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HU Credits:
2
Degree/Cycle:
1st degree (Bachelor)
Responsible Department:
Classical Studies
Semester:
1st Semester
Teaching Languages:
Hebrew
Campus:
Mt. Scopus
Course/Module Coordinator:
Professor Donna Shalev
Coordinator Office Hours:
Mondays by appointment
Teaching Staff:
Prof Donna Shalev
Course/Module description:
The course will survey cultural highlights, motifs and institutions of Ancient Greece mainly but not exclusively through the the seminal texts (Homer through Plato and beyond), starting with the language and writing systems of the Ancient Greeks and their universal impact, and culminating with the figure of Alexander the Great.
Course/Module aims:
Panoramic view of the main features of the culture of Ancient Greece, through a chronological progression and access through mainly literary textual sources. Some aims will include
- to distinguish cultural from purely literary and historical phenomena;
- to critically assess cultural motifs, institutions and phenomena through historical, literary and mythical sources;
- to appreciate the impact of Ancient Greek culture on other pre-modern civilizations and societies, and its lasting impacts on contemporary culture.
Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
To depict the main literary genres of ancient Greece, to understand the characteristics of their content, and to posit them within their cultural context.
Attendance requirements(%):
100
Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:
Presentation of material via lectures accompanied by slides and handouts and dynamic discussion with students about the presentation and the texts under discussion.
Course/Module Content:
Lesson 1: Place – Time – Language – Script. Introductory lecture contextualizing, giving parameters and definitions of who were the Greeks, what language they spoke, their habitat, and how they named themselves and were named by others. Likewise the notion of culture will be introduced, as will the topic of written and oral culture. (Plato, Phaedrus, the myth of Theuth and Thamus/Tammuz, discussed in the lecture, is provided on the Moodle and will be distributed in the handout in class. Most of the texts for the lectures are available on the course’s Moodle in Hebrew, Arabic and English translations). Other topics will include the heterogenic nature of Greek culture.
Lesson 2: Hero, Honor, Logos and the Art of Epic. Homer, his identity and the essence of Epos as a cultural product; modes of reading culture through literary attestation in Epic poetry, through test cases: the place of speech and its power (Homer, Iliad 1); Verbal description of image (Iliad 18).
Lesson 3: Mourning and Sport, Hellenic Cohesion and Ritualized Athletic Competition in the Archaic Poetic Tradition. Competition, Funeral Game Refereeing, Burial Rituals in the Heroic culture (Iliad 23); The Olympic games and other athletic competitions (Pindar, Olympian Ode 11).
Lesson 4: Family, Daily Life, Visits to the Underworld. Homer, Odyssey 6; Odyssey 11; Homeric Hymn to Demeter.
Lesson 5: Cosmic Order and Time Arrangement: Hesiod’s Works and Days. (Hesiod’s Text in Moodle)
Lesson 6: Ancient Texts Revived: New Discoveries from the Ancient Greek Legacy. This class module has no assigned texts or handout, but will be accompanied by a powerpoint presentation.
Lesson 7: Wisdom and Science – Competition and Invention. Handouts (on Moodle) of select passages from Prometheus Bound, from Plato Protagoras, Diogenes Laertius Lives of the Philosophers, Hippocrates Oath, Vitruvius On Architecture, Euclid Elements.
Lesson 8: From Ritual to Dramatic Tragedy, and from Blood Revenge to Justice. Aeschylus, Selections from the Agamemnon and other Tragic Dramas (Handout of selections available on Moodle).
Lesson 9: Myth, History, and Early Prose: Herodotus’ Histories. (In class we will discuss select passages which will be distributed in Handout – also available on Moodle. The Moodle also includes the R. Zelnick-Abramovitz' Hebrew translation, and the Arabic translation and English translations entire Book I of the Histories.)
Lesson 10: Law and Rhetoric: Defense Speeches (“Apologies”) by Lysias and Plato (Lysias Oration 1 Against Eratosthenes, and Plato Socrates’ Apology are available on the Moodle).
Lesson 11: Symposium: Cultural Phenomenon, Plato’s Symposium, and Literary Genre. (Translations into Arabic and English in the Moodle. The Hebrew Versions in the Library, by M. Finkelberg B 385 H4 F46 2001 and by Y. Liebes B363 H4 L5 volume 2).
Lesson 12: Comedy, Aristophanes Wasps and Satire of the Symposium and Legal Procedure. Select Passages from Aristophanes Wasps on the Handout, available on Moodle. The Comedy in Ziva Caspi’s Hebrew Translation in the Library PA 3878 H4 V5 2001.
Lesson 13: Closing the Classical Period – Death of Socrates, Alexander the Great. Plato Phaedo (relevant passages on the Handout, available on Moodle, and Arabic and English translations of the entire Phaedo also on the Moodle. Hebrew translation by Y. Liebes in the Library B363 H4 L5 Volume 2). Plutarch, Life of Alexander (Hebrew and English on the Moodle).
Required Reading:
See the course modules in previous section for required readings, and their availability on Moodle or in the Library in Hebrew, Arabic and English translations.
Additional Reading Material:
On the Moodle, Handouts and by recommendation of the teacher.
Grading Scheme :
Written / Oral / Practical Exam 85 %
Active Participation / Team Assignment 5 %
Submission assignments during the semester: Exercises / Essays / Audits / Reports / Forum / Simulation / others 10 %
Additional information:
None
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