Classical Studies Home  Classics Faculty Undergraduate Conference 2006 News and Events Major and Minor Requirements Student Research Study Abroad Why Study Classics? Classics VIPs FAQ         last updated: 8/17/06			Classes Fall 2006 Latin Greek Hebrew Classical Studies   The Greek comic poet Menander (fresco from the House of Menander in Pompeii) Latin Scene from a Roman comedy (Mosaic, 3rd century CE, Museum Sousse, Tunisia, photo: Hans Zimmermann, Goerlitz ) Latin 131-01: Elementary Latin I (1) (Knorr) MWF 10:20am-11:20am, ETN 311 Latin 131-02: Elementary Latin I (1) (Nice) MWF 1:50pm-2:50pm, CLN 102 (Syllabus) (Answer Sheets) (Mock Final) Introduction to the language and culture of the ancient Romans. The course emphasizes the fast development of basic reading skills. Students will read three hit comedies by T. Maccius Plautus (ca. 254-184 BCE), Aulularia, Bacchides, and Amphitruo, in gradually less simplified versions. Textbooks (also used for LATIN 132 in Spring 2007): • P. V. Jones and K. C. Sidwell, Reading Latin, vol. 1: Text, Cambridge:   Cambridge University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-521-28623-9, $19.00. • P. V. Jones and K. C. Sidwell, Reading Latin, vol. 2: Grammar, Vocabulary and Exercises,   Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-521-28622-0, $30.00. Back to top 1772 Spanish-Latin bilingual edition of Sallust's Bellum Catilinae by Spanish master printer JOAQUÍN IBARRA Y MARÍN (1725-1785). For more information, click here. Latin 231: Latin Prose: Sallust, Bellum Catilinae (1) (Nice) MWF 10:20am-11:20am, ETN 108 In his Bellum Catilinae, C. Sallustius Crispus (86-35/34 B.C.E.) recounts the dramatic events of the year 63 B.C.E. In this year, a patrician nobleman, L. Sergius Catilina, after two electoral defeats, made himself the leader of a group of heavily indebted young aristocrats and the Roman poor and tried to kill Cicero, his successful rival at the polls, and overthrow the goverment. With his trademark archaizing style, Sallust skillfully captures the drama of the times, including an early morning raid at some of the conspirators and the emotionally charged debate in which Caesar and Cato the Younger fight over the lives of the arrested conspirators. Prerequisites: Latin 132. Required Texts: HANDFORD, S.A. (1987) /Sallust. Jugurthine War. Conspiracy of Catiline/./ /Penguin, Harmondsworth. MCGUSHIN, P. (1980) /Sallust: Bellum Catilinae/. Bristol. Recommended Secondary Reading: EARL, D.C. (1961) /The Political Thought of Sallust/. Cambridge. SYME, R. (1964) /Sallust/. Oxford. WARNER, R. (1972) /Plutarch, Fall of the Roman Republic/. Penguin, Harmondsworth (/Lives of Crassus, Caesar, Cicero/) WILKINS, A.T. (1994) /Hero or Villain: Sallust’s Portrayal of Catiline/. Peter Lang, New York. Optional Texts: MACDONALD, C. (1977) /Cicero. In Catilinam I-IV, Pro Murena etc. Loeb Classical Series ROLFE, J.C. (1920) /Sallust./ Loeb Classical Series. Camb. Mass. Back to top Lucretius, De Rerum Natura 2.332-41, as preserved in the 9th century fragmentum Gottorpiense (= codex G). Latin 391: Advanced Readings in Latin Literature: Lucretius and Cicero (1) (Bachvarova) MWF 3:00-4:00pm, ETN 207 We will be examining the Roman reaction to post-Platonic philosophy (Epicureanism and Stoicism), especially in the works of Lucretius and Cicero. Among the topics to be covered are the connection between physics and morality, ancient theories of the evolution of man and civilization, rhetoric and poetics, and how Greek philosophy was translated and transformed by Roman intellectuals. The focus will be on in-class translation, with some discussion of secondary sources and primary sources in translation. Each student will give an oral presentation on a topic of his/her own choosing. Prerequisite: Latin 232 or equivalent, or permission of instructor. Back to top Greek Socrates (in the basket) being ridiculed in Aristophanes' "Clouds". Socrates is "walking the air" to investigate the sun, his pale-faced students are exploring what lies below the earth, while their behinds study "arse-stronomy". Photo: Steven S. Tigner Greek 131 Elementary Ancient Greek I (1) (Knorr) MWF 09:10am-10:10am, ETN 206 Using a textbook famed for its entertaining dialogues, Reading Greek, this course offers an intensive introduction to Classical Greek. About half-way into the first semester, we will start to read large chunks of three famous comedies by Aristophanes, the Clouds, the Birds, and the Wasps, and you will get a good idea of daily life in ancient Greece. Ancient Greek is the language of the first Western historians, Herodotus and Thucydides, of philosophical giants such as Plato and Aristotle, of theatrical geniuses such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides on the tragic side, Aristophanes and Menander on the comic side. Greek is also the language of the New Testament and many early Church Fathers. Finally, science majors and pre-med students will find that a lot of scientific and medical terminology is based on Greek because the first Western scientists, mathematicians, and physicians were all Greek. For that reason, this course is highly recommended for students interested in literature, history, philosophy, theater, religion, and science, plus everyone interested in doing really well on the vocabulary part of the GRE exam required for graduate school. Textbook (used for the entire first year): • Joint Association of Classical Teachers. Reading Greek: Text. Cambridge University Press: 1979, ISBN: 0521219760, $22.99. • Joint Association of Classical Teachers. Reading Greek: Grammar, Vocabulary and Exercises. Cambridge University Press: 1979, ISBN: 0521219779, $29.99. Back to top Plato (ca. 427-347 BCE) Socrates (ca. 470-399 BCE) Greek 231 Ancient Greek Prose (1): Plato, Apology (Bachvarova) MWF 01:50pm-02:50pm, ETN 108 In the last decades of fifth-century-BCE Athens, an adoring crowd of fashionable young aristocrats, among them Plato, who later founded his own school of philosophy, gathered around a humble stone mason by the name of Socrates. In his patient search for truth and true wisdom, Socrates interviewed men from all walks of life, civic leaders, craftsmen, poets, and philosophers, but when he pressed them, he found that none of them knew much to start with. Plato and the others got a kick out of the way Socrates exposed the ignorance of their elders, but Socrates, the self-appointed "gadfly" of Athens, was finally put to trial and executed for "introducing new gods and corrupting the youth." Socrates' radical philosophy and subversive humor come best to life in Plato's deservedly famous Apology of Socrates that will be the focus of this class. Prerequisites: Greek 131 and 132 or equivalent. Textbooks: • Plato, Apology, ed. by Gilbert P. Rose, 2 vols.               Bryn Mawr Commentaries, 1989, ISBN: 0-929524-56-X, $ 10.95 • Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar, revised by Gordon M. Messing,               Harvard U Press, 1990, ISBN: 0674362500, $42.00. • H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon,               Oxford U Press, 1963, ISBN: 0199102066, $ 45.00. Cool links: The Last Days of Socrates (lots of background material, incl. an annotated view of 5th cent. Athens) The Ancient City of Athens (pictures of ancient monuments in Athens today) Athenian Litigation (links to websites and scholarly articles) Back to top Hebrew Papyrus fragment of the Torah HEBR 231 Intermediate Classical Hebrew I (1) (McCreery) MWF 11:30-12:30, ETN 105 Readings and translation of selected passages from the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some of the finer points of Hebrew grammar, poetry, and ortho-graphy will be examined. Prerequisites: HEBR 131-132 (open to Freshmen with good Hebrew background). For your preparation, check out the Library of Congress exhibit "SCROLLS FROM THE DEAD SEA: The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Scholarship", online at http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/deadsea.scrolls.exhibit/intro.html. Back to top Classes in the Classical Studies Program The Funeral Games for Patroclus (Homer, Iliad 23) ARTH 271 (IT, 4th Sem Lang Req: Greek) Greek Art and Architecture (1) (Nicgorski) MWF 09:10am-10:10am, ART 212 Closed This course explores the development of historical Greek sculpture, painting, and architecture from its beginnings, ca. 1200 B.C.E., to the end of the Hellenistic period (31 B.C.E.). Central themes include the Greek interest in mythological narrative, and the pursuit of idealism, naturalism, and ultimately, the expression of raw emotion. The classic expressions of Greek architecture, in their stylistic unity and variety, will also be studied, especially the way buildings serve different functions with a very limited architectural language. The course will address the role of archaeology in providing these artifacts with physical contexts and chronologies that enhance our knowledge of the material and our understanding of ancient Greek culture. Ancient literary sources will also be examined in order to place this material in its full religious, social, and political context. Back to top HIST 251 Rome: From Republic to Empire (1) (Nice) TTh 2:30pm-4:00pm, ETN 106 This course will examine the origins of Rome, the rise and fall of the Roman Republic, and the development of the Roman Empire. Within this political framework, close attention will be given to the socio-economic factors that drove Rome’s quest for world power. The importance of Rome’s social and cultural customs and institutions (e.g. gender, religion, slavery, entertainment) will help to shed light on the nature of Roman identity both for the inhabitants of the city and those on the peripheries of the Empire. In addition, through careful analysis of both primary and secondary sources, students will be encouraged to ground their study of ancient Rome with an understanding of the theoretical models and concepts relevant to ancient history and historiography. Required Books: BOATWRIGHT, M.T. GARGOLA, D.J., TALBERT, R.J.A. (2004) The Romans from Village to Empire. A History of Ancient Rome from Earliest Times to Constantine. Oxford University Press. PLUTARCH, The Fall of the Roman Republic. Penguin. PLUTARCH, Makers of Rome. Penguin. SUETONIUS, Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Penguin. TACITUS, The Annals of Imperial Rome. Penguin. Recommended Books: CRAWFORD, M. (1992) The Roman Republic. Fontana. LIVY, The Early History of Rome, Penguin. SCULLARD, H.H. (1982 5th ed.) From the Gracchi to Nero. Routledge. STOCKTON, D. (1985) From the Gracchi to Sulla. Sources for Roman History, 133-80 B.C. (LACTOR 13) London Association of Classical Teachers. Out of print currently. WELLS, C. (1995 2nd ed.) The Roman Empire. Harvard University Press. Back to top from left to right: Thales (?), Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle PHIL 230 History of Philosophy: Ancient and Medieval (1) (Goble) Closed TTh 9:40am-11:10pm, ETN 110 Ancient and medieval philosophy from Thales through St. Thomas. The important ideas of leading philosophers and the movements they influenced. Emphasis is on metaphysics and the problems of knowledge. (from the WU course catalog) Back to top REL 113 (TH) Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible (1) (McCreery) MWF 9:10am-10:10am, ETN 110 Closed An introduction to the history and literature of ancient Israel and to modern methods used in studying the Old Testament and the Apocrypha. The course has three basic aims: to reconstruct the history of ancient Israel on the basis of archaeological and form-critical methods, to survey the spectrum of literary forms in the Old Testament, and to identify the major theological themes and symbols used to express Israel's faith. Back to top Qumran cave 4 near the Dead Sea where fragments of approximately 580 different ancient manuscripts were discovered in 1954. REL 237 (W, 4th Sem Lang Req: Hebrew) Introduction to Syro-Palestinian Archaeology (1) (McCreery) W 06:30pm-09:30pm, ETN 110 Closed An introduction to the history and current directions of archaeological research in the Holy Land, concentrating on modern Jordan, Israel, and Syria. Particular emphasis will be placed on the relationship between archaeological research and biblical studies. This course is a prerequisite for REL 337 Archaeological Methodology. Writing-Centered.   Back to top   Extracurricular Activities Classics Club: The Classics Club usually meets three to four times per semester. Its meetings are open to anyone interested. Fall 2006 events will include: Film Series: Toga & Sandal Films every Wednesday during the Fall semester from 7-10pm in ETN 209. September 23: Visit to the Classic Greek Theatre of Oregon perfomance of Euripides' "Orestes" in Portland. To RSVP, send an email to Prof. Knorr. Early December: Roman Potluck with real ancient recipes at Prof. Knorr's house. If you are interested in participating in any of these events or would like to know more about the Classics Club, please email Prof. Knorr.   ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA, SALEM SOCIETY: Every semester, the AIA offers three to four free lectures of interest to Classics students. This semester, we are also hosting a major international conference on cultural heritage issues from Oct. 12-14, 2006. Attendance is free for Willamette students and AIA members. For dates and times, see: http://www.willamette.edu/~anicgors/salemaia