Classical Studies 355 (CLST 355 [3]): The Athenians and their Empire
The sources (literary, epigraphical and other) for Athens’ emergence as one of the two leading city-states in late archaic and classical Greece and the stages which her empire grew. Prerequisite: CLST 231.
Aims of this course:
- examine the history and nature of the Athenian Empire
- gain familiarity with ancient sources of the period and some contemporary scholarship
- ancient and modern perspectives and representation: how history is imagined and created (affected by ideology and ontology)
- the nature, objectivity and purpose of history
consider the following:
- the development and nature of the empire from the 6th century BCE on
- competing representations of that empire in ancient and modern sources
- the empire and its effect on 5th century Greek culture
- the relationship between the empire and Athenian democracy