MYTH, ART AND EMPIRE: GREECE AND ROME

This course introduces ancient Greek and Roman culture. Through a study of ancient literary texts, art, and society, the mythic origins, heroic archetypes, gods and goddesses, monuments and societies of the Greeks and Romans are explored. Focus is on the apex of classical Greek civilization in the fifth century BC, and the end of the Roman Republic and beginning of the early Imperial period in the first centuries BCE and CE. Topics include the Homeric poems, Greek and Roman mythology, ancient theater, literary and artistic culture, sexuality and gender roles, militarism and imperialism, and the fate of marginalized groups, such as women, slaves, freedmen, prostitutes, gladiators and stage performers. The course also considers the ways in which modern Western culture has inherited and appropriated aspects of ancient civilization, claiming it as a model in fields ranging from epic film and architectural design to political structure and imperial aspiration.