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Reminder: The Proposal is due Monday, October 19

4 October 2026

Here are a few brief reminders about the proposal, which is due very soon on Monday, October 19.Read more…

I’m looking for: a problem that can be argued; your proposed thesis; and any other thoughts about what you might want to explore or how you think you might go about supporting your argument in the position paper itself. I’ll give feedback on topic viability, scope, and possible primary and secondary sources.

There is also a video on the course website (see the Essays page or the Videos page) that details exactly what I’m looking for. A sample is also posted on the proposal page. I’m happy to discuss possible ideas and approaches in office hours, after class, or by email.

Here’s what the syllabus has for the proposal assignment.

The assignment: The proposal is just a brief one-page preview of your position paper. It should include:

The topic you think you’ll want to write about and the problem you’re interested in addressing. You should be able to delineate the problem by describing the opposing views people might take. To make sure you have two clear opposing opinions, you might want to express them in the form “Some say… . Others say….”
Your preliminary thesis statement—in other words, what you think you might be arguing in your paper.

Your thesis statement, both here and in the final paper, should be a statement of opinion that someone could disagree with. It can take the form of following up the description of the opposing opinions with your own: “I believe….”
Remember that your thesis is provisional. You can change anything about your approach and interpretation after the proposal; in fact, uncovering information as you do your research makes refining or changing your initial assessments very likely.

Your proposal is structured like the introduction to your final paper, and may serve as the basis for it.

The proposal is not graded, but whether you submitted a proposal on time will be factored into the final grade for the position paper. I will give you feedback on things like the feasibility of researching your topic, whether the scope is too big or too narrow for a paper like this, and some possible sources you might want to look at.

Link to Essays page

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Readings in Birds

19 October 2026

I’ve had a few questions about readings in Birds, so here’s an email to help clarify things. The syllabus says to read this play in two halves, but what does that mean?

Unlike modern plays, ancient Greek plays aren’t divided into acts. Instead, there are generally six segments. These are called prologue, parodos (chorus entry), agon (debate/problem), parabasis (chorus’s commentary), episodes (results of the problem), and exodos (conclusion). These are not usually marked in modern translations, but you can feel the shift in the kind of action, whether it's character dialog vs. chorus, etc.

Since there is only one act, and many different printed versions of the play with different page numbering and translations, we use line numbers (always kept the same in every version as in the standard Greek text) to mark off where they start and end.

For Birds, one way of breaking this down is: prologue (lines 1-208); parados (lines 209-433); agon (lines 434-675); parabasis (lines 676-800); episodes (801-1057); second parabasis (1058-1117); second episodes (1118-1705); and exodus (1706-1765).

Roughly halfway through would take us to the beginning of the episodes, so we can break at line 800, after the chorus section that ends with the fourth-wall-breaking speech about how useful wings would be when at the theater. The end of this speech mentions Diitrephes (first a captain, then a colonel, then, in the Penguin edition, “and look at him now—Lord High Admiral of the Hobby-Horse Marines!”). If you don't have line numbers in your edition, look for the chorus/chorus leader section almost halfway through the play that ends with that bit.

The second half can then start with the episodes section, where the chorus stops speaking and the action starts again. Look for where Peisthetaeros and Euelpides re-enter the stage, each wearing a large set of wings and teasing each other about how silly they look wearing them (Peisthetaeros tells Euelpides he looks like a goose, etc.).

Bottom line: this week, we’ll do the first half, with all the setup. Next week will be the second half, with all the consequences.

Link to Schedule page

Welcome to Week 8!

18 October 2026

Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Acropolis, Athens.

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 Birds. It’s ribald, a biting Athenian comedy that’s also meant to be experienced as a spectacle. How do the two lads from Athens introduce us to that city’s culture? What kind of perspective do the other characters, like the Hoopoe, have? 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!

Link to Schedule page

Quiz #4 grades and markups posted

12 October 2026

The grades and markups for Quiz #4 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 7!

11 October 2026

Epigraphic stele listing tributes to the Delian League.

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 was Hellas so divided afterwards? Did the Persian Wars bring 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?

Reminder: To prepare for our upcoming study of the play over the next two weeks, please make sure you have your copy of Birds by Aristophanes. See the Books page on the course website for more.

Looking forward to discussing all this with you. See you Thursday!

Link to Schedule page

Sign up for your second presentation

11 October 2026

A Greek leader speaking to the people.

If you have not done so already, please go ahead and sign up now for your second presentation for the bottom half of the semester. The sign-up page is on the course website (at markbwilson dot com), under Presentations.

Look the list over and find one that seems like it might be interesting to spend a little time with when it comes up later in the semester. Each of the titles is linked to the reading, so you can get a preview, and the dates we’ll be getting to each reading are there, too.

Link to Signup #2 page

Quiz #3 grades and markups posted

4 October 2026

The grades and markups for Quiz #3 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 6!

3 October 2026

Stoa of Attalos, Athens

Lots to talk about this week as we cover the foundations of Athenian society.

Things to ponder as you explore the materials. Culturally, Athens is the most important of the Greek poleis—just ask them!—but their story is like a fever dream, starting out as a tightly-managed oligarchy of a few privileged families and ending as Hellas’s only radical democracy.

Why do you think Athens was so volatile? What is it about Athens that made them become so aggressive in seeking cultural dominance? What do you think drove them in the direction of democracy? And: Was democracy good for the Athenians? What do you think were the biggest downsides to democracy as practiced by the Athenians?

Looking forward to discussing all this with you. See you Thursday!

Link to Schedule page

Quiz #2 grades and markups posted

28 September 2026

The grades and markups for Quiz #2 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