MW 4:00-5:15pm
meets with another section of CLAS-C 351

This course seeks to introduce students to Athenian literature,
history, and culture in the second half of the fifth century B.C.,
the "Golden Age of Athens." In this period, Athens was a thriving
democracy — the world's first — and ruled over a naval empire.
Empire brought great wealth to the city and helped sustain a
remarkable flourishing of culture. We will explore this culture
through the tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides, the comedies of
Aristophanes, and the historical writing of Thucydides. We will seek
to understand how these writers reflect their cultural milieu and
how, directly or indirectly, they address the concerns and interests
of their contemporary audiences. Of particular interest will be how
they respond to the long and destructive Peloponnesian War (431-404
B.C.), in which the Athenians and their allies fought against the
Spartans and their supporters. While the instructor will sometimes
present short lectures, this is primarily a discussion course.
Although the instructor will guide discussion and ensure wide
participation on the part of students, the success of each class
meeting will depend largely on how carefully and thoughtfully
students have prepared each day's assignment.

Students should come to class with specific questions and comments
concerning each day's readings. Daily class attendance is required
and will be factored into final grades; each student is allowed two
absences without penalty. An important feature of this class will be
paper-writing. During the semester, students will write four 4-5
page double-spaced papers on topics of their own choosing. (Note:
Students enrolled in the honors section of the course will also
write a final research paper, 8-10 pages double-spaced, on a theme
or issue of particular interest to them.) These papers are meant to
encourage students to think analytically and creatively about the
works we read together. Papers should be outlined in advance and
carefully executed; the final product should be polished and
represent the student's best efforts to develop a thesis that
engages in an interesting way with one or more work. In keeping with
the importance of these papers, final grades will be based largely
on them. While students are meant to comply with the due dates for
each paper, extensions will be granted under special circumstances
(illness, academic hardship, etc.). Any paper turned in must be
wholly the student's own work, in keeping with the University's
rules governing academic honesty.

Required Texts:
T. Martin, Ancient Greece, New Haven, 1996.
Thucydides,The Peloponnesian War,  trans. by Crawley, New York, 1982.
Sophocles I, ed. Grene and Lattimore, Chicago, 1954.
Euripides III, ed. Grene and Lattimore, Chicago, 1958.
Aristophanes: Acharnians, Clouds, Lysistrata, trans. by Sommerstein,
Penguin, 1973.
Aristophanes: Wasps, The Poet and the Women, Frogs, trans. by
Barrett, Penguin, 1964.
Aristophanes: Knights, Peace, Birds, Assemblywomen, Wealth,  trans.
by Barrett and Sommerstein, Penguin, 1978.