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Ancient Greek Politics, Society, and Culture
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Instructor: Dr. John Gruber-Miller, College Hall 312, Ext. x4326
Class Hours: M-F 1-3 p.m.
Office Hours: M W F 11 a.m.-12 noon, and by appointment
Required Texts:
- Richard Hamilton, ed. Acts of the Apostles. Bryn Mawr Commentary. Bryn Mawr College.
- Gilbert P. Rose, ed. Plato. Crito. 2nd ed. Bryn Mawr Commentary. Bryn Mawr College.
- United Bible Societies. Greek New Testament. 4th rev. ed. Stuttgart 1994.
Goals of the Course
- to become more fluent reading and translating Greek
- to read two influential and important texts
- to become familiar with the historical, legal, cultural, religious, and literary background of the classical and hellenistic world
- to study how the Greek language changed from the classical to the hellenistic period
- to understand the textual tradition of the New Testament and how to be a textual critic
- to learn to read Greek prose aloud and to appreciate the aural dimension in understanding works that were meant to be heard
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 Luke'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 Luke-Acts, we will read all of Acts in translation.
Weekly seminars: In order to appreciate Luke and Plato, 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 Acts and Crito.
Project Week 1: History of the Greek Language (first draft due on the first Friday at 5 p.m.). As you translate the first several chapters of the Acts of the Apostles during the first week, keep a list of spellings, forms, and grammatical and syntactical constructions that you find remarkable given your training in Classical Greek (e.g., the Attic e i r rule is not observed; weak aorist endings are attached to strong aorist verb stems; the optative has nearly disappeared, its function taken over by other syntactical constructions). For each remarkable feature cite at least one example from the text.
Project Week 2: The Art of Textual Criticism (due the third Thursday 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) may 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
- daily preparation, participation, grammar quiz, oral reports, and history of Greek project (40%)
- textual criticism project (20%)
- midterm (20%)
- final (20%)