ARCH 120 Greek Art and Archaeology. A general introduction to the art and archaeology of ancient Greece from Prehistoric to Hellenistic times: Bronze Age civilizations (Cycladic, NE Aegean and Trojan, Minoan, Helladic/Mycenaean); Protogeometric, Geometric, Archaeic, Classical, and Hellenistic Greece. A survey of architecture (temple, secular, funerary), sculpture, vase-painting, monumental painting, metalwork, and minor arts of these periods, both on mainland Greece and in the Greek colonies (Asia Minor, Pontus, Syria, Phoenice, Egypt, S. Italy and Sicily); comparative study of typological, iconographical, stylistic, and technical aspects and developments; styles and schools, regional trends. Historical contextualization of ancient Greek art and brief consideration of socio-economic patterns, political organization, religion, and writing. Evaluation of the ancient Greek artistic legacy and contribution to civilization. Field trips to archaeological collections and museums. Offered every fall.
ARCH 130 Roman Archaeology. A general introduction to the art and archaeology of the Roman world from the Late Republic to the 4th century AD. A survey of architecture (temple, public, domestic, palatial, funerary), monumental painting, sculpture, metalwork, and minor arts of these periods in Italy and the rest of the Roman world; particular emphasis on Rome, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Ostia, Greece/Asia Minor, and North Africa. Comparative study of typological, iconographical, stylistic, and technical aspects and developments; regional trends and foreign influences. Historical and cultural contextualization of Roman art and architecture with consideration of socio-economic patterns, political developments, religion, and writing. Offered occasionally.
ARCH 140 Egyptian Art and Archaeology. A general introduction to the art and archaeology of ancient Egypt from the pre-dynastic period to the Hellenistic era, focusing mainly on the archaeological record of the Old, Middle, and New Kingdom . The course includes a survey of public architecture (temple, palatial, funerary) and domestic/secular architecture, sculpture, wall-paintings and reliefs, metalwork, seal-stones, faience/ivory-carving, and pottery, complemented with a comparative study of typological, iconographical, stylistic, and technical aspects and developments. Special emphasis is given to historical developments and the archaeological evidence for the complex political, socio-economic, and cultural evolution of ancient Egypt, including urbanization and centralization of government, administration and writing (hieroglyphics), social hierarchy and craft specialization, ancient environment and technology. Religion, mythology, and literature are also explored, as well as historical sources, relative and absolute chronology, military power and expansionism, diplomacy, international dynamics and trade contacts. Legacy and impact of ancient Egypt on the modern world. Visits to archaeological collections and museums. Offered every two years .
ARCH 150 Near Eastern Art and Archaeology. A general introduction to the art and archaeology of the ancient Near East from the time of the first settlements to the Hellenistic era. This course is a historically oriented survey of the archaeological record of the main cultures that emerged and flourished in the ancient Near East, including the Sumer , Akkadians, Babylonians, Hittites, Assyrians, and Persians. The course includes a survey of public, secular, and funerary architecture, sculpture, wall-paintings, metalwork, and pottery, complemented with a comparative study of typological, iconographical, stylistic, and technical aspects and developments. Special emphasis is given to the archaeological evidence for the complex political, socio-economic, and cultural evolution of the ancient Near East, including urbanization, complex systems of government, socio-economic organization, literacy, with careful consideration of the historical record. Religion, mythology, literature, and science are also explored, as well as military power and expansionism, diplomacy, international dynamics and trade contacts. Legacy of the ancient Near East to world civilization. Visits to archaeological collections and museums. Offered occasionally.
ARCH 200 Selected Topics in Archaeology: Olympic Games. A survey of the origins, birth, and historical development of the Olympic Games in antiquity. This course examines the principles and organization of the Olympic games, the types of games and their rules, their natural and architectural setting in Olympia, and their religious/political context through an interdisciplinary and comparative study of archaeological, historical, and iconographical evidence: famous athletes, interaction with the spectators, prizes and honors to Olympic victors, athletics in poetry and art, athletic nudity, Olympic anecdotes and incidents, sponsorship and propaganda, women and athletics. Competition and the agonistic spirit of the ancient Greeks, ethnic self-identification and the bonding role of the panhellenic Olympic games for the Greeks as a people, the contribution of the Games in the emergence of ancient democracy. Comparisons will be made with the modern Olympics and an assessment of the lasting impact of the Olympic Games upon our modern world. Visits to archaeological collections and museums. Offered occasionally.
ARCH 201 Fundamentals of Archaeology: Theory and Field Archaeology. Introduction to archaeology: a survey of the history, aims, methodology, theory and practice of archaeology. The evolution of archaeology from amateur treasure quest and collecting to a complicated science, dedicated to the discovery and study of material remains as well as the exploration and theoretical reconstruction of the past; great discoveries, persons and factors that shaped this transformation in the 19th and 20th century; theories, issues, and trends in archaeological interpretation; applications of archaeology towards a greater understanding of our past and present. An introduction to field of archaeology and practice: site location, topographical and survey techniques, archaeological excavation techniques for different types of sites; stratigraphy, spatial distribution, seriation; correlation, phasing, absolute and relative chronology; data recording, archaeological drawing (sections, plans, artifacts) and photography; computer applications (including artifact data-base, archaeological matrix, plans and maps, 3-D monument and site reconstructions); relationships between archaeology and related sciences, between material and non-material culture, evidence interpretation and theoretical reconstruction of material remains. Simulated Excavation Field (SEF) practical training; summer field training opportunity at Mycenae (excavation and museum research). Prerequisite: 120, 130 or 210 or previous field experience. This course is cross-listed as ANTH 220. Offered every spring. This course fulfills the Division IC or Division II social sciences distribution requirement.
ARCH 210 Prehistoric Aegean Art and Archaeology. A general introduction to the art and archaeology of the Prehistoric Aegean, including the Neolithic, Cycladic, NE Aegean and Trojan, Minoan, Helladic and Mycenaean civilizations, with consideration of both the Aegean sites and the Minoan/Mycenaean trade posts and colonies in Asia Minor, Cyprus, Syropalestine and Egypt. A survey of architecture (palatial, secular, temple and funerary), pottery, sculpture, frescoes, seal stones, metalwork (metallic vases, weapons, jewelry), stone- and ivory-carving; comparative study of typological, iconographical, stylistic, and technical aspects and developments. Cultural contextualization and brief consideration of the historical framework, socio-economic, political and administrative context, writing and religion. Major interpretative issues and problems in Aegean Prehistory, including relative and absolute chronology, emergence and formation process, collapse and fall of the Minoan palaces and the Mycenaean citadels, spatial definition and multiple function of the palatial networks, military power and expansionism, international dynamics and contacts. Evaluation of the Prehistoric Aegean legacy and contribution to ancient Greek and western civilization. Visits to archaeological collections and museums. Offered every fall.
ARCH 221 Ancient Greek Architecture. A survey of ancient Greek architecture from the 11th century BC to the 1st century BC, on mainland Greece and the Greek colonies. Temple architecture, altars and sanctuaries; secular architecture (houses, villas, and palaces); public architecture (agoras, stoas, prytaneia, propyla, theaters, gymnasia, stadiums, fountains and aqueducts, fortifications, roads, bridges); poleodomy or city-planning; funerary architecture (tombs, heroa, mausoleums and other funerary buildings). Building materials and techniques; orders and principles of ancient Greek architecture; ancient theory and techniques, typological developments and technological advances, architectural masterpieces; ancient Greek masters. consideration of epigraphical and ancient literary sources (including readings from Vitruvius, Pliny the Elder, Pausanias). Offered every third year.
ARCH 222 Ancient Greek Sculpture. A thorough survey of ancient Greek sculpture from 1050 BC to 31 BC, with consideration of both mainland Greece and the Greek colonies (Asia Minor, Pontus, Syria, Phoenice, Egypt, S. Italy and Sicily). Daedalic, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods; sculpture in the round and architectural sculpture, monumental and small-scale sculpture. Materials, techniques, and principles; subject matter and iconography, stylistic and technical developments; styles and regional trends; ancient Greek masters and their schools, legendary contests; consideration of ancient literary sources (including readings from Pausanias and Pliny the Elder) and Roman copies of Greek originals. Visits to archaeological collections and Museums; hands-on examination of selected important sculptures (prospective cast collection on-campus). Offered every third year.
ARCH 223 Ancient Greek Painting. A survey of ancient Greek vase-painting (Protogeometric, Geometric, Archaeic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, from 1050 BC to 31BC) with consideration of both mainland Greece and the Greek colonies, and study of ancient Greek (with special emphasis on recently discovered large-scale frescoes in Macedonian tombs), Etruscan, and Roman monumental painting (including selective mosaics). Materials, techniques, and principles; iconography, stylistic and technical developments; styles and regional trends; ancient Greek and Roman masters and their schools; consideration of ancient literary sources (including readings from Pausanias, Pliny the Elder, Cicero). Visits to archaeological collections and museums. Offered every third year.
ARCH 250 Ancient Greek Religion and Sanctuaries. A survey of the origins, history, structure, and evolution of ancient Greek religion and sanctuaries from Mycenaean to Hellenistic times. A comparative study of official religion vs. folk religion, pantheon of gods and heroes vs. daemonic cults and magic (ritual binding, cursing, charming), myths, oracles, festivals and games vs. house cult; an insight into mysteries and chthonic cults, burial customs and eschatology, soul and the Homeric underworld, the mnemoscape of death and reincarnation. A review of loci of worship (caves, shrines, temples, sanctuaries); analysis and meaning of the worship ritual, offerings, dedications, animal and human(?) sacrifices; interpretation of sacred symbols, ritual implements and paraphernalia: idols and figurines, large-scale anthropomorphic concretions, cult statues. A comparative study of the history and development, organization and lay-out, architecture, portable finds and dedications of the most prominent Mycenaean and ancient Greek sanctuaries (Mycenae Cult Center, Tiryns shrines, Aghia Irene temple; Olympia, Delphi, Eleusis, Delos, Nemea, Dodone, Kos, Samos, Priene, Pergamon) involving a synthesis of archaeological and iconographical evidence, Linear B documents, epigraphic evidence, and ancient literary sources. Additional issues to be addressed include: Greek anthropomorphism and polytheism; the power of religion as collective memory; the sociopolitical role of organized religion; priesthood and the gradual appropriation of religion by the ruling hierarchy and the state (polis); chronological development of ritual vs. unchanging core of beliefs; patterns of uniformity and regional variation; survival of ancient Greek religious elements in Christianity. Offered every third year.
ARCH 301 Fieldwork in Classical Archaeology. Archaeological excavation and geoprospection survey for four to six weeks at the Citadel and the Lower Town of Mycenae in Greece (DEPAS Project). The dig provides training for students in the techniques and methods of field archaeology. Admission by permission of the instructor; ARCH 201 recommended. May be repeated for credit. If taken as part of the archaeology major, the course satisfies either the Field Experience requirement or counts as an elective in the classical area emphasis. If taken more than once it both satisfies the Field Experience requirement and counts as an elective in the classical area emphasis.
ARCH 390 Advanced Studies in Archaeology: The Ancient City: Athens. This seminar will focus each time on a different ancient city, starting with Athens , Greece . Athens is the most renowned ancient city in the world: the cradle of democracy and birthplace of rhetoric, philosophy, historiography, drama and theater, classical art and architecture (5th/4th centuries BC), and home of the first modern Olympic Games (AD 1896). The course aims to familiarize the students with the long history and complex archaeology of Athens, focusing mainly on classical Athens. Topics include in-depth analysis of major architectural complexes and public monuments, with special emphasis on the Acropolis and the Parthenon, the Athenian Agora, Areopagus, and Pnyx; Athenian temple architecture and important Attic sanctuaries; public works and buildings; domestic architecture; cemeteries and funerary architecture. Athenian sculpture, ceramics, and painting will be also examined (materials and techniques, iconography and styles, Athenian masters and their schools). Reconstruction of public, civic, and private everyday life, religious festivals, function of public buildings and democratic institutions, art and politics, historical contextualization of the Athenian miracle and its golden age with special consideration of ancient literary sources (including inscriptions and translated readings from Pausanias, Thucydides, Aristotle, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plutarch); evaluation of the legacy of Athens to ancient Greek culture and world civilization. Visits to archaeological collections and museums; documentary films, videos, and 3-D digital monument reconstruction projects. Prerequisite: at least one 200-level archaeology course. Offered occasionally.
ARCH 390 Advanced Studies in Archaeology: The Ancient City: Mycenae. This course focuses on the archaeological site of Mycenae and aims to integrate a century-and-a half-long scholarship on Mycenae and the Mycenaean civilization with current research and recent discoveries in the field. This is a project-based seminar which examines wider theoretical issues by focusing on a particular key site, thus combining a microscopic analysis of the evidence with a macroscopic interpretative synthesis of the overall picture. The seminar examines the physical setting, geomorphology, ancient landscape, natural resources, and geopolitical location of Mycenae, reviews mythology and legends, historical and literary sources, archaeology and the history of excavations. In exploration of the site's topography, function, stratification and chronology, the seminar investigates the citadel and palace, as well as areas outside the walls, including the settlement, the road system and public works, and the cemeteries around Mycenae . Topics of special interest and wider importance include the typological and chronological development of tombs, their spatial distribution, demographic and anthropological evidence, burial customs, and social ranking from mortuary data; study of Mycenaean domestic architecture, town-planning, settlement development, urbanization, and interaction dynamics between settlement and palace; comparative study of artifacts and art-work which sheds new light on the socio-economic dynamics of the Mycenaean settlement, local workshops and crafts, production and storage, trade patterns and contacts; soil micromorphology and systematic analysis of ecofacts which address a variety of palaeoenvironmental, archaeozoological and archaeobotanical issues and elucidate aspects of ancient economy and landscape; historical synthesis and cultural contextualization of Mycenae in the Mycenaean world which aims to reconstruct and interpret its rise, expansion, decline and fall; evaluation of the Mycenaean legacy and contribution to the ancient Greek civilization. Visits to archaeological museums. Prerequisite: at least one 200-level archaeology course. Offered occasionally.
ARCH 390 Advanced Studies in Archaeology: In Search for the Trojan War. An interdisciplinary study into the historicity, geographical and cultural context, chronology, causes, dimensions, and effects of the legendary Trojan war, involving comparative examination, reconciliation and synthesis of the latest archaeological evidence from the Mycenaean palaces and Troy, iconographical evidence on Mycenaean frescoes and vase paintings, contemporary textual evidence (Mycenaean Linear B tablets, Hittite, Syrian, and Egyptian documents) and later literature (Homeric epic, Greek literary tradition and mythology). Mycenaean military power and expansionism, political geography, international dynamics and contacts in eastern Mediterranean; chronological phases and cultural developments, expansions of fortification and destruction horizons in Troy and the Mycenaean citadels/palaces and settlements; assessment of the diverse monocausal and multivariate theories on the decline and fall of the Mycenaean world, and the subsequent decentralization, fragmentation, and colonization wave (civil wars, earthquakes and natural disasters, foreign invasions, economic collapse); theoretical reconstruction of a tentative historical framework, and problems of interpretation. Visits to archaeological collections and museums. Prerequisite: at least one 200-level archaeology course. Offered occasionally.
ARCH 390 Advanced Studies in Archaeology: Archaeology of Writing: Greek Texts and Contexts (from Mycenaean Linear B to the Hellenistic Koine). This seminar engages into a diachronic archaeological survey of Greek scripts and analysis of case-study clay tablets and inscriptions with crucial information on Mycenaean and Classical Greek historical events, political geography, public and private life, political organization and administration, trade and economy, social stratification, religion. Review of the structural development of scripts in general, evolving from ideographic or pictorial to phonetic (syllabic and alphabetic) scripts; Aegean precursors and the origins of Linear B script. An introduction to Mycenaean Linear B, the earliest form of Greek: review of the fascinating decipherment process, finalized by Ventris and Chadwick; syllabograms and ideograms, the language of the tablets; function and taxonomy of the tablets by content and type, spatial distribution and palatial archives, chronological issues, and the importance of the tablets as historical documents. The origin and development of the Greek alphabet: where, when, why, how, by whom? The earliest ancient Greek inscriptions and their archaeological contexts; Archaic local alphabets, the development of regional dialects, and the formalization process toward a more uniform alphabet and language; materials and inscribing techniques; types and function of inscriptions, classification by content; public inscriptions and private documents, and their respective archaeological contexts. Systematic correlation of texts, historical and archaeological contexts. This course undertakes special topics, issues, and problems in Old World and New World Archaeology ranging from prehistory and classical antiquity (e.g., Problems in Aegean Prehistory, In Search of the Trojan War, Great Cities) to modern era archaeology (19th/20th century AD) and modern applications of the discipline. Prerequisite: at least one 200-level archaeology course. Offered occasionally.
ARCH 390 Advanced Studies in Archaeology: Macedonia - History, Archaeology and Politics. This course focuses on the history and archaeology of Macedonia and aims to integrate a century-long scholarship on Macedonia with current research and recent discoveries in the field. This is a project-based seminar which examines wider theoretical issues by focusing on particular key sites, thus combining a microscopic analysis of the evidence with a macroscopic interpretative synthesis of the overall picture. The seminar examines the physical setting, geomorphology, ancient landscape, natural resources, topography and geopolitical location of Macedonia; then it reviews mythology and local legends, historical and literary sources, epigraphical, ethnological and linguistic evidence; finally, it thoroughly examines the material record. Topics include archaeological survey of key sites (Pella, Vergina/Aegae, Dion), architectural study of the royal palaces at Vergina and Pella, analysis of temple architecture and sanctuaries, public works and buildings, town planning, domestic architecture, cemeteries and funerary architecture, sculpture, ceramics, and painting. The seminar attempts a reconstruction of public and private life, political institutions, socio-economic developments, interaction dynamics between Macedonia , the rest of Greece , and neighboring peoples (Paionians, Illyrians, Thracians, Scythians, Persians). An historical synthesis and cultural contextualization of Macedonia in its golden age (4 th -2 nd centuries BC) aim to interpret its rise, expansion, decline and fall, and evaluate the Macedonian legacy and contribution to ancient Greek civilization. Special emphasis is given to the political controversy over the so-called ‘Macedonian Problem' and recent nationalistic propaganda for appropriation of the name and cultural heritage of Macedonia through falsification of history. Prerequisite: at least one 200-level archaeology course. Offered occasionally.
ARCH 390 Advanced Studies in Archaeology: Death and Burial in the Ancient World. The Archaeology of Death: a regional and cross-cultural survey of burial customs, funerary ritual, and eschatology in Europe (Paleolithic and Neolithic), the Mediterranean (Prehistoric Aegean, Classical Greece and Rome), Egypt and the Near East, Africa, and America (Maya, North American Indians). Comparative study of ancient burial customs, funerary ritual and architecture based on the archaeological record, anthropological and iconographical evidence, and ancient literary sources. Patterns of uniformity and of spatial/chronological variation and development in different regions, historical and cultural contexts. Variables of mortuary evidence and potential of mortuary analysis. Symbolisms and meaning of burial customs and rituals, tomb types, funerary gifts and offerings, libations, sacrifices, feasts, ceremonies and games. The cemetery as a formal disposal ground, territorial marker, arena for socio-economic and political domination, and extension of the living city. Social ranking in burial contexts, social dimensions of a biological phenomenon; the heterotopy and mnemoscape of death; analysis of the relation between public/private life and death through both personal and social prism; dialectic symbiosis of life and death. Survivals and reflections in our modern world. Prerequisite: at least one 200-level archaeology course. Offered occasionally.
FYS 100 Ancient Democracy: A Modern View. Born in ancient Greece, democracy is the most important original contribution to humanity, literally shaping public life, personal freedom, civil rights, education and intellectual advancement ever since, therefore forming the cornerstone of our modern ‘western' civilization. This seminar ventures an interdisciplinary investigation of ancient democracy (with special emphasis on the Athenian democracy), its origins, history and evolution, rise and fall, and its diachronic legacy through a complex multivariate approach and a challenging synthesis of diverse evidence, including: the archaeological record, such as public buildings in the agoras (prytaneia, stoas, bouleuteria, assembly areas, law courts, prisons); relevant iconographical evidence in contemporary sculpture and vase-painting; select ancient literary sources and testimonia (i.e. Aristotle, Plato, Thucydides, Xenophon, Old Oligarch, Aristophanes); historical accounts and epigraphic evidence on the laws, principles, structure, organization and function of various democratic institutions and offices, voting, lot and ostracism mechanisms and procedures. Discussions will then focus on the pathology of democracy, an analysis of its diagnostic features and diachronic values, and an evaluation of the legacy and influence of ancient democracy on the earliest modern democratic systems (USA 1776, France 1789-93, Greece 1821-1830) and the variant forms of its modern revival. Offered occasionally.
Archaeology Courses: Instructions for Papers and Cover Forms
