Guided Studies 219
The Classical Tradition
Fall 2000
Meeting times: WF 1.15-2.30 pm Meeting Place: McCook 213
Office hours: W 9.30-11.30, or by appointment
Phobe: 297-2393
Webpage: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~greger/index.html
Email: gary.reger@mail.trincoll.edu
TA: Leslie Magraw. She will be setting office hours and providing a phone number at the start of the semester.
Theme. There is no more central experience to the Western tradition than
imperialism. This course explores the development of three ancient empires: the Persian,
the Athenian, and the Roman, and the ways that the imperial experience was reflected in
politics, literature, and art.
Format of Class and Assignments
Format. Each week's discussion will revolve around a main text or texts read
by everyone in the class. Selected students will present papers related to the text(s)
(further below). In addition, everyone is required to read something from the
supplementary readings in each of the categories indicated for that week.
Discussion. Every student is expected to make at least one thoughtful
contribution to every class discussion. So be prepared.
Reading. You will be responsible for two sets of readings: (1) The assigned
readings (listed in the syllabus below under each meeting) must be read by all
students each week. These readings should be completed before class; you will need to
think about them and be prepared to discuss them. (2) Supplementary readings are listed in
the list of Supplementary Readings at the end of the syllabus. Unless marked with an (R),
these readings are on the open shelves. Be sensitive to the needs of others: do not
check these books out; put them back in their proper homes on the shelves when you are
done with them. Every student will be required to do supplemental readings from
three (3) out of the nine (9) weekly supplementary lists. You may choose what to read, but you must
read in total one books and at least two articles (totaling at least 40 pages) from these
lists. You are assigned to the lists below..
Reading journals. Everyone will keep a journal of reading which will be
checked on a biweekly basis. These journals should indicate at a minimum: (1) what you
read from the Supplementary Reading List; (2) what the argument of those readings was; and
(3) your reaction to that argument.
Some advice on reading. The reading for this course is very heavy. Unless you
tackle it on a regular basis, you will fall behind, and you will find it difficult to
catch up. It is for this reason that there is no assigned reading for the first week and a
half of the course: you are urged to use that time to start to get ahead in your reading.
Student-run discussions. At the end of each of the first three Parts of the
course, one class will be devoted to a general discussion of all the material read in that
session run by a panel of students. Roughly speaking, one-third of the class will
be assigned to each panel. The panel's duties include: posing a set of questions around
the topic of the session; getting those questions to the class at least one class meeting
ahead of time; promoting discussion by asking additional questions, challenging student
responses, etc.; seeing to it that all issues are covered. You are welcome to experiment
with debates and other innovative formats. Panel groups will meet with me a week
or so ahead of time to discuss their plans. Each panel should select a chair to arrange
meetings, etc. Panels and listed below; a sign-up sheet will be circulated early
in the semester..
Position papers. Every student must write two (2) position papers of 3-4 pp. in the course of the semester. These papers will treat issues in the readings and will be due the class on whose readings they comment. A sign-up sheet will be circulated early in the semester.
Research paper. Every student will do a research paper on a topic developed in
consultation with me. Papers should be roughly 10-12 pages (double-spaced, with margins no
greater than one inch), i.e., about 3500 words, and must include footnotes and a
bibliography. The research must be focused on primary source material (i.e., material
originally produced in antiquity) which is interpreted with engagement in the secondary
scholarly literature, which must include at least three (3) articles in scholarly
journals. The paper must make an argument; it cannot be simply a narrative or a
literature review. Further details will be forthcoming. For a list of papers,
click here.
The paper will be developed on the following schedule:
1. Meet with me to decide on a topic by no later than Friday, October
6.
2. Turn in a thesis statement of roughly 2 pp. and a bibliography of primary
and secondary sources, the latter of which must include at least three (3) articles from scholarly journals, on Wednesday, October
11.
3. Draft due to the TA by November 10. She will read, comment, and return the draft by November 17.
4. Give an oral presentation of your work on November 29
or December 1 or 6 (time to
be determined by enrollment).
5. Turn in completed final draft on Friday, December 8.
Readings
Books Available in the Bookstore
Aeschylus, The Persians, ed. and tr. Janet Lembke and C. J. Herington (Oxford 1981).
Aristophanes, Four Comedies, ed. William Arrowsmith (Ann Arbor 1969).
Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti. The Achievements of the Divine Augustus, ed. P.A. Brunt and J.M. Moore (Oxford 1967).
Euripides, After the Trojan War. Three Plays, tr. Kenneth McLeish (Reading 1995).
Herodotus, The Histories, tr. Aubrey de Selincourt (Harmondsworth 1996).
Isocrates, Panegyricus and To Nicocles, ed. and tr. S. Usher, Greek Orators 3 (Warminster 1990).
Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire, tr. Ian Scott-Kilvest (Harmondsworth 1979).
Robin F. Rhodes, Architecture and Meaning on the Athenian Acropolis (Cambridge 1995).
Vergil, The Aeneid, tr. Robert Fitzgerald (New York 1984).
Donald N. Wilber, Persepolis. The Archaeology of Parsa, Seat of the Persian kings2
(Princeton 1989)
In addition, a xeroxed reader with additional required readings is available for
purchase from Gigi St. Peter (x2397) in the History Department office in Seabury Hall.
Required Reading on Reserve in the Library
Diane G. Favro, The Urban Image of Augustan Rome (Cambridge 1996).
Schedule
September 6, W: Introduction
September 8, F: What is imperialism?
September 13, W: Library orientation
September 15, F: Herodotus on Persia
Reading: Herodotus 3.61-97 (pp. 178-193), 3.118-160 (pp. 199-216), 5.1-6.140 (pp.
281-371), 7.1-9.89 (pp. 372-531)
September 20, W: Achaemenid royal inscriptions
Reading: Reading Packet Chapter I, pp. 3-10 (Diana Huffman, Virginia Paynter,
Adrian Kudler)
September 22, F: Constructing an Imperial Capital I: Parsa (Persepolis)
Reading: Donald Wilbur, Persepolis (Joe Stramondo, Nicole Riendeau)
September 27, W: Aeschylus, The Persians
Reading: Aeschylus, The Persians (Brianne Tangney, Kristi Sawyer)
September 29, F: Student-run discussion I: Persia
Part II: Athens
October 4, W: Herodotos and Thucydides on the Athenian empire. Meet with
me this week about paper topics.
Reading: Herodotos 9.90-122 (pp. 531-543); Reading Packet Chapter II, pp. 12-23
(Leah Culver, John McCormick, Jim Nadzieja, Adrian Kudler)
October 6, F: Athenian inscriptions I: Reading an inscription
Reading: Reading Packet Chapter III, pp. 25-26
October 10: Trip to New York City
October 11, W: Athenian inscriptions II: Sources for empire. Thesis statement
due today.
Reading: Reading Packet Chapter IV, pp. 28-40 (David Porter, Brian Colles, C.
Potts)
October 13, F: Constructing an Imperial Capital II: The Athenian Acropolis
Reading: Robin Rhodes, Architecture and Meaning on the Athenian Acropolis (Andrew
Venezia, Rachel Unkovic, John McCormick, Nate Baker, Adam Tewell)
October 18, W: Euripides, Women of Troy
Reading: Euripides, Women of Troy (Brianne Tangney,
Meryl Mazepa, Laura Sanders, Genevieve Light, Alexandra Fergusson)
October 20, F: Aristophanes, Acharnians
Reading: Aristophanes, Acharnians (Hilary Evans, Jake
Schneider, Kirk Quinsland, Laura Gassman)
October 25, W: Isokrates
Reading: Isokrates, Panegyricus (Kristi Sawyer,
Cordelia Frewen, Andy Morrison, Ginny Paynter, Nicole Riendeau)
October 27, F: Student-run discussion II: Athens
Part III: Rome
November 1, W: Polybius
Reading: Polybius, pp. 41-51 (1.1-10), 112-123 (2.2-12), 124-147 (2.14-35), 178-183
(3.1-5), 302-352 (6.2-58) (Laura Gassman, Brian Coll , Jim
Nadzieja, Nick Kovalevich)
November 3, F: Vergil, The Aeneid
Reading: Vergil, The Aeneid (Andrew Venezia, Meryl
Mazepa, Jon Torodash, Leah Culver, Adam Tewell)
November 8, W: Res Gestae
Reading: Res Gestae (Diana Huffman, Genevieve Light,
Jake Schneider, Laura Sanders, C. Potts)
November 10, F: Constructing an Imperial Capital III: Rome. Rough draft of
paper due to TA.
Reading: Diane Favro, The Urban Image of Augustan Rome (R) (Rachel
Unkovic, Hilary Evans, Cordelia Frewen, Nate Baker, David Porter, Andrew Morrison)
November 18, W: Student-run discussion III: Rome
Part IV: A Literature of National Resistance?
November 17, F: Maccabbees
Reading: Reading Packet Chapter V, pp. 42-77 (Jon Torodash,
Alexandra Fergusson, lNick Kovalevich, Kirk Quinsland, Joe Stamondo)
November 22-24, W and F: No classes, Thanksgiving vacation
Part V: Student Research Project Presentations
November 29, W Final Presentations, I:
December 1, F: Final Presentations, II
December 6, W: Final Presentations, III
December 8, F: Last class. Research papers due.
Supplementary Reading Lists
By Week and Session
1. Weeks of September 15 and 20-22
September 15, 20, and 22: Herodotos on Persia, the royal inscriptions, and the Persian
imperial capital
Pierre Briant, L'Histoire de l'empire perse e Cyre à Alexandre (Paris 1996).
W. Kendrick Pritchett, The Liar School of Herodotos (Amsterdam 1993).
Walter Burkert et al., Herodote et les peuples non grecs. Neuf exposes suivi de discussions (Geneve 1990). Includes essays in English.
Donald Lateiner, The Historical Method of Herodotus (Toronto 1989).
Roland G. Kent, Old Persian. Grammar, Texts, Lexicon (New Haven 1950).
Jack Martin Balcer, Sparda by the Bitter Sea (Chico 1984).
A. Kuhrt, "Persia. How to Run a Great Empire," Omnibus 25 (January 1993) 15-19 (R).
R. Kulesza, "Persian Deportations -- Greeks in Persia," Eos 82 (1994) 221-250. (R)
Mortimer Wheeler, Flames over Persepolis (New York 1968).
N. Cahill, "The Treasury at Persepolis. Gift-giving at the City of the
Persians," American Journal of Archaeology 89 (1985) 373-389.
2. Week of September 27
September 27: Aeschylus, The Persians
J. Barrett, "Narrative and the Messenger in Aeschylus' Persians," American Journal of Philology 116 (1995) 539-557.
A.F. Garvie and Ann N. Michelini, Tradition and Dramatic Form in the Persians of Aeschylus (Cincinnati 1982).
William G. Thalmann, "Xerxes' Rags: Some Problems in Aeschylus' Persians," American Journal of Philology (1980) 260-282.
S.D. Goldhill, "Battle Narrative and Politics in Aeschylus' Persae," Journal of Hellenic Studies 108 (1988) 189-193.
Christopher Pelling, "Aeschylus' Persae and History," in Greek Tragedy and the Historian, ed. Christopher Pelling (Oxford 1997) 1-19.
D.S. Schenker, "The Queen and the Chorus in Aeschylus' Persae," Phoenix 48 (1994)
283-293.
Harold B. Mattingly, "Athens and Persia: Two Key Documents," Philologus
119 (1975) 48-56.
3. Week of October 4
October 4: Herodotos and Thucydides on the Athenian Empire
Lisa Kallet-Marx, Money, Expense and Naval Power in Thucydides' History (Berkeley
1993).
Lisa Kallet-Marx, "The Kallias Decree, Thucydides, and the Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War," Classical Quarterly 39 (1989) 94-113
Russell Meiggs, The Athenian Empire (Oxford 1972).
Michael G. Seaman, "The Athenian Expedition to Melos in 416," Historia 46 (1997) 385-418.
Jack Martin Balcer, "Imperial Magistrates in the Athenian Empire," Historia 25 (1976) 257-287.
Lisa Kallet-Marx, "Money Talks: Rhetor, Demos, and the Resources of the Athenian Empire," in Ritual, Finance, Politics. Athenian Democratic Accounts presented to David Lewis, eds. Robin Osborne and Simon Hornblower. (Oxford 1994) 227-251.
Jacqueline de Romilly, "Thucydides and the Cities of the Athenian Empire," Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies of the University of London 13 (1966) 1-12. (R)
G.E.M. de Ste Croix, "The Character of the Athenian Empire," Historia 3 (1954/55) 1-41.
H.A. Shapiro, "Athena, Apollo, and the religious propaganda of the Athenian empire," in Religion and power in the ancient Greek world. Proceedings of the Uppsala symposium
1993, eds. Pontus Hellström and Brita Alroth (Uppsala 1996) 101-113.
Richard I. Winton, "Thucydides 1, 97, 2: The 'arche of Athenians' and the 'Athenian Empire,'" Museum Helveticum 38 (1981) 147-152. (R)
C.H. Wilson, "Thukydides, Isocrates, and the Athenian Empire," Greece and Rome 13 (1966) 54-63.
Jack Martin Balcer, "Separatism and Anti-Seperatism in the Athenian Empire (478-433 B. C.)," Historia. 23 (1974). 21-39.
A.B. Bosworth, "The Humanitarian Aspect of the Melian Dialogue," Journal
of Hellenic Studies 113 (1993) 30-44.
4. Weeks of October 6-13
October 6-11: Athenian inscriptions
Jack Martin Balcer, The Athenian Regulations for Chalkis (Wiesbaden 1978).
H.B. Mattingly, "Epigraphy and the Athenian empire," Historia 41 (1992) 129-138.
Harold B. Mattingly, The Athenian Empire Restored. Epigraphic and Historical
Studies (Ann Arbor 1996)
October 13: The Athenian Acropolis
Lisa Kallet-Marx, "Did Tribute Fund the Parthenon?" Classical Antiquity 8 (1989) 252-266.
Loren J. Samons II, "Athenian Finance and the Treasury of Athena," Historia 42 (1993) 129-138.
A. Giovannini, "La participation des alliés au financement du Parthénon: aparchè ou tribut?" Historia 46 (1997) 145-157.
A. Giovannini, "Le Parthénon, le Tresor d'Athena et le Tribut des Allies," Historia 39 (1990) 129-148..
M. Bendtsen, "The Acropolis and the Athenian City-Plan," Acta Hyperborea 2 (1990) 209-218 (R)
The Archaeology of Athens and Attica under the Democracy, Proceedings of an international conference celebrating 2500 years since the birth of democracy in Greece, held
at the American school of classical studies at Athens, december 4-6, 1992, eds. W.D.E. Coulson, O. Palagia, T.L. Shear, Jr., H.A. Shapiro and F.J. Frost (Oxford 1994).
M.B. Moore, "The central group in the Gigantomachy of the Old Athena temple on the Acropolis," American Journal of Archaeology. 99 (1995) 633-639.
Olga Palagia, The Pediments of the Parthenon (Leiden 1993).
R.S. Stanier, "The Cost of the Parthenon," Journal of Hellenic Studies
73 (1953) 68-76.
5. Week of October 18-20
October 18: Euripides, Women of Troy
.
Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz, Anxiety Veiled. Euripides and the Traffic in Women (Ithaca 1993).
N.T. Croally, Euripidean Polemic. The Trojan Women and the Function of Tragedy (Cambridge 1994).
James Diggle, Euripidea. Collected Essays (Oxford 1994).
J. Roisman, "Contemporary Allusions in Euripides' Trojan Women," Studi Italiani di Filologia Classica 15 (1997) 38-47. (R)
Thomas J. Sienkewicz, "Euripides' Trojan Women. An Interpretation," Helios 7 (1978)
81-85. (R)
October 20: Aristophanes, Acharnians
K.J. Dover, Aristophanic Comedy (London 1972).
Theater and Society in the Classical World, ed. Ruth Scodel (Ann Arbor 1993).
C. Carey, "The Purpose of Aristophanes' Acharnians," Rheinisches Museum 136 (1993) 245-263.
N.R.E. Fisher, "Multiple Personalities and Dionysiac Festivals. Dicaeopolis in Aristophanes' Acharnians," Greece & Rome 40 (1993) 31-47.
H.P. Foley, "Tragedy and Politics in Aristophanes' Acharnians," in Oxford Readings in Aristophanes, ed. Erich Segal (Oxford 1996) 117-142.
S. Douglas Olson, "Dicaeopolis' Motivations in Aristophanes' Acharnians," Journal of Hellenic Studies 111 (1991) 200-203.
N.W. Slater, "Space, Character and `Apate.' Transformation and Transvaluation in
the Acharnians," in Tragedy, Comedy and the Polis (Bari 1993) 397-415.
6. Week of October 25
October 25: Isokrates
Takis Poulakos, Speaking for the Polis.: Isocrates' Rhetorical Education (Columbia 1997).
Yun Lee Too, The Rhetoric of Identity in Isocrates. Text, Power, Pedagogy (Cambridge 1995).
A. Fuks, "Isokrates and the Social-Economic Situation in Greece," Ancient Society 3 (1972) 17-44.
D. Gillis, "Isokrates' Panegyris: The Rhetoical Texture," Wiener Studien 84 (1971) 52-73. (R)
Stephen Todd, "The Use and Abuse of the Attic Orators," Greece & Rome 37 (1990) 159-178.
Gunther Heilbrunn, "Isocrates on Rhetoric and Power," Hermes 103 (1975) 154-178. (R)
Philip Merlan, "Philip, Isocrates, Aristotle and Alexander the Great," Historia 3 (1954/55) 60-81.
Robert A. Moysey, "Isokrates and Chares: A Study in the Political Spectrum of
Mid-Fourth Century Athens," The Ancient World 15 (1987) 81-86.
7. Week of November 1-3
November 1: Polybius
Erich Gruen, The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome (Berkeley 1985).
Robert Kallet-Marx, From Hegemony to Empire (Berkeley 1996).
A.N. Sherwin-White, Roman Foreign Policy in the East (Norman 1984).
William Harris, War and Imperialism (Oxford 1979).
F.W. Walbank, A Historical Commentary on Polybius, 3 vols. (Oxford 1957-1979).
Arthur M. Eckstein, Moral Vison in the Histories of Polybius (Berkeley 1995).
B. Shimron, "Polybius on Rome. A Reexamination of the Evidence," Scripta
Classica Israelica 5 (1979/1980) 94-117. (R)
November 3: The Aeneid
S. Ford Wiltshire, "War and Peace in Aeneid 10," in The Two Worlds of the
Poet. New Perspectives on Vergil, eds. Robert M. Wilhelm and Howard Jones (Detroit
1992) 189-205.
Helen H. Bacon, "The Aeneid as a Drama of Election," Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 116 (1986) 305-334.
S.J. Harrison, ed. Oxford Readings in Vergil's "Aeneid" (Oxford 1990).
The Two Worlds of the Poet. New Perspectives on Vergil, eds. Robert M. Wilhelm and Howard Jones (Detroit 1992).
James J. O'Hara, Death and the Optimistic Prophecy in Vergil's Aeneid (Princeton 1990).
Susan S. Kristol, Labor and Fortuna in Virgil's Aeneid (New York 1990).
Oxford Readings in Vergil's Aeneid, ed. S.J. Harrison (Oxford 1990).
Susan Ford Wiltshire, Public and Private in Vergil's Aeneid (Amherst 1989).
Elisabeth Henry, The Vigour of Prophecy. A Study of Virgil's Aeneid
(Carbondale 1989).
8. Week of November 8
November 8: Res Gestae
Edwin S. Ramage, The Nature and Purpose of Augustus' Res Gestae (Wiesbaden 1986).
Edwin S. Ramage, "The Date of Augustus' Res Gestae," Chiron 18 (1988) 71-82.
William Turpin, "Res Gestae 34.1 and the Settlement of 27 B.C.," Classical Quarterly 44 (1994) 427-437.
Zvi Yavetz, "The `Res Gestae' and Augustus' Public Image," in Caesar Augustus. Seven Aspects, ed. Fergus Millar and Erich Segal (Oxford 1984) 1-36.
Ronald Syme, The Roman Revolution (Oxford 1939).
Ernst Badian, Publicans and Sinners (Ithaca 1983).
Ernst Badian, Roman Imperialism (Ithaca 1968).
9. Week of November 18
November 20, F: Maccabbees
Stephen L. Dyson, "Native Revolts in the Roman Empire," Historia 20 (1971) 239-274.
Christian Habicht, "Royal Documents in Maccabees II," Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 80 (1976) 1-18.
Doran, Temple Propaganda. The Purpose and Character of 2 Maccabees (Washington, D.C. 1981).
Arnaldo Momigliano, "The Second Book of Maccabees," Classical Philology 70 (1975) 81-88.
Tessa Rajak, "Dying for the Law. The Martyr's Portrait in Jewish-Greek
Literature," in Portraits. Biographical Representation in the Greek and Latin Literature of the
Roman Empire, eds. M.J. Edwards and Simon Swain (Oxford 1997) 39-67.
Nathaniel Baker
Leah Culver
Alexandra Fergusson
Diana Huffman
Adrian Kudler
John McCormick
Virginia Paynter
Kirk Quinsland
Kristiann Sawyer
Brianne Tangney
2. Week of September 27
Brian Collesano
Hilary Evans
Cordelia Frewden
Nicholas Kovalevich
Genevieve Light
Andrew Morrison
David Porter
Nicole Riendeau
Jacob Schneider
Adam Tewell
3. Week of October 4
Laura Gassman
Rebecca Kowalski
Meryl Mazepa
James Nadzieja
Carter Potts
Laura Sanders
Joseph Stramondo
Jon Torodash
Rachel Unkovic
Andrew Venezia
4. Week of October 6-13
Brian Collesano
Leah Culver
Diana Huffman
Nicholas Kovalevich
Adrian Kudler
John McCormick
Virginia Paynter
Kirk Quinsland
Kristiann Sawyer
Brianne Tangney
5. Week of October 18-20
Hilary Evans
Alexandra Fergusson
Cordelia Frewden
Laura Gassman
Genevieve Light
Andrew Morrison
David Porter
Nicole Riendeau
Jacob Schneider
Adam Tewell
6. Week of October 25
Nathaniel Baker
Brian Collesano
Rebecca Kowalski
Meryl Mazepa
James Nadzieja
Carter Potts
Laura Sanders
Jon Torodash
Rachel Unkovic
Andrew Venezia
7. Week of November 1-3
Leah Culver
Diana Huffman
Adrian Kudler
John McCormick
Virginia Paynter
Kirk Quinsland
Kristiann Sawyer
Joseph Stramondo
Brianne Tangney
Adam Tewell
8. Week of November 8
Hilary Evans
Alexandra Fergusson
Cordelia Frewden
Laura Gassman
Nicholas Kovalevich
Genevieve Light
Andrew Morrison
David Porter
Nicole Riendeau
Jacob Schneider
9. Week of November 18
Nathaniel Baker
Rebecca Kowalski
Meryl Mazepa
James Nadzieja
Carter Potts
Laura Sanders
Joseph Stramondo
Jon Torodash
Rachel Unkovic
Andrew Venezia
Position Papers
Maximum of four persons per week; you must sign up for two papers.
September 11, F: Herodotus on Persia
September 16, W: Achaemenid royal inscriptions
September 18, F: Constructing an Imperial Capital I: Parsa (Persepolis)
September 23, W: Aeschylus, The Persians
September 30, W: Herodotos and Thucydides on the Athenian empire
October 2, F: Athenian inscriptions I: Reading an inscription
October 7, W: Athenian inscriptions II: Sources for empire
October 9, F: Constructing an Imperial Capital II: The Athenian Acropolis
October 21, W: Euripides, Women of Troy
October 23, F: Aristophanes, Acharnians
October 28, W: Isokrates
November 4, W: Polybius
November 6, F: Vergil, The Aeneid
November 11, W: Res Gestae
November 13, F: Constructing an Imperial Capital III: Rome
November 20, F: Maccabbees