Spring 2007 
Time and Location
Tuesday, Periods 10-E1 (2336 Turlington)
Course Description
This course examines the political, social, and cultural institutions of the Athenian democracy. Emphasis is on primary sources and the reading of a broad range of texts in translation, including Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristophanes, Plato, and Aristotle. Topics include the origin and development of the Athenian democracy; political organizations and social and economic structures; war and imperialism; freedom of speech and intellectual dissent; gender, sexuality, and citizenship; democratic discourse and ideology; and democracy and the arts.
Required Texts
- Aeschylus, The Oresteia (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1959).
- Adkins, Arthur W.H., and White, Peter, eds., The Greek Polis: University of Chicago Readings in Western Civilization, Volume 1 (London and New York: Routledge, 1997).
- Carey, Christopher, ed., Trials from Classical Athens (London and New York: Routledge, 1997).
- Hurwitt, Jeffrey, The Acropolis in the Age of Pericles (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).
Additional Readings
- Required books are on reserve in newly renovated Smathers Library; see the course’s E-Reserves page.
- Articles are on the course’s E-Reserves page.
- Web links to library resources are accessible off-campus only if you use the UF VPN, Library Proxy (EZproxy), or dial up using gatorlink. For more information on how to connect to the libary from off-campus, click here.
Course Requirements
- Class Participation (10%) based on attendance and participation in weekly class meetings. No unexecused absensces (see Grading Policy below).
- Two Mid-Term Examinations (25% each) on February 13 and April 3.
- Preliminary Draft of Term Paper, 4-6 pages, due on April 17. Reduction of one letter grade on final draft if preliminary draft is not handed in on time.
- Final Draft of Term Paper (40%) 6-8 pages, due on April 30.
Grading Scale
A = 90-100%
B+= 87-89.9%
B = 80-86.9%
C+ = 77-79.9%
C = 70-76.9%
D+ = 67-69.9%
D = 60-66.9%
E < 60%
Grading Policy
No student will be permitted an alternate time or day to complete scheduled requirements except (1) in the case when the scheduled requirement conflicts with a religious holy day of the student’s faith provided that s/he provides prior notification, (2) in the case of a student with a serious illness, or (3) in the case of a student with disabilities who requires additional time for quizzes and/or examinations, alternative spacing, and/or other accommodations provided that s/he submits such requests to theDisability Resource Center prior to the scheduled assignment.
Academic Honesty
Students are required to adhere to the University of Florida’s academic honor code.
Disability Resource Center
For information about resources that are available to students with disabilities, contact the Disability Resources Center.
Weekly Schedule
PART 1: POLITICS
January 9: Introduction
January 16: Athenian Political Institutions
- Ober, Mass and Elite, pages 127-48
- Online Handout on “Athenian Political Institutions“
- Finley, M.I., “Athenian Demagogues,” Past and Present 21 (1962) 3-24 (online)
- Ober, Athenian Legacies, pages 27-42 (availble online on the course’s E-Reserves page)
January 23: History of the Athenian Democracy
- Ober, Mass and Elite, Chapter II (pages 53-103)
- Aristotle’s Constitution of Athens 1-42 in The Greek Polis, pages 228-60
PART 2: SOCIETY
January 30: Mass and Elite
- Carey, Trials from Classical Athens, Demosthenes 54 (pages 84-97)
- Ober, Mass and Elite, pages 43-49, 104-27, 156-247
February 6: Slavery
- Osborne, R., “The Economics and Politics of Slavery at Athens,” in A. Powell, ed.,The Greek World (London 1995) 27-43 (available online on the course’s Ereserves page and as an ebook on enet [search by title, Greek World])
- Fisher, N., “Hybris, Status and Slavery at Athens,” in A. Powel, ed., The Greek World (London 1995) 45-85 (available online on the courses Ereserves page)
- Gagarin, M., “The Torture of Slaves in Athenian Law,” Classical Philology 91 (1996) 1–18
February 13: Mid-Term Examination
- Part 1: Identification of key concepts, events, terms, people, dates
- Part 2: Historical analysis of passages from primary sources
- Part 3: Essay questions
February 20: Women
- Carey, Trials from Classical Athens, Lysias 1; [Demosthenes] 59 (pages 26-36, 180-212)
- Cohen, D., “Seclusion, Separation, and the Status of Women in Classical Athens,” Greece and Rome 36 (1989) 3–15
- Wolpert, A., “Lysias 1 and the Politics of the Oikos,” Classical Journal 96 (2001) 416–24
PART 3: CULTURE
February 27: Democracy and its Critics
- Plato’s Apology, Crito, Protagoras in The Greek Polis, pages 181-227
- The Old Oligarch in The Greek Polis, pages 47-56
March 6: Tragedy
- Aeschylus’ Oresteia
- Goldhill, S., “The Great Dionysia and Civic Ideology,” Journal of Hellenic Studies 107 (1987) 58-76
March 13: Spring Break
March 20: Comedy
- Aristophanes’ Wasps in the Greek Polis, pages 57-157
- Konstan, D., “The Politics of Aristophanes’ Wasps,” Transactions of the American Philological Association 115 (1985) 27-46
- Olson, S., “Politics and Poetry in Aristophanes’ Wasps,” Transactions of the American Philological Association 126 (1996) 129-50
March 27: Art
- Hurwitt, The Acropolis in the Age of Pericles, chapters 2, 3, 4, 9
April 3: Mid-Term Examination
- Part 1: Identification of key concepts, events, terms, people, dates
- Part 2: Historical analysis of passages from primary sources
- Part 3: Essay questions
PART 4: TERM PAPER
April 10: Work on Paper
April 17: Preliminary Draft of Paper Due
April 24: Individual Meetings
April 30: Final Draft of Paper Due
- Be sure to include your preliminary draft when you hand in the final draft