CLAS 100 Introduction to the Civilizations of Greece and Rome – Fall 2004

Time and Place:         MWF 11:30 to 12:20 CM AUD

Professor:                   David Meban, Campion 317

                                    david.meban@uregina.ca

                                    Ph. # 359-1252

Office Hours:             Monday/Wednesday 2:30­­­-4 PM (or whenever I am in my office)

Textbooks:                 1) D. Brendan Nagle.  The Ancient World: A Social and Cultural History.  Prentice                                          Hall: New Jersey, 2002. (=AW) 

                                    2) Bernard Knox, ed.   The Norton Book of Classical Literature.  W.W. Norton & Co.: New      York, 1993. (=CL) 

Grading:                     10%   Quiz #1   Wed. Sept. 22

                                    10%   Quiz #2   Wed. Oct. 6

                                    10%   Quiz #3   Wed. Oct. 20

                                    10%   Quiz #4   Wed. Nov. 24

                                    25%   Writing Assignment 

                                                  Assigned:   Fri. Oct. 29

                                                  Due: Fri. Nov. 12

                                    35%   Final Examination   Dec. 17, 9:00 to 12:00

Course Description:   This course serves as an introduction to the civilizations of Greece and Rome.      The aim of the course is to provide students with both a general grasp of some of the important historical developments of the ancient world, and a comprehensive understanding of some of the distinguishing features of Greek and Roman culture.   We will therefore discuss, for example, the emergence of civilization in Greece, the development of democracy in Athens, and the growth and consolidation of the Roman empire.   But we will also devote a considerable portion of the course to an examination of other topics such as (but not limited to) the daily lives of Greeks and Romans, their artistic accomplishments (both literary and architectural), and their religious and philosophical beliefs.  

Course Objectives:   1)  To gain a solid grasp of the major historical and cultural

                                          developments of Greek and Roman civilizations.

                                    2)  To develop an understanding of, and appreciation for, the

                                          various artistic achievements (literary, material, visual etc.) of

                                          the ancient Greeks and Romans. 

                                     3)  To recognize the influence of Greek and Roman culture on

                                          western intellectual and social traditions

Outline and Readings:

 Week One     September 7-10

             AW Ch. 4   The Emergence of Greek Civilization

 Week Two     September 13-17

             AW Ch. 4   The Emergence of Greek Civilization

            CL   Homer, The Iliad: Hector and Andromache (pp. 64-68); The Embassy to

                    Achilles (pp. 68-83); Achilles and Lycaon (pp. 84-87)

Week Three     September 20-24

            **Quiz #1 Wednesday**

            AW  Ch. 4   The Emergence of Greek Civilization

            CL  Archilochus, poems 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (pp. 205-206)

            CL  Tyrtaeus, all (pp. 209-212)

            CL  Alcaeus, poems 2, 4, 6 (pp. 221-222)

            CL  Sappho, poems 6, 7 (pp.228-229)

            CL  Xenophanes, poem 1 (p.232)

            CL  Theognis, poems 3, 5, 6 (pp. 237-238)

            CL  Solon, poems 1, 2 (pp. 239-240)

Week Four     September 27-October 1

            AW Ch. 5   The Wars of the Greeks

            CL  Herodotus, Thermopylae (pp. 287-295); Themistocles and Athens (pp. 296-299)

Week Five     October 4-October 8

            **Quiz #2 Wednesday**

            AW Ch. 6   Classical Athens

            CL  Sophocles, Antigone (pp. 359-400)

Week Six     October 11-15

            AW Ch. 6   Classical Athens

            CL  Thucydides, Revolution in Corycyra (pp.354-356)

            CL  Aristophanes, The Clouds (pp. 446-458)

 Week Seven     October 18-22

             **Quiz #3 Wednesday**

             AW Ch. 7   Philip, Alexander, and the Hellenistic World

            CL  Callimachus,  The Blinding of Tiresias (pp. 529-532)

            CL  Theocritus,  Idyll II (pp. 553-559)

 Week Eight     October 25-29

             AW Ch. 8   Early Rome

            CL  Livy, The Beginning (pp. 703-707); The Fall of the Monarchy (pp. 707-711)

 Week Nine     November 1-5

             AW Ch. 9  The Building of an Empire

 Week Ten     November 8-12

             AW Ch. 10   The Transformation of the Roman Republic

            CL  Catullus, Poems 1, 5, 7, 22, 76, 92 (pp. 604-610)

             **Writing Assignment due Friday**

  Week Eleven     November 15-19

            AW Ch. 10   The Transformation of the Roman Republic

            CL   Horace, Odes Book 1.9 (p.617-618), 1.37 (p.620-621), Odes Book 3.5

                        (p.626-629), 3.6 (p. 629-631)

            CL   Virgil, Orpheus and Eurydice (pp. 640-643); Aeneid,  Prologue (p.644-645);

                        Aeneid, Book IV  The Passion of the Queen (pp. 651-676)

Week Twelve     November 22-26

            **Quiz #4 Wednesday**

            AW Ch. 11   The Roman World from Augustus to the Third-Century Crisis

            CL  Ovid,  The Art of Love: Where to Find a Woman (pp. 739-744); Lessons for

                        the Ladies (pp. 748-751); Cephalus and Procris (pp. 751-753); Some

                        Technical Instructions (pp. 753-753).

Week Thirteen     November 29-December 3

            AW Ch. 11   The Roman World from Augustus to the Third-Century Crisis

            CL  Tacitus,  The Annals: The Death of Agrippina (pp.786-793)

            CL  Juvenal, Satire III: Life in the Big City (pp. 816-826)

Week Fourteen     December 6

            AW Ch. 11   The Roman World from Augustus to the Third-Century Crisis