Classics

In this course, students look closely at one point in the very distant past and at the early origins of Western civilization, at Homer and the Greeks, at ancient Greek language and culture, at its strange and yet (as we shall see!) familiar words, its structure and its thought. Homer and the ancient Greeks are part of our world, our language, our thought, and our lives. If you are studying chemistry or English, history, economics, or maths, and want to know why the past, Greek, and the Greek culture matter, this Trinity Elective is the course for you.

The course is dedicated to the comparison with current themes of the history of women, such as: participation in political and social life, inclusion and exclusion, the role of women in the family, education, and violence against women. Group work and group readings are planned in class to debate different viewpoints. The course investigates the history of women as a fundamental aspect of Ancient History, with special reference to the roman period, with the awareness of the specificities of the female condition in each period and of the transformations carried out over the period under consideration. Issues connected with ancient source analysis do not require knowledge of Greek and Latin, since a translation in Italian is always be provided. A basic knowledge of classical languages is however recommended. The course discusses topics including: gender history and some of the main aspects relevant for classical studies: work, culture, religion, and marriage; the condition of women from the Roman Republic to the Early Imperial period; the legal status of women; women's wealth; the (public?) space of women in roman imperial courts; stereotypes in womens’ stories: the need to identify interpretative categories, structures, and models through the analysis of historical and historiographical sources; inclusion and exclusion: women and work, case study: work at home, work outside; and case studies: women, body and sex, and abortion and the violence on women (from Lucrezia to Metoo).

This course focuses on the Roman Empire from the first to early third centuries AD. In this period the hegemony of the city of Rome grew, spreading over almost two million square miles: a vast territory encompassing almost all of modern Europe and also North Africa, Egypt, and the Near East. This course traces the evolution of this political unit and explores the consequences for those who lived under its control. In what ways did the inhabitants of the empire become "Roman"? What were the benefits and drawbacks of inclusion? How did the systems of governance work? What held things together, both practically and ideologically? Students also discuss shifts in modern approaches, from the glorification of the Roman state to more critical post-colonial approaches to imperial rule.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. After completing the course, students are familiar with the main theoretical, methodological and technical tools of the historical-religious disciplines of the social sciences, which address the study of the history of religions of the ancient world with mastery of interdisciplinary methods and contents. They are able to evaluate religious phenomena and dynamics in local and global sociocultural contexts, to identify connections, developments, persistence and transformations of religious phenomena and appreciate interaction between groups in complex societies. They understand the relevance of cultural-historical studies for historical enquiry and can identify the specific contribution that the historical sciences can make in addressing issues and problems of interest to the community, such as the critical promotion of the value of religious differences and religious pluralism. Also, through direct involvement in seminar-type activities on some monographic topics (personal reading and analysis of ancient texts and modern studies), they have knowledge of the sources and problems linked to the study of religions of the classical world and the general characteristics of polytheism. They know how to use the language and tools specific to the discipline. They are able to update their knowledge and elaborate autonomous analytical perspectives, applying the methodologies of investigation to specific problems and documents and considering the scientific and international debate related to the discipline. The 2023 course topic is: Religions as communication systems. Semiotics and semantics of the veil in the Ancient Mediterranean religious systems: a comparative overview of an element of clothing.

This course explores the history of emotions in the Greek and Roman world through literature and their relevance to the modern world. It focuses on emotions like wrath, eros and love, jealousy, fear, loss and separation, affection, happiness, sadness, surprise, contempt, disgust, pity, sympathy, pain and on how these emotions have been represented in Greek and Roman cultural systems and literary examples (both Greek and Roman literary texts will be explored and compared). How were these emotions born and what is their influence in the modern world? How does Greek and Roman literature relate to these emotions? And more generally, what is the relationship between these emotions and the Greek and Roman life and thought? After an overview of major Greek and Roman sources on the role of emotions in human life, the course explores the complex debate around emotions, their value and their use for philosophical, religious, political, and educational purposes. 

This course introduces students to the history of a hundred-year period from the Emperor Constantine’s death to the reign of the emperor Theodosius II. This is one of the pivotal centuries of Roman history, characterized varyingly by historians as a time of transformation, rupture, and of continuity. During this century, Christianity moved from being a sporadically persecuted minority religion to a faith promoted and eventually enforced by emperors; political and economic activities were brought under pressure by the movement of peoples within and without the empire’s borders; and the old rhythms of aristocratic cultural and social life had to accommodate both ascetic and episcopal demands and priorities.

This course examines the evidence for one of the most successful forms of state society in the ancient Mediterranean, namely the polis or city-state, making use of evidence from archaeology, ancient history, epigraphy, numismatics, and ancient literature. It explores the emergence of the first city-states in Greece following a period of economic decline, the so-called Greek “Dark Age” and slow recovery. The key features of the city-state and particularly the features of the urban environment are discussed as are the political structures required to govern large urban populations. The re-emergence of writing, in an alphabetic system, is given attention due to the importance of written law and constitutions for social and political stability. The course considers different systems of government used at various city-states and the economic and social systems that emerge alongside and within the various poleis. The connection between the emergence of the polis and the foundation of new Greek communities overseas – colonization – are discussed. The course makes a comparative study of early constitutional history of Athens and Sparta. The invention of coinage is studied as are relations between different Greek city-states. The course concludes with a consideration of the first contact and conflicts between the world of the city-states and the imperial power of Persia.

This course studies the literature, art, history, and politics of Classical Athens. It looks at a variety of myths that were popular in Classical Athens, the contexts and mediums through which these myths circulated. It discusses the relationship between these stories, democratic ideology, and the Athenians' understanding of their history.