Classical Civilization (CLCV)

An exploration of significant questions and concepts, beliefs and creative visions, theories and discoveries in Classical Studies for first-year students. Although topics vary, the courses also seek to improve students' communication skills beyond the written word.

An exploration of a specific topic in Classical Studies. A grade of C- or better fulfills the COLL 150 requirement. Although topics vary, the courses emphasize academic writing skills, reading and analysis of texts, and discussion.

The origins and development of classical mythology and heroic legend as religious belief, its relation to other mythologies, and its adaptation as literary and artistic symbol from Homer through the 21st century A.D.

A survey of ancient Greek culture from the Bronze Age to the time of Alexander the Great, examining the evolution of Greek society, art, literature and material culture in the historical context of political and economic developments.

A survey of Roman culture from the founding of Rome to the early medieval period, examining the evolution of Roman society, art, literature and material culture in the historical context of political and economic developments.

This seminar course is offered only in the fall semester and is designed for students who would like to continue reading ancient Egyptian inscriptions together after completing the two prerequisite lecture courses: HIST 278 (ANTH 343/CLCV 209/RELG 278) and HIST 279 (ANTH 344/CLCV 210/RELG 279). The summer seminar course, HIST 478: Ancient Egyptian Inscriptions, is not a prerequisite for this fall-semester seminar, HIST 479: Middle Egyptian Texts. HIST 478 is only offered online during the summer and focuses primarily on societal and individual values expressed in Egyptian royal inscriptions, biographies, and religious texts, whereas HIST 479 is offered only during the fall semester and focuses more on the expression of such values in Egyptian fiction and poetry. In most other respects, however, the courses are similar in format and constitute electives at the advanced level of the Egyptian course sequence.

An archaeological consideration of the Minoan, Mycenaean, Archaic and Classical periods of Greek civilization. Architecture, sculpture, painting, and the minor arts are included.

The architecture, painting and sculpture of Hellenistic Greece and of Rome until the 4th century A.D. from the archaeological viewpoint.

This course will examine the religion of Judaism as it existed in Palestine and the Mediterranean world during the Hellenistic and early Roman periods (ca. 331BCE - 73 CE).

The history of Greece from the Bronze Age (3d millennium BCE) to the rise of Macedonia (fourth century BCE), focusing primarily on the two most influential and well known periods in Greek history, the Archaic Period (ca. 700-480 BC) and the Classical Period (480-323 BCE). Cross-listed with HIST 260.

History of the ancient Romans from their earliest origins through the third century CE. Principal emphasis will be on the political, social, and cultural aspects of Roman history. Cross-listed with HIST 261.

This course guides students through an essential aspect of the intellectual history of prerevolutionary and revolutionary Virginia: the influence of ancient Greek and Roman history, literature, and material culture on early Virginians. We will start with the presence of classical influences in the early Jamestown colony, continue with the early book culture of colonial Virginia by analyzing primary documents and material culture that attest to the intellectual preferences of elite Virginians in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and finally end with the classical interests of Virginia’s Founding Fathers.

The Medieval Book is a comprehensive survey of manuscript books from the European Middle Ages. The course starts with Umberto Eco’s “The Name of the Rose” as a gateway to medieval book culture and the communities that used books most intimately. Topics will include scribal and shop practices for making books (codicology), paleography, and the reading of ancient manuscript hands, illuminations and miniatures in medieval books, and the analysis of original manuscripts and facsimiles.

A study of some particular aspect of Greco-Roman civilization designed for first- and second-year students. No prior knowledge of the subject is expected. This course may be repeated for credit if the topic is different.

This course examines the development of cities in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East from the first Neolithic towns to sprawling Roman municipalities, c.3000 BCE to 400CE. Ancient literary sources offer “first hand” accounts of those who lived in the communities. Archaeological evidence illustrates the way that people organized, used, and experienced space.

A study, through analysis of dramatic, historical and artistic sources, of the role of women in Greece and Rome. The role of women in the home, in politics and in religion will be discussed, as will the sexual mores involving both heterosexual and lesbian women.

From the rage of Achilles to the cunning of Odysseus to the dutifulness of Aeneas, this course follows the evolution of the paradigm of heroism as reflected in the epic poetry of ancient Greece and Rome. All readings in English.

Murder, incest, suicide, rape: these were typical themes in the dramatic works of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The surviving tragedies will be read in translation, focusing the role of theatrical violence in its social, historical and religious contexts.

From the uninhibited ribaldry of Aristophanes to the well mannered situation comedies of Menander and Terence, this course will trace the development of comedy in antiquity as a means of examining the role of humor in ancient and modern society. All readings in translation.

A study, in translation, of the Greek and Roman novel, its emergence as a separate genre and its influence on later literature. Works to be studied include Longus’ Daphnis and Chloe, Heliodorus’ Ethiopian Tale’ and Petronius’ Satyricon.

This course considers the encounter between Roman religious and political institutions and the rise of Christianity, from the first through the fourth centuries A.D. Primary emphasis on Roman response to Christianity, from persecution to conversion, through Roman and Christian sources.

This course explores the history, literature, art, material culture, architecture, and society of Rome during the lifetime of Octavian / Augustus (63 BCE-14 CE), the first ruler of the Roman Empire.  Why does Augustus’ life merit specific study?  The answer is that this period witnessed radical change in Rome’s political institutions and created some of the most important products of Roman culture: including Virgil’s Aeneid, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the Forum Augustum, and the Ara Pacis.  Augustus’ accomplishments paved the way for Rome’s continued expansion and influenced governance of the Empire well into the 6th century CE.  Students will explore Augustus’ life through his own words- reading his inscription of his Res Gestae Divi Augusti (the Accomplishments of Divine Augustus) alongside other contemporary sources, both textual and archaeological, in order to evaluate the veracity of Augustus’ claims, identify what he omits and why, and draw conclusions about whether Augustus was the savior of Rome, an ancient Hitler, or something in between. 

An examination, through primary and secondary sources, of the Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries, with an emphasis on the social, economic, military, political, and religious features of this period.

This course examines the spectacular life and career of Alexander of Macedon through ancient and modern sources in order to assess his profound influence upon the Hellenistic age and subsequent eras.

Topics include the availability and production of food, styles and patterns of consumption, and public and private occasions where food and drink were important; also, the relationship of food and drink to gender, status, death, morality, and sex.

The Greek thinker Protagoras had famously remarked that “Man is the Measure of all things”—thus, the Greeks had, on some intellectual level, banished the “natural” world from their self-conception. Nonetheless, every human society must interact with the physical surroundings, each other, and other organisms, both animal and plant. In this course we shall investigate the ecology of the ancient Greco-Roman Mediterranean world. We shall explore the interaction of humans with the physical environment and their dependence upon it, including questions of climate, how human activity impacted the natural world, species loss, ancient initiatives to address these changes.

A study, in translation, of the emergence of history writing in Greece, Rome and the Near East, examining the emergence and development of the genre, and the influence of ancient paradigms on later historical writing. Texts include Herodotus, Livy, and the Old Testament.

This course examines the material culture and history of the ancient Mediterranean after the reign of Alexander the Great (336 - 323 BCE). We look at the kingdoms and cities that arose in his former territories, including Alexandria, Antioch, and Pergamon. Topics include: libraries; processions; princely tombs; conflict and war; interest in the "other"; Egyptian ritual and religion.

An exploration of sexuality and gender in ancient societies, chiefly Greek and Roman, but others may be considered as well. Using literary and archaeological evidence we will examine how gender identities were constructed, how sexuality was practiced and expressed, and how gender and sexuality played a role in social and political hierarchies. We will also examine how modern attitudes on these topics have influenced and sometimes distorted our understanding of ancient ones.

The history and archaeology of Roman Britain. The story of the founding of the Roman province in Britain and its subsequent development. Examination of various aspects of Roman-British culture, including town life, fortifications, religion, art, villas, leisure and amusements.

A study of Roman civilization in microcosm through the examination of the towns destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The archaeological evidence from these towns is combined with literary and epigraphical evidence to provide a vivid recreation of Roman society, politics, daily life, art, and religion.

An examination of Greek and Roman myth as preserved in ancient art. Emphasis will be placed on iconographical development; the social, cultural, and political reasons for iconographical change; and myth or versions of myth not preserved in literary sources.

This course, taught in seminar format, examines the major developments of ancient Greek and Roman architecture in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East from the Bronze Age to the 4th century A.D.

A study of the development of Attic red-figure and black-figure pottery. Special emphasis will be placed on the major artists who painted these vases and the iconography of their mythological scenes.

This course surveys the painting of cultures in and around the ancient Mediterranean world in diverse artistic forms from prehistory through the Roman era. The class will focus on techniques, materials, continuity and development in styles and use, the interrelationship of painting and other media, decorative vs. narrative meaning, regional and chronological trends, and craft versus art. Course content will be accumulative and comparative. By the end of the semester students will understand the role of painting produced by multiple different ancient cultures and will be able to describe and analyze visual arts more generally.

This course examines the evidence for the peoples of pre-Roman and early Roman Italy (900-100 BCE). The course provides a survey of Etruscan material culture, including architectural remains from sanctuary, funerary, and domestic contexts, and treats the artistic media of sculpture, painting, ceramics and metalwork. Topics include: Etruscan language, funerary customs, warfare, religious and votive practices, trade and contact within the Mediterranean, and the role of women and the lower classes.

This course investigates the archaeology and history of ancient Athens, from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic periods (16th - 2nd c. BCE). Using primary and secondary sources, the course provides an in-depth examination of ancient Athenian urban development, architecture, and art.

Various forms of involuntary servitude, often lumped together under the term “slavery,” are so prevalent in history as to constitute a pernicious human institution. Yet they are rarely studied in a comparative fashion to understand how these various forms, which occur in nearly every society, time period, and geographic region, differ from one another, borrow or build on one another, and survive multi-pronged attempts at eradication. For example, in the United States slavery has become synonymous with the Atlantic Slave Trade, which itself collapses various kinds of involuntary servitudes into chattel slavery. To rectify these problems, this course approaches the institution of “slavery” through a comparative lens. Beginning with Greco-Roman slavery, we will then move forward in time and across the globe to examine involuntary servitude in the Middle East (Mamluks, Jannisaries, Arabic Slavery), in Medieval Europe (feudalism), in the early modern Americas (the Atlantic Slave trade), and finally into the modern era (textile manufacturing in South Asia and human trafficking). The study of slavery from antiquity to the modern era enables us to examine the many and different facets of how this human institution manifests itself in a multitude of societies throughout time.

This course begins in the ancient Mediterranean world where some of the earliest inquiries about human difference took place. Prompted by colonial encounters, the Greeks began to examine human origins, genealogies, and environmental theories about why humans differed from one another in physical appearance and cultural expression. Through ethnographic and scientific inquiry, Greeks and Romans analyzed, marginalized, and categorized “others” while creating a privileged identity for themselves based on ideas of liberty, citizenship, and inclusion. Recovered during the Renaissance, these ancient intellectuals informed not only the explorers of the Age of Discovery but also the philosophers of the Enlightenment. Indeed, it was the confluence of interactions between Western Europeans and indigenous populations and the reemergence of ancient ideas of “otherness” that formed the basis of Enlightenment thought on such dichotomous subjects as liberty and racism, human rights and slavery, and secularism and religiosity. The course will conclude by examining the legacies of both the Greco-Roman tradition and the Enlightenment on the creators of the modern U.S., including Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Franklin, and Hamilton, among others, and the ramifications of these influences on contemporary U.S. society.

A study of some particular aspect of Greco-Roman culture. This course may be repeated for credit if the topic is different.

A seminar for advanced students who wish to fulfill the COLL 400 requirement in Classical Studies. Topics will vary each semester, but the seminar will involve a research project that will exercise the knowledge and skills that the students have acquired over the course of their undergraduate career. Students will present the results of their research at the Classical Studies Colloquium or in another public forum.

This, one credit CLCV 401 course, must be taken in conjunction with at least a three credit course specifically approved for this purpose.  The three credit course may be taken either prior to or concurrently with CLCV 401. Typically, the list of approved courses will consist of most 300- and 400-level courses offered in CLCV, GREK, or LATN, including honors in Classical Studies (CLCV, GREK, or LATN 496).  Also eligible, with the approval of the chair, are interdisciplinary honors courses and interdisciplinary COLL 400 courses with significant Classical Studies content.  Courses applied to the capstone requirement in this manner may not be counted toward fulfilling other requirements for the major. 

This course investigates the links between rituals and the archaeological record in Greek and/or Roman society. Topics include the performance of ritual, the spaces of religious action within cities and within broader landscapes, and the roles of practitioners and audiences. Material discussed may include architectural remains (e.g, tombs, temples), portable objects (e.g, altars, sacrificial implements), and representations of rituals in visual media or ancient texts. The course emphasizes secondary literature offering methodological paradigms for understanding ritual action.

This course investigates the evidence provided by the archaeological record for daily life in Greek and/or Roman society. Topics include domestic architecture and decoration, identity and gender, education and childhood, death and funerary ritual, and slavery and social class. The course emphasizes secondary literature offering methodological paradigms for understanding material culture.

This course surveys the material evidence for interconnections between different cultures in the ancient Mediterranean world and beyond, from the second millennium BCE through the third century CE. The cultures in question include the ancient Egyptians, Minoans, Mycenaeans, Phoenicians, Greeks, Persians, Etruscans, and Romans, and more. In addition to engaging with the material evidence of the interactions between different societies, students will learn concepts devised by specialists in a variety of academic disciplines to study the evidence. Among these: conceptions self and other in the construction of identity; ethnicity; hybridity; orientalism; colonization; and agency. Course content will be accumulative and comparative. Using such approaches, by the end of the semester students will have an understanding not only of the ancient subject matter, but the applicability of the theoretical concepts in question beyond the ancient Mediterranean and its environs.

Students meet on a weekly basis with a faculty advisor and complete an independent research project connected with the advisor’s own research. Open only to concentrators upon the consent of an advisor.

A study of the historical, cultural and material development of the ancient city in Italy or Greece. This summer study abroad course includes extensive site visits and selected readings.

A study in depth of some particular aspect of Greco-Roman culture. This course is intended for the student who already has some background in Classical Civilization.

A program of reading, writing, and discussion in a special area of Classical Studies. Students accepted for this course will arrange their program of study with an appropriate faculty advisor.

This course allows students to gain practical experience in museum work under the supervision of a faculty advisor. The internship requires the production of a major research paper and a journal that records learning experiences while at the museum.

Students present their research to the university community through a departmental research symposium. Participants will prepare a presentation based on research that they have previously pursued in a Classical Studies course or independent study.

An independent study, chosen in consultation with a faculty advisor, of an artifact or site studied in conjunction with CLCV 489.

The Department of Classical Studies offers Honors study in Classical Civilization as staff is available. Students admitted to this study will be enrolled in the course during both semesters of their senior year. The course comprises: (a) supervised reading of a special bibliography in the field of the student’s major interest; (b) satisfactory completion by April 15 of a scholarly essay; and (c) satisfactory completion of an oral examination of the subject and subject field of the essay.

The Department of Classical Studies offers Honors study in Classical Civilization as staff is available. Students admitted to this study will be enrolled in the course during both semesters of their senior year. The course comprises: (a) supervised reading of a special bibliography in the field of the student’s major interest; (b) satisfactory completion by April 15 of a scholarly essay; and (c) satisfactory completion of an oral examination of the subject and subject field of the essay.

An introduction to field and laboratory methods in classical archaeology through participation in a field project approved by the department. Such topics as excavation techniques, data collection and recording, archaeological survey and mapping, artifact processing and analysis may be covered.

This class will introduce post-baccalaureate students to research methods and resources in Classical Studies in preparation for pursuing graduate studies and other professional goals in the field.

This course gives postbaccalaureate students experience in supervised instructional activities in Classical Studies courses. Activities may include leading tutorials or discussion sessions, holding office hours, and limited lecturing. Students must be enrolled in the Classical Studies Postbaccalaureate program. Course may be repeated for credit.