Schedule of Lectures and Readings

Classics 260 – Legacy of Greece & Rome – George Mason University

Week One: Introduction to the Homeric World

The first week will serve as an introduction to the culture, history, and geography of ancient Greece. Before we can assess the legacy of the Greek civilization, we must master crucial facts about the world in which the Greeks lived.

Lectures & Readings:

Identifications:

  1. Epic Poetry
  2. Oral Tradition
  3. Greek
  4. In Medias Res
  5. Dactylic Hexameter
  6. Homer
  7. The Iliad
  8. Achilles
  9. Agamemnon
  10. Apollo
  11. Troy

The chronology for the first examination is available.

Week Two: Achilles

The second week will serve as an examination of the culture of virtue that permeated the Homeric world. In particular, we will examine how competition and combat shaped the Homeric ideals.

Lectures & Readings:

Identifications:

  1. Diomedes
  2. Pandarus
  3. Hector
  4. Minerva
  5. Patronymic
  6. Arete
  7. Andreia

Week Three: Odysseus

The third week will serve as a bridge between the Homeric world and the world of classical Greece. We will examine more Homeric virtues in the Odyssey, and witness the birth of science in the works of the pre–socratic philosophers.

Lectures & Readings:

Identifications:

  1. The Odyssey
  2. Odysseus
  3. Penelope
  4. Polyphemus
  5. The Trojan Horse
  6. Metis
  7. Hubris
  8. Non–Linear Storytelling
  9. The Ionian Enlightenment
  10. Logographer
  11. Philosopher
  12. Thales of Miletus
  13. Pythagoras of Samos
  14. Heraclitus of Ephesus
  15. Democritus of Abdera
  16. Parmenides of Elea

Week Four: The Birth of History

In the fourth week we will undertake an examination of Herodotus, the father of history. In particular, we will consider how he shaped the genera of history and how he differs in method and approach from Homer and other previous authors.

Lectures & Readings:

Identifications:

  1. Hecataeus of Miletus
  2. Herodotus of Halicarnassus
  3. Croesus
  4. Solon
  5. The Persian Wars
  6. Leonidas
  7. Themistocles
  8. Marathon
  9. Thermopylae
  10. Salamis
  11. Kleos

First Examination

Note that the first examination will be Monday 22 September during the regularly scheduled class time.

The chronology for the first examination is available.

The geography list is now available and practice maps are also available.

Week Five: The Classical Polis

Lectures & Readings:

Identifications:

  1. Athens
  2. Sparta
  3. Democracy
  4. Monarchy
  5. Aristocracy
  6. Tyranny
  7. Draco
  8. Solon
  9. Debt–Slavery
  10. Eponymous Archon
  11. The Olympic Games

Week Six: Greek Plays: Tragedy and Comedy

Lectures & Readings:

Identifications:

  1. Aeschylus
  2. Aristophanes
  3. Prometheus Bound
  4. Prometheus
  5. Zeus
  6. Lysistrata
  7. The Chorus
  8. Tragedy
  9. Old Comedy
  10. New Comedy

Week Seven: The Platonic Ideal

Lectures & Readings:

Identifications:

  1. Polis
  2. Plato
  3. Socrates
  4. The Republic
  5. The Allegory of the Cave
  6. Oligarchy
  7. Democracy

Week Eight: The Legacy of Greece

Lectures:

Week Nine: The Monarchy and Early Republic: Morality and Political Power

Lectures & Readings:

Identifications:

  1. Livy
  2. Romulus
  3. Remus
  4. Augury
  5. Horatius (the triplet, not to be confused with Horatius Cocles, who is a different person)
  6. The Sabine Women
  7. Tarquinius Superbus
  8. Lucretia
  9. Lucius Iunius Brutus
  10. The Twelve Tables
  11. Patricians
  12. Plebeans
  13. Civil Procedure
  14. Mos Maiorum
  15. Usucapio

Week Nine: Roman Political Reality

Lectures & Readings:

Identifications:

  1. The Senate
  2. Consul
  3. Tribune
  4. The Praetor's Edict
  5. The Roman Assemblies
  6. Collegiality
  7. Annuality
  8. Veto!
  9. Tiberius Gracchus
  10. Paganism
  11. Animism
  12. Syncretism
  13. Cult
  14. Numa Pompilius
  15. The Pontifex Maximus
  16. Vestal Virgins
  17. The Cult of Mithras

Week Ten: Some Perspective on the Republic

Lectures & Readings:

Identifications:

  1. Polybius
  2. The Roman Legion
  3. Virtus
  4. Disciplina
  5. Lucius Aemilius Paulus (Macedonicus)
  6. The Battle of Pydna
  7. James Madison
  8. Federalism
  9. The Federalist Papers
  10. Faction
  11. Marius & Sulla
  12. Caesar & Pompey
  13. Octavian & Antony

The chronology for the third examination is available.

Third Examination

Note that the third examination will be Wednesday 12 November during the regularly scheduled class time.

Weeks Twelve & Thirteen: Roman Technology

Lectures:

Identifications:

  1. The Castra (i.e. roman military camps)
  2. Caesar’s Bridge across the Rhine
  3. Concrete
  4. The Via Appia
  5. The Pantheon
  6. The Coliseum
  7. The Curator Aquarum
  8. The Aqua Appia
  9. Roman Baths
  10. The Hypocaust

Week Thirteen: Christianity and Empire

Lectures & Readings:

Identifications:

  1. Josephus
  2. Masada
  3. Mithraism
  4. Pontius Pilate
  5. Publius Ovidius Naso
  6. Publius Vergilius Maro
  7. Marcus Tullius Cicero
  8. The Metamorphoses
  9. The Aeneid
  10. Against Catiline

The Final Examination

Do note that the identifications for week fourteen will not be on the exam (as there was no week fourteen).

The essay question on the final examination will be, “Should we strive more to imitate the Greeks or the Romans?”

The exam is still closed–note and closed–book. Your essay must be your own original work. While you may discuss the essay in general terms with your classmates, you may not discuss particulars or individual sentences. If you are unsure as to whether a certain collaboration is acceptable, do contact me.