History/Classics 204: Greek History
Fall 2022



Map of the world as described by the Greek historian Herodotus (ca 484–425 B.C.)

Instructor:

John Bauschatz
Time/Location: Tu/Th, 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m., Cesar Chavez 316
Contact Info:

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

OVERVIEW

History/Classics 204 traces the political, social, literary and cultural history of Greece over roughly 2500 years: from the time of the Minoans (ca 2700 B.C.) to the fall of the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt (30 B.C.). We will explore our subject primarily through the texts of Greek prose writers and poets, as well as modern historians; but we will also employ archaeological remains, artwork and other types of material culture to obtain a well-rounded view of the ancient Greek world.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

In this course, we will survey a wide range of (primarily) written sources to obtain a broad view of the history of the ancient Greek world. Among these sources are the following:

  • The epic poetry of Homer (Iliad, Odyssey) and Hesiod (Theogony, Works and Days)
  • The political treatises of Aristotle (The Constitution of the Athenians) and Xenophon (The Politeia of the Spartans)
  • Selections from the Greek lyric poets: Archilochus, Tyrtaeus, Alcman, Alcaeus, Sappho, Theognis and Solon
  • Selections from the Presocratic philosophers: Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Zeno, the Pythagoreans and Parmenides
  • The histories of Herodotus and Thucydides
  • The tragedies of Aeschylus (The Persians), Sophocles (Oedipus the King) and Euripides (Medea)
  • The comedies of Aristophanes (The Clouds)
  • The dialogues of Plato (Symposium, Apology, Crito)
  • The literature of the Hellenistic (selections from Theocritus, Callimachus and other poets) and Roman periods (Plutarch's Life of Alexander)

LEARNING OUTCOMES

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

  • Identify the major Greek cultural sites of the ancient Mediterranean.
  • List the eastern Mediterranean civilizations from whom the Greeks borrowed much of their culture and describe these civilizations in detail.
  • List ten or more Greek authors and provide detailed information about their lives and works.
  • Describe the characteristics of Greek poetry and prose and the motivations and agendas of the men and women who wrote it.
  • Describe the religion of the Greeks, drawing not only on mythology, but also on the ample evidence for temples, cults, religious festivals and athletic contests.
  • Compare and contrast the evidence for Greek civilization in the literature with that provided by art, architecture and other material culture.
  • Trace major developments in science, technology, political thought, religion and philosophy over our more than 2500-year period.

READINGS

The required text is as follows:

  • Thomas Martin. Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times. Second edition. Yale UP, 2013. (ISBN-10: 0300160054; ISBN-13: 978-0300160055)

This book is free to read online via the University of Arizona Library. If you would like to buy a hard copy, you may of course do so, but not at the UA Bookstore, since the book has NOT been ordered for this class.

There are also a number of additional readings for this course. These will be hyperlinked to this page or made available for download from the D2L site for HIST/CLAS 204 as pdf files: see the "Readings" area of the "Content" section.

GRADING

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

  • 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/CLAS 204. Absences are inevitable, so I will allow you to make up up to 3 classes' worth of missed time (plus participation). The only way to do this is 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 have them with you during class.

  • Quizzes (30%): There is a brief—20 minute, 15 questions—D2L quiz to complete (just about) every week on the readings and lectures from that week (15 quizzes total). Each quiz will be available to be taken on D2L until 11:59 p.m. on the Friday of the week in question. If you do the readings and pay attention during class lectures you should have no trouble doing well on the quizzes. Your lowest four quiz grades will be dropped.

  • 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 "Short Paper Topics" folder). The papers are to be submitted on D2L by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, September 22; Thursday, October 27; and Tuesday, December 13. 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 one week in advance of the due date(s) if you choose. ***In addition, you will have the option to revise either your first or your second paper for a better grade if you choose. Revised papers are due on D2L no later than 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, December 13. Please note: you may not submit a revised version of a paper if you never submitted an original.***

OTHER (IMPORTANT!) COURSE POLICIES: READ CAREFULLY

  • Office Hours: I will hold weekly office hours: Tu/F, 1–2 p.m. On Tuesdays, office hours are both via Zoom and in-person in my office; Fridays are Zoom only (join link on D2L). You are also welcome and encouraged to make an appointment to meet with me. Call, email or holler (though hollering isn't recommended).
  • Course Content: Course readings will regularly contain brutally violent, sexually graphic and/or otherwise potentially offensive material. I assume that all students enrolled in HIST/CLAS 204 are mature enough to handle such material and suggest that anyone easily offended by such material not take the course.
  • Honors Contracts: Students wishing to earn Honors in HIST/CLAS 204 must select their own topics for their short papers and have these topics pre-approved by the instructor. If you want to do an honors contract for HIST/CLAS 204, please be in touch with the Honors College about the required steps to sign up.
  • D2L: As mentioned above, students in HIST/CLAS 204 will be expected to be familiar with D2L ("Desire2Learn"), the University's online course content management system. Our use of D2L in HIST/CLAS 204 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 discussions, quizzes, paper submission 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 one week of the assignment due date, save for quiz grades, which are generated immediately. ***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.
  • Final Grades: 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 weekly writing workshops via Zoom. For the fall semester, workshops run on Mondays from noon–12:50 p.m. and Wednesdays from 10–10:50 a.m. Check it out!

VARIOUS UNIVERSITY POLICIES:

  • Accessibility and Accommodations: My goal in this classroom is that learning experiences be as accessible as possible. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability, please let me know immediately so that we can discuss options. You are also welcome to contact the Disability Resource Center (520-621-3268) to establish reasonable accommodations. For additional information on the Disability Resource Center and reasonable accommodations, please visit http://drc.arizona.edu.

  • Code of Academic Integrity: Students are encouraged to share intellectual views and discuss freely the principles and applications of course materials. However, graded work/ exercises must be the product of independent effort unless otherwise instructed. Students are expected to adhere to the UA Code of Academic Integrity as described in the UA General Catalog: http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/academic-integrity/students/academic-integrity.

  • Subject to Change Statement: Information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policy, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.

COURSE SCHEDULE

What follows is an outline of the fall 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 Tuesday Thursday Friday
1

8/23 (1) Introductions; Geography

READING (1): Martin, Ancient Greece (chapter 1, pp1–22)

8/25 (2) Minoans and Mycenaeans

READING (2): Martin, Ancient Greece (chapter 2, pp23–45)

8/26 D2L Quiz #1 (days 1 and 2)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #1 (by 11:59 p.m.)
2

8/30 (3) The Greek "Dark Ages"

READING (3): Martin, Ancient Greece (chapter 3, pp46–64)

9/1 (4) The World of Homer; Epic Poetry 

READING (4): Homer, Iliad 1 and Odyssey 9

9/2 D2L Quiz #2 (days 3 and 4)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #2 (by 11:59 p.m.)
3

9/6 (5) Epic Poetry; The World of Hesiod

READING (5): Hesiod, Theogony (D2L)

9/8 (6) The World of Hesiod; Troy

READING (6): Hesiod, Works and Days (D2L)

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

9/9 D2L Quiz #3 (days 5 and 6)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #3 (by 11:59 p.m.)
4

9/13 (7) Troy; Greece in the Eighth Century

READING (7): Martin, Ancient Greece (chapter 4, pp65–90)

 

9/15 (8) Greece in the Seventh Century 

READING (8): Martin, Ancient Greece (chapter 5, pp91–120)

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 11:59 P.M.: Short Paper #1 drafts (**not required**)

9/16 D2L Quiz #4 (days 7 and 8)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #4 (by 11:59 p.m.)

 
5

9/20 (9) Greek Lyric Poetry

READING (9): Selected fragments of Archilochus, Tyrtaeus, Alcman, Sappho, Alcaeus, Theognis and Solon (D2L; the other poets—and the explanatory notes at end—are optional)

9/22 (10) Greek Philosophy 

READING (10): Selected testimonia and fragments of the Presocratic Philosophers: The Milesians (pp11–20); Parmenides (pp56–66); Zeno (pp74–80); the Pythagoreans (pp95–114)

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 11:59 P.M.: Short Paper #1

9/23 D2L Quiz #5 (days 9 and 10)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #5 (by 11:59 p.m.)
6

9/27 (11) Sparta (and Xenophon)

READING (11): Xenophon, Constitution of the Spartans (D2L)

 

9/29 (12) Athens (and Aristotle)

READING (12): Aristotle, Constitution of the Athenians XLII–LXIX (D2L; pp183–207)

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

9/30 D2L Quiz #6 (days 11 and 12)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #6  (by 11:59 p.m.)
7

10/4 (13) Herodotus and the Persian Wars

READING (13): Herodotus, Histories book 1 (first half; D2L)

10/6 (14) Discussion: Herodotus

READING (14): Herodotus, Histories book 1 (second half; D2L)

10/7 D2L Quiz #7 (days 13 and 14)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #7  (by 11:59 p.m.)
8

10/11 (15) ***ADD***

READING (15): Martin, Ancient Greece (chapter 6, pp121–157)

10/13  (16) Classical Athens

READING (16): Martin, Ancient Greece (chapter 7, pp158–185)

10/14 D2L Quiz #8 (days 15 and 16)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #8 (by 11:59 p.m.)
9

10/18 (17) Greek Tragedy

READING (17): Aeschylus, Persians

10/20  (18) Greek Religion

READING (18): Sophocles, Oedipus the King

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 11:59 P.M.: Short Paper #2 drafts (**not required**)

10/21 D2L Quiz #9 (days 17 and 18)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #9 (by 11:59 p.m.)
10

10/25  (19) Women in Ancient Greece  

READING (19): Euripides, Medea

10/27 (20)  Discussion: Greek Tragedy

READING (20): Plato, Symposium

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 11:59 P.M.: Short Paper #2

10/28 D2L Quiz #10 (days 19 and 20)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #10 (by 11:59 p.m.)
11

11/1 (21) Greek Sexuality

READING (21): Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian Wars book 1 (first half; D2L)

11/3 (22) Thucydides and the Peloponnesian Wars

READING (22): Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian Wars book 1 (second half; D2L)

11/4 D2L Quiz #11 (days 21 and 22)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #11 (by 11:59 p.m.)
12

11/8 (23) Discussion: Thucydides

READING (23): Martin, Ancient Greece (chapter 8, pp186–220)

11/10 (24) Greece in the 4th Century

READING (24): Martin, Ancient Greece (chapter 9, pp221–252)

11/11 D2L Quiz #12 (days 23 and 24)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #12 (by 11:59 p.m.)
13

11/15  (25) Crime and Punishment

READING (25): Lysias 1 and 3; Antiphon 1 (D2L); Demosthenes 54 (D2L)

11/17 (26) The Trial of the (4th) Century

READING (26): Plato, Apology and Crito

11/18 D2L Quiz #13 (days 25 and 26)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #13 (by 11:59 p.m.)
14

11/22 (27) Greek Comedy

READING (27): Aristophanes, Clouds

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

11/24 No class: Thanksgiving

11/25  No D2L Quiz
15

11/29 (28) Alexander the Great

READING (28): Plutarch, Life of Alexander (D2L)

 12/1 (29) The Hellenistic Period

READING (29): Martin, Ancient Greece (chapter 10 and Epilogue, pp253–282)

12/2 D2L Quiz #14 (days 27 and 28)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #14 (by 11:59 p.m.)
16

12/6 (30) Hellenistic Literature

READING (30): Selections from Theocritus (Idylls 1, 2, 11 and 15), Callimachus (Hymn 5, epigrams), Antipater of Sidon, Anyte, Crinagoras, Philodemus and Rufinus, plus a technopaignion, "Wings" (D2L)

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 11:59 P.M.: Short Paper #3 drafts (**not required**)

12/8 No class: reading day

12/9 D2L Quiz 15 (days 29 and 30)

COMPLETE (D2L): D2L Quiz #15 (by 11:59 p.m.)

 
17

12/13 No class: final exams

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 11:59 P.M.: Short Paper #3

SUBMIT (D2L) BY 11:59 P.M.: Short Paper #1 OR #2 revision (**not required**)

12/15 No class: final exams

 12/16 No class: semester over

U of A | Bauschatz