HMTS

Students in this course will be introduced to the wide world of ancient Greek culture, primarily through its literature. We'll begin with the eighth-century B.C. poet Hesiod's conceptions of the Greek gods in his epic poem Theogony, on the one hand, and his advice for mortals working the land in his epic poem Works and Days, on the other. Next, we'll consider Homer's depiction of a journey home in the Odyssey. After that, we'll explore the incredible intellectual explosion of fifth- and fourth-century B.C. Athens, including philosophers like Plato, playwrights like Euripides and Aristophanes, and historians like Herodotus. Throughout, we'll consider connections with the wider ancient Mediterranean, particularly through the Old and New Testaments.