This is a survey of ancient Greek history from the Bronze Age to the death of Socrates in 399 BCE. Along with studying the most important events and personalities, we will consider broader issues such as political and cultural values and methods of historical interpretation.
We will start our first module with an overview of the physical and geographical setting for our class – “the Greek world.” Then we will move rapidly across many centuries, beginning with two Bronze Age civilizations: Minoan on the island of Crete, and Mycenaean on the mainland. Our evidence for both of these is almost purely archaeological, and so you can consider the ways scholars have interpreted material remains to build a picture of how the societies were structured. After the collapse of Mycenaean civilization, there followed the so-called Dark Ages. These four centuries pose for us the challenge of reconstructing what happened during a long period that has left relatively little evidence. We will conclude this module with an all too brief consideration of the two magnificent Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, whose stories and heroes became essential elements in Greek cultural identity.
Introduction and the Minoan Civilization
Lecture 1: Geography, Climate, Agriculture, Evidence, and Interpretation, 10:49
Lecture 1: Geography, Climate, Agriculture, Evidence, and Interpretation
https://d18ky98rnyall9.cloudfront.net/EjZTdkdkEeW8dA7aNEIYLw.processed/full/360p/index.mp4?Expires=1491350400&Signature=Y-Mf2Q~PIDylWADOPEJSF4BNizvBam2YlC2i1X31ZC1H4rmEHQcjBLJ3ijYR~2F9XpL9~sOh1xUliDWf7WYJtrX0JaZWKXfj0KpFnFqGYy1u7CWObkIgHoAWBcmPU4sDu9o3U94qqtfF1eCVBmnm-M0vtfiipx9qhH-ynl8o7Hc_&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLTNE6QMUY6HBC5A
Lecture 2: Bronze Age Crete and Minoan Civilization, 18:20
Bronze Age Crete and Minoan Civilization
https://d18ky98rnyall9.cloudfront.net/Ejv5VEdkEeW4fw4zhI0ukw.processed/full/360p/index.mp4?Expires=1491350400&Signature=gWRl5DFP7L8UkiPDE8T2hP9SJaoGEeleaGtkhpEynvYfDRTLktcrX2Z~Jy~3AxcQ-K7Af6Lohq5InaG6sN5zeOE6iZvmwKJL7ZbylpTJTtSNAkFThMQWWk0nFtEHysO9PDJ2OlYKqF8saKlUKYCAJwwJIf-2ksArXkGnbNiDuSQ_&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLTNE6QMUY6HBC5A
Reading Assignment 1
Iliad, Books 1, 2, 6, 9, 18, 24. As you read these selections, pay close attention to how the characters interact with each other.There are at least four excellent, widely available modern English translations of both epics, by (in chronological order) Richmond Lattimore, Robert Fitzgerald, Robert Fagles, and Stanley Lombardo.
Available online is a fine contemporary translation by Ian Johnston –
http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad1.htm
Iliad Lecture
Reading Assignment 2
Odyssey, Books 1, 5, 9-12, 21-24. As you read, think about how this poem is similar to, and different from, the Iliad.Also available online are: a late-19th-century version by Samuel Butler –
http://www.online-literature.com/homer/odyssey/
and an early-20th-century version by A. T. Taylor –
http://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerOdyssey1.html
The Odyssey
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