READING

REQUIRED READING (you will be expected to know this material)

Note that summer reading lists may be different or abbreviated

Starr, Chester G: A History of the Ancient World, 3rd/4th ed.
  Basic Text for this course and for HIST 341. There is an alternate text for those who wish (see below).

 

Frost, Frank: Greek Society, 5th ed.
  A social history to complement text and lectures.

 

Plutarch: The Rise and Fall of Athens.
  Biographies of important figures.

 

Aristophanes: Lysistrata.
  A comedy about war, women, and peace written in wartime.

 

Arrian, The Campaigns of Alexander.
  Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia.

 

Handouts on WebCT.

 

RECOMMENDED READING (for your better understanding or enjoyment)

Pomeroy, S., et al.: Ancient Greece:  A Political, Social, and Cultural History.
  An alternate text to replace Starr for those who wish a more thorough treatment of Greek history.  

  It is not as good as I would like, but it will do.  Don't buy both Starr and Pomeroy.

 

Herodotus: The Histories.
  The first "history" written by the "father of history."

 

Thucydides: The Peloponnesian War.
  The "greatest" Greek historian's account of war.

 

EVALUATION

There will be two (2) mid-term exams each worth 100 points, 3 map quizzes worth a total of 50 points (best 3 of 4 quizzes), and a take-home final exam worth 150 points, for a grand total of 400 points. There are no papers required. You will be graded on total points scored, and YOU MUST TAKE ALL EXAMS TO RECEIVE A PASSING GRADE.

GRADING: This course will have a T.A. grading the exams under my supervision and according to my instructions. I will review the grading. The goal is a standard "curve" of 90-80-70-60 which may be adjusted downward as required. "Plus" and "minus" grades will be given to the top two and bottom two percentage points in each category. Thus, if B's range from 89-80, B+ will be 89-88 and B- will be 81-80. There are no quotas.

MAKE-UP examinations will be conducted Friday mornings at 7 a.m. Scheduling (arranging) the exams is your responsibility. I will give exams only to those who have discussed the need for one with me within one week after the exam. Make-up exams will have fewer choices and may be harder than the original exam to compensate for the additional time.

MAP QUIZZES will be given on 4 Wednesdays (early September, mid October, early December, mid December) during the first 5 minutes of class. The fourth quiz will function as a "make-up" quiz. NOTA BENE: It will be the only make-up.

CLASSROOM PROCEDURE

Classes will consist of lectures with slides and perhaps other audio-visuals from time to time. Questions are WELCOMED, provided that they are not excessive or off the topic. If you wish to debate some esoteric point, I will be glad to participate outside of class. PLEASE do not hesitate to ask a question that will clarify some part of the lecture.

ATTENDANCE is your concern, but cutting class is a very bad idea. Material presented in class is not necessarily duplicated in the books. All material presented is fair game for the examinations.  Changes may occur that will be announced only in class.  You are responsible for all this.

 

READING AND STUDY HABITS

If you are a freshman, please come to see me immediately! This is important for you and your grade.

It is important to keep up on the reading.  Just how you do this is your business.  I don't give daily reading quizzes, even in freshman level classes.  But do know that you cannot hope to keep everything straight if you insist on reading all of Plutarch or Arrian at a sitting.  The text and supplements ought to help you understand Roman history better, to fill in where lecture was sketchy, to draw other conclusions and insights than you will get in class.

It is wise to periodically review your class notes to see if you can make sense of the material.  If you cannot, it is time to revise, to come see me, or go back and fill in from your books.  

Don't  wait till you get the study guide to prepare for the exams.  Work on the material for at least a week.  Think about what kind of questions I could give you (hint:  what were the main topics of this section of the course?).

In Studying: Note that you will be writing examinations composed of essay questions. You will need to compile a basis of specific information to back up your contentions, generalizations, and opinions. Names and dates are often necessary to do this. Beware amassing (and writing) large amounts of unrelated facts OR unsupported generalities. Neither shotgunning nor BSing will result in a satisfactory grade.

Work on the maps for the map quizzes, a few new places at a time.  If you do this over a week, you will have memorized the names, locations, and spelling of all the items on the map!

 

LECTURES AND READING SCHEDULE 

(this is approximate and may vary semester to semester).  Some semesters I have to be out of town on a given day.  I normally try to arrange for substitutes, but at other times, I may cancel class.  Again, this is announced in class.

Map quizzes occur on Wednesdays, usually the 3rd week, 8th week, 12th week, and 14th week of the semester.  Check the class syllabus for specific dates.

Lecture 01: Hellas and the Hellenes
Lecture 02: Legends and Myths: Memories of the Bronze Age
Lecture 03: Reconstructing the Past: H. Schliemann and A. Evans
Readings: Starr, 1-25; Plutarch, Theseus (and introduction)

LABOR DAY usually occurs near the beginning of the semester.  This is a university holiday
Lecture 04: Minoan Civilization on Crete
Lecture 05: Mycenaean Civilization: The First Flowering of Greece
Lecture 06: Advent of the Polis
Readings: Starr, 104-111; Frost, 1-16

Lecture 07: The World of Homer 
Lecture 08: Pan-Hellenism and Colonization
Readings: Starr, 185-227; Frost, 17-33, 125-129

Lecture 09: New Forms of Government
Lecture 10: Repression in Sparta
Lecture 11: Foundations of Athenian Democracy
Readings: Starr, 247-274; Plutarch Solon, (Frost 41-65 may be helpful, but really applies to a later section in the 5th century)

Lecture 12: Archaic Art and Architecture
Lecture 13: Birth of Greek Literature
Lecture 14: Science and Philosophy
Readings: Starr 228-246; Frost, 33-39, 125-129

EXAMINATION I: (Lectures 1-14 and included readings)

Lecture 15: The Long-Haired Mede: Herodotus and the Persians
Lecture 16: Miletos: Revolution and War
Lecture 17: Nike! Victory
Readings: Starr, 275-297; Frost, 41-44; Plutarch, Themistocles, Aristides;

Lecture 18: Stress among Allies
Lecture 19: Athenian Imperialism
Lecture 20: Triumph of the Democracy
Readings: Starr, 298-318; Frost, 41-86; Plutarch, Cimon

Lecture 21: Life in Periclean Athens
Lecture 22: Athenian Drama
Lecture 23: Athens and the Arts
Readings: Starr, 318-338; Frost, 87-113, 137-145; Plutarch, Pericles; Aristophanes, Lysistrata, all

Lecture 24: Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War
Lecture 25: The Peace of Nicias
Lecture 26: From Sicily to Aegospotami
Readings: Starr, 339-358; Plutarch, Nicias, Alcibiades, Lysander; Frost, 129-133

Lecture 27: Desolation: Aftermath of the War
Lecture 28: Sparta and Thebes
Lecture 29: Fractionalization
Readings: Starr, 359-377; Frost, 119-124, 133-137, 144-149

EXAMINATION II: (Lectures 15-29 and included readings)

Lecture 30: Socrates the Teacher
Lecture 31: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
Readings: Starr, 378-393; Frost, 113-119; Arrian, Introduction

Lecture 32: Philip and Alexander
Lecture 33: Alexander and Persia
Lecture 34: Alexander the Great?
Readings: Starr, 394-402; Arrian, all

Lecture 35: Instability: Wars of Succession
Lecture 36: War is Peace: Balance of Power
Lecture 37: Hellenistic Kingdoms
Readings: Starr, 403-434; Frost, 151-172, 207-212

Lecture 38: Life in Hellenistic Greece
Lecture 39: Philosophy and Science
Lecture 40: Religion and the Arts 
Lecture 41: Advent of ROME
Readings: Starr, 413-434; Frost, 172-227

FINAL EXAMINATION: Take-Home Exam due Monday of Finals Week, 12 noon

READING SCHEDULE FOR THE (ALTERNATE) POMEROY TEXT

EXAM 1 Topics 1-5	EXAM 2 Topics 6-10	FINAL EXAM Topics 11-14
Chapters 1-6	Chapters 7-11	Chapters 11-12 Epilogue

 

MAP QUIZ STUDY SHEET

MAP QUIZ 1 map p. 2 see also pp. 3 & 7	MAP QUIZ 2 map p. 3	MAP QUIZ 3 maps pp. 24, 26
Aegina Aetolia Attica Black Sea Boeotia Bosphorus Byzantium Chalcidice Chios Corcyra Crete Delos Delphi Ephesos Epirus Euboea Hagia Triada Halicarnassus Hellespont Ionia Ionian Sea Ithaca Knidos Knossos Lemnos Lesbos Lydia Macedonia Melos Miletos Mt. Athos Mt. Olmpus Mycenae Naxos Olympia Paros Peloponnesus Phaistos Pylos Rhodes Samos Thera Thessaly Thracian Chersonese Tiryns Troy	Achaia Aegina Aetolia Arcadia Argolis Argos Athens Attica Boeotia Cape Artemisium Cape Sunion Chaeronea Corinth Corinthia Delphi Doris Eleusis Elis Epidauros Eretria Euboia Gulf of Corinth Laconia Lamia Leuctra Locris Marathon Megalopolis Megara Megaris Messene Messenia Mycenae Naupaktos Olympia Phocis Piraeus Plataia Pylos Salamis Saronic Gulf Sparta Thebes Thermopylae Thessaly Tiryns Troizen	Adriatic Sea Aegae Aegean Sea Alexandria Ammonium Antioch Arabia Arabian Sea Arbela Armenia Babylon Bactria Black Sea Caspian Sea Cyprus Cyrene Damghan (Hecatompylus) Danube River Ecbatana Euphrates River Gordium Granicus River Hydapses River Indus River Issus Macedon Nile River Parthia Pella Pergamum Persepolis Persian Gulf Ptolemaic Kingdom Red Sea Rhodes Rome Seleucia-on-Tigris Seleucid Kingdom Sicily Syracuse Thrace Tigris River Troy Tyre

Notes:

On all maps, I will mark the places, you will fill in the names (spelling does count).

Rivers will be marked with arrows Cities and specific sites will be marked with an X Mountains will be marked with overlapping triangles Regions will be marked with hatching Small islands with just a circled number Bodies of water just with a circled number

Map Quiz 4 (make-up) will use the form of the first quiz. 
All 3 lists are fair game (except for those items that don't fit) for this quiz.

SOME OTHER SITES THAT MAY BE HELPFUL

press the globe to get a select list of places to visit including MyDDP

 

 

For information about your instructor and links to:
the Department of History
and
Washington State University (WAZZU)

go to
the inaccurately named

Richard S. Williams Unpretentious Home Page

by pressing the comm-badge

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