History 203: Crime and Punishment in the Ancient World (Spring 2019)



(ABOVE: Jacques-Louis David, "The Death of Socrates," 1787)


Instructor:

John Bauschatz

Time/Location:

M/W, 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m., Koffler 216

Contact Info:

Office: Cesar Chavez 410
Phone: (520) 621-7422 (office)
email: jbausch1@email.arizona.edu


OVERVIEW

This course explores the history of criminal justice systems in the ancient Mediterranean through close examination of select primary sources. Its primary focus is Greece and Rome, but it will also cover Pharaonic Egypt and the Ancient Near East. We shall move chronologically, geographically, and topically, treating a broad range of literary and archaeological evidence. Of central importance to the course will be the issue of boundaries: between right and wrong, imprisonment and freedom, individual and state. Law codes from Mesopotamia, tomb robbery in the Egyptian New Kingdom, the trial and execution of Socrates, police in the streets of Rome, execution by gladiator, spiritual and allegorical punishment: the course encompasses it all!


GOALS

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  • Describe the ancient Mediterranean conception(s) of right, wrong, law, justice, crime and punishment.
  • Explain how attitudes towards these same conceptions changed over time and across cultures.
  • List a number of ancient authors whose works touch on the issues of crime and punishment and discuss their works.
  • Compare and contrast law codes from a variety of ancient Mediterranean civilizations.
  • Highlight how religious beliefs and personal values impacted law and order in the ancient world.

PREREQUISITES

None.


READINGS

The readings for this course will include selections from a number of texts which concern crime and punishment in the ancient world in one way or another: among these inscriptions from ancient Mesopotamia (Hammurabi's Code) and Egypt (The Harem Conspiracy and Tomb Robberies); classics of Greco-Roman literature, both prose (Plato's Apology, the speeches of Lysias and Demosthenes) and poetry (Sophocles' Oedipus the King; Hesiod's Works and Days); Roman law codes (the Codex Theodisianus); the autobiography of an emperor (the Res Gestae of Augustus) as well as letters written to one (Pliny's Letters, book 10); and even accounts of trips to hell (Virgil's Aeneid; Dante's Inferno). The full list of readings appears below (see the Course Schedule).

There is one required text for this course:

  • John Bauschatz, ed. Crime and Punishment in the Ancient World. Second edition. Cognella, 2017.

This is a sourcebook of primary readings for HIST 203 available exclusively from Cognella/University Readers. ***Students must order this text directly from the publisher at the following url: https://store.cognella.com.*** I have a hard copy of the text available in my office for student use during my office hours (see below) on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Any additional reading assignments for the course will be posted pn the course D2L site. Many (most?) of the readings will be in .pdf format. To view/download them, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download available here).


GRADING

Grading for the course will be based on the following breakdown:

  • In-Class Attendance (10%): How often you come to class. If you come to all 30 class sessions on time and stay until the end, you will get a perfect attendance grade for HIST 203. Late arrivals and early departures will cause you to lose (some) points. Absences are inevitable, so I will allow you to make up up to 3 classes' worth of missed time. The only way to do this is a 1/1 time trade: i.e., you'll spend however many hours you missed—up to three—doing extra course-related work. If you would like to make up an absence for a given class, please let me know.

  • In-Class Participation (30%): The quality and quantity of your participation in class discussions. I expect you to actively engage in class discussions. If you do not, your grade will suffer. Your grade for in-class participation starts at zero and will increase over the course of the semester—based on how well you do—up to a maximum of 60 (which, over 30 class sessions, averages out to 2 points per session), which will be considered perfect participation (100%). Keep track of your in-class participation score on D2L regularly. To help you organize your thoughts, I will often post reading questions on D2L in advance of each class to give you a sense of what to watch out for in each reading. It is not required that you read and respond to these (or even look at them!), but you should feel free to write out responses to the questions and bring them with you to class.

  • Quizzes (30%): There is a brief (15 minute) D2L quiz to complete each week on the readings from that week (15 quizzes total). Each quiz will be available to be taken on D2L until 5:00 p.m. on the Friday of the week in question. If you do the readings you should have no trouble doing well on the quizzes. Your lowest three quiz grades will be dropped. **Please note: the first quiz is over the syllabus only.**

  • Short Papers (30% [10% each]): Three papers of between 750 and 1000 words in length based on course readings will be assigned. These are meant to be exercises in analytical thinking and should not require any additional research or reading (though you are certainly welcome to do additional work, if you like!). The topics for each paper are posted on D2L (in the "Content" section, in the "Short Paper Topics" folder). The papers are to be submitted online (on D2L, via the Dropbox feature) and are due on D2L at 5 p.m. on Monday, February 11; Monday, March 18; and Wednesday, May 8. Late papers will lose one letter grade for each day late (Saturdays and Sundays included). You have the option to hand in drafts of your papers in advance if you choose. Drafts are due (on D2L, via the Dropbox feature) no later than one week in advance of the due date for each paper. ***In addition, you will have the option to revise either your first or your second paper for a better grade if you choose. If you would like to do this, please let me know and we can discuss what you need to do to improve your essay. Revised papers are due (in the appropriate Dropbox folder for revisions) no later than two weeks after the original grades for the paper in question are posted. Please note: you may not submit a revised version of a paper if you never submitted an original.***


OFFICE HOURS AND OTHER STUFF

OFFICE HOURS: My office hours for the spring semester are Mondays, 12:30–1:30 p.m. and Wednesdays, 1:30–2:30 p.m. in my office (Chavez 410). You are also welcome and encouraged to make an appointment to meet with me. Call, email or holler.

D2L: As mentioned above, students in HIST 203 will be expected to be familiar with D2L ("Desire2Learn"), the University's online course content management system. Our use of D2L in HIST 203 will be extensive: we will use D2L not only as a repository for course documents (additional readings, course handouts, etc.) and as a place to post grades, but also for quizzes and email updates about the course. If you are unfamiliar with D2L, see the D2L help homepage.

Grades: Grades will be entered on D2L within two weeks of the assignment due date or quiz administration date. ***It is your responsibility to keep track of your grades over the course of the semester. You have one week from the date of a posted grade to appeal it. After that, the assumption is that you have seen the grade and are OK with it.*** Grades for assignments turned in after posted due dates—and without documented excuses for the lateness—are only awarded at the discretion of the professor. At the very least, late assignments will lose one letter grade (= 10 points off of the overall grade for the assignment) for every day they are late. Assignments that are five or more days late will receive no grade.

Honors Contracts: Students wishing to earn Honors in HIST 203 must select their own topics for their short papers and have these topics pre-approved by the instructor.

Students with disabilities should contact the UA Disability Resource Center (520 621-3268) for any special needs or accommodations.

Surprise! Cheating is not allowed. If you cheat, and I find out, you will receive a grade of 0 for the assignment and other bad things will happen. (See the U of A's code of academic integrity.)

Paper Grading: The following rubric will be used to compile your grades on papers in HIST 203 (with thanks to Jennifer Kendall!):

Category & Description Max Points

1.) Paper Mechanics

15 points: The essay adheres to all of the mechanical requirements (formatting, length, margins, proper citations and following any specific instructions for content in the paper assignment).

10 points: The essay has one or two mechanical errors.

5 points: The essay has numerous mechanical errors.

0 points: The essay has numerous mechanical errors and/or is less than the required length.

15

B.) Grammar/Spelling/Composition

15 points: No / almost no spelling, grammar, punctuation or other compositional errors are present. The essay clearly appears to have been proofread and edited.

10 points: There are a few grammar, spelling, punctuation or other compositional errors but the essay appears to have been proofread and edited.

5 points: There are many grammar, spelling, punctuation or other compositional errors present.

0 points: Numerous errors make the essay difficult to read and/or excessively long quotations or paraphrases are used.

15

C.) Content

70 points: The depth of analysis greatly exceeds expectations, details are many and organization is excellent.

55 points: The depth of analysis is good, as are details and organization, and minimum expectations are exceeded.

40 points: The essay is basic with an adequate analysis.

25 points: The essay is poor all around, but there is at least an attempt to follow directions.

10 points: The essay is poor all around, and there is little to no evidence that the author followed instructions. But at least he/she handed something in!

70
Total Possible Points:
100

Final Grades: For the final grade, the following breakdown will be used:

A+ = 98–100 A = 93–97 A- = 90–92
B+ = 88–89 B = 83–87 B- = 80–82
C+ = 78–79 C = 73–77 C- = 70–72
D+ = 68–69 D = 63–67 D- = 60–62
F+ = 58–59 F = 53–57 F- = 0–52

Final grades ending in .5 or higher will be rounded up; those ending in .49 or lower will be rounded down. ***There are NO exceptions to this policy.***

If you would like help with your writing, the University’s Writing Skills Improvement Program (http://wsip.arizona.edu) may be a valuable resource. The Program offers professional individual tutoring in writing for students, as well as biweekly writing workshops. These are free and open to UA students, but you do need to register with the program. This semester, the workshops will be held on Mondays from 2–2:50 p.m. and Wednesdays from 10–10:50 a.m. in Geronimo 216.


COURSE SCHEDULE

What follows is an outline of the spring semester. Reading assignments are due on the dates specified. For a typical class you'll do a reading and we'll discuss it, generally after I present on a subject connected to the material. I will sometimes (often?) supply you in advance with a list of reading questions to keep in mind while you're doing the reading. Read them and think about them! These questions will help direct our class discussions.

Check this page often. Readings and assignments are subject to change. I'll try to give a heads-up in class if a major shake-up is imminent. I'll also try to provide you with the readings at least one week in advance.


Week Monday Wednesday Friday
1 1/7 no class: Winter Break

1/9 (1) Ancient Mesopotamian Society

READ (D2L): Samuel Greengus, "Legal and Social Institutions of Ancient Mesopotamia" (pp469–484 of J.M. Sasson, ed., Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. 1 [New York, 1995])

SEE: map of the "Fertile Crescent," a.k.a. Mesopotamia

1/11 D2L Quiz #1 (*on the syllabus*)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #1 (by 5:00 p.m.)

2 1/14 (2) Hammurabi's Laws

READ (D2L): Introduction to Hammurabi's Laws; (Bauschatz): Hammurabi's Laws (pp1–28)

SEE: Hammurabi's Laws, on a giant stone finger and on a clay tablet

1/16 (3) Ancient Egyptian Society

READ (D2L): David Lorton, "Legal and Social Institutions of Pharaonic Egypt" (pp345–362 of J.M. Sasson, ed., Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. 1 [New York, 1995])

SEE: map of ancient Egypt

1/18 D2L Quiz #2 (readings 2 and 3)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #2 (by 5:00 p.m.)

3

1/21 no class: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

 

 

1/23 (4) Egyptian Officials

READ (Bauschatz): the Instruction Addressed to King Merikare (pp29–44); information on the vizier Rekhmire; (Bauschatz): the Regulation Laid Upon the Vizier Rekhmire (pp45–55)

SEE: the Vizier Kagemni, 24th century B.C.

1/25 D2L Quiz #3 (reading 4)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #3 (by 5:00 p.m.)

4

1/28 (5) Crime and Punishment (Mostly Punishment)

READ: information on ancient papyri from Egypt; info on the Judicial Turin Papyrus and P.Leopold II-Amherst; (Bauschatz): the Judicial Turin Papyrus (pp57–69); P.Leopold II-Amherst (pp71–74)

SEE: P. Leopold II-Amherst

*You are now able to write short paper #1*

1/30 (6) The Eloquent Peasant

READ: basic info on The Eloquent Peasant; (Bauschatz): The Eloquent Peasant (pp75–92)

SEE: a papyrus containing The Eloquent Peasant

 

2/1 D2L Quiz #4 (readings 5 and 6)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #4 (by 5:00 p.m.)

 

5

2/4 (7) Ancient Greece: History, Law, Society; Short Paper #1 drafts

READ: history of ancient Greece (read sections a–h); (D2L): Douglas MacDowell, "Greek Law" (pp589–606 of M. Grant and R. Kitzinger, eds., Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome, vol. 1 [New York, 1988])

SEE: map of ancient Greece (Crete is at the bottom of the page; Athens and Sparta are northwest of the island); the Gortyn Law Code (a section)

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 5 P.M.: Short Paper #1 drafts (**not required**)

2/6 (8) This Is Sparta!

READ: basic info on Xenophon; (Bauschatz): Xenophon, Constitution of the Spartans (pp93–107)

 

2/8 D2L Quiz #5 (readings 7 and 8)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #5 (by 5:00 p.m.)

6

2/11 (9) Poetic Justice (1): Hesiod's Theogony; *Short Paper #1*

READ: basic info on Hesiod; (Bauschatz): Hesiod, Theogony (pp109–152)

SEE: chart showing genealogy of Greek gods in the Theogony; chart of major Greek (and Roman) gods and their domains

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 5 P.M.: Short Paper #1

2/13 (10) Poetic Justice (2): Hesiod's Works and Days

READ (Bauschatz): Hesiod, Works and Days (pp153–183)

 

2/15 D2L Quiz #6 (readings 9 and 10)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #6 (by 5:00 p.m.)

7

2/18 (11) Athenian Trials (1)

READ (D2L): basic info on trials at Athens (CareyIntroduction.pdf); basic info on Lysias; (Bauschatz): Lysias 1, On the Murder of Eratosthenes (pp185–192)

SEE: map of ancient Athens (with some buildings labeled); Greek water clocks (used to time court speeches); ballot disks (used to determine verdicts in Athenian courts)

2/20 (12) Athenian Trials (2)

READ: basic info on Antiphon; (Bauschatz): Antiphon 1, Accusation of Poisoning against the Stepmother (pp193–198); basic info on Demosthenes; (Bauschatz): Demosthenes 54, Against Conon for Battery (pp199–209)

 

2/22 D2L Quiz #7 (readings 11 and 12)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #7 (by 5:00 p.m.)

8

2/25 (13) The Trial of the Century (1): Plato, Apology

READ: basic info on Plato and Socrates; (Bauschatz): Plato, Apology of Socrates (pp211–240)

SEE: Socrates; Plato

*You are now able to write short paper #2*

2/27 (14) The Trial of the Century (2): Plato, Crito

READ (Bauschatz): Plato, Crito (pp241–253)

SEE: Jacques-Louis David, "The Death of Socrates," 1787 (top of page)

 

3/1 D2L Quiz #8 (readings 13 and 14)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #8 (by 5:00 p.m.)

 

3/4 no class: spring recess

3/6 no class: spring recess

3/8 no class: spring recess

9

3/11 (15) Divine Punishment: Sophocles, Oedipus the King (1); Short Paper #2 drafts

READ: basic info on Sophocles and ancient Thebes; (Bauschatz): Sophocles, Oedipus the King (pp255–285 [line 633])

SEE: diagram of a Greek theater; Greek theater, Epidaurus; tragic mask

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 5 P.M.: Short Paper #2 drafts (**not required**)

3/13 (16) Divine Punishment: Sophocles, Oedipus the King (2)

READ (Bauschatz): Sophocles, Oedipus the King (pp285–326)

SEE: cup featuring Oedipus and the Sphynx

 

3/15 D2L Quiz #9 (readings 15 and 16)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #9 (by 5:00 p.m.)

 

10

3/18 (17) Crime and Punishment in Ptolemaic Egypt (1); *Short Paper #2; Short Paper #1 rewrites*

READ: basic info on the Hellenistic period and the Ptolemies; (Bauschatz): Ptolemaic papyri on policing (A) (pp327–340)

SEE: map of Ptolemaic Egypt (Egypt from 323–30 B.C.)

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 5 P.M.: Short Paper #2; Short Paper #1 rewrites (**not required**)

3/20 (18) Crime and Punishment in Ptolemaic Egypt (2)

READ (Bauschatz): Ptolemaic papyri on policing (B) (pp341–354)

SEE: draft of a petition in Greek to an official (P.Coll.Youtie I 16)

 

3/22 D2L Quiz #10 (readings 17 and 18)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #10 (by 5:00 p.m.)

11

3/25 (19) Roman Society

READ: basic info on Roman history here (early), here (later), here (the time of Julius Caesar) and here (the lives of average citizens)

SEE: map of the Roman empire (note how small it was ca 500 B.C.!); map of ancient Italy

3/27 (20) Augustus and the Res Gestae

READ: basic info on the emperor Augustus; (Bauschatz): The Deeds of the Divine Augustus (pp365–373)

SEE: the Prima Porta statue of Augustus

3/29 D2L Quiz #11 (readings 19 and 20)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #11 (by 5:00 p.m.)

12

4/1 (21) Roman Law

READ (D2L): Alan Watson, "Roman Law" (pp607–629 of M. Grant and R. Kitzinger, eds., Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome, vol. 1 [New York, 1988]); (Bauschatz): the Twelve Tabes (pp355–363)

 

4/3 (22) Pliny and Trajan

READ: info on Pliny the Younger and the emperor Trajan; (Bauschatz): Pliny, Epistles, book 10 (X) (pp375–404): Letters 19–20, 29–34, 56–60, 65–66, 79–80, 96–97

SEE: map of the Roman empire under Trajan (ruled A.D.98–117); Trajan's Column, Rome; Column, detail; map of the Roman province of Bithynia and Pontus (in dark red); Pliny the Younger, statue

4/5 D2L Quiz #12 (readings 21 and 22)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #12 (by 5:00 p.m.)

13

4/8 (23) Spectacle and Death (1)

READ: info on Roman gladiators; (D2L): Chapters 1–3 (pp1–15) of E. Clark, "Capital Punishment in Ancient Rome" (Honors Thesis, Classics, Xavier University, 2005)

SEE: some types of gladiators; Pollice Verso, 1872 painting by Jean-Leon Gerôme

4/10 (24) Spectacle and Death (2)

READ: info on Tertullian; (Bauschatz): Tertullian, On the Spectacles (pp405–430)

SEE: scenes from the Zliten Mosaic (Libya, 2nd century A.D.) illustrating Roman gladiator types, executions of criminals and musicians

4/12 D2L Quiz #13 (readings 23 and 24)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #13 (by 5:00 p.m.)

14

4/15 (25) Highway Robbery; Short Paper #2 rewrites

READ: biography of Apuleius; Apuleius, The Golden Ass, summary and analysis of books 1–3; (Bauschatz): Golden Ass 4.1–27, 6.25–32 and 7.1–13 (pp431–452)

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 5 P.M.: Short Paper #2 rewrites (**not required**)

4/17 (26) Religious Frauds

READ: biography of Lucian; (Bauschatz): Lucian, Alexander the Quack Prophet (pp453–472); more information on Glykon

SEE: Glykon the snake-god: statue 1; statue 2; coin; map of Abonouteichos (top center of map), the city in Bithynia where Alexander the Quack Prophet takes place

4/19 D2L Quiz #14 (readings 25 and 26)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #14 (by 5:00 p.m.)

 

15

4/22 (27) The Theodosian Code (1)

READ: basic info on late antiquity and the Theodosian Code(Bauschatz): Theodosian Code, Book 9, Titles 2–7 (pp473–484)

SEE: map of the Roman Empire in the 5th century A.D. (notice the two halves)

4/24 (28) The Theodosian Code (2)

READ (Bauschatz): Theodosian Code, Book 9, Titles 8–17 (pp484–499)

SEE: bust and coin of Roman emperor Theodosius II (ruled 408–450 A.D.)

*You are now able to write short paper #3*

4/26 D2L Quiz #15 (readings 27 and 28)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #15 (by 5:00 p.m.)

 

16 4/29 (29) Virgil's Hell

READ: basic info on Virgil and the Aeneid; summary of the Aeneid, books 1–5; (Bauschatz): Virgil, Aeneid, book 6 (pp501–533)

SEE: statue of Aeneas carrying Anchises and leading Iulus from Troy; Jan Brueghel the Younger (1601–1678), Aeneas and the Sibyl in the Underworld

5/1 (30) Dante's Hell; Short Paper #3 drafts

READ: Dante, short biography; Inferno: summary; (Bauschatz): Inferno, Cantos i–v (pp535–562)

SEE: map of Italy in Dante's time; map of hell in the Inferno 1; map 2 (by Botticelli - and interactive!); Inferno manuscript from the 14th century illustrating the ninth circle

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 5 P.M.: Short Paper #3 drafts (**not required**)

5/3 no class: final exams

17 5/6 no class: final exams

5/8 no class: final exams; *Short Paper #3*

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 5 P.M.: Short Paper #3

5/10 no class: semester over

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