Classics (CLASS-UA)

Open to students with no previous training in Latin and to others through assignment by placement test. Given every other year. Spring term only. 6 points. Completes the equivalent of a year?s elementary level in one semester.

Introduction to the essentials oIntroduction to the essentials of Latin, the language of Vergil, Caesar, and Seneca. Five hours of instruction weekly, with both oral and written drills and an emphasis on the ability to read Latin rather than merely translate it.

Continuation of Elementary Latin I.

Teaches second-year students to read Latin prose through comprehensive grammar review; emphasis on the proper techniques for reading (correct phrase division, the identification of clauses, and reading in order); and practice reading at sight. Authors may include Caesar, Cicero, Cornelius Nepos, Livy, Petronius, or Pliny, at the instructor's discretion.

Writings of the greatest Roman poet, focusing on the most generally read portions of his most celebrated poem, the Aeneid. The meter of the poem is studied, and the student learns to read Latin metrically to reflect the necessary sound for full appreciation of the writing. Readings in political and literary history illustrate the setting in the Augustan Age in which the Aeneid was written and enjoyed, the relationship of the poem to the other classical epics, and its influence on the poetry of later times.

Introduction to the complex but highly beautiful language of ancient Greece--the language of Homer, Sophocles, Thucydides, and Plato. Students learn the essentials of ancient Greek vocabulary, morphology, and syntax. Five hours of instruction weekly, with both oral and written drills and an emphasis on the ability to read Greek rather than merely translate it.

Continuation of Elementary Greek I.

Reading of Plato's Apology and Crito and selections from the Republic. The purpose of the course is to develop facility in reading Attic prose. Supplements readings in Greek with lectures on Socrates and the Platonic dialogues.

Extensive readings in the Iliad or Odyssey. Proficiency in scansion is expected as well as a good command of Homeric vocabulary. Relevant topics ranging from the Homeric question to problems of oral tradition through the archaeological evidence of Bronze Age Greece and Troy are discussed in class or developed by the student through oral or written reports.

Identical to DRLIT-UA 210. Of the ancient Greeks' many gifts to Western culture, one of the most celebrated and influential is the art of drama. This course covers, through the best available translations, the masterpieces of the three great Athenian dramatists. Analysis of the place of the plays in the history of tragedy and the continuing influence they have had on serious playwrights, including those of the 20th century.

Detailed study of the epic from its earliest form, as used by Homer, to its use by the Roman authors. Concentrates on the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer and on Virgil?s Aeneid, but may also cover the Argonautica of the Alexandrian poet Apollonius of Rhodes and Ovid?s Metamorphoses, as well as the epics representative of Silver Latin by Lucan, Silius Italicus, and Valerius Flaccus.

Topics and prerequisites vary by semester

Survey of Greek and Roman narrative fiction in antiquity, its origins and development as a literary genre, and its influence on the tradition of the novel in Western literature. Readings include Chariton?s Chaereas and Callirrhoe, Longus?s Daphnis and Chloe, Heliodorus?s Ethiopian Tale, Lucian?s True History, Petronius?s Satyricon, and Apuleius?s Golden Ass. Concludes with the Gesta Romanorum and the influence of this tradition on later prose, such as Elizabethan prose romance.

Examines the foundation of the ancient polis (city-state), its ancient interpretations, and the emergence of political philosophy with Socrates. Use of ancient sources. Aeschylus?s Seven Against Thebes illustrates what the ancients regarded as problems inherent in political life that, however ?solved,? always persisted. Also includes the Oresteia as the first example of a solution, Sophocles? Oedipus Tryannus, Aristophanes? Knights, Plato?s Republic, Aristotle?s Politics, and Cicero?s Republic and Laws.

This class deals with the constructions of gender and experiences of sexuality in ancient Greece and Rome. Working with texts and representations from varied discourses such as medicine, law, literature, visual art, and philosophy, students explore the ways in which the ancient Greeks and Romans perceived their own bodies in such a way as to differentiate gender and understand desire. The class also discusses how eroticism and gender support and subvert political and social ideologies.

This course will study daily life as it was lived by Romans in the period of the late Republic and early Empire: how they worked and worshipped, how they dressed, fed and entertained themselves. We will look at the lives of women, men and children, at questions of family life and social status, at rich and poor, at slaves and free. We will consider topics such as work and leisure, food and drink, marriage and divorce, crime and punishment, law and property. All of these issues will be examined through a careful study of the evidence from the time, both written and archaeological, giving us direct access to the ways in which people lived, and how they depicted their own lives and the lives of others.

Identical to HIST-UA 200, HEL-UA 242. Until a few decades ago, Greek history began with Homer and dealt narrowly with the Greek world. Thanks to archaeology, the social sciences, and other historical tools, the chronological and geographical horizons have been pushed back. The history of the Greeks now starts in the third millennium B.C. and is connected to the civilization that lay to the east, rooted in Egypt and Mesopotamia. This course traces Greek history from the Greeks' earliest appearance to the advent of Alexander.

Continuation of the history of ancient Greece from the age of Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C. until Emperor Augustus consolidated the Roman hold over the eastern Mediterranean in the first century B.C. These three centuries saw the relationship between Rome and the Near East become most meaningful. Examines Alexander?s conquests, the states established by his successors (Ptolemies of Egypt and Seleucids of Syria), and the increasing intervention of Rome.

Identical to HIST-UA 205. In the sixth century B.C., Rome was an obscure village. By the end of the third century B.C., Rome was master of Italy, and within another 150 years, it dominated almost all of the Mediterranean world. Then followed a century of civil war involving some of the most famous events and men? Caesar, Pompey, and Cato in Western history. The course surveys this vital period with a modern research interpretation.

Identical to HIST-UA 206. In the spring of 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was murdered by a group of senators disgruntled with his monarchic ways. However, Caesar's adoptive son and heir, Octavian, was quickly on the scene and in little more than a decade managed to establish himself as Rome's first emperor. About three centuries later, Constantine the Great would rise to imperial power and with him came a new state religion-Christianity. This course examines the social and political history of the Roman Empire from the time of Augustus to that of Constantine and also closely observes the parallel growth of Christianity.

Topics vary by semester. For additional information see the departmental website: http://classics.as.nyu.edu/page/home.html

Topics vary by semester. For additional information see the departmental website: http://classics.as.nyu.edu/page/home.html

Topics vary by semester. For additional information see the departmental website: http://classics.as.nyu.edu/page/home.html

Prerequisite: permission of the Department.

"Topics and prerequisites vary by semester. For additional information see the departmental website: http://classics.as.nyu.edu/page/home.html"

Prerequisite: permission of the Department.

An introduction to the archaeology of the Mediterranean world examining the history and contexts of sites and monuments, as well as the methods, practices, and research models through which they have been excavated and studied. From Bronze Age palaces of the Aegean , to the Athenian Acropolis, to the cities of Alexander the Great, the Roman forum, Pompeii, and the Roman provinces,, we consider the ways in which art, archaeology, architecture, everyday objects, landscape, urbanism, technology, and ritual teach us about ancient Greek and Roman societies.

From the “Snake Goddesses” of Minoan Crete, to the marble kouroi of archaic sanctuaries, from the Parthenon sculptures to the Pergamene Altar, the Greeks devoted enormous resources to the sculpting of images. This course examines sculptural production in Greece from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period, with careful attention to materials, techniques, styles, iconography, authorship, patronage, and settings. The votive function of images as “pleasing gifts” for the gods, their apotropaic role in protecting tombs and temples, and the commemorative function of sculptured grave markers will be considered within the broader context of signification. Special topics include: divine images, corporality, athletic statuary, portraiture, and architectural decoration. Sculptures will be examined within the framework of critical theories of representation, mimesis, aesthetics, and reception, as well as within their broader social, political, and historical contexts.

From the house frescoes of Bronze Age Thera to the tomb paintings of Macedonia, from Minoan painted pottery to Athenian red-figured vases, Greek painting was a powerful aesthetic and narrative force within Greek art and culture. This course traces developments in monumental wall painting and the decoration of vases, with special emphasis on production, exchange, technique, style, authorship, narrative, context, function, and meanings. Issues of representation and signification will be examined within the frameworks of a variety of critical approaches, including semiotics, structuralism, and formal analysis. Special emphasis will be placed on issues of reception from the Eighteenth century on, particularly the impact of connoisseurship and the art market on values ascribed to ancient vases.

Traces the history of the Parthenon and its reception through its transformations from the temple of Athena, to Christian church, to mosque, to ruin, to icon of Western art and culture. The landscape, topography, and topology of the Athenian Acropolis are examined with an eye toward understanding the interrelation of place, myth, cult, and ritual. The architectural phases of the Parthenon, its program of sculptural decoration, its relationship to other monuments on the Acropolis, and the foundation myths that lie behind its meaning are scrutinized. Issues of reception, projection, and appropriation are considered, as well as interventions through conservation and reconstruction. Efforts to secure the repatriation of the Parthenon sculptures are reviewed within the broader context of global cultural heritage law and the opening of the New Acropolis Museum.

This course examines the environmental, material, social, and political forces that put ancient art at risk, including exposure to natural elements, acid rain, pollution, dam building, tourism, urban development, armed conflict, looting, theft, and the illicit trade in antiquities. Issues of conservation, preservation, and ethics are considered through case studies that focus on sites, monuments, and materials.

Examines the myths and legends of Greek and Roman mythology, their connections to the wider ancient Mediterranean World, the ways in which gods, spirits, heroes, monsters and everyday mortals are portrayed and ways to approach the meaning of ancient myth. Ancient art works and texts (in translation) are analyzed, including Hesiod’s creation myths, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, ancient Greek drama, and other works. Rome’s use of Greek myth will also be covered including Ovid’s metamorphoses and Virgil’s Aeneid. This class will also cover the reception of Greek and Roman myths in modern culture.

The period from the beginnings of Greek religion until the spread of Christianity spans over 2,000 years and many approaches to religious and moral issues. Traces developments such as Olympian gods of Homer and Hesiod; hero worship; public and private religion; views of death, the soul, and afterlife; Dionysus; Epicureanism; and Stoicism. Deals with changes in Greek religion during the Roman republic and early empire and the success of Christians in converting pagans in spite of official persecution.

Identical to RELST-UA 650. Topics and prerequisites vary by semester.

Begins with a close study of the development of the martyrological discourse in classical, early Christian, early Jewish, and Muslim literature and culture. Traces how the concept of martyrdom is deployed in modern culture: the “Columbine martyrs,” “martyrdom operations” (“suicide bombers”), political martyrdom, and modern notions of holy war.

The origins of nonmythical speculation among the Greeks and the main patterns of philosophical thought, from Thales and other early speculators about the physical nature of the world through Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, the Epicureans, and the Neoplatonists.

Despite having written nothing himself, Socrates is—if not the most influential—certainly one of the most influential intellectual figures in the Western tradition, for it is with Socrates, we are told, that “philosophy” seems first to move from natural history to an explicit concern for human affairs. Indeed, so great is the magnitude of this change that we continue to term earlier thinkers “pre-Socratic philosophers.” His stature is marked again in the name given to a distinctive form of philosophical literature, the Socratic discourse, and an approach to philosophical inquiry and instruction, the so-called Socratic method. In antiquity, importantly, he inspired Plato, Xenophon, the Stoics, the Skeptics, and the Cynics, beyond those thinkers stretching to influence in Rome and Judea...and four centuries before the presumed time of Jesus, Socrates had already suffered martyrdom for his idiosyncratic political and religious views. In modernity, his life both fascinates and repels the attention, notably, of Nietzsche; though criticisms of his mode of existence he had already endured in his own time at the hands of the comedian Aristophanes, among others. Given the state of the evidence, one can look only to the history of the reception of his thought to try to recover any sense of the “historical Socrates”; but we must likewise ask whether he does not perhaps exert a greater influence as a result of the reception of the doxography itself than for his actual intellectual contributions. In short, had Socrates never existed, would not the tradition essentially have had to create him, in its move from its origins to ethics and political philosophy? Even given that he did actually live, is what we have of him really just such a necessary fiction?

Identical to RELST-UA 846.

Identical to RELST-UA 840

Prerequisite: CLASS-UA 6 or equivalent. Extensive readings in Virgil's Aeneid and the other epics of Rome, including Lucan's Bellum Civile and Lucretius's De Rerum Natura. Consideration will be given to the growth and development of Roman epic, its Greek antecedents, and its relationship to the Romans' construction of their past. Study of the development of the Latin hexameter is also included.

Prerequisite: CLASS-UA 6 or equivalent. This course provides extensive readings from the works of Rome's greatest lyric and elegiac poets, including Catullus, Horace, Tibullus, Propertius, and Ovid. The various lyric meters adapted by the Romans are considered, as is the development of the Latin Love Elegy.

Prerequisite: CLASS-UA 6 or equivalent. A selection of plays from those of Plautus and Terence. The development of Roman comedy, its relationship to Greek New Comedy, and its social and cultural place in Roman life is also discussed. Some facility in Plautine and Terentian meter will also be expected.

Prerequisite: CLASS-UA 6 or equivalent. With extensive readings from Horace's, Juvenal's, and Persius's satires, this class traces the development of the satiric mode from its earliest beginnings in Rome to its flowering under the Empire. The relationship of satire to the social world of Rome, including its treatment of money, women, political figures, and social climbers, is also examined.

Prerequisite: CLASS-UA 006 or equivalent. Readings from the three masters of Roman historiography, Sallust, Livy, and Tacitus. The course also considers the rise and development of history in Rome, its relationship to myth, and its narrative structure and manner.

With extensive readings from Roman philosophers such as Cicero, Seneca, and Augustine, this course studies the way in which the Romans transformed and developed the philosophical tradition that they inherited, and the way the problems of Roman society were addressed through philosophy.

Prerequisite: permission of the department. 1 or 4 points.

Prerequisite: permission of the department. 1 or 4 points.

Prerequisite: permission of the department. 2 or 4 points.

Prerequisite: CLASS-UA 10 or equivalent. Readings from the two fifth-century masters of Greek historiography, Herodotus and Thucydides. The course examines the themes, narrative structure, and methodology of both writers, as well as giving some consideration to the rise of history-writing in Greece, and its relationship to myth and epic.

Prerequisite: CLASS-UA 10 or equivalent. Readings of several plays from among those of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Spoken and choral meter are studied, and the role of performance, dramaturgy, and the place of theatre in Athenian society are also examined.

Prerequisite: CLASS-UA 10 or equivalent. Readings of several speeches from the major Attic orators (Lysias, Aeschines, and Demosthenes). The course also examines the role of law in Athenian society, procedure in the Athenian courts, and rhetorical education and training.

Prerequisite: CLASS-UA 10 or equivalent. Readings from the dialogues of Plato and the major philosophical works of Aristotle.

Prerequisite: permission of the department. Open only to juniors and seniors. 2 or 4 points. Internships with institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum and the American Numismatic Society afford students the opportunity to work outside the University in areas related to the field of classics. Requirements for completion of such internships include periodic progress reports and a paper describing the entire project.

Prerequisite: permission of the department. Open only to juniors and seniors. 2 or 4 points. Internships with institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum and the American Numismatic Society afford students the opportunity to work outside the University in areas related to the field of classics. Requirements for completion of such internships include periodic progress reports and a paper describing the entire project.

Prerequisite: permission of the department. 2 or 4 points.

Prerequisite: permission of the department. 2 or 4 points.

Prerequisite: permission of the department. 2 or 4 points.

Prerequisite: permission of the department. 2 or 4 points.

Prerequisite: permission of the Department. 2 or 4 points.

To provide the student with an awareness of and appreciation for the cultures and civilizations of ancient Italy from ca. 1000 to 80 B.C.E. with special emphasis on the Etruscans and their relationship to the early Romans. We shall examine significant examples of sculpture, painting, architecture, city-planning, and the minor arts through power point presentations, the assigned texts, and field trips.

Course Description: To acquire an awareness of and an appreciation of Rome and its civilization, the course will survey the art, archaeology and culture of Ancient Rome from the Republican period through the Early Christian period. Through our examination of Roman material culture, we will consider how the art and archaeological record reflect the religious, commemorative and political preoccupations of each culture as well as issues of identity and social construction. Topics will include the role of environmental history; the art and archaeology of religion and ritual; approaches to urbanism and architectural development; the visual arts in both public and private contexts; and the archaeology of empire. A central theoretical concern of the course will be how we read the material record of prehistoric cultures vis à vis the material record of historic ones and the influence of written sources on archaeological interpretation in general and Italian archaeology in particular.

This survey of Greek landscapes, sites, monuments, and images, presents the art and archaeology of the Greek world from the Neolithic to the late antique period. Architecture, painting, sculpture, and decorative arts are studied within their full social, cultural, and religious contexts. Special focus is placed on landscape, myth, memory, materials, and ritual in shaping the visual culture of ancient Greece. The development and history of classical archaeology as a discipline are reviewed, along with issues of reception, connoisseurship, critical theory, and methods.

With extensive readings from Horace's, Juvenal's, and Persius's satires, this class traces the development of the satiric mode from its earliest beginnings in Rome to its flowering under the Empire. The relationship of satire to the social world of Rome, including its treatment of money, women, political figures, and social climbers, is also examined.