Ancient Greek Society, Politics, and Culture

Coin of Alexander the Great,
depicting him as Heracles, struck at Alexandria 326-323 BCE

Instructor: Dr. John Gruber-Miller, College Hall 312, Ext. x4326

Class Hours: M-F 11-noon; 1-3 p.m.

Office Hours: M W F 11 a.m.-12 noon, and by appointment

Required Texts:

Goals of the Course

Course Format and Requirements

Greek reading: I don't expect perfect, polished translations, but I do want you to work at it diligently, have questions about the reading, and show that you have been thinking about the meaning of the Greek and the meaning of the text. We will begin with a moderate amount of reading while you get acquainted with Arrian's style and vocabulary, and then we will gradually increase the amount of reading as the course progresses.

English reading: In order to get an overview of Arrian, we will read all sections of the Anabasis in translation.

Collaborative work: Collaboration is an essential skill for success both in and outside of the academic world. By working with several others on various tasks, you can take advantage of different people's strengths, e.g. specific knowledge, ability to explain ideas and concepts, talent for asking good questions, aptitude for negotiating difficulties, organizational skills, leadership, and humor. Working together gives you an opportunity to learn from each other, test out ideas, and tackle a larger problem than a single person could easily do in the same amount of time. At the same time, working together can be difficult because of different expectations and experience. Learning when to stand firm and when to compromise and when to prod are difficult skills that take lots of practice.

At the beginning of the course, small groups will work at reviewing grammar and going over homework. Throughout the course, small groups will meet to work at reading comprehension of the Greek text.

Grammar Guru: Twice during the first week, each student will become the expert on a grammar topic to be covered in class. Each student will present an overview of the topic and lead the class in learning that topic. In addition, the student expert will create an activity to help the rest of the class learn the topic. Possible activities might include a skit, puzzle, game, an oral question-answer drill, or a set of sentences to translate. You may use any of the grammars or Greek composition books for ideas. The best presentations engage the rest of the class, summarize and condense the information in a way that makes sense to you (and others), include something visual (an overhead, a handout, an outline on the board), and provide Greek sentences that exemplify each type.

Vocabulary Vizier: Once during the second week, you will organize and present vocabulary on a particular topic, such as words of coming and going, military vocabulary, topographical terms, religious vocabulary, etc. You can organize such words graphically, by synonyms, by part of speech, etc.--whatever you think will help people remember them. You can find such words by reviewing Athenaze, scouring our text, and/or typing the English word in the Liddell & Scott Lexicon at Perseus.

Weekly seminars: In order to appreciate Arrian and Luke, we will do weekly reports on topics that will help us understand these two authors within the context of their times. The first week we will focus on important background information regarding politics, society, and religion. The next two weeks will focus on specific issues in understanding Arrian and Acts.

Project Weeks 1-2: Greek epitome of the Anabasis. In the tradition of imperial and late antique historians who wrote epitomes (the ancient equivalent of Reader's Digest condensations), you will write a summary of the Anabasis in Greek. Each night you should write a summary of the day's reading. The narrative will be graded on comprehensibility (e.g. is the grammar reasonably correct), coherence (does the story flow from one paragraph to the next, use the proper transitional words, etc.), and inclusion of material relevant to your version of the events. In any case, you should work to create a specific point of view about Alexander.

Project Week 3: The Art of Textual Criticism (due the fourth Monday at 5 p.m.). Imagine that you are the editor of a new edition of a UBS Greek New Testament. Examine the text and apparatus of the following New Testament passages. Decipher the apparatus. Evaluate the manuscript evidence. Which reading will you place in the text, which in the apparatus? In about a paragraph give a defense of each decision. These passages are arranged in order of difficulty, so you would do best to work on them in this order: Acts 13:26; Acts 13:18; 2 Peter 2:13; Matthew 12:47; Acts 27:37; 1 Thessalonians 2:7; Matthew 22:35; Luke 11:2-4; Matthew 6:9-13; Acts 12:25; Colossians 4:15; Acts 17:4; Matthew 24:36; Luke 2:33; John 7:53-8:11; Mark 16:9-20.

Testing: exam(s) will include translation/reading comprehension of both prepared and unseen passages, commentary on particular passages (grammatical, historical, and/or literary), and essay (more general questions about Greek history, society, and literary interpretation).

Grading