1. Alexander’s Fantastic Journey
Greg MacMahon, University of New Hampshire
Arrian's biography of Alexander the Great serves as a wonderful verbal map of the regions through which the Macedonians passed. As we trace the progress of Alexander's army across the ancient Near East, we will fill in the geography and culture of those fabulous lands, using a combination of slides and textual evidence. At least one day will be spent on archaeological evidence, including Prof. McMahon's own excavations in Anatolia.
2. My Enemy, Myself: Romans and the Creation of their Enemies
Douglass Marshall, St. Paul’s School (Emeritus)
Portraits of the enemies of Rome receive prominence in Tacitus’ Agricola as well as Caesar’s Gallic Wars.Rome’s fascination with its enemies was given ceremonial definition by the triumphs celebrated by successful generals. Recognizing that the fiction of an idealized enemy tells us much about the values of its creator, we will explore the attitudes and values revealed by these presentations. Readings will be available both in Latin and in English translation.
3. The Central Asian Response to Greek and Roman Visual Culture
William Mierse, University of Vermont
From as early as the sixth century BCE Greeks moved actively into Central Asia, but it was in the wake of Alexander’s campaigns that the Mediterranean world became well established in remote outposts in what is now Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. This transplanted Greek culture subsequently played a role in the visual arts of the region. Even after the disappearance of the Greek settlements, Roman connections with the region beginning in the 1st century BCE provided a means by which Mediterranean forms continued to enter the area.
4. Greek Language: Herodotus
Håkan Tell, Dartmouth College
This is an intermediate Greek reading course designed for students who have some experience reading Greek texts. We shall read selections from Herodotus with a focus on intercultural encounters and intellectual exchange: Solon’s encounter with the Lydian king Croesus and their discussion of how to achieve happiness; the constitutional crisis faced by the Persians and their debate whether to abandon their monarchical form of government in favor of Greek-style democracy; and, if time permits, Herodotus’ portrayal of the nomadic people of Scythia and their primitive way of life.
5. Origins and Development of the Latin Language
Tim Pulju, Dartmouth College
This course will focus on Latin’s position as a member of the Indo-European language family, and thus a relative of languages as diverse as Hittite, Sanskrit, Persian, Armenian, Greek, Gaulish, Gothic, and English. Using the techniques of comparative linguistics, we will reconstruct the ancestor of all these tongues, and will then discuss the importance of the Indo-European cultural heritage in ancient Rome. Finally, we will look at the later development of Latin in the Italian peninsula, including its relations with Oscan, Umbrian, and Etruscan.
6. Shakespeare's Ovid
Bill Morse, College of the Holy Cross
Shakespeare's favorite poet was Ovid: as a child, he learned to read the Metamorphoses in Latin, and throughout his life he returned to the epic, in both Latin and its English translations. Thus we find this poem often "in-forming" Shakespeare's creative imagination. Primary texts to be considered include Books 3 and 4 of the Metamorphoses, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Winter's Tale.
7. Virgil's Aeneid in English Translation
Edward Bradley, Dartmouth College
Yes, the Aeneid, however perilous the adventure may be as we move from Greece to Rome. So many of us have so many different and often sharply conflicting views of the meaning of the poem that I am, in fact, already donning protective armor in anticipation of next summer's fray! While we shall study the entire text in English translation, we will want to concentrate our best critical energies on Books 8-12 for at least two full sessions.
