ANTH 3371/HONR 3303:
Archæology of Classical Greece

Prof. Karl Petruso, Program in Anthropology
Spring Semester 2007
SYLLABUS (subject to modification)

      Reading assignments listed by author's last name (and poopsheets, which will be found in the reader) are listed below. Readings are to be completed before their associated lectures. Students should be prepared to summarize the main ideas of the assigned readings and discuss them in class.
      The dates for the quiz and the exams will not change. Every effort will be made to keep to the schedule of lectures as listed below; should any changes be necessary, however, announcements will be made in class as well as posted to this web page. Moreover, because many assigments are hyperlinks to online articles as well as illustrations chosen to supplement the textbooks, students are encouraged to bookmark this page and view it regularly.

  DATE  
 LECTURE TOPIC ASSIGNMENT
T Jan 16
Introduction to the course. Course policies, requirements, resources
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Th Jan 18
What is archaeology? A shamefully inadequate primer on archaeological method. The importance of context. Preservation and inference Wikipedia online entry on Archaeology. Students who have had no formal exposure to archaeology (e.g., ANTH 2339) are encouraged to browse one of the excellent university-level textbooks by Brian Fagan, Ashmore and Sharer, Colin Renfrew and Paul Bahn, or David Hurst Thomas
T Jan 23
 The discipline of classical archaeology. Relationships between classical archaeology and related disciplines (ancient history, art history, classical languages and anthropology) Whitley, ch. 1-3
Th Jan 25
 Greek geography, environment and natural resources. Chronology and chronography. The ancient Greek alphabet and its pronunciation Whitley, ch. 4. Poop sheets: The Ancient Greek Alphabet; Some Ancient Greek Words; Material to be Mastered for Geography and Chronology Quiz
T Jan 30
 Bronze Age I: Mycenaean material culture: architecture, art, technology, burials Biers, ch. 3 (reader)
Th Feb 1
Bronze Age II: Mycenaean social and political organization. Writing: Linear B script. The end of Mycenaean civilization. Literacy lost
QUIZ: Geography, chronology and alphabet of ancient Greece
Jeremy Rutter's Aegean Archaeology course lesson on Linear B Tablets and Mycenaean Social, Political, and Economic Organization. Poopsheets: Some Linear B (Mycenaean Greek) Words; Mycenaean Greek Society. Take a virtual tour of the site of Mycenae
T Feb 6
The Greek Dark Age. Art, and technology and society
Whitley, ch. 5. Read the description of the centaur excavated at Volos in central Greece
Th Feb 8
Orientalizing: The Greek expansion in the eastern Mediterranean Whitley, ch. 6
T Feb 13
The sanctuary I: Material evidence for Greek religion Whitley, pp. 134-156. Smith, "Priests, Sacrifice and Worship" (Reader). Poopsheet: Translation of a Portion of a Sacrificial Calendar from the Island of Kos
Th Feb 15
 The sanctuary II: Survey of early religious complexes Whitley, pp. 156-164. Poopsheet: Doric and Ionic Temple Architecture Plans and Elevations
T Feb 20
EXAM NO. 1
Covering classes Jan. 18-Feb. 15
Th Feb 22
 Literacy regained. The Greek alphabet and its origins. The study of Greek inscriptions Poopsheets: Some Archaic Alphabets; Selected Epichoric Inscriptions
T Feb 27
Civic institutions I: The polis. The nature of Greek urbanism. Cities and city planning Whitley, pp. 165-179; Wycherley, ch. I-II. Poopsheet: A Characterization/Working Definition of the Polis
Th Mar 1
Houses and households. Reconstructing family life. Pots and pans of classical Athens Whitley, pp. 313-328; Wycherley, ch. VII. Poopsheet: Athenian Vases: Shapes
T Mar 6
Civic institutions II: Political relationships among the poleis. Hoplites: The archaeology of warfare in the Archaic period. Sparta in myth and reality Whitley, pp. 179-188; Wycherley, ch. III
Th Mar 8 (Midsemester)
The economy of Archaic Greece. The invention of coinage. Amphoras and the wine trade in antiquity Whitley, pp. 188-194. Carradice, "Early Coinage and the Sixth Century" (Reader). Peruse Barbara McManus's stunning photographs of ancient Greek coins and the collection of transport amphoras in the Bodrum (Turkey) Museum
T Mar 13
SPRING BREAK--no class
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Th Mar 15
SPRING BREAK--no class
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T Mar 20
 Overview of Archaic art. Origins of monumental sculpture in stone. Kouroi and korai: Style and problems of function Whitley, pp. 213-223
Th Mar 22
 Marathon and Salamis: The ascendancy of Athens. The Athenian Empire Poopsheets (maps): Artemesium and Thermopylae; Marathon and the Battle of Salamis. Online articles on the Battle of Marathon and the Battle of Salamis. Aeschylus, The Persians (especially lines 249-514). Translation of the Themistocles Decree
T Mar 27
Introduction to classical art: Sculpture in the round and architecural reliefs
Whitley, ch. 11
Th Mar 29
 Panhellenic sanctuaries: Olympia and the Olympic Games. Delphi and the Oracle of Apollo. Note: March 30 is the last day to drop with a W Whitley, pp. 294-313. Perseus webpage on Ancient Olympic Events. Take virtual tours of Olympia and Delphi
T Apr 3
EXAM NO. 2
Covering classes Feb. 22-Mar. 29
Th Apr 5
Health, disease and medicine in ancient Greece. Asklepios and Epidauros. Diagnosing the Plague at Athens
 Charitonidou, "Epidauros: The Sanctuary of Asclepius" (Reader). Take a virtual tour of Epidauros
T Apr 10
 Minor sanctuaries: A potpourri. Eleusis, Brauron. the Nekromanteion Clinton, "The Sancruary of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis" (Reader); Dakaris, "The Oracle of the Dead on the Acheron" (Reader). Take a virtual tour of Eleusis and Brauron
Th Apr 12
 Death and burial in ancient Greece: Funerary ritual. Burial grounds. Grave monuments and sumptuary laws Whitley, pp. 363-375. Take a virtual tour of the Kerameikos Cemetery in Athens
T Apr 17
Athens: The archaeology of democracy. Legislation, voting, trials and ostracism. Identifying the state prison of Athens: The trial and execution of Socrates The Athenian Citizen (entire). Whitley, pp. 329-341 and 356-375; Wycherley, ch. V. Poopsheet: The Structure of Classical Athenian Democracy
Th Apr 19
Athens: Commercial life of the city An Ancient Shopping Center: The Athenian Agora (entire); Wycherley, ch. IV
F Apr 20
PAPERS DUE IN UH 430 BY 5:00 PM
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T Apr 24
 Athens: The Acropolis. Architecture, art and cult Whitley, pp. 342-356
Th Apr 26
Beyond Athens: The ancient countryside: Olive cultivation, cereal agriculture and viticulture. Regionalism Whitley, ch 14; Steiner, "Farming" (Reader)
T May 1
The Greeks at Sea. Warships and cargo ships. Nautical archaeology in the Mediterranean Casson, "Sailing" (Reader). E.J. deMeester, How Was a Trireme Built?; S. Illsley, The Kyrenia Ship and associated slides
Th May 3
Vergina and the Tomb of Philip II of Macedon. Philippian forensics. Alexander the Great. The dawn of Hellenism Whitley, ch. 15; Angela Schuster's article on identification of the bones said to be those of Philip II
Th May 10
FINAL EXAM, 8:00-10:30 a.m.
Cumulative, but focusing on classes Apr. 5-May 3


Overview                    Requirements                    Resources