Courses

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Course Descriptions

The list below includes descriptions of all undergraduate and graduate courses offered by the Department of Classical Studies, though some courses may be taught more often than others. Courses under CLS are in English and normally do not require knowledge of Latin or Greek.

Language courses are listed as LAT for Latin, GRK for Greek, and SKT for Sanskrit. Descriptions for special topics courses are updated each semester.

Visit the undergraduate and graduate pages for course requirements for specific programs. For up-to-date information on course offerings, schedules, room locations and registration, please visit the Student Information System (SIS).

Classical Studies: Undergraduate

CLS 0015 Mathematics In Antiquity. (Cross-listed as MATH 15) History of mathematics in Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, and other ancient civilizations. Number systems and computational techniques; achievements in elementary algebra, geometry, and number theory; famous results, proofs and constructions. Emphasis on solving problems in the style and spirit of each culture. Engineering students are not permitted to take MATH 15 for credit.

CLS 0017 Basic Indo-European: How Greek and Latin Work. Basic structures of Latin and Ancient Greek, and how they are related to each other, to English, and to other Indo-European languages. Writing system and pronunciation. Core vocabulary, with English cognates and derivatives. How word forms, rather than word order, control the grammar of a sentence. What it means to say languages are related, and how we know about Proto-Indo-European, the ancestor of Latin, Greek, and English. Recommendations: intended for students who have not studied Greek or Latin, though they may be taking Greek 1 or Latin 1 now.

CLS 0020 Introduction to Digital Humanities. Computational methods to study humanistic disciplines (literature, history, politics, art, music, social media, etc.). Introduction to methods such as web scraping, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), topic modeling, Named Entity Recognition (NER), network analysis, mapping, and the programming language Python. Assignments analyze primarily text-based sources in English, and the methods can be applied to a wide range of languages, ancient and modern. No programming skills are assumed.

CLS 0026 Ancient Egypt. (Cross-listed as HIST 76 and ARCH 26.) Survey of roughly 4,000 years of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern civilization spanning c. 3,200 BCE to 651 CE. Analysis of the interrelations between art, architecture, history, and ideology, as preserved in material culture, inscriptions, and literary texts: pyramids, temples, tombs, settlements and cities, exceptional masterpieces and artifacts of daily life. Multiple excursions into religion, diplomacy, hieroglyphic writing, and artistic technique. Examination of the internal and external relations of Egypt in the context of a world system that included the kingdoms and empires of the Near East and the Mediterranean: from the Sumerians, Assyrians, Hittites, and Babylonians, to the Achaemenid Persian Empire, Alexander the Great, and the Imperium Romanum. Includes a field trip to the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts.

CLS 0027 Classical Archaeology. (Cross-listed as ARCH 27 and FAH 19.) Survey of ancient Greco-Roman civilization spanning c. 3,100 BCE to 565 CE.  Archaeological analysis of the interrelations between art, architecture, history, and ideology, as preserved in material culture, inscriptions, and literary texts: sculpture, temples, tombs, settlements and cities, exceptional masterpieces and artifacts of daily life. Multiple excursions into religion, sociopolitical organization, and artistic technique.  Examination of the development and collapse of the Bronze Age civilizations of the Aegean and Italy.  Exploration of the evidence of cultural transformations driven by trade, colonization, and territorial expansion leading first to the development of the city-state in archaic Greece and Italy, then to the Greek-speaking kingdoms of the eastern Mediterranean and Near East, and finally to the inclusion of the Latins, Etruscans, Greeks, Egyptians, and others within a single multicultural state: the Roman Empire.  Assessment of the renegotiation of identities and historical narratives as polytheistic religions were supplanted by Christianity within the Roman state.  Field trip to the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts.

CLS 0029 Archaeology Of Palestine. (Cross-listed as ARCH 29, FAH 18, JS 77.) Introduction to the archaeology of Palestine from the Persian period to the Muslim conquest (586 B.C.-640 A.D.), including the influence of Greco-Roman civilization on the local cultures; the rise of diverse groups within Judaism, such as the sect that composed the Dead Sea Scrolls; the development of Rabbinic Judaism; the rise of Christianity; and the spread of Islam.

CLS 0030 From Aristophanes to South Park. Interdisciplinary study of the comic tradition from Aristophanes to modern sitcoms and movies. Special attention given to the analysis of the carnival origin of comedy, the social, religious,  and political function of comedy, the structure of the comic plot, the trickster, the comic hero, and the comic type. Authors include: Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus, Shakespeare, Molière, Goldoni, Beckett, Ionesco, Fo, and Black and Native-American folktales. Secondary readings include Aristotle, Freud, Hobbes, Bakhtin, and Nietzsche. All readings in English.

CLS 0031 Invitation to Ancient Greek. Ancient Greek literature from early epic to the Hellenistic period. Achilles, Agamemnon, Athena, and other gods and goddesses, heroes and anti-heroes, whose undying fame comes from the poets who sang about them. Stories, story patterns, and literary genres that got their start in Archaic and Classical Greece. In English.

CLS 0032 Roman Literature: Texts and Contexts. A survey of Latin literature in translation, with particular attention to its origins,  generic forms and their socio-political function, and the way literature helps define and reflect—but also challenge—Roman cultural identity.

CLS 0033 Invitation to Sanskrit Literature. The Sanskrit literary tradition is one of the major classical traditions in South Asia, and its influence has spread with Hinduism and Buddhism. Stories of gods and goddesses, heroes and villains, kings and queens—the base of one of the world's great intellectual traditions. Readings in English.

CLS 0034 The Rome of Augustus. How Augustus repaired a society fragmented by years of civil wars; the nature of Augustus’ new political construct, the so-called ‘Augustan Principate.’ History, literature, coinage, art, architecture, religion, economy of this key moment in Roman civilization. The reception of the period; how the ‘Augustan Age’ becomes an ideological construct in later Western history. Primary readings include Augustus’ own account of his rule, Roman historians, Vergil, Ovid, Horace, inscriptions illustrating Roman life in Rome and the provinces.

CLS 0037 History Of Ancient Greece. (Cross-listed as HIST 50.) The historical development of ancient Greece and the interaction of society, politics, and culture in Greek civilization, from the Mycenaean civilization commemorated by Homer to the conquests of Alexander the Great and the diffusion of the Greek way of life in the succeeding Hellenistic Age. Special attention given to the relationship of the Greeks to other peoples of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East and to examination of literary and documentary sources.

CLS 0038 History Of Ancient Rome. (Cross-listed as HIST 51.) The history of ancient Rome, tracing Rome's rise from an insignificant Italian community to the ruler of the Mediterranean world, and ending with the transfer of the imperial capital to Constantinople in A.D. 330. Emphasis on the interaction of Rome with various foreign peoples, and examination of literary and documentary sources.

CLS 0039 The Byzantines And Their World. (Cross-listed as HIST 58). Examination of the history of the Byzantine Empire with emphasis on Byzantine interaction with and influence on the civilizations of Western, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Armenia and the Middle East. Special attention to the influence of religion, art and ideas of political authority in the development of Byzantine civilization and the continuation of the Empire's legacy.

CLS 0040 Paradoxes and Dilemmas. (Cross-listed as PHIL 40) Introduction to fundamental themes in logic, epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics. Paradoxes and dilemmas are frequently associated with moments of crisis and groundbreaking developments in the history of philosophy, as they lead to questions about basic presuppositions. Analysis of famous cases in the history of Western thought from Antiquity to the present including Meno’s paradox (knowledge), Zeno’s paradoxes (space, time, motion, and the infinite), the Euthyphro dilemma (justification), the liar paradox (truth), the Heap (vagueness), the Ship of Theseus (identity), Antigone (moral conflict), the voting paradox (choice), and the prisoner’s dilemma (action).

CLS 0041 Western Political Thought I. (Cross-listed as PS 41, CVS 18, and PHIL 41.) Central concepts of ancient, medieval, and early modern political thought. Ideas of Thucydides, Aristophanes, Plato, and Aristotle during the rise and fall of Athens, Greece. Subsequent transformations of political philosophy, related to the decline of the Roman empire and the origins and development of Christian political doctrine, and the new political outlook of those who challenge the hegemony of Christianity. Analysis of how premodern political thought helped structure future political debate.

CLS 0047 Greece, Rome And China. (Cross-listed as HIST 105).  Exploration of  both the surprisingly strong parallels and equally telling differences between the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean-Greece and Rome- and ancient China, producing, in the long run, two quite different cultural and political legacies that have continued to shape the societies of Europe and East Asia into our times. Emphasis on early  periods (Shang and Zhou China, Mycenaean, Archaic and Classical Greece) of political fragmentation and frequent warfare that were enormously productive culturally, indeed led to the formation of  fundamental belief systems, social values, and literary and artistic genres; and on the undeniably strong parallels between the Han Chinese and Roman Empires, two imperial centers, roughly contemporary in time, that (essentially independently) discovered many similar solutions to the problems of governing vast and diverse territories. Close attention to ancient sources in translation, such as the Chinese Book of Odes, the Analects of Confucius, Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, Greek Lyric Poetry, the Socratic dialogues of Plato, and the histories of Herodotus and Tacitus. May be taken at the 100 level.

CLS 0048 Time And Festivals In The Ancient World. An exploration of concepts of time in four civilizations of the ancient world- Mesopotamia, Greece, India, and China. Time, as utilized here, includes not only how time is measured, how activities are organized, and how a record of the past is preserved, but also myths of creation and prophecies of the end of time, rhythms of agriculture and stages of life, connections to ancestors, and the nature and meaning of death and the afterlife. Focus on festivals, periodic public events that connect the present to the past and create and affirm communal values and identity. May be taken at the 100-level.

CLS 0055 Greek And Roman Tragedy. (Cross-listed as TPS 0028).  Study Plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides and of the contexts in which they were performed. (May be taken at 100-level).

CLS 0056 Greek And Roman Comedy. (Cross-listed as TPS 29.) Study of plays of Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus, and Terence and the contexts in which they are performed. (May be taken at the 100-level.)

CLS 0065 Journey Of The Hero. Investigation of the motif, in Western literary tradition, of the hero's journey, in both its physical and psychological dimensions, from its origins in the classical epics of Homer and Virgil to its adaptations in medieval and modern literature.  (May be taken at 100-level).

CLS 0066 The Trojan War And The Politics Of Power. Examination of  the myth of the Trojan War and the nature of power politics in Mycenaean culture through primary ancient literature that documents the Trojan War Cycle- epics, histories, tragedies, and lyric poetry. Readings include Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, selections from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis, Aeschylus' Agamemnon, and Sophocles' Philoctetes and Ajax, among other works.

CLS 0071 Historical Linguistics. (Cross-listed as LING 71).  Languages change. Sometimes they die out, sometimes new ones are created. Principle topics are:  how languages change, how new languages emerge, how they influence each other, and how we can find out about languages of the past, even those that were never written down. Covers the basic ideas of historical linguistics, the branch of linguistics that is concerned with reconstruction of the history of a language, including the Comparative Method, internal reconstruction, sound shifts, morphological change, syntactic change, and contact languages. Examples will come from Indo-European (the large language family that includes English) and from other language families. No pre-requisites.

CLS 0075 Classical Mythology. Exploration of the world of Greco-Roman mythology and its intersections with art, ideology, and ritual. Examination of the stories of the gods and heroes as cognitive tools for interrogating the essential questions of being human: justice and morality, fate and identity, humor and heroism, suffering and triumph – the meaning of life. Focus on how ancient myth has remained a powerful source of inspiration for millennia, informing the art and narratives of the Renaissance to the present.

CLS 0077 Sport and Entertainment in Greece and Rome. (Cross-listed with CLS 177) Introduction to the complex systems of local, regional, and "international" sports and entertainment in the ancient world; exploration of the radically different ideas of the Greeks and Romans concerning these intersections of social performance and religious practice. Discussion of how inseparable sport was from the civic and religious life of the ancient world and how the spectacle of the competition/performance was a major element of public entertainment and daily life. Examination of sport and entertainment as a lens to discuss ancient conceptions of gender, status, the body, and the nature of what made a good citizen. Lower level of dual level course.

CLS 0079 War and Diplomacy in the Ancient World. Introduction to the complex and intersecting practices of warfare and diplomacy in the ancient world from the organization of states in the Near East to the fall of Constantinople: c. 3,200 BCE to 1,453 CE. Exploration of the role of social ideology and religion in shaping how the Egyptians, Assyrians, Hittites, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and others negotiated formal and informal interstate contact and exchange. Consideration of how the potential for inter-group conflict structured contact and exchange and how warfare intersected with the internal political, religious, and economic organization of ancient societies. Examination of the shifting frameworks for conducting war and diplomacy revealing the complex variability of ancient conceptions of morality, duty, gender, status, group identity, and the role of human societies within their world. No prerequisites. Lower level of dual level course.

CLS 0080 Greek Religion. (Cross-listed as Rel 80) Examination of ancient Greek religion, including study of the religious festival calendar of Athens; ancient theology/philosophy; mystery cults; so-called “magical practices”; and the rise of Christianity. Lower level of dual level course.

CLS 0083 Special Topics In Classical Literature. Topics in Greek, Roman, Sanskrit, or other ancient literature in translation.

CLS 0085 Special Topics In Ancient History. Topics in Greek, Roman, or other ancient history.

CLS 0085 02 From the Golden Age of Rome to an Imperial Disaster: The Severan Dynasty and the Crisis of the Third Century. In this course we will investigate the transition of the Roman Empire from the heights of geopolitical and economic dynamism to a period of extraordinary turmoil through the lens of the later Antonine (AD 160-193) and Severan (AD 193-235) dynasties. How did the Empire devolve from a seemingly strong, economically stable state, to one pushed to the brink of collapse? Were the forces that drove destabilization largely internal or external? How much did the actions of the emperors and their cohorts contribute to the decline? Did environmental factors (climatic or epidemiological) play a role? These are some of the themes we will explore in our quest to understand what led to the Crisis of the Third Century – a period that included war on all fronts, financial turmoil, socio-political unrest, religious persecutions, and ecological change. Good attention is given to the Imperial phases before and after the period in question for a proper longue durée approach to our analyses. Every Tuesday and Thursday I will ask you to engage your interdisciplinary brains – that is, be ready and willing to draw on literary, documentary, archaeological, numismatic, and epigraphic evidence, as well as paleoenvironmental and archaeogenetic data – so that we as group gain a better understanding of how Rome nearly lost its Empire.

CLS 0087 Special Topics In Old World Archaeology. Exploration of special topics in Greek, Roman or Egyptian archaeology. Blake, Der Manuelian, Hitchner.

CLS 0091 Special And Independent Studies In Classical Studies. Courses offered on an ad hoc basis and open to all undergraduate or guided individual study of an approved topic.

CLS 0093 Independent Study. No description at this time.

CLS 0100 Classics Opt Recitation. No description at this time.

CLS 0108 Alexander the Great: History, Myth, Legend, and Legacy. (Cross-listed as HIST 0101) Examination of the life, myth, legend, and legacy of Alexander the Great.  Focus on ancient, medieval, and modern accounts in an effort to understand perspectives on Alexander in his own time and how he becomes a heroic figure in variety of different religious traditions including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.  Discussion of his broader historical impact and the realities of the empire he created including forms of political organization, issues of security, and perceptions of identity.  Investigation of how the historical Alexander relates to the Alexander of legend and myth.

CLS 0109 Passion, Power, & Piety: The Voices of Byzantium. (Cross-listed as HIST 156) Evolution of Byzantine history and literature through the voices of the Byzantines themselves, in their histories, novels, hagiographies, the great heroic epic Digenes Akrites (the Two-Blood Border Lord), the amusing if somewhat ribald Amazing Tale of Quadrupeds, and others, from the 4th century AD to the end of the empire. How Byzantine literature draws from Greek, Roman, Christian, Near Eastern, Islamic, and Judaic influences to construct a new identity, a world view neither "Eastern" nor "Western" but rather a complex fusion.

CLS 0110 Empresses, Saints, & Scholars: The Women Of Byzantium. (Cross-listed as HIST 157). Examination of the themes of political legitimacy, spirituality, education, gender roles, the spread of Byzantine culture, and the evolution of Christian theology through a careful study of the lives of various women of the Byzantine world. This will include examination of the lives of women of the Byzantine Empire, Southeastern Europe, Russia, Western Europe, the kingdoms of Armenia and the Ottoman Empire.

CLS 0120 Introduction To Egyptian Hieroglyphs I. Introduction to the fundamentals of Middle Egyptian, the classical stage of Egyptian hieroglyphs used throughout much of ancient Egyptian history. Step-by-step lessons in Egyptian writing system, grammar, and culture, with weekly vocabulary and exercises. Possible visit(s) to the egyptian galleries of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston read ancient hieroglyphic inscriptions on the original monuments. Recommendations:  CLS 26, ARCH 26, or HIST 15

CLS 0121 Introduction To Egyptian Hieroglyphs II. Building on basics of ancient Egyptian grammar learned in CLS 120, "INTRODUCTION TO EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHS I", readings will explore selected Egyptian texts in the original hieroglyphs. Special emphasis will fall on classical tales of the Middle Kingdom (The Shipwrecked Sailor; The story of Sinuhe, etc.), but we may also read passages from royal decrees, autobiographies, legal documents, letters, and military texts. Visits to the Egyptian galleries of the museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in order to read some of the ancient hieroglyphic inscriptions on the original monuments may also be included. Recommendations: CLS 120 or permission of instructor.

CLS 0123 Philosophy Of Law. (Cross-listed as PHIL 123.)  An examination of selected problems in jurisprudence and legal theory arising from the study of the nature of a legal system. Class discussion of decided cases is an integral part of the work in this course.

CLS 0126 Ancient Egypt. (Cross-listed as ARCH 126, HIST 76, CLS 126 and ARCH 26) Survey of roughly 4,000 years of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern civilization spanning c. 3,200 BCE to 651 CE. Analysis of the interrelations between art, architecture, history, and ideology, as preserved in material culture, inscriptions, and literary texts: pyramids, temples, tombs, settlements and cities, exceptional masterpieces and artifacts of daily life. Multiple excursions into religion, diplomacy, hieroglyphic writing, and artistic technique. Examination of the internal and external relations of Egypt in the context of a world system that included the kingdoms and empires of the Near East and the Mediterranean: from the Sumerians, Assyrians, Hittites, and Babylonians, to the Achaemenid Persian Empire, Alexander the Great, and the Imperium Romanum. Includes a field trip to the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts.

CLS 0127 From Athens to Baghdad. (Cross-listed w/PHIL 127) Introduction to the elaboration and transmission of key philosophical concepts from classical Antiquity to the Arabic-Islamic tradition and the Latin Middle Ages. Comparative overview of their treatment in these closely interconnected contexts. Rise of translation movements, particularly from Greek into Arabic in 8th- to 10th-century Baghdad, and from Arabic into Latin in 12th-century Andalusia. Examination of how a broad array of topics in metaphysics, natural philosophy, epistemology, psychology, and ethics have been addressed by a number of major authors in the three traditions, with a view to illuminating the main turning points in the transmission and reception of ideas over time.

CLS 0140 Epics of the Ancient World: A Comparative Approach. A comparative study of ancient epics from Greece, Rome, the ancient Near East, India, and Tibet exploring the narrative qualities and socio-political functions that define the epic genre. Epos and oral poetry, bards and sacred poets, epic as history, epic and national identity, heroes and heroines, wives and enchantresses, fate and gods, epic and anti-epic, and their reflection in modern movies and video games. Readings may include selections from Gilgamesh, The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Epic of Gezar, Ramayana, The Aeneid, Shahnameh, and Cú Chulainn's.

CLS 0141 Classical Historians. Readings of ancient historians in translation with study of their differing aims, methods, and reliability. Nonliterary sources examined and evaluated.

CLS 0142 The Rise Of The Greeks. (Cross-listed as HIST148).  Examination of the formation and development of the characteristic institutions, practices and values of Greek civilization during the Archaic Period, approximately 800 to 500 B.C., beginning with the emergence of the Greeks from the centuries-long isolation of the Dark Age and the resumption of contact and commerce with other peoples of the Mediterranean and Middle East. Exposure to original sources, including Homer, Hesiod, lyric poetry, Herodotus and Aristotle, and attention to the fragmentary nature of the evidence for this period-archaeological, literary and historical-and some useful interpretative approaches. Topics to include agriculture, colonization, origins of the polis, tyranny, hoplite warfare, the social and political evolution of Sparta and Athens, religion, orality and writing, lyric poetry, presocratic philosophy, and the origins of historical writing.

CLS 0143 Greeks And Barbarians. (Cross-listed as HIST 149).  Exploration of the unsettling and stimulating cross-cultural encounters of Greeks with other peoples of the ancient world, leading both to the Greeks' discovery of themselves-the formulation of a Greek "cultural identity"-and to expanding knowledge of the wider world. Attention to contacts and conflicts with Cretans, Trojans, Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Romans, with emphasis on the seminal, two-century-long, encounter of the Greek city-states with the mighty Persian Empire. Sources include the accounts of Greek poets, historians, explorers, and playwrights, documents from the Persian Empire, and images of ancient artifacts and sites such as Athens, Persepolis, and Alexandria. Recommendations:  CLS 31 or 37.

CLS 0144 Athens: Marathon To Socrates. (Cross-listed as HIST 151). Investigation of Athens in the period of her greatest power, prosperity and cultural achievement. Consideration of the methods by which Athens acquired and maintained an empire, the internal workings of the Athenian democracy, the economy of the Athenian state, the conditions of life for citizens, women, slaves and foreigners, the intellectual renaissance which made Athens into "the School of Hellas," and the contribution of outstanding individuals, among them Themistocles, Cimon, Pericles, Alcibiades, and Socrates. Frequent reference to ancient documents and works of literature in translation, and images of archaeological sites and objects. Recommendations: CLS 31 or 37.

CLS 0145 Shakespeare's Rome. (Cross-Listed as PS 141). Study of Shakespeare’s Rape of Lucrece, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra in light of his classical sources, Plutarch and Livy. The reasons for Rome’s greatness and the causes of its decline; ancient Rome as a model of civic participation; the demands of Roman virtue; the role of women in a martial regime; the place of philosophy in the city; and the effect of the regime on the character of individuals. Examination of the question whether Shakespeare diverges from his classical sources to come to an independent judgment of Rome. Recommendations: PS 41, PS 42, CLS 32, or CLS 38.

CLS 0146 Ancient Greek And Roman Medicine. (Cross-listed as HIST 150). The historical development of ancient Greek and Roman medicine with emphasis on methodology and sources; an assessment of the influence of ancient medicine on the development of modern clinical medicine. Topics covered include ancient views and practices with regard to anatomy, physiology, surgery, pharmacology, the etiology of disease, and medical deontology. A case study of an assigned hypothetical Greek patient to be treated according to Hippocratic theory and therapeutics is a required project.

CLS 0147 Greece, Rome And China. (Cross-listed as HIST 105). Exploration of  both the surprisingly strong parallels and equally telling differences between the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean-Greece and Rome- and ancient China, producing, in the long run, two quite different cultural and political legacies that have continued to shape the societies of Europe and East Asia into our times. Emphasis on early periods (Shang and Zhou China, Mycenaean, Archaic and Classical Greece) of political fragmentation and frequent warfare that were enormously productive culturally, indeed led to the formation of  fundamental belief systems, social values, and literary and artistic genres; and on the undeniably strong parallels between the Han Chinese and Roman Empires, two imperial centers, roughly contemporary in time, that (essentially independently) discovered many similar solutions to the problems of governing vast and diverse territories. Close attention to ancient sources in translation, such as the Chinese Book of Odes, the Analects of Confucius, Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, Greek Lyric Poetry, the Socratic dialogues of Plato, and the histories of Herodotus and Tacitus. May be taken at lower level CLS 47.

CLS 0148 Time And Festivals In The Ancient World. An exploration of concepts of time in four civilizations of the ancient world- Mesopotamia, Greece, India, and China. Time, as utilized here, includes not only how time is measured, how activities are organized, and how a record of the past is preserved, but also myths of creation and prophecies of the end of time, rhythms of agriculture and stages of life, connections to ancestors, and the nature and meaning of death and the afterlife. Focus on festivals, periodic public events that connect the present to the past and create and affirm communal values and identity. May be taken at lower level.

CLS 0149 Ancient Gaul. The Identity of France in Antiquity. Culture and history of France (ancient Gaul) from the Iron Age to the end of Antiquity, drawing on textual and archaeological evidence and modern interdisciplinary scholarship. Topics include identity, economy, urbanism, religion, values, and material culture. When taught in Talloires, includes a field trip to a major pre-Roman and Roman archaeological site.

CLS 0150 Plato's Socrates. (Cross-listed as PHIL 150 and PS 150). Faced with a death sentence, Socrates claimed that even the fear of death could not prevent him from doing what is right, offering as proof not words, but deeds. Taking Socrates' distinction between words and deeds, and focusing on the relationship between the arguments and the action, we will study the Laches, Symposium, Meno, Protagoras, and Republic, as well as the works recounting his last days, in an attempt to understand Plato's Socrates and his views regarding knowledge, virtue, justice, courage, and the care of one's soul.

CLS 0151 Ancient Philosophy. (Cross-listed as PHIL 151.) History of Western philosophy from its Greek beginnings in the sixth century B.C. with major emphasis on the works of Plato and Aristotle. Recommendations: PHIL 1 or permission.

CLS 0152 History Of Modern Philosophy. (Crosslisted with PHIL 152) Development of the main themes in Western philosophy since the seventeenth century through a reading of major texts by such philosophers as Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. Recommendations:  PHIL 1 or junior standing.

CLS 0153 Thucydides And International Relations. A detailed case study of Thucydides' history, multipolar and bipolar international systems, imperialism, and competing theoretical paradigms of the classical period. Recommended (one of the following): CLS 31, 37; or PS 45, 51.

CLS 0154 Islamic Philosophy. (Cross-listed w/ PHIL 154) Key problems and figures in Islamic philosophy. The rise of theological controversies in early Islam. The Arabic philosophical tradition between Neo-Platonism and Aristotelianism: Kindi (d. 870), Farabi (d. 950), and Avicenna (d. 1037). Al-Ghazali’s (d.1111) Incoherence of the Philosophers and the response by Averroes (d.1198); the powerful influence of philosophy on later Islamic theology; the anti-Aristotelian, Platonist philosophy of illumination of Suhrawardi (d. 1191), and the mystical monism of Ibn Arabi (d.1240). Developments of philosophy in Safavid Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and Mughal India until the 17th century. No prior knowledge of Islam is required. All readings in English translation. Prerequisites: one philosophy course or permission of instructor.

CLS 0155 Greek And Roman Tragedy. (Cross-listed as TPS 28.) For advanced undergraduates and graduate students, in-depth study in conjunction with CLS 55. (Also offered as lower-level).

CLS 0156 Greek And Roman Comedy. (Cross-listed as TPS 29.) Study of plays of Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus, and Terence and the contexts in which they are performed.  For advanced undergraduates and graduate students, in-depth study in conjunction with CLS 56. (Also offered as lower-level.)

CLS 0158 Women In Greek Mythology. Study of legendary and mythical female figures with emphasis on identifying characterizations and roles for these figures and assessment of  how their representation enhances female stature, as it informs and supports cultural identity at various historical times. Exploration of how ancient authors and artists represent the female experience generally: matriarchy, misogyny, martyrdom, marriage, gender-specific cults, athletics, and election in various vocations.

CLS 0160 Computational Methods for the Humanities. Introduction to computational methods as applied to Humanities data. Data preparation, natural language processing, probability and statistics, visualization, machine learning, and prediction. Datasets for demonstrations and projects include texts, geographical, archaeological, and numerical data. Lab session and report each week and requires hands-on computing. The class will focus on Classical studies problems when taught by a Classics faculty member and on other areas of the Humanities when taught by others. Graduate students will demonstrate originality in their research by acquiring and preparing their own data and executing thorough cross-checking and assessment of their results. Graduate students taking the class as part of the MA in Digital Tools for PreModern Studies will need to integrate a language component to their research by operating on Latin, Greek, or other texts in an approved language. Satisfies the A&S Humanities distribution requirement. No prerequisites.

CLS 0163 Aegean Archaeology. (Cross-listed as ARCH 163 and FAH 103.) The study of the sites and monuments of the Aegean area from the Neolithic period to the end of the Bronze Age, with special emphasis on the art of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations. Museum trips will be part of the course. Recommendations:  CLS 27 or permission of instructor.

CLS 0164 Greek Art And Archaeology. (Cross-listed as ARCH 164 and FAH 104.) The development of Greek art from the Geometric Age through the fourth century B.C., studied in architecture, sculpture, pottery, painting, and selected sites. Museum trips will be part of the course. Recommendations:  CLS 27, or FAH 1, or permission of instructor.

CLS 0165 Journey Of The Hero. Investigation of the motif, in Western literary tradition, of the hero's journey, in both its physical and psychological dimensions, from its origins in the classical epics of Homer and Virgil to its adaptations in medieval and modern literature. (Also offered at lower-level.)

CLS 0167 Tyrrhenian Archaeology. (Cross-listed as ARCH 167 and FAH 105.) The study of ancient Italy from prehistoric times to the Roman Republic. Special emphasis may be placed on the Etruscan civilization, its possible origins, and its context in the Mediterranean world as shown by its artistic development. Museum trips will be part of the course. Recommendations: CLS 27 or permission of instructor.

CLS 0168 Roman Art And Archaeology. (Cross-listed as ARCH 168 and FAH 106.) The study of Imperial Rome and its provinces, with attention to the Hellenistic background and subsequent contributions to urban development, architecture, sculpture, or painting. Museum trips will be part of the course. CLS 27, or FAH 1, or permission of instructor.

CLS 0170 Indo-european Linguistics. (Cross-listed as LING 170). Reconstruction of the Indo-European language family, including vocabulary, grammar, and poetics; principles of historical linguistics and the comparative method. Archaeology and history of the speakers of these languages. Survey of the family, with particular attention to development of Greek, Latin, English, and Sanskrit

CLS 0171 Advanced Indo-European Linguistics. (Cross-listed as LING 171) Topics in syntax, morphology, metrics, or poetics, or an introduction to an ancient Indo-European language not otherwise offered. May be repeated. Pre-requisite CLS 170/LING 170.

CLS 0175 Classical Mythology. (Cross-listed w/ CLS 75) Exploration of the world of Greco-Roman mythology and its intersections with art, ideology, and ritual. Examination of the stories of the gods and heroes as cognitive tools for interrogating the essential questions of being human: justice and morality, fate and identity, humor and heroism, suffering and triumph – the meaning of life. Focus on how ancient myth has remained a powerful source of inspiration for millennia, informing the art and narratives of the Renaissance to the present.

CLS 0176 Ancient Medicine Seminar. Topics in ancient medicine and its transmission. Topics may include aspects of surgery, gynecology, veterinary medicine, spiritual healing, and dentistry. Especially recommended for premedical, predental, preveterinary, and community-health program students. Recommendations: CLS 146 and permission of instructor.

CLS 0177 Sport and Entertainment in Greece and Rome. (Cross-listed with CLS 77) Introduction to the complex systems of local, regional, and "international" sports and entertainment in the ancient world; exploration of the radically different ideas of the Greeks and Romans concerning these intersections of social performance and religious practice. Discussion of how inseparable sport was from the civic and religious life of the ancient world and how the spectacle of the competition/performance was a major element of public entertainment and daily life. Examination of sport and entertainment as a lens to discuss ancient conceptions of gender, status, the body, and the nature of what made a good citizen. CLS 37, CLS 28, ARCH 27, graduate standing, or consent required. Upper level of dual level course.

CLS 0179 War and Diplomacy in the Ancient World. Introduction to the complex and intersecting practices of warfare and diplomacy in the ancient world from the organization of states in the Near East to the fall of Constantinople: c. 3,200 BCE to 1,453 CE. Exploration of the role of social ideology and religion in shaping how the Egyptians, Assyrians, Hittites, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and others negotiated formal and informal interstate contact and exchange. Consideration of how the potential for inter-group conflict structured contact and exchange and how warfare intersected with the internal political, religious, and economic organization of ancient societies. Examination of the shifting frameworks for conducting war and diplomacy revealing the complex variability of ancient conceptions of morality, duty, gender, status, group identity, and the role of human societies within their world. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or consent. Recommended: ARCH 26, ARCH 27, or similar extensive surveys of the ancient world. Upper level of dual level course.

CLS 0180 Greek Religion. (Cross-listed as Rel 180) Examination of ancient Greek religion, including study of the religious festival calendar of Athens; ancient theology/philosophy; mystery cults; so-called “magical practices”; and the rise of Christianity. Upper level of dual level course.

CLS 0183 Advanced Special Topics In Classical Literature. Topics in Greek, Roman, Sanskrit, or other ancient literature in translation. See department website for description.

CLS 0185 Seminar In Ancient History. No description at this time.

CLS 0185 01/ ENV 196 02 Pestilence in Antiquity: Ecology of Infectious Disease in the Graeco-Roman Mediterranean. This course is an introduction to the major disease events of the ancient Mediterranean region. We will approach this topic with an interdisciplinary mindset, combining historical and scientific evidence to investigate historical epidemics of the Greek and Roman worlds. A review of the primary source written evidence is crucial to our understanding of ancient symptomatology and diagnosis, and archaeological evidence, paleogenomic research and epidemiological studies will help us evaluate the impact of disease outbreaks – whether related to human health, demography, economy or culture – on Mediterranean communities. Scrutinizing the scholarly literature and debates on ancient pestilences will be essential to our understanding of the present historiographical trends, ones which we will indeed weigh in on. Reconstructing climates and environments of the ancient Mediterranean will play a big role in our analyses, given environmental change is often closely linked with outbreaks of disease. The fundamental aim of this course is to explore how ancient epidemics and pandemics may have emerged, to evaluate their influence on Graeco Roman societies, and to discern and gain and understanding of societal resilience in the face of such epidemiological events.

CLS 0187 Problems In Classical Archaeology. (Cross-listed as ARCH 187.) Study and interpretation of material remains of antiquity with varying emphases: historical, artistic, documentary. Techniques in the recovery of material and remains and the changing aspects of the discipline of archaeology are considered. Recommendations: CLS 27 and permission of instructor.

CLS 0189 Seminar In Ancient Philosophy. Studies in particular schools, topics, or periods of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, including attention to the ancient and modern sources and their critical use. All readings in translation.

CLS 0191 Advanced Special Study Or Seminar In Classics. For graduate students and qualified advanced undergraduates.

CLS 0193 Undergraduate Thesis Research And Writing In Classics. No description at this time. For qualified undergraduates.

CLS 0194 Undergraduate Thesis Research And Writing In Classics. No description at this time. For qualified undergraduates.

CLS 0195 Senior Honors Thesis. No description at this time.

CLS 0196 Special Tps: Study Abroad. No description at this time.

CLS 0197 Special Tps: Study Abroad. No description at this time.

Classical Studies: Graduate

CLS 0291 Graduate Seminar. Presentation of individual reports on basic topics to a seminar group for discussion and criticism.

CLS 0292 Graduate Seminar. Presentation of individual reports on basic topics to a seminar group for discussion and criticism.

CLS 0293 Special Topics. Guided individual study of an approved topic.

CLS 0294 Special Topics. Guided individual study of an approved topic.

CLS 0295 Thesis A. Guided research on a topic that has been approved as a suitable subject for a master's thesis. Two courses. This is a yearlong course. Each semester counts as 3 credits towards a student’s credit load. Students will earn 6 credits at the end of the second semester.

CLS 0296 Thesis B. Guided research on a topic that has been approved as a suitable subject for a master's thesis. Two courses. This is a yearlong course. Each semester counts as 3 credits towards a student’s credit load. Students will earn 6 credits at the end of the second semester.

CLS 0401 Masters Continuation. Part-Time. No description at this time.

CLS 0402 Masters Continuation. Full-Time. No description at this time.

CLS 0405 Grad Teaching Assistant. No description at this time.

CLS 0406 Grad Research Assistant. No description at this time.

Greek

GRK 0001 Elementary Ancient Greek I. Introduction to the elements of the Greek language, passing as soon as possible to the readings of Greek texts.

GRK 0002 Elementary Ancient Greek II. A continuation of Ancient Greek I. Emphasis on the reading of Greek texts. Recommendations:  GRK 1 or placement.

GRK 0003 Intermediate Ancient Greek. Readings in Homer, Herodotus, Plato, or the dramatists. Students are guided in collateral reading in the history of Greek literature. Two courses. Fall and spring. Recommendations: GRK 1, 2.

GRK 0022 Greek Poetry. Readings in Greek verse (drama, lyric, or epic).  Introduction to meter. Genre and dialect in verse.

GRK 0091 Special Topics. Guided individual study of an approved topic. 

GRK 0101 Greek Epic. Readings from Homer's Iliad or Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony or Works and Days, or Apollonius's Argonautica.

GRK 0102 Greek Drama. Readings from the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, or Menander.

GRK 0103 Greek Historians. Readings from the histories of Herodotus, Thucydides, or Xenophon. 

GRK 0120 Review and Readings. Close reading of selected Greek prose authors; review of morphology and syntax.  Intended for first-year graduate students in classics and archaeology. Meets with Greek 7. Pre-requisite Greek 2, or placement.

GRK 0131 Survey of Greek Literature. Survey of classical Greek literature from the Archaic period to the Hellenistic period. Prerequisite: one 100-level Greek course other than Greek 120. Open to undergraduates by consent.

GRK 0140 Readings in Byzantine Greek. Introduction to the classicizing literary Greek of the Byzantine period. Readings co-ordinated with Byzantine History class. How scholars, historians, poets, novelists, and rulers construct Byzantine culture; how Byzantine Greek differs from classical Greek. Pre-requisite: Greek 3 and concurrent enrollment in CLS 39 or 110. May be repeated.

GRK 0156 Readings In Greek Drama. For advanced undergraduates and graduate students in Greek. Taken in conjunction with CLS/DR 55 and 56. Readings in Greek and a research paper will be required.

GRK 0181 Greek Seminar. Seminar.

GRK 0191 Special Studies Or Seminar In Greek. For advanced students in Greek. 

GRK 0193 Undergraduate Thesis Research And Writing In Greek. For qualified undergraduates. 

GRK 0194 Undergraduate Thesis Research And Writing In Greek. For qualified undergraduates. 

Latin

LAT 0001 Elementary Latin I. For students beginning the study of Latin and for those who wish to review basic elements of the language. Emphasis on inflection, syntax and the reading of selected passages from Latin authors.

LAT 0002 Elementary Latin II. Continuation of LAT 1. This course includes further syntax and grammar and techniques for building vocabulary. Readings from Latin authors of increasing difficulty. Prerequisites: LAT 1 or placement.

LAT 0003 Intermediate Latin. After a formal grammar review, there will be readings from Latin authors such as Ovid, Petronius, and Apuleius. Prerequisites: LAT 2 or its equivalent in secondary school Latin.

LAT 0021 Latin Prose. Selections from Caesar, Cicero, or Petronius. Recommendations:  LAT 3 or AP/Achievement scores or placement.

LAT 0022 Latin Poetry. Selections from Catullus or Ovid.  Recommendations: LAT 3 or AP/Achievement scores or placement.

LAT 0026 Prose, Poetry, And Roman  Medicine. A close reading of selections from Cato the Elder, Lucretius, Ovid, and Celsus as a reflection of the development of  Roman  prose, poetry, and  medicine in the Roman Republic and Early Empire. Recommendations:  LAT 21 and/or LAT 22.

LAT 0030 Medieval Latin. An introduction to Medieval Latin that covers: a variety of readings in later Latin; some palaeography; and aspects of the evolution of the Latin language through Vulgar Latin into the Romance. Readings will include some poems from the Carmina Burana, some of St. Brendan's Navigatio, some letters of Abelard, and passages from the Vulgate and the Bestiary.  Manuscript hands studied will include Irish/Insular (the Lindisfarne Gospels), Carolingian, and Gothic. Projects for each student will include transcribing and editing an excerpt from medieval texts that has not yet been transcribed, edited, or translated.  May be taken at 100 level. Recommendations: LAT 3.

LAT 0091 Special Topics In Latin. Study of Latin texts from the classical or medieval period. 

LAT 0101 Latin Epic. Reading from Vergil's Aeneid, Lucan's Pharsalia, or later epics of Statius or Valerius Flaccus.

LAT 0102 Roman Drama. Reading from the comedies of Plautus and Terence or from the tragedies of Seneca.

LAT 0103 Latin Historians. Readings from Livy, Sallust, Tacitus, or Suetonius.

LAT 0104 Latin Philosophy And Oratory. Readings from Lucretius, Cicero, or Seneca. Phillips, Halpern.

LAT 0105 Roman Satire. Readings from Horace, Persius, and Juvenal.

LAT 0106 Latin Poetry. Readings from the Odes of Horace, the Elegies of Ovid, Tibullus, Propertius, or the Epigrams of Martial.

LAT 0120 Review and Readings. Close reading of selected Latin prose authors; review of morphology and syntax. Meets with Latin 21. Pre-requisite Latin 3, or placement.

LAT 0130 Medieval Latin. An introduction to Medieval Latin that covers: a variety of readings in later Latin; some palaeography; and aspects of the evolution of the Latin language through Vulgar Latin into the Romance. Readings will include some poems from the Carmina Burana, some of St. Brendan's Navigatio, some letters of Abelard, and passages from the Vulgate and the Bestiary.  Manuscript hands studied will include Irish/Insular (the Lindisfarne Gospels), Carolingian, and Gothic. Projects for each student will include transcribing and editing an excerpt from medieval texts that has not yet been transcribed, edited, or translated. May be taken at lower level. Recommendations:  LAT 21 or graduate status.

LAT 0132 Survey of Latin Literature. Survey of classical Latin literature from Ennius to Apuleius. Includes the MTEL (Massachusetts Test for Education Licensure) required authors. Prerequisite: one 100-level Latin course other than LAT 120. Open to undergraduates by consent.

LAT 0140 Classical Legacies. One classical Latin author's work ( a different one each time) and later texts that embrace or reject the author's influence, particularly Renaissance and modern texts. Introduction to neo-Latin and to reception studies. All readings in Latin. Recommendations: LAT 21 or 22.

LAT 0141 Renaissance Latin. Latin literature of the Renaissance: how early modern authors engage with classical antiquity, the return to classical norms of Latinity, new forms and genres. What makes the Renaissance a "rebirth" of Latin literature. Focus on a particular author or genre (different each time). All readings in Latin. Pre-requisite Latin 21, 22, or above.

LAT 0181 Latin Seminars. No description at this time.

LAT 0191 Special Studies Or Seminar In Latin. For advanced students in Latin.

LAT 0193 Undergraduate Thesis Research And Writing In Latin. For qualified undergraduates.

LAT 0194 Undergraduate Thesis Research And Writing In Latin. For qualified undergraduates.

Sanskrit

SKT 0001 Elementary Sanskrit 1. Introduction to the phonology, morphology, and syntax of classical Sanskrit, and the Devananagari writing system, through reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Relationship of Sanskrit to Greek, Latin, English, and modern Indian languages.

SKT 0002 Elementary Sanskrit 2. Continuation of SKT 1: further morphology and syntax, vocabulary building, pragmatics.

SKT 0003 Intermediate Sanskrit. Reading of selections from the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa, and review of grammar as necessary.

SKT 0120 Readings in Sanskrit. Readings from classical or Vedic Sanskrit literature. May be repeated.