ANTH 3371/HONR 3304:
Archæology of Classical Greece
Prof. Karl Petruso, Program in Anthropology
Fall Semester 2011
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ANTH 3371/HONR 3304: |
Syllabus (subject to change) |
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Reading assignments listed by author's last name (and handouts, which will be found in the course Blackboard folder) 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 and email notices will be sent. 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 |
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Th Aug 25 |
Introduction to the course. Course policies, requirements, resources | |
T Aug 30 |
The discipline of archaeology: A survey of archaelogical method and theory. Importance of context. Dating. Preservation and inference | 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 |
Th Sept 1 |
Introduction to classical archaeology. Origins and development of the discipline. Distinctiveness of classical archaeology. | Whitley, ch. 1-3. Poopsheet: Material to be Mastered for Geography and Chronology Quiz. Browse the maps in the Maps file. |
T Sept 6 |
Greek geography, environment and natural resources. Chronology and chronography. The ancient Greek alphabet and its pronunciation | Whitley, ch. 4. Poopsheets: The Ancient Greek Alphabet; Some Ancient Greek Words; browse the maps in the Maps file |
Th Sept 8 |
Bronze Age I: Mycenaean origins. Discovery and early inerpretations.The Shaft Graves. Fortress architecture, palaces, royal burials. QUIZ: Geography, chronology and alphabet of ancient Greece | Biers, pp. 62-78 |
T Sept 13 |
Bronze Age II: Mycenaean major and minor arts. Ceramic technology and taxonomy. Warfare, trade and foreign relations. |
Biers, pp. 78-96 |
Th Sept 15 |
Bronze Age III: Writing.The Linear B script and its decipherment. What the tablets tell us about Mycenaean society. Sources for Mycenaean religion. Mycenaean history? |
Poopsheets: Some Linear B (Mycenaean Greek) Words; Titles in Linear B; Deities in Linear B |
T Sept 20 |
The end of the Mycenaean Empire and the Greek Dark Age | Whitley, ch. 5 |
Th Sept 22 |
Orientalizing: Greek expansion in the eastern Mediterranean | Whitley, ch. 6. Read the description of the centaur excavated at Volos in central Greece |
T Sept 27 |
EXAM NO. 1. Bring a Scantron Form 882-E and a no. 2 pencil to class. Neither Scantron forms nor pencils will be provided to you. |
Covering all lectures and readings, Aug. 25 through Sept. 22 |
Th Sept 29 |
Literacy regained. The Greek alphabet, a democratic invention: origin and evolution. Rupestral inscriptions, engraved pots, lawcodes. Impact of literacy
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Whitley, pp. 128-33. Review relevant poopsheets on Blackboard |
T Oct 4 |
The Greek Sanctuary I: Origins, functions, significance. Olympia and the Olympic Games | Whitley, ch. 7. Map of Greek sanctuaries in Maps file. Perseus tour of Olympia |
Th Oct 6 |
The Greek Sanctuary II: Temple architecture, form and function | Poopsheets: Doric and Ionic orders; Doric temple plan. Odyssey article on Greek temples |
T Oct 11 |
Civic institutions: The polis. The nature of Greek urbanism. Cities, city planning and city life. | Whitley, pp. 165-179. |
Th Oct 13 |
Overview of ArchaicGreek art. Narrative. Origin of monumental sculpture in stone. Kouroi and korai: Style and problems of interpretation | Whitley, ch. 9. Reed College page on kouroi |
T Oct 18 |
The Greek Sanctuary III: Delphi and the Delphic Oracle in art, legend and history. Geological investigations. Eleusis and the controversy of the Eleusinian Mysteries | |
Th Oct 20 |
Film: The Ancient Mariners (Odyssey series, 1981)
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none
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T Oct 25 |
The Greeks at War. Hoplites: citizen soldiers. Strategy and tactics. The Persian invasion and the battles of Marathon and Salamis. The ascendancy of Athens and the Athenian Empire
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Whitley, pp. 179-188. Online articles on the Battle of Marathon and the Battle of Salamis. Poopsheet: translation of the Themistokles Decree
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Th Oct 27 |
The economy of Archaic Greece. Invention and evolution of coinage. Amphoras and the wine trade in antiquity | Whitley, pp. 188-194. Peruse Barbara McManus's stunning photographs of ancient Greek coins (focusing on those of the 6th-4th centuries BCE) |
T Nov 1 |
EXAM NO. 2. Bring a Scantron Form 882-E and a no. 2 pencil to class. Neither Scantron forms nor pencils will be provided to you. |
Covering all lectures and readings, Sept. 29-Oct. 27 |
Th Nov 3 |
Introduction to classical art: Sculpture in the round and architecural reliefs. Vase painting | Whitley, ch. 11 |
T Nov 8 |
The Athenian Acropolis: Monuments, cults, history | Whitley, pp. 342-356 |
Th Nov 10 |
Archaeology of daily life: Houses and households. The Athenian Agora: Commercial life of the city. Stoas: form and function
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An Ancient Shopping Center: The Athenian Agora (entire) |
T Nov 15 |
Health, disease and medicine in ancient Greece. Asklepios and Epidauros. Diagnosing the Plague at Athens |
Asclepieion at Corinth (from Nancy Demand's website on ancient medicine) Poopsheet: Thucydides on the Plague in Athens. |
Th Nov 17 |
Technology in the classical period: Quarrying and building in stone; metalworking; ceramics; carpentry; weaving; timekeeping. The Antikythera Mechanism | |
T Nov 22 |
Death and burial in ancient Greece: Funerary ritual. Burial grounds. Grave monuments and sumptuary laws | Whitley, pp. 363-375; article on the Nekromanteion in Epiros |
Th Nov 24
| THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY |
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T Nov 29 |
Athens: The archaeology of democracy. Legislation, voting, trials and ostracism. The trial, imprisonment and execution of Socrates | The Athenian Citizen (entire). Whitley, pp. 329-341 and 356-375. Poopsheet: The Structure of Classical Athenian Democracy |
Th Dec 1 |
Beyond Athens: The ancient countryside. Farmsteads and villas. Olive cultivation, cereal agriculture and viticulture. Apiculture. Horses and horsemanship. Regional variety | Whitley, ch. 14 |
T Dec 6 |
The Greeks on the sea. Warships and cargo ships. Sailing and rowing. Nautical archaeology in the Mediterranean | Muses at work article |
Th Dec 8 |
Vergina and the Tomb of Philip II of Macedon. Philippian forensics. Alexander the Great and his world. The dawn of Hellenism | Whitley, ch 15; remains of Philip II?; re-reappraisal of the bones |
T B A |
FINAL EXAM. Bring a Scantron Form 882-E and a no. 2 pencil to class. Neither Scantron forms nor pencils will be provided to you. |
Cumulative, but emphasizing lectures and readings, Nov. 3-Dec. 8 |