WesMaps - Wesleyan University Catalog 2009-2010       Summer Session       Winter Session       Home       Archive       Search
CS92PROD
The Archaeology of the Greek City-State

CCIV 321
Fall 2009 not offered
Crosslisting: ARHA 204, ARCP 321
Course Cluster: Urban Studies

This seminar will deal with the Greek polis, or city-state, often defined as a town together with its territory, including secondary settlements. The type is exemplified by Athens, the best-documented and arguably most important polis in antiquity. We will use Athens as our model but will consider other city-states, e.g., Sparta, Thebes, or Syracuse in Sicily, and also another type of Greek community organized around different principles, the so-called "ethnos." The course will draw on a variety of sources, but the emphasis will be on the material culture of everyday life from the 6th to 4th centuries BCE. Questions we will consider: What was life like in a city such as Athens at different times, for different individuals? How did poor people worship, eat, make their livings, entertain themselves? What did they do when they were ill? What were the uses and meanings of art, writing, music in different communities? By contrast, what was life like in the countryside, or in those communities without the political structures that mark the polis? In effect, was there a "Greek way of life"?

Essential Capabilities: None
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: None
Course Format: DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (ARCP)(CLST)

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email ? Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459