Classics/History 121

History of Greece

Spring 2004

216 L/L

Tuesday/Thursday 11:00-12:15

Barbara Saylor Rodgers

481 Main Street room 301, telephone 656-4607

Office hours TR 9:30-10:45, 1:15-2:00; W 11:00-12:00 and by appointment

bsaylor@zoo.uvm.edu

Research Projects: Instructions and suggested topics

Books on Reserve

Bury and Meiggs, History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great

The Landmark Thucydides

REQUIRED TEXTS

Pomeroy, Burstein, Donlan, and Roberts.  Ancient Greece. A Political, Social, and Cultural History (= AG)
Herodotus The Histories (Oxford; but any translation is acceptable; cited by book and chapter)
Thucydides The Peloponnesian War (Hackett; but any translation is acceptable; cited by book and chapter)
Xenophon Hellenica (Penguin translation = A History of My Times; cited by book and chapter)
Other readings as assigned, either xeroxed or on-line

READINGS should, save for the first week of classes, be done prior to the class date under which they are listed.

January

20  Sources and Methods; Prejudices and Limitations of Inquiry
AG chapter 1 pp. 1-11
22  Minoans and Mycenaeans
AG chapter 1 pp. 18-40
Dr. J's Illustrated Pylos, Mycenae, and Tiryns
Three sites for Knossos:
University of Colorado
Bluffton College (Mary Ann Sullivan)
British School at Athens, Virtual Reality Tour
27  Dark Ages; the Homeric World
AG chapter 2
29  Archaic Greece: City-States and Commerce
Herodotus book 2 (Egyptians); AG chapter 3 pp. 83-99

February

3  Archaic Greece: Hesiod and Other Voices
AG chapter 3 pp. 99-124
Map of the World according to Hecataeus of Miletus
5  Colonization and Tyrants
AG chapter 3 pp. 124-130
Some Features of Greek Tyrannies
10  Central and Northern Greece, and Northern Barbarians
Herodotus book 4 (Scythians and others)
Silphium
Map of the World known to Herodotus
Dr. J's Illustrated Olympia and Delphi
12  Sparta and the Peloponnesus
Herodotus book 1; AG chapter 4

A list of Spartan Kings

17  Early Athens
Herodotus book 5; AG chapter 5 pp. 159-178

Plutarch Life of Solon

Recent article on the Olympic games (of 2004), Athens and the olive

Archons of Athens

Outline of Books 1 and 5 of Herodotus
Dr. J's Illustrated Eleusis
19  Greece and the Near East
Herodotus book 3 (Persia); AG chapter 5 pp. 178-181

Achaemenid Kings of Persia

Cyrus the Great

Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions

What to do on your next vacation: Look for the army Cambyses lost in Egypt

24  Darius and the Ionian revolt; Marathon
Herodotus books 6-7; AG chapter 5 pp. 181-190
Miletus in Athens News

The Search for Darius' Lost Fleet

Dr. J's Pictures of Cape Sounion (Sunium)

26  Xerxes' invasion of Greece
Herodotus books 8-9; AG chapter 5 pp. 190-200

Plutarch Lives of Themistocles and Aristeides

Kings of Macedon

March

2  Town Meeting Day

4  Test 1

9  The Great Fifty Years: Harmony and the Foundation of the Athenian Empire

Thucydides Book 1; AG chapter 6 pp. 201-211

Plutarch Life of Cimon

11  The First Peloponnesian War
AG chapter 6 pp. 212-245

Plutarch Life of Pericles

15-19  Spring break

How to earn 5 points extra credit on the first hour test (if and only if you did not attend the lecture)

How to get rid of the grade on the first hour test

23  Periclean Athens and the World Beyond Attica

AG chapter 7
Dr. J's Illustrated Acropolis
25  The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War
Thucydides Book 2 (it wouldn't hurt to reread Book 1); AG chapter 8 pp. 287-303
30  The Archidamian War and Peace of Nicias
Thucydides Books 3-5.24
Two translations of the stasis at Corcyra
To see the site of the Battle of Sphakteria, see Dr. J's Illustrated Pylos

April

1  Cold War and Foreign Affairs
Thucydides Books 5.25-6 (= the rest of book 5 and all of book 6); AG chapter 8 pp. 303-311

Plutarch Lives of Nicias and Alcibiades

6  The Decelean War
Thucydides Books 7-8; Xenophon Books 1-2.2; AG chapter 8 pp. 311-319
8  Spartan Hegemony; Revolutions
Xenophon Books 2.3-3.5 (i.e. the rest of book 2 and all of book 3); AG chapter 8 pp. 319-329, chapter 9 pp. 330-338

Plutarch Life of Lysander

13  Test 2

15  The Second Athenian League and Theban Hegemony

Xenophon Books 4-5; AG chapter 9 pp. 338-349

Plutarch Lives of Pelopidas and Agesilaus; Nepos Life of Epaminondas

20  Syracuse and Carthage
Xenophon Books 6-7; AG chapter 9 pp. 349-370

Nepos Life of Timoleon

22  Macedonia before the King's Peace
AG chapter 10 pp. 371-377
27  Macedonia and Greece in the fourth century: Philip II
AG chapter 10 pp. 377-394

Plutarch Life of Demosthenes

29  Alexander III: The Conquest of Persia and the Far East
AG chapter 11 pp. 395-426

May

4  The Successors' Wars; Seleucids, Ptolemies, Antigonids, and Rome
AG chapter 12 pp. 427-470, Epilogue

Plutarch Life of Agis

A list of some Hellenistic Kings

6  Research Project Due

13 Final exam at 8:00 a.m.

GRADE in the course is based upon four factors:

Two in-class examinations, 4 March (25%) and 13 April (25%)*
Final examination   25% Thursday 13 May at 8:00 a.m.
Research project**  25%

*No makeups for unexcused absences; makeups for excused absences will include an oral component.

**Familiarity with and intelligent use of both primary and secondary sources, and knowing the difference between them, is crucial to a good research project. I can provide suggestions for topics, but since the most rewarding and successful research comes from each individual's own interests, each student should consult me (by early February, to allow time to check availability of resources).

Some suggested topics

Note: Late projects will be marked down 10 percentage points per weekday (weekends free)