HIST 225
History of Greece
Fred Naiden
This course is an outline introduction to major periods and themes of Greek history down to 300 BCE. While complete in itself, it may also serve as the basis for more advanced courses in ancient history or classical studies.
Aims of the course:
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To gain historical understanding of Ancient Greek civilization. Because this civilization has been influential, some attention will go to enduring political concepts arising during this period; because it is alien to us, some attention will go to long-vanished religious and social practices.
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To learn to use ancient Greek literature as an historical source.
Each week will include readings from a primary source with attention to both political concepts on the one hand and religious and social practices on the other. Also assigned are one or more chapters from Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. Although this is not a course on Greek art or archaeology, some slides and maps will be shown; a few of them, especially the maps, will reappear on the two exams. The documents from Fornara’s collection of Greek public inscriptions provide background.