A PORTION OF THE ABOVE CLASS RESERVED FOR MAJORS
ABOVE CLASS OPEN TO GRADUATES ONLY

Students in this graduate seminar will study the origins and
development of Greek democracy, from the first seeds of
egalitarianism in Greece to demokratia’s full fruition in many city-
states during the Archaic and Classical periods (c. 750 – 323 BC).
We will focus not just on Athens — antiquity’s most famous
democracy — but on the democratic experiences of other Greek city-
states as well. Ancient democracy’s definition, beginnings,
expansion, and functioning in different settings will be explored.
Whether their ultimate interests lie with the classical world or
with comparisons to political regimes of later eras, students in
this course will acquire a useful and thorough grounding in the
ancient sources for the history of Greek democracy and in important
scholarly trends in its study.
	
Classes will be run in a discussion-oriented format with frequent,
relatively brief, student reports. Students will also write a long
research paper on a topic of their choosing relating to democracy in
ancient Greece. Knowledge of ancient Greek will be very helpful but
is not required.