Undergraduate Course Descriptions

Introducing Greek 101: Online

Greek 101 is the first course in the two-semester introductory Greek sequence. Upon successful completion of this course, together with Greek 102, students will be able to read, with recourse to a dictionary and grammar reference, unedited ancient Greek. Students will learn to engage with and appreciate ancient documents, ranging from Archaic poetry and Classical prose and to the books of the New Testament, at a more direct and fundamental level than is possible in English translation. This course offers five language credits.  (Usually offered during the winter and summer sessions.)

Check back soon for registration information. 

Classics Courses

Undergraduate Course Lists

For previous course listings, please contact Alison Blaszak.

Course Registration

Please visit the Office of the Registrar to register for next semester's courses.

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CL 100:  Archaeology and Rediscovery in the Classical World
This course examines the search for the evidence for ancient Greek and Roman culture that survived antiquity and what that evidence reveals of those cultures. Notable archaeological finds such as those of the Athenian Acropolis and Agora and the south Italian cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, among numerous others, will be explored during the course to provide students with an overview of the Greek and Roman civilizations. (Sebastiani)

CL 105: Greek & Roman Archaeology
Offers a broad overview of the civilizations of ancient Greece and Italy through the perspective of their material culture, primarily architecture, sculpture, and painting, as well as minor arts and crafts (for example, pottery and metalwork).  These five civilizations: Minoan, Mycenaean, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman, comprise the core area for the discipline known as Classical Archaeology.  Emerging as a formal field of study only in the 19th century, but with roots far earlier in antiquarian pursuits by an educated and inquisitive elite, we will also explore the circumstances of discovery, recovery, and interpretation of the pre-historic and historical past of these primary Mediterranean civilizations. (Ault)

CL 110:  The Latest News from the Ancient World
This course will look at several ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds, examining the many different methods we use to learn about the past and learning how a multitude of modern institutions and ideas are rooted in early antiquity from religious and philosophical ideologies to social institutions to artistic and architectural forms. We will also look at many ways in which we now use the past when we are talking about the present, for example in films and literature, in political and social debates. Our focus will be on the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, and we will examine material from the early Paleolithic era up into the Byzantine and Islamic eras. Throughout the course, you will be encouraged to reflect on connections between the distant past and our contemporary world, using the past to better understand the present, and using the present to make better sense of the past. (McGuire)

CL 112:  Stone Axe to Tank:  Warfare in World History
This is an entry level course for those wishing to study the place of warfare in history, from the Neolithic Era to World War One. The course will consist of weekly lectures, which will include numerous images and film clips on such topics as fortifications, changes in technology, tactics, and strategy, military fashion, and the uses of geography, as well as weekly recitations for discussion. (Boyd)

CL 113 (APY 168): Myth and Religion in the Ancient World
Myth and Religion in the Ancient World provides a comparative analysis of the mythic and religious traditions of various early Indo-European peoples, in coverage extending chronologically and geographically from Vedic India to Medieval Ireland and Scandinavia, focusing on ancient Greece and, especially Rome. The analytic model used is that of, chiefly, Emile Benveniste and Georges Dumezil. (Woodard)

CL 151: Medical Terminology
The goal of this course is to familiarize the student with medical terminology by approaching it from its Greek and Latin roots.

CL 180: Ancient Sport
The aim of this course is to introduce students to ancient Greek and Roman society through the examination of ancient sport and spectacles in the Greco-Roman world. Athletics played a central role in the values, ethics, and beliefs of ancient Greek and Roman society, and became part of the very fabric of their socio-cultural, political, economic, and religious systems. During the course, we will not only examine ancient sport, but also its intersection with modern athletics and athletic values. Examples of topics include: the Olympics then and now; the Roman gladiatorial amphitheatre, violence, cruelty, and Christian martyrs; women, religion, and myth in ancient athletics; and training, ethics, and professionalism. We will use evidence from archaeology, Greek and Latin literature in translation, athletic representations in painting and sculpture, and modern sport readings to reconstruct the historical practices and ideologies of ancient athletics. Through the history and social significance of sport in the ancient world, students will have a better understanding of modern sport, spectacles, and athletic practices and their role in society today.

CL 199: UB Seminar

  • Conflict in Ancient Greece
    In this seminar, we will read works by two of the very finest writers of Greek tragedy – a genre all about conflict.  We will read Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripides’ Medea, and Hippolytus. (Teegarden)
  • Buffalo Rome:  Food & Culture
    We are what we eat. Every society structures itself around food. Food is integral to health, medicine, religious  practice, the environment, the economy. This course will explore the material aspects of food in the  Roman world  and in 21st century Buffalo. We will also explore the social and cultural aspects of food. What foods are valued? What foods are shunned? How did the Romans imagine that food related to health? How do we? What part did food and dietary practice play in ancient medicine? How does food factor into religious practice? Skills: You will be doing writing and analysis of other writing in this class, as well as in-class discussion, oral presentation and collaborative work, and field assignments. (Salvo)
  • Wandering and Wondering in the Ancient Greek World
    Travel and wisdom have been associated for millennia, but is the association even valid? Certainly, travel does impart knowledge about other peoples and places. In one of the earliest Greek epics, the Odyssey, wandering and wondering is the central theme. So much so that the title, which just means “the adventures of Odysseus,” has become synonymous with wandering and wondering about the world. Without question, in the ancient Greek world, people of all walks of life wandered and wondered about the world. However, only certain travelers were thought to have acquired wisdom through wandering. These people, with a few notable exceptions, came from the upper echelons of ancient Greek society and were able to transmit the knowledge they learned from traveling. But wisdom is more than just knowledge; it is knowing how to achieve a happy life. Since storytelling was and (still is) linked inextricably to class, the majority of wandering and wondering that non-elites did in the ancient Greek world was left untold, and the knowledge they must have gained remains unknowable, contributing nothing to ancient wisdom. Nevertheless, the best stories are like perfect vessels for capturing the knowledge gained from experience. Although they may be told from an elite single perspective, they often contain other stories that offer other points of view. Some of these other stories may be told within the main narrative, while others are lurking beneath the surface, omitted, or even suppressed. Critical and creative reading strategies can recover these omitted and suppressed stories, and, more crucially, the knowledge they impart. In this course, we explore some of these strategies applying them to two ancient stories about wondering and wandering: Homer’s Odyssey and Heliodorus’ novel based on it, An Ethiopian Romance.  As we read, discuss, reflect on, and respond to these two ancient Greek stories, critically considering whether travel does impart wisdom, we will try to uncover the other wanderings and wonderings, the other itineraries and perspectives, the other places and other knowings that lurk deep inside these storytelling vessels, waiting to be unlocked by your application of critical reading and creative reasoning.  (Murray)
  • Handling Monsters:  A Handbook
    Throughout western history, from the earliest times, there have been monsters loose on the earth.  For the early Greeks, heroes like Heracles and Theseus spent their days destroying or taming them. Odysseus had to work his way through them on his ten-year trip home.  Beowulf gained fame killing two and died killing a third. To get back their mountain, the dwarves hire Bilbo Baggins to deal with their monster, Smaug. A band of scientific Victorians are faced with Dracula and must combine science, religion, and folklore to rid the world of him. And Hiccup will learn through Toothless that perhaps not all monsters are evil.

    In Handling Monsters, we will examine not only all sorts of monsters, from the Titans to Smaug and beyond, but also the monster-tamers, from Herakles to a hapless Viking teenager, all in the attempt better to understand what makes a monster and, just as important, what unmakes one.

    Our work will include essays meant to explore the monstrous world and presentations which can include passionate defense and even performances. Our readings will include (among others): The Odyssey, Beowulf, The Hobbit, Dracula, and How to Train Your Dragon, Book One.  As well, we will survey monstrous films, from the 1922 Nosferatu perhaps as far as the 2017 It, time and our nerves permitting. (Boyd)
  • Violence, Power and Authority in Ancient Greece
    In this seminar, we will explore the highly contentious and volatile nature of ancient Greek politics.  Topics discussed include: civil war, foreign war, amnesty, revolutionary ideology, political amorality, imperialism, and the origins of democracy.  Through an analysis of several case studies, students will understand why the ancient Greeks often encountered great difficulties in their attempts to limit conflict and promote large-scale cooperation. (Teegarden)
  • The Ancient World in the Movie
    This course will explore the representation of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds in modern cinema, focusing on films made between 1950 and the present.  We will pay attention not only to what these films show us about modern attitudes toward the ancient world, but also to how modern filmmakers use these films, set in antiquity, to talk about our modern world.   Students will explore works of literature, ancient and modern, that offer our discussions rich context and further insight into how these narratives reflect and shape cultural values. (McGuire)
  • Happiness: Ancient Art of Living Well
    Among all the questions posed by ancient Greek and Roman thinkers, perhaps the most important was how to live a good life. Living well meant not only treating others properly. It also meant treating oneself properly by cultivating all the parts of a satisfying existence. A key lesson from antiquity is that pleasures alone can leave us feeling hollow and unfulfilled. Hence the principle that moderation was a key to happiness. Modern psychological studies confirm the ancient view that happiness is not a simple state, but rather follows from an art of making choices and forming one’s environment. This course will survey a number of perspectives from ancient Greece and Rome on how to live “a good life,” and compare them with our modern experience. Students will discuss and write about these different perspectives on achieving happiness and compare them with their own views. (Coffee)
  • The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
    The Great Pyramid at Giza, Hanging Gardens at Babylon, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes, and Lighthouse at Alexandria.  What do these all have in common?  They comprise the renowned Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Learn more about each of them, about those responsible for their creation, and why these things matter in this First Year Seminar. (Sebastiani)

CL 200: Introduction to Classical Archaeology
This course will offer a broad overview of the civilizations of ancient Greece and Italy through the perspective of their material culture, primarily architecture, sculpture, and painting, as well as minor arts and crafts (for example, pottery and metalwork). These five civilizations: Minoan, Mycenaean, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman, comprise the core area for the discipline known as Classical Archaeology.  Emerging as a formal field of study only in the 19th century, but with roots far earlier in antiquarian pursuits by an educated and inquisitive elite, we will also explore the circumstances of discovery, recovery, and interpretation of the pre-historic and historical past of these primary Mediterranean civilizations. (Ault)

CL 210: Women in the Ancient World
Explores status of women; roles in literature; their social and economic context; and the origins of contemporary stereotypes and prejudices.

CL 222: Greek Civilization
A study of the most noteworthy developments (literary, societal, and political) that took place in the ancient Greek world between 750 and 400 BCE.  We start by reading selected passages from Homer’s Iliad.  We then discuss a number of fascinating topics, including democracy, drama (both tragedy and comedy), warfare, medicine, political philosophy, rhetoric, and athletics.  We conclude with Plato’s writings about the trial and execution of Socrates.​ (Teegarden)

Explore the literature, science, art, and philosophy of ancient Greece.  This course will take you through the early Mycenaean kingdoms, the golden age of Athens, and the hellenistic empire of Alexander the Great.  Readings will include Homer, Hesiod, lyric poetry, tragedy, comedy, and excerpts from historians like Herodotus and Thucydides.  Developments in visual art and architecture will be studied alongside literary texts. (Kaufman)

CL 223: Roman Civilization
A introductory survey of Roman culture from its mythical beginnings to the time of the emperors. We will study a variety of literary works (comedy, epic, historiography, biographies, novels, satires) as well as material culture (painting, sculpture, and architecture). An overview of Roman social history provides the context for our investigation of Rome’s literature and art. (Dugan)

CL 228: Warfare in the Ancient Mediterranean World

Warfare has been a constant feature of societies and civilizations. It both destabilizes and stabilizes the order of things. This course is designed to provide a historically anchored survey of warfare in the ancient Mediterranean civilizations, particularly those of Greece and Rome. Not simply a history of strategies and battles, our intent is to look at the wide range of issues influencing and impacted by armed conflict: for example, religious and  political  ideologies, family structure, the economy, and technology and the arts. (Trotta)

This course is designed to provide a historically anchored survey of warfare in the ancient Mediterranean civilizations, particularly those of Greece and Rome. Not simply a history of strategies and battles, our intent will be to look at the wide range of issues influencing and impacted by armed conflict: for example, religious and political ideologies, family structure, the economy, and technology and the arts. It is hoped that the background acquired by students will help them to better evaluate the overall nature of society, both ancient and modern, especially in light of subsequent instances of conflict, and particularly those in recent history. (Ault)

CL 287: The Art & Archaeology of Greece (Summer Program in Greece)
This course will survey the art and archaeology of Greece from the early Bronze Age (3’d millennium BCE} down through the Hellenistic era (3’d-151 centuries BCE}, integrating lectures and textbook assignments with site visits and museum visits around the Greek mainland and islands.  We will examine the ancient technologies that artists drew on to shape the major artistic media of the Greek world (architecture, sculpture, ceramics, painting, and metalwork}, and we will also identify and evaluate the ever-changing aesthetic issues and values that are revealed by all of the material that survives into modern times. Along our journey, we will also have the opportunity to examine many of the different methods we use to understand the past, exploring the impact of new technologies and methodologies on our understanding of the ancient Greek world.

CL 305: Heroes
The archetype of the hero as it occurs in the psychology of the life cycle, in ancient heroic literature and in modern popular culture.  Readings from Gilgamesh, the Odyssey, the Mahabharata, Beowulf, the Arthurian cycle and the Bible.  Examples from cinema, comic books, etc.

CL 315: Classical Epic Traditions: Epics of Troy|
This course provides a survey of classical epic poetry, beginning with the foundational works of western literature, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, then continuing with readings of Apollonius’ Argonautika, Vergil’s Aeneid, and Lucan’s Bellum Ciuile.  Through lectures and discussions, students will learn about the Greco-Roman cultures that produced these poems, as well as the construction of the genre of epic and its profound influence on the course of western literature.  They will also discuss how the works treat various major themes, such as the causes of warfare, the place of the individual in society, and human confrontation of mortality.  Students completing this course should be able to discuss the central role of epic poetry in the origins of western literature, as well as how the issues raised by the poets reflect on ancient Greek and Roman culture. (Coffee)

Readings in translation designed to provide an understanding of the forms and particular visions of the epic genre, especially its Greek and Roman exemplars. (Woodard)

CL 316: Greek Drama in Translation

CL 331: Roman Imperialism
The Roman Empire lasted over 600 years, occupying most of Western Europe, much of the Middle East, Asia Minor and the northern coast of Africa. It must be considered the most successful empire in western history. Its impact can still be found in the geography, language, institutions, customs and culture of modern western society. What made the Roman Empire so great? What challenges did it face, and how did it overcome them? This course will explore how the Roman Empire formed, maintained control, the nature of its seemingly invincible army, the defense of its borders, how it dealt with rebellions and resistance, and what strategies it used to integrate its many and ethnically diverse inhabitants.

CL 332: The Athenian Empire
This semester we will have the opportunity to take an in-depth look at the institution of Athens. Not simply a course on the political and military fortunes of the city during its fifth century apex, we will take into account Athenian social and cultural history both before and after the golden age as well. Time will be spent considering the physical and metaphysical dimensions of the city and its inhabitants (and, by extension, the Greeks in general), their norms and values, forms of government (especially the particularly timely double-edged sword of democracy and imperialism), and intellectual achievements. (Ault)

CL 332: The Athenian Empire
In this course we will study the history of the Athenian Empire from its foundation (as the Delian League) in 478 BCE to its forced dissolution in 404 BCE. Topics discussed include: the nature of empire in general and the changing nature of Athenian imperialism in particular; the nature of Athens’ “radical” 5th century democracy; the nature of Athens’ 5th century cultural efflorescence (i.e., “the Golden Age”). The last quarter or so of the course will be devoted to a detailed examination of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) – a war fought between the Spartans and their allies and the Athenians and their allies. In this we will be guided by Thucydides’ magisterial History of the Peloponnesian War, arguably the most influential work of history written in classical antiquity.  (Teegarden)

CL 333: Ancient World Movies
We are going to watch and think about several modern movies about the ancient Greco-Roman world (TROY; GLADIATOR; 300; many more).  During the semester, we will explore different aspects of classical culture (historical events, religious behavior, social issues, etc) and different modern issues embedded in the films we watch.  Students will not only enjoy the movies, work, and conversations, but also gain an appreciation for cultural and historical issues of Classical antiquity, for the history of modern cinema, and for the many ways in which movies reflect the eras in which they were made. (McGuire)

CL 336: Greek Archaeology, I
This course provides the first of a two-semester overview of Greek civilization though its archaeological remains. Over the semester we will survey settlements, cemeteries, and sanctuaries, as well as pottery, painting, and sculpture, spanning the Stone, Bronze, and early Iron Ages. This evidence will be used to consider theories about broad historical trends and developments in culture and society. In the process we will also take into account archaeological methods as they are used to go about “reading” the past from material culture. (Ault)

CL 337: Greek Archaeology, II
This course provides the second of a two-semester overview of Greek civilization through its archaeological remains. Over the semester we will survey architecture, sculpture, and painting from ca. 700 to 31 B.C., comprising the periods known as the Orientalizing, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic. During this time span the development of artistic styles and architectural types will be traced against the stage of social history and political institutions. (Ault)

CL 338: Introduction to Roman Archaeology 1
The course aims to introduce the students to the archaeology of the Roman Republic period, through the analysis of a series of topics and related study cases. The course covers from the Etruscan period to the end of the Roman Republic (8th c. BC – 1st c. BC).  The course addresses the rise of the Roman civilization, its expansion within the Italian peninsula and the wider Mediterranean. During the classes, students will have the possibility of becoming familiar with major debates in history and archaeology for the Republican time and to explore many Republican monuments and sites. (Sebastiani)

CL 340: The Classical Origins of Western Literature
The poets and writers of ancient Greece and Rome created countless innovations in their literary works that became the inheritance of Western culture. These range from narrative techniques like flashbacks, found already in Homer, to the creation of meaning through sustained allegory, to the development of genres and tones like the macabre. The goal of this course is to introduce students to the range of classical literature by surveying key innovations that continue to make Greek and Roman literature exciting, and that have influenced the work of centuries of writers in the Western tradition down to the present. (Coffee)

CL 341:  Digital & Virtual Cultural Heritage
Augmented and virtual reality, 3D reconstructions, LIDAR and GIS are part of the new language of cultural heritage in the 21st century. The demand for and use of digital data increases as archaeologists face a technologically-fueled revolution in their methods of recording, analyzing and communicating the results of historical investigations to wider audiences. This course will introduce students to the topic of digital and virtual cultural heritage, by analyzing the different techniques employed to record and preserve our past and the monuments that are daily threated by warfare and looting, changing climactic conditions, and the need for sustainable tourism.

Students will have the opportunity to learn the principles of digital archaeology and the evolution of the discipline in the last decades in relation to the study and preservation of cultural heritage. The course will also provide a learning overview on digital tools and methods (the Internet, social media, virtual and augmented reality, 3D modeling) that are nowadays applied to cultural heritage and their influence in our perception of the past. (Sebastiani)

CL 362: Survey of Greek History
This is a course on the history of ancient Greece from the Bronze Age to the end of Peloponnesian War (ie., circa 1400 – 404 BCE). We will study the major political, social, economic and cultural developments that took place in the Greek-speaking world during those several centuries. At the end of the semester, each student will be better able to analyze ancient Greek history and appreciate the contributions made by the ancient Greeks to the Western World. (Teegarden)

CL 363: Roman Religion
Religion played a major role in the daily life of ancient Romans, but the boundaries between the sacred and the profane were markedly different from those of our own culture.  This course will examine the pervasive role of religion and ritual in all aspects of Roman society from archaic Rome into the Imperial era.  We will explore the identity of the major and minor gods of Rome and the nature of their worship, the Roman priesthoods, prophecy and divination in Rome, the religious festivals of the Roman people, the sacred spaces of Rome, the role of religion in war and athletic competition, religion and Roman class struggles, the relationship of Roman religion to the religious systems of other ancient peoples of the Italian peninsula, and Greek and Near Eastern influence on the religious system of the Romans, among still other topics. (Woodard)

CL 408 (CL 512)
This course will look at the history of Italy and Western Europe from the reign of Constantine through the reign of Charlemagne. It will also consider Rome’s successor in the East, Byzantium, and its relationship to the ‘old empire’. The class will address larger themes in classical and early medieval history and will question traditional views on the ‘decline and fall of the Roman Empire’ and the ‘Dark Ages’. We will study topics such as the Migration Period, Christianity in the Roman Empire, pilgrimage, monasticism, changes and continuity of the cities and countryside of Europe, the rise of the new order in Merovingian and Carolingian Europe, and Byzantium’s relationships with Islamic and ‘barbarian’ lands, using a wide variety of literary, archaeological, and artistic evidence.  (Salvo)

CL 410: Classics Capstone Seminar

CL 410: The Ancient World in the Movies
This course will view and examine a semester-long series of movies set in the ancient Greco-Roman world, from the early, silent classic “Cabiria” to more contemporary hits, “300,” “Troy,” and “Gladiator.” The chief goal of the course is to understand  some of the ways in which movies have used the ancient world to talk about modern cultures.  Course requirements will include a set of writing assignments and readings related to film, to the ancient world, and to modern reaction to the films. Class attendance at Sunday evening movies (on campus and comfortable!) will be required, as well as two class hours per week. (McGuire)

CL 410: Ancient Greek Democracy & Macedonian Imperialism
This is a course on the history of Greek democracy during the reigns of Philip II and Alexander the Great.  We begin with a thorough study of the institutions and underlying ideologies of Athens’ democracy. We then trace in detail the rise of king Philip II and study how and why he eventually defeated democratic Athens and her Greek allies. We conclude by briefly analyzing Alexander the Great’s democratization policy in western Asia Minor. (Teegarden)

CL 410: The Classical Spectrum
A capstone experience for senior Classics majors and minors, entailing an advanced, integrated examination of the diverse elements of the discipline of Classics in a seminar setting. (Woodard)

CL 422: The Greek City polis, chora, and oikos
This course will examine the nature of ancient Greek civic and domestic life through the archaeology of urbanism, regional and rural settlement, patterns of land use, and houses and households. For the city and its territory we consider the rise of the polis; the types, design and placement of public spaces and buildings, including sanctuaries; orthogonal planning and Hippodamos of Miletus; and the relationship between the city and its countryside. Turning to the household, we take up issues ranging from the use, functions and decorative elaboration of domestic space; to the domestic economy; to issues of status, ideology, and gender in the ancient house. (Ault)

CL 430: Ancient Economy
A topical survey of the economy of the Roman empire (offered jointly with a graduate section) that combines lectures, in-class presentations by students, and the discussion of readings. Emphasizes the different forms of textual and material cultural evidence available for the elucidation of the Roman economy and the ways in which historians and archaeologists employ these for economic analysis. The course is organized around weekly topics, including general models of the Roman economy, the free market versus the command economy, rationality, productivity and growth, money, labor and occupations, the economic role of towns, agricultural production, marketing, bankers and traders, consumption, and quantitative approaches to economic analysis. Written assignments are aimed at developing students skills in the critical evaluation of scholarly literature and the analysis of original data sets.

CL 440: Pompeii
The course aims to introduce both undergraduate and graduate students to the archaeology of the Bay of Naples with specific attention to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and other Roman settlements around Mount Vesuvius. The course will also analyze the history of archaeological research in this area of south Italy, its achievements, and the implications in terms of cultural heritage management of worldwide known sites. (Sebastiani)

CL 494: Classics Capstone Seminar

  • Re-reading and Re-making Homer’s Odyssey
    We will begin this course with a careful (re)reading of Homer’s Odyssey, exploring many of the literary and conceptual issues involved in revisiting a text.  We will then move on to other re-creations of the Odyssey, ancient and modern, literary and cinematic.  Possible texts include: Vergil, Aeneid; D. Walcott. Omeros; selections from J. Joyce’s Ulysses; C. Frazier, Cold Mountain.  Possible films include O Brother, Where Art Thou?; O Lucky Man!; The Return of Martin Guerre. (McGuire)

Non-majors may take this course with the permission of the instructor. All readings are in English.  

Greek Courses

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GR 101 - Ancient Greek Language & Culture 1
This course introduces the study of the ancient Greek language, conveying the essential grammar and vocabulary through readings in a variety of simple texts. The course also offers a broad overview of the historical background and cultural milieu in which the great works of ancient Greek literature and culture were created. No prerequisites. (Kicey)

GR 201- Ancient Greek Language & Culture 2
An introduction to ancient Greek with a study of the essential grammar and readings in a variety of simple texts.

GR 301 - Ancient Greek Language & Culture 3
This course will focus on improving reading skills in Greek.

GR 302: Ancient Greek Language & Culture 4
Advanced work in grammar and composition together with readings from prose and poetry.

GR 401: Ancient Greek Language and Culture 5
The focus in this course is upon developing the ability to read Greek with accuracy and increasing speed. To do so, we cover a number of texts and selections from oratory and drama with an emphasis upon understanding how the grammar works in context and how to build a working vocabulary. There is a further emphasis upon historical and social contexts, not only what the Greek means linguistically, but also what it means in the world of 5th and 4th century BC Athenian life. (Boyd)

Lessons in the textbook will be supplemented by short passages from texts written by ancient Greek authors. (Teegarden)

GR 402: Herodotus
Selections from Herodotus’ Histories, and representative Greek poets, such as Sappho, Alcman, and Pindar. Emphasizes improving reading ability.

GR 403: Greek Drama (3)

GR 404: Greek Oratory (3)

GR 426: Lyric Poetry (3)

GR 444 (CL 544): Reading Greek Literature (3)

  • Callimachus & Apollonius
    This course will survey the poetry of two of the most influential poets of the Hellenistic age: Callimachus of Cyrene (c.305-240 BCE) and Apollonius of Rhodes (c. 276 BCE-194 BCE). Students will read selections of their poetry and consider the ways in which the “updated” the traditional genres of rhapsodic hymn, elegy, iamb, and epic, how the infused their poetry with the political and intellectual concerns of their age, and how they influenced each other and the trajectory of Greek and Latin poetry thereafter. The aesthetic of this era was profoundly influential, especially on the Roman poets, who translated (in some cases literally) the poetry of their Hellenistic predecessors into their own language and milieux. We will conclude by examining the influence of some of these Hellenistic poets on Catullus, Vergil, Ovid, and Valerius Flaccus. This course is an advanced to graduate level reading course; this is NOT a language acquisition course. This course will NOT focus on the morphology, grammar and syntax of Ancient Greek; it is assumed that the students in the class are already very comfortable with Attic Greek. However, since the poems we will study are not composed in Attic, a few class meetings will be devoted to the introduction of the two Greek dialects involved: Literary Doric and Epic. This course is meant to be an in depth study of literature from the Hellenistic period and the current state of the trends in scholarship. (Murray)

  • A close reading of Book 1 of Thucydides (Teegarden)

  • A close reading of Aristotle’s Poetics. (Woodard)

Latin Courses

LAT 101:  Latin Language and Culture 1
Introduces Latin; the reading of simple texts by various Roman authors. Also deals with Roman culture and civilization and with the influence of Latin in English vocabulary.

LAT 201:  Latin Language and Culture 2

LAT 301: Latin Language and Culture 3
An introduction to Latin; the reading of simple texts by various Roman authors. The course will also deal with Roman culture and civilization and with the influence of Latin in English vocabulary.

LAT 302: Latin Language & Culture 4
Advanced work in Latin grammar with readings from Latin prose and poetry. (Dugan)

This course combines a review of basic grammar with extended readings in Caesar and Cicero. Students will increase their vocabularies, learn how to construe a Latin sentence, and begin to appreciate Latin prose style. The readings focus on the fall of the Roman Republic, a fundamental turning point in western history. (Coffee)

LAT 401: Ovid (3)

Readings in Latin literature at the advanced undergraduate level. (Dugan)

In this course, students will read and discuss selections from the works of Ovid in Latin, focusing on his most influential poem, the grand mythological epic Metamorphoses. Students who take this course will improve their Latin reading skills, their familiarity with the workings of Roman poetry, and their understanding of Roman culture. (Coffee)

LAT 402:  6th semester Latin

LAT 404: Ciceronian Oratory (3)

LAT 407: Lucretius and Epicurus (3)

LAT 408: Roman Historians (3)

LAT 409: Classical Latin: Prose Writers (3)

LAT 410: Roman Comedy (3)

LAT 413: Virgil (3)

LAT 414: Silver Latin (3)

LAT 443 (CL 543): Reading Latin Literature (3)

  • Etruscan Presences in Latin literature
    We will read a broad variety of Latin texts that engage with the Etruscans. Topics covered will include Roman understandings of Etruscan history, culture, social organization, religious belief and ritual, divinatory practices (in particular the hauruspices), city planning, and temple and tomb construction. (Dugan)
  • Sallust
    We will consider the surviving Sallustian corpus in its entirety: Catiline, Jugurtha, the Histories (surviving in substantial and fascinating fragments), as well as the Pseudo-Sallustian ‘Invective against Cicero.’ Our goal is to achieve an over-all understanding of Sallust's contribution to Roman literature and historiography, and of his place within Roman cultural history. We will read the whole of Sallust in English translation, translate substantial portions of his Latin, and engage with pertinent secondary scholarship. (Dugan)                     
  • Roman Invective and Verbal Abuse
    An exploration of the world of Roman verbal assault. Readings in Latin will range from inscriptions on sling bullets and walls, to scurrilous pamphlets, to formal full-blown invective speeches. We will investigate especially how themes within Roman invective reveal broader cultural values. (Dugan)

LAT 445: Latin Syntax & Stylistics (CL 595)
This class is made up of two distinct, but ultimately complementary, activities: the reading and stylistic analysis of selected Latin prose texts from the 2nd cent. BCE to the 5th cent. CE; and a systematic overview of Latin prose syntax through composition exercises. The goals are to provide a survey of the range of Latin prose style (including Cato, Cicero, Sallust, Caesar, Livy, Seneca, Tacitus, Apuleius, and Jerome) and to compose Latin in order to achieve a firm grasp of proper Latin grammar and syntax. (Dugan)