Announcements
Bookmark this page as your main entry point to the course website. That way, you’ll be sure to see any changes and other information I’ve posted here.
Notes and reminders about the Clouds essay (due Nov. 11)
26 October 2024
Here are a few reminders on the Clouds essay, which is due on Monday, November 11. Read more…
Current Announcements (2)
Welcome to Week 10!
2 November 2024
Here it is, the big war.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. With the Peloponnesian Wars, the Greeks are fighting each other in a massive, generation-long slog unlike anything the ancient war has seen. Why? Why are they fighting, and why does it last for decade after decade? Can we blame a particular city for this? What is this war really about?
Which leaders stand out the most to you? Are Perikles, Archidamus, Kleon, Brasidas, Nikias, Alkibiades, and the like important to the shape of this war, or are they perhaps more representative of the key issues within Sparta and Athens?
Why do you think the war turns out the way it does? Did Sparta win this war, or did Athens lose it?
Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you on Thursday!
Spring 2025 courses in Ancient History
2 November 2024
Course registration for the spring semester begins on Wednesday, Nov. 6. If you (or a friend!) are interested in ancient history, please consider signing up for one of the courses offered next semester by the History Department.
History of Ancient Rome. 3 hours, 3 credits. In-Person lecture. Prof. Wilson. This course follows the foundation and development of the Roman state, including the rise and decline of the Republic and Empire, with emphasis on its political, economic, social, and cultural achievements.
HIA 321-XH81 (49931) / HIA 721-XH81 (49932) / LEH 354-XH81 (48895)
Th 6:00PM - 8:40PM, Room TBA
* Writing Intensive / Research Intensive
Women in Antiquity. 3 hours, 3 credits. In-Person lecture. Prof. Wilson. This course explores the different ways in which gender played a role in various ancient societies, through history, mythology, and literature.
HIA 311-XT81 (49933) / HIA 750-XT81 (49935) / LEH 354-XT81 (48884)
Tu 6:00PM - 8:40PM, Room TBA
* Writing Intensive
Civilizations of the Ancient World. 3 hours, 3 credits. In-Person lecture. Prof. Wilson. This course surveys the civilizations of the ancient world, including the complex balance between the individual and the community, how the ancients understood their gods, and more.
HIS 246-E301 (49930) / LEH 354-E301 (49092)
TuTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM, Room TBA
Classical Myth and Society. 3 hours, 3 credits. Hybrid Asynchronous. Prof. Marianetti. A comparison of the origins and development of classical mythology and heroic legend as religious beliefs, their relation to other mythologies, and their adaptation in literature and art from Hesiod and Homer through the present. A comparative analysis of Near Eastern and Nordic myth will be provided.
HIA 314-HA01 (49927) / HIA 714-HA01 (49928)
Fr 12:00PM - 1:15PM, Room TBA
* Writing Intensive
Ancient Egypt (KMT). 3 hours, 3 credits. In-Person lecture. Instructor TBA. Explorations of the origins and development of Ancient Egypt (KMT). Interaction with the rest of Africa and beyond.
AAS 320-D301 (49554) / HIW 350-D301 (49650)
TuTh 1:30PM-2:45PM, Room TBA
For more information on courses I teach, I'm happy to answer any questions, or go to https://markbwilson.com/pages/courses.html. See you next semester!
Archive
Welcome to Week 9!
26 October 2024
This week we’re exploring the city of Athens itself, and we’re also looking at the very thing we’re engaged in thanks in part to the Greeks—education, both formal and communal.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. How do you think the Athenians thought about education and the role it played? How does sophistry—the ability to argue successfully regardless of truth or merit—become a thing in Athens, which is otherwise so devoted to the cultural ideal? Why can’t anyone agree on right and wrong?
A particularly important idea, relevant to both the cultural turbulence in Athens and the conflicts in Clouds, is the debate between nomos and physis. What does this philosophical controversy relate to, and why is it so emblematic of classical Athens?
And in connection with that topic: what I most want to do is hash out what you guys think of Clouds now that we’re finishing it. There are some very striking scenes toward the end. What was most shocking or impactful for you—the debate where Unjust Argument wins (and: why does he win?); Pheidippides attacking his father; or Strepsiades abandoning rational discourse and taking up a torch? What is this play about? What is Aristophanes telling us by having Strepsiades twist around so much? What do you think the play is telling us beyond what Aristophanes intended?
Also: a reminder to make sure you’re planning for your Clouds essay as you read. Which work are you comparing Clouds to? What is Clouds telling us about classical Athens?
Looking forward to discussing all of this with you on Thursday. See you then!
Quiz #6 grades and markups posted
26 October 2024
The grades and markups for Quiz #6 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
I recommend spending a moment to take a look at the Quiz Notes for this quiz, which are live on the Quiz Notes page and on the Print/PDF page, and are also included in the quiz markups.
Quiz #5 grades and markups posted
22 October 2024
The grades and markups for Quiz #5 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
I recommend spending a moment to take a look at the Quiz Notes for this quiz, which are live on the Quiz Notes page and on the Print/PDF page, and are also included in the quiz markups.
Welcome to Week 8!
19 October 2024
This week we’re exploring the wild ferment that is classical Athenian culture, spanning everything from political innovation to theater and visual art to oratory, philosophy, and natural science. Where does this explosion of cultural expression come from? What drives the Athenians not only to develop new forms like tragedy and comedy, but make them absolutely central to their culture? What is all of this about, to the Athenians?
Not only is all of this cultural combustion happening at the same time during the fifth century, but it’s happening alongside the worst wars in Greek history. Is there a connection? How do the extremes of war relate to the pursuit of extreme cultural expression?
As historians (and in this course we are all historians) we should naturally pay close attention to the “invention” of historical writing, attributed both to Herodotos and to Thukydides. How different are they in terms of method and intent? Are their approaches conflicting or complementary, do you think? What do you recognize in the way they write about the past, compared to how we do it now?
This week we’re also shifting from our Reader excerpts to the exploration of an entire play, Aristophanes’s comedy Clouds. It’s ribald, it’s provocative, and most of all it’s a call to arms. Why do you think the protagonist of this play is a confused old man? How does the playwright see the head of the Thinkery, the character called “Socrates”? What elements do you see in this first part that signpost what Aristophanes is trying to accomplish here?
Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you Thursday!
Readings in Clouds
19 October 2024
I’ve had a couple of questions about the readings in Clouds, so I wanted to make sure everyone was clear on what’s assigned.
If you are looking at the schedule for this week you’ll notice there’s a button that says “Note” next to the list of readings. If you open that up, you’ll see I’ve divided Clouds into six sections. You won’t find these divisions in whichever copy of Clouds you’re using—Clouds is all one play, so I just cut it up into six pieces to parcel up the readings and talk about different sections in class.
For each of these sections I give the page numbers in West’s Four Texts About Socrates (the recommended text). Like all ancient plays and poems, Clouds also has standardized line numbers that will appear in the margins in any good edition of the play, so if you’re not using West you can still use the line numbers to determine how far you need to read for each assignment.
For the next class meeting I am asking you to read the introduction to the play in whatever edition you have, so that you have the background for the action of the play, and then the first half of the play. That would be sections 1, 2, and 3 in this scheme (which I call “Strepsiades’s Problem,” “The Thinkery,” and “ Gods and Memory/Clouds’ Response 1”). These three sections cover lines 1–626, or pages 115-141 in West.
Reading a play can be challenging, and we’ll talk more in class about how we can approach the text. For now, focus on the protagonist, Strepsiades. What is motivating him? How is the playwright depicting him?
The other key character to watch for is “Socrates.” This character is nothing like the real Athenian philosopher Socrates—this play was written specifically to discredit him and others like him—so you’ll want to keep a close eye on what the playwright is having this fake Socrates say and do.
More on this in class. See you soon!
Welcome to Week 7!
13 October 2024
This week we’re continuing our discussion of the Persian Wars and the long shadow they cast over the story of Hellas.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. There are a lot of what-ifs about the Persian Wars and the aftermath. In the end the Greeks worked together to fight off the Persians, so why Hellas so divided afterwards? Did the Persian Wars being about the friction of the following years, or was it there the whole time? And when it comes to their relations with the rest of the Greeks, why did the Spartans and the Athenians turn into such jerks? Was the Delian League a racket to increase Athenian power or a real effort to advance a shared Greek culture and economy? (Or both?)
Also this week we get a chance to delve deeper into Athenian cultural expression in the fifth century. This is a time of great military, social, and political turbulence for Athens, and also the period of its greatest creative innovations. What’s the connection between the two phenomena? Why is Athens, in particular, a greenhouse of extreme cultural expression?
Looking forward to discussing all this with you. See you Thursday!