28277 - Archaic and Classical Greek History (1) (LM)

Course contents

Analysis of the following theme:

The Hegemonic Turns: 411 to 362

The course aims to illustrate the complexity of the period between the last phase of the Peloponnesian War and the end of Theban hegemony. The subject of investigation will be both the foreign policy relations of the poleis that played a crucial role in this period, i.e. Athens, Sparta, Thebes (12 hours), and their internal dynamics (12 hours); the collateral, yet still fundamental, phenomena such as the process of formation of the Arcadian Koinon and the territorial disputes between certain regions of the Peloponnese (6 hours) will also be examined.

A basic knowledge of the Greek language, in order to read directly literary texts and other sources, is strongly recommended; nevertheless, it is not strictly required for the attendance of the classes.

 

Readings/Bibliography

 

Attending students

Integral reading of one of the following books (in the Ancient History library):

J. Buckler, The Theban hegemony, 371-362 BC, Cambridge (Mass.), London 1980

J. Cargill, The second Athenian league: empire or free alliance?, Berkeley 1981

P. Cartledge, Agesilaos and the crisis of Sparta, London 1987

L. Prandi, Platea. Momenti e problemi della storia di una polis, Padova 1988

S. Tufano, Epaminonda di Tebe. Vita e sconfitte di un politico di successo, Milano 2023

M. Valente, I prodromi della guerra di Corinto nelle testimonianze delle elleniche di Ossirinco e delle Elleniche di Senofonte, Alessandria 2014

Full reading (from Italian) of Thucydides VIII and Xenophon's Hellenics  VI-VII (BUR or Oscar Mondadori edition).

Parallel sources (i.e. extracts from the Hellenics of Oxyrhynchus, Diodorus and Plutarch) will be provided in class.

For the historical background:

D. Musti, Storia greca. Linee di sviluppo dall'età micenea all'età romana, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1990 (seconda edizione e successive ristampe).

The professor will provide further bibliographical indications during the course, examining the contents. These and the sources read and analysed in the classroom will be the main subject of the final examination. Attendance of the lectures is therefore considered obligatory if one wishes to take the examination as an attending student. Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

Non-attending students:

the full and careful reading of four of the above-mentioned books:

Sources: Thucydides VIIIXenophon's Hellenics I-II and VI-VII, Plutarch: Life of Agesilaus and Life of Lysander

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenticon- disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

 

 

Teaching methods

The course is mainly taught through lectures, with discussions on the sources and the teaching material.

Assessment methods

 

The exam is oral. The knowledge of the course content will be tested (lectures and suggested texts reading).

If the student achieves a complete vision of the topics discussed in class and required for the discipline, provides an effective critical commentary, shows mastery of expression and of the specific language, both written and oral, he obtains very good or excellence in the evaluation (28-30L).

Average marks (satisfactory-good) will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology or contents (22-27).

An incomplete command of contents and/or inappropriate language and terminology, albeit in a context of minimal knowledge of the course material, will lead to a 'pass' mark (18-21).

A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology (< 18).

Students enrolled in the course as part of an Integrated Course (I.C.) are required to pass the oral examination of the two parts – Archaic and Classical+Hellenistic History – in the same date (the final grade will result from the arithmetic average of the marks obtained in the two parts).

 

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample
time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

 

 

Teaching tools

The sources and the teaching material will be available on Virtuale (the download is required: on the exam day, students have to bring with them the printed copy of the examined sources)

Office hours

See the website of Maria Elena De Luna