exploring. Students spend an average of 4 hours per day visiting sites and museums, 1 hour per day in class discussion, and 3 hours per day studying. Each of the three written exams takes about two hours. The amount of time for traveling (by bus, boat, or plane) to sites within Greece varies from day to day. Throughout the month a native Greek guide accompanies the group, gives lectures at the sites and in the museums, and facilitates cross-cultural contacts (e.g., talking with Greek archaeologists about their work, attending an Orthodox church service, touring a museum of modern Greek art, observing the ceremonial changing of the guard in Athens). Special activities are often arranged on the spur of the moment, when the chance arises or when adverse circumstances like bad weather require a change of plans.

GE Credit: Historical Studies in Western Culture (HWC) and Artistic Studies (ALS-A)
Major Credit: Ancient Studies, Classics, Greek, Latin
Prerequisite: None, but at least one course in the art, history, language, literature, philosophy, or religion of ancient Greece is strongly recommended.
Cost (subject to change): $5100 (includes all transportation, hotels, and entrance fees as well as breakfast and dinner daily)
Maximum: 30
Instructor: Anne Groton, Professor of Classics

Required Textbooks :

Biers, William R., The Archaeology of Greece : An Introduction (Cornell University Press, 2nd edition, 1996)

Pomeroy, Sarah B. et al., A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture (Oxford University Press, 2004)

Classics 251 course packet: contains maps, reference pages, selected passages from ancient Greek and Roman literature, and other material useful for the course.

Grading: 3 exams = 90%; class participation, civilized behavior, enthusiasm = 10%

Academic Requirements:

1. Each student is expected to attend all planned events, including lectures by the instructor and visits to sites and museums, and to participate in all group discussions.
2. Each student is expected to purchase the two required textbooks and the course packet, bring them along, and read them according to the schedule set out in the syllabus.
3. Each student is expected to take the three written exams given in the course of the month, covering the lectures and assigned readings and the visits to sites and museums.
4. Each student is expected to bring along a notebook in which to jot down comments on the sites and museums visited each day, notes on the lectures and on the assigned readings, and personal impressions. The notebook may also serve as a journal or a photograph album. Students are free to put as much or as little effort into this notebook as they wish; it will not be read by the instructor or graded in any way.

PROPOSED ITINERARY (subject to change):

Mon., Jan. 5: Fly from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Athens
Tues, Jan. 6: Arrive Athens (Epiphany)
Wed., Jan. 7: Athens : Theater of Dionysos, Pnyx, Acropolis
Thur., Jan. 8: Athens : Temple of Olympian Zeus, Agora, Kerameikos
Fri., Jan. 9: Athens: Cycladic and National Museums
Sat., Jan. 10: Athens: boat trip to Aigina from Piraeus
Sun., Jan. 11: Athens : Benaki Museum , Laurion, Thorikos, Cape Sounion
Mon., Jan. 12: Athens: Exam #1; rest of day free
Tues., Jan. 13: Athens to Olympia via Eleusis
Wed., Jan. 14: Olympia: site, museum
Thur., Jan. 15: Olympia to Pylos; visit Nestor's Palace, Methoni
Fri., Jan. 16: Pylos to Sparta via Messini
Sat., Jan. 17: Sparta: site, museum; visit Mystra; Sparta to Nauplion
Sun., Jan. 18: Nauplion: Nemea, Mycenae
Mon., Jan. 19: Nauplion: Tiryns, Epidauros; Exam #2
Tues., Jan. 20: Nauplion to Athens via Corinth
Wed., Jan. 21: Athens to Thessaloniki; visit Marathon, Eretria, and/or Dion
Thur., Jan. 22: Thessaloniki: city tour, museum
Fri., Jan. 23: Thessaloniki: Amphipolis and Philippi
Sat., Jan. 24: Thessaloniki to Naoussa via Verria; visit Pella, Vergina
Sun., Jan. 25: Naoussa to Kalambaka; visit Meteora
Mon., Jan. 26: Kalambaka to Delphi via Thermopylae
Tues., Jan. 27: Delphi: museum, site; Exam #3
Wed., Jan. 28: Delphi to Athens via Thebes
Thur., Jan. 29: Fly from Athens to Minneapolis/St. Paul