HUMANITIES 1114
THE CLASSICAL AGE OF GREECE
Spring 2006

vt


T. HARRINGTON BECKER
244 Lane Hall
Office Hours: 11-12 MW and by appointment
Class Hours:  MWF 9:05 and 10:10am (2 sections)                                                    
email:thbecker@vt.edu

                                                                                 Laocoon
                                                            Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, Greece                               Laocoon and his sons        
                                                                        mid 5th century B.C.                                                 Vatican Museum, Rome           
                                                                                                         



    This class is designed to introduce you to the culture of ancient Greece, including its history, its literature, politics, society, religions, and art and architecture.  Throughout the course our emphasis will be on theancient Greek people, and their lives, and their search for happiness, knowledge, and what it means to be human.  You will discover that these searches will be a constant theme in our course; in each period and in each reading we will discern different attempts and different answers.

Methodologies
In order to see how the Greeks perceived themselves and to learn what they held meaningful, we will read extensively; much of the reading will be drawn from primary sources.  We will examine throughout the semester ways and methodologies to understand these diverse sources.

Goals

 1) an appreciation and knowledge of this ancient culture, 2) the ability to read with pleasure and understanding the literature of the Greeks, 3) the ability to analyze successfully and comprehend a variety of primary sources, both visual and literary, 4) the ability to both identify and use successfully a variety of methodologies appropriate to the field of classical studies.

Required Texts

Robert Morkot, The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece (abbreviated as Atlas below)
Homer, The Iliad, translated by M. Hammond
Aeschylus, Oresteia, translated by R. Fagles
Sophocles, The Three Theban Plays, translated by R. Fagles
Aristophanes, Acharnians, Lysistrata and Clouds, translated by J. Henderson
Euripides, Medea, translated by Rex Warner
Euripides, The Bacchae, translated  by S. Esposito
Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates, translated by G.M.A. Grube

Required Testing

Several "quizzes" (a variety of exercises) -- 25%
Midterm and Final --each worth 25%
One project--- worth 25 %

Syllabus with Daily Required Readings and Assignments

   

Study Questions