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Notes and reminders about the Clouds essay (due Nov. 17)

2 November 2025

Here are a few reminders on the Clouds essay, which is due on Monday, Nov. 17.Read more…

The starting point I’d like you to bear in mind in that this essay is about making an argument and supporting that argument with evidence—in this case, three specific moments from Clouds that demonstrate and illustrate your argument concerning what Clouds tells us about fifth-century Athens.

Comparing two works. For this essay you need to compare Clouds to another ancient Greek work. Which one depends on which prompt you are answering—make sure to watch the Clouds essay Overview Video for my discussion of this aspect of the assignment. The essay overview video is very important. Watch the essay Overview Video, is what I’m saying. I would also suggest that you watch the Overview Video.

This also means that you need to carve out time to read through and consider the other work as well as a separate chunk of time to plan and write the essay.

The goal for this essay to make an argument about fifth-century Athens using just these two pieces of primary source evidence. You don’t need anything else but the two primary sources.

Structure. In your introduction, make sure you have a clear thesis statement—what you intend to show in the paper. Try to develop a concrete, specific thesis statement that lines up with and responds directly to one of the prompts.

In the main body of your essay, focus on three specific moments from Clouds that support your thesis. You should have three sections, one for each moment in Clouds you’re discussing. In each section, talk about the moment from Clouds, then a similar or contrasting moment in your other work, then discuss what this evidence tells us. When discussing both works, be specific and concrete.

I talk about the structure in the Overview Video, and especially in the Structure Musts video (on the Essay Musts page).

Evidence and cites. A major rule of thumb for writing about history (and for academic work in general, but especially history) is that all assertions must be supported by evidence, and all evidence must be cited. When you describe events from Clouds and the other work (whether it’s in quotes, a paraphrase, or just describing specific ideas present in the story), you need to provide a citation—a footnote or parenthetical cite that gives your source (the book version of Clouds and the other work you are using) plus a page number. You also need a bibliography listing the versions used of both works. For more on this, see the Evidence Musts video on the Essay musts page, and the bibliography and footnotes pages in the Citation Center on the course website.

Requirements for all papers. Make sure to fully review the requirements for all papers (on the Essay Musts page of the course website) before completing and uploading your essay. Also review the prompt for the Essay you’ve chosen to make sure you answered what it’s looking for.

Any questions at all, please come to me. I’m really looking forward to hearing your insights on Clouds and what it has to tell us about fifth-century Athens.

Link to Essays page

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Readings in Clouds

19 October 2025

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.Read more…

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Welcome to Week 13!

15 November 2025

Roman cuirass and equipment.

This week we’re talking about Rome. The Romans started out with kings, but after escalating crises under the last king, Tarquin, they replaced the kings with a Republic.

What stands out to you as the defining characteristics of the Republic? What does this idea mean to the Romans? The early history of the Republic involves an ongoing conflict between the patricians (families that control the priesthoods) and the plebeians (all other families of any class). Where does this conflict come from? Why are the priest-families so important to the Roman political system?

The early Republic was increasingly driven by war and on the offensive. Why do the Romans become militaristic and expansionist?

How do you think they see their rivalry with Carthage? Why do you think Hannibal is able to almost win—and why does he ultimately lose? Why does Rome seem to have such an off-hand approach to governing the territories it consumes or conquers?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and reactions. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Welcome to Week 12!

9 November 2025

Detail of Aeneas or Numa from the Ara Pacis in Rome.

This week, we’ll be looking at Alexander’s legacy, the Hellenistic world. What was Alexander trying to achieve in his merger of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Persian, and Greek cultures? How did the Hellenistic era change art, philosophy, and civic duty? Were the rulers of the Hellenistic kingdoms a part of that, or a contradiction of the Greek idea Alexander had so prized?

On Thursday we move on to our Roman unit. We’re starting with ancient North Africa and Italy, and then we’ll begin the exploration of the Romans and their story. This is the beginning of the rise of the people that within a few centuries would dominate the entire Mediterranean, including most of the peoples we’ve studied.

Things to ponder as you explore the materials. At first Rome starts out as a city-state within the city-state culture of Latium with its own priest-king, just like the city-states in Sumer. But the Romans get fed up with the kings after a while and eject them from Rome. What do you think makes them turn against the kings? Is it just the actions of the kings, or does it go deeper? Why do you think the legends about the fall of the kings focus so much on the Rape of Lucretia as the thing that turns the Romans against the kings? What does the story of that rape signify to them?

Looking forward to your discussions and reactions. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Quiz #6 grades and markups posted

3 November 2025

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.

Link to My Grades page

Welcome to Week 11!

2 November 2025

Black figure depiction of hoplite soldiers.

This week we’re talking about two enormously important wars that changed Greek history: the first an external invasion, the second a war among the Greeks themselves.

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? What is this war really about? Can we blame a particular city for this? Why do you think it turns out the way it does?

More wars between the Greeks opened them up to invasion by Macedon, and the famous conquests of Alexander the Great. Why do you think the Greeks couldn’t maintain any real peace during this era, even when danger loomed from the north? What were they really fighting about?

The other thing I really wanted to do with you folks this week 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?

Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Midterm Exam grades are posted

28 October 2025

The midterm exam grades are posted on the My Grades page.

Exam Notes. Note that included in the PDF, behind the grading cover sheet, is a handout with notes on the responses for the exam. It will also posted separately on the Exams page at a later time. I did not mark up or scan the blue books.

Estimated Course Grade. At the bottom of the My Grades page, you’ll see that the midterm and all other grades to this point are included in an estimated course grade so far, based on the assignments to date. This obviously only reflects what’s been done so far.

Important note: Even if your estimated course grade is lower than you would like now, that does not mean you will not pass the course. The final and two essays are still ahead, which altogether are more than half your course grade, plus the remaining quizzes and responses.

Note that the final exam also counts more than the midterm, and you will have a full two hours to take it. Most people do better on the final than they do on the midterm.

If you have not submitted your Gilgamesh essay, make sure to do so, and make sure to keep up with the readings and in-class discussion for Clouds so that your second essay will be as strong as you can make it.

Link to My Grades page

Welcome to Week 10!

25 October 2025

Modern statue of King Leonidas at Sparta.

This week we’re talking about the two influential cities that emerge in the Archaic period, both with opposing and increasingly extreme ideas of what it means to be Greek. One is Sparta, a society dedicated to the art of war, and the other is Athens.

Things to ponder as you explore the materials. What do you think goes into making the Spartans like this—so different, so focused on being warriors? What does being a warrior society mean to them? Why aren’t more poleis like this, especially given the other cities are so impressed by the Spartans’ dedication? What are the biggest drawbacks of the Spartan system?

How are the Athenians different, and why? What’s their vision of the ideal society? What makes the Athenian system keep changing so much, while Sparta becomes fixed in their dedication to the art of war?

Everything changes with the Persian Wars, a huge watershed for the Greeks. Even the battles of this war are remembered forever—Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis. Why do you think the Greeks were really able to defeat the vastly more powerful Persians? How do you think the war changed them? What was most remarkable to you about the Persian Wars?

Also, we see the middle section of Clouds, where the “Socrates” character gets weirder and weirder, and Strepsiades gets more and more confused. What do you think Aristophanes is getting at here? What was he trying to show by having “Socrates” talk about the gods and he-chickens and she-chickens and things like that?

Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you on Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Welcome to Week 9!

19 October 2025

Singer with lyre, representing a rhapsode or master storyteller from early Iron Age Greece.

This week we’ll be starting our exploration of the Greek idea, beginning with the Greek Dark Age—the period during which the Greeks recovered from the collapse of the Bronze Age and built a new civilization.

Things to ponder as you explore the materials. The Greek Dark Age is frustrating and fascinating to historians of ancient Greece, because this period of rebirth, during which the foundations and chief elements of Hellas as we know it come into being, happens while the Greeks have no writing system and so there are no literature or records until the very end—we can’t hear them creating a new Greek society.

What do you think most drove the Greeks during the Dark Age? If the communities of the Aegean were so isolated and so fiercely independent, how did they end up having so much in common? How did they end up with such a clear idea of what it meant to be Greek?

We’re also reading the first sections of Clouds. What is Strepsiades worried about at the start of the play? What impressions do you get of “Socrates” and the Thinkery? Do you get a sense of what the playwright, Aristophanes, is trying to say here?

Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page