The class examines how all aspects of Ancient Greek civilization fit together into a unified worldview. Among other aspects of the culture, we will discuss the mythology (religion); the religious rituals; the cultural context of the Olympics; the cultural context of the performance of tragedies; and the political- legal system, including trial by jury and political decisions determined by an assembly of citizens. We will read literary and philosophical texts including some Pre-Socratic philosophers, Hesiod’s creation story, Homer, Greek tragedy, Plato, and excerpts from Aristotle in order to better understand the worldview underlying the texts. All along the way, we will be looking for analogies with our own experiences in culture. We will reflect upon the lessons the Ancient Greeks were trying to pass on to posterity and the ways those lessons are or are not relevant for us today.
One RPH class, HIS 201, or permission of the instructor.