Professional and Lifelong Learning

Course description

This course covers the civilization of the ancient Greek world, from its origins in the Neolithic period and the bronze age up until the Roman Empire's conquest of the eastern Mediterranean at the end of first millennium BCE. Students are introduced to major historical developments, social and political achievements and failures, and cultural accomplishments and transformations in the ancient Greek world during this long epoch. Topics include Homeric epic, the aristocratic ethos of early Greece, the Persian and Peloponnesian wars, the spread of democratic government, Alexander's conquest of the Middle East, religion, and money. In addition, students learn how to interpret archaeological and artistic material as well as literary, historical, and philosophical texts in order to construct an understanding of an ancient civilization as it changed over time, always in close contact with neighboring cultures.