Archaic and Classical Greece A survey of Greek history from Homer to the Hellenistic period, based primarily on a close reading of ancient sources in translation. The course covers the emergence of the polis in the Dark Age, colonization and tyranny, the birth of democracy, the Persian Wars, the interdependence of democracy and Athenian imperialism, the Peloponnesian War, and the rise of Macedon. Authors read include Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristophanes, Plutarch, Xenophon, and the Greek orators.

History of Rome This course is an introductory survey of Roman history, from the emergence of the Republic to the influence of Rome on the western world. In the first half of the course we will study the origins of Rome's rise to dominance, the conquest of the Mediterranean and its effect on Roman society, and the crumbling of political structures under the weight of imperial expansion.  In the second half, we will study the empire more broadly, starting with the emperors and moving out to the daily lives of people around the Mediterranean.  The course will end with the importance of Rome for the Founding Fathers.  We will read from authors including Polybius, Plutarch, Appian, Caesar, Suetonius, Tacitus, Juvenal, and Pliny.

Augustus and the World of Rome In 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was assassinated. Within two months his adoptive son, Augustus, still in his teens, traveled to Rome, soon extorted the highest office of the Roman Republic, and after 13 years of civil war became the state's first emperor. The resulting "Augustan Age" (31 B.C. to A.D. 14) produced a period of political change and cultural achievement unparalleled in Rome's long history. In this course we will examine the literature, art, history, and politics of this era, evaluate the nature of Augustus's accomplishments, and explore the Roman world. Readings include: Augustus, Vergil, Suetonius, and I, Claudius.

The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic  This course is an introduction to the literature, politics, culture and history of the Roman Republic (c.509-31BCE) - a period which saw Rome grow from a small city on the Tiber to the supreme power in the Mediterranean, and also saw the development of Latin literature.  Our readings cover a broad variety of literary genres and authors: comedy (Plautus and Terence), lyric (Catullus), epic (Ennius), political speeches and letters (Cicero), history (Caesar, Sallust, Polybius), and didactic philosophy (Lucretius).  As we read we will be careful to investigate how these texts present different and often conflicting ideas of what it means to be Roman, as well as how different ideologies of Rome compete throughout each work.

Literature of the Roman Empire In this course we will investigate the literature, culture, and history of the Roman Empire, focusing on how Romans sought, often at the cost of their own lives, to define the role and powers of the emperor and their place as subjects to this new, autocratic power.  Texts we will read include: epic (Lucan), tragedy (Seneca), history (Tacitus), biography (Suetonius), prose fiction (Petronius), as well as early Christian literature.  As we read we will seek to answer questions about the nature of freedom and empire, what is gained and lost by replacing a republican with an autocratic political system, and whether literature in this period can offer an accurate reflection of reality, function as an instrument of change and protest, or of fearful praise and flattery.  3 hrs lect. 1 hr. disc.

The Golden Age of Athens: History and Literature In this course we will trace the unprecedented intellectual innovation that begins with Greece’s triumph over the Persian invasions in 490 and 480-479 BC, continues through the emergence of radical democracy and imperialism at Athens, and culminates in the Peloponnesian War and Athens’ defeat in 404 BC by her former ally, Sparta.  Through intensive study of selected works of historiography (Herodotus, Thucydides), tragedy (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides), comedy (Aristophanes), and philosophy (Plato), we will explore the central concerns of 5th-century Athenians: freedom and power, knowledge and virtue, law and nature, and the place of the divine in the human world.  3 hr. lect., 1 hr. disc.

Greek Tragedy A survey of selected tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, exploring the relation between tragedy and political freedom and empire in fifth century B.C. Athens. The course examines the tragic poets' use of traditional Greek myths to question not only the wisdom of contemporary Athenian imperialism but also traditional Greek views on relations between the sexes; between the family and the city; between man's presumed dignity and his belief in gods. Mythical and historical background is supplied through additional readings from Homer and Thucydides. The course asks how the tragedians managed to raise publicly, in the most solemn religious settings, the kind of questions for which Socrates was later put to death. The course culminates in a reading of Aristotle's Poetics.

Greek and Roman Comedy A survey of the comic playwrights of Greece (Aristophanes and Menander) and Rome (Plautus and Terence) in light of their ancient social, political, and religious contexts as well as modern theoretical approaches to laughter (including psychoanalysis and structural anthropology). We will trace enduring aspects of the comic tradition that can be found in both Greece and Rome and also look forward to Renaissance and modern comedy. These include: the nature of the comic hero; the patterns of comic plots; the dependence of comedy on language; the comic poet's concern with questions of freedom and slavery, desire and repression.

Greek Religion In this course we will examine the religious experience of the Greeks in all its complexity and variety.  Drawing on literary sources (e.g. Homer, Hesiod, tragedy, and comedy, among others) and archaeological evidence, we will study the Greek views of the gods as these emerge from both mythical narratives and cult practice. We will explore the Greek ideas of personal salvation, but also the importance of religious festivals for the community of the polis. Finally, while looking at ancient philosophical critiques of the traditional gods, we will trace the transition to Christianity and we will compare the sacred in Greek culture with the place of religion in our own society.

Roman Philosophy  In this course we will seek to answer the question of what is Roman philosophy - philosophia togata. Is it simply Greek philosophy in Roman dress? Or, while based in its Greek origins, does it grow to have a distinctive and rigorous character of its own, designed and developed to focus on uniquely "Roman" questions and problems, in particular, ethical, social, and political questions?  We will investigate how some of the main schools of Hellenistic Greek thought came to be developed in Latin: Epicureanism (Lucretius), Academic Skepticism (Cicero), and Stoicism (Seneca).  As we read we will investigate how each school offers different answers to crucial questions such as what is the goal of life?  What is the highest good?  Should one take part in politics or not?  What is the nature of the soul?  What is the nature of Nature itself?  Is there an afterlife?  Can we ever have a certain answer to any of these questions?

Women and the Sacred in Late Antiquity and Byzantium This course will explore the female religious experience in Greco-Roman antiquity and Early Christianity.  We shall trace the transition from the mystery religions of Demeter and Isis in the Eastern Mediterranean to the cult of Mary the Mother of God (Theotokos) and the worship of female saints.  Drawing on a wide range of sources (hymns, saints' Lives, Apocryphal Gospels, Patristic texts, and icons), we shall study the varieties of female devotion and examine the roles available to women in the early Church: deaconesses and desert mothers, monastics and martyrs, poets and rulers.  Different theoretical approaches will enable us to ask a series of questions: were women in the early Church considered capable of holiness? To what extent did the female 'gifts of the spirit' challenge church authority?  What is distinct about the feminine experience of the divine?  Finally, we shall consider the vision and poetics of female spirituality in select modern poets.

Apocalypse When? Reason and Revelation in the Ancient World Apocalypse: why does this word, originally meaning “revelation,” hold such power today? In this class we will investigate the origins of apocalyptic and eschatological thought in order to understand Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian ideas about the end of the world in their historical context and to see how they shape contemporary visions of the end. We will read and discuss a wide range of texts, including Hesiod, Plato, Lucretius, Cicero, Seneca, and Daniel and Revelation from the Bible. The ways in which globalization and political leaders have shaped apocalyptic thought from ancient times to today will be an area of particular focus.

Sparta and Athens For over 200 years, Athens and Sparta were recognized as the most powerful Greek city-states, and yet one was a democracy (Athens), the other an oligarchy (Sparta). One promoted the free and open exchange of ideas (Athens); one tried to remain closed to outside influence (Sparta). This course studies the two city-states from the myths of their origins through their respective periods of hegemony to their decline as imperial powers. The goal is to understand the interaction between political success and intellectual and cultural development in ancient Greece.

Roman Law The Romans' codification of civil law is often considered their greatest intellectual achievement and most original and influential contribution to the world. This course treats the four main divisions of Roman law (persons, property, obligations, and succession). Great emphasis is placed on the role of law in Roman society. How did the law influence the lives of Roman citizens living under it? How did ordinary Roman citizens shape the law? Students will come to understand the principles of Roman law through actual cases. Designed for students with some background in Roman history and/or literature.

History of Classical Literature  A comprehensive overview of the major literary, historical, and philosophical works of Greece and Rome. Greek authors studied include Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Herodotus, Aristophanes, Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle. Roman authors include Lucretius, Cicero, Livy, Vergil, Petronius, and Tacitus. Required of senior majors in Classics/Classical Studies (see CLAS 0701 below) and open to all interested students with some background in Greek and Roman literature, history, or philosophy.

History of Classical Literature  A comprehensive overview of the major literary, historical, and philosophical works of Greece and Rome. Greek authors studied include Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Herodotus, Aristophanes, Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle. Roman authors include Lucretius, Cicero, Livy, Vergil, Petronius, and Tacitus. Required of senior majors in Classics/Classical Studies.

Curatorial Lab: Ancient Greek Vases at Middlebury* Middlebury College acquired its first Ancient Greek vase in 1953. Now the college museum holds well over sixty vases and shards that, together, constitute an outstanding teaching collection. In this writing-intensive curatorial lab we will study the ancient techniques pertaining to the creation of Greek pottery, explore its cultural contexts, and familiarize ourselves with the modern methodologies developed for organizing, categorizing, and attributing Greek vases. Next, we will study and document the Middlebury collection, resulting in an online catalog to which each student will contribute entries for a handful of vases and shards. The course includes a short trip to New York City to study, first-hand, collections (Metropolitan Museum) and meet with curators, dealers, and other museum and art world professionals. HARC 0100 or prior permission.

How to Win the Argument: Rhetoric and Democracy* Arguments shape the progress of free society. From "Four score and seven" to "never surrender," to "I have a dream," we celebrate the power of rhetoric to motivate political action. Yet rhetoric can mislead as well, and its techniques appear to involve a form of manipulation. In this class, we will examine the "arts" of rhetoric, and the philosophical debates surrounding the role of rhetoric in politics. Readings include political speeches (Lincoln, Churchill, King), plays (Aristophanes, Shakespeare), ancient philosophies of rhetoric (Plato, Aristotle), and modern theories of speech and "public reason" (Mill, Rawls). We will prepare and practice public speech-making in class, and we will compose and revise our own analytical and rhetorical prose.

Christopher Star

Daniel Fram

Jane Chaplin

Marc Witkin

Maria Hatjigeorgiou

Pavlos Sfyroeras

Pieter Broucke

Randall Ganiban

Read 106 reviews for Classics courses at Middlebury College. Find the best Classics professors and courses.  Discover your new major today!

I loved Pavlos so much and am now considering a major in Classics because of him. He is so passionate and knowledgeable about our topics and it is a joy to learn from him. The class materials are also really valuable and funny.

While Professor Witkin clearly is deeply interested in the material for this class (The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid), he often goes far too in depth if you are not someone who has devoted their whole life to this material. Coming into class never having read the poems it can become incredibly confusing very quickly and even the outside reading can at times not be helpful because you cannot interpret it anything like how Witkin explains in the most roundabout way possible in class. His ability to get down a random rabbit hole is unparalleled and lectures are always several books behind where they should be on the syllabus. If you have a background in the poems and enjoy the nitty gritty and often hard to believe connections made in classics then this class is for you, otherwise find your distribution requirements else where. 

I'm obsessed with Pavlos! His lecturing on Thucydides was pretty confusing, but overall this course was fun. Pavlos is very knowledgeable. He understands how difficult classics is and thus grades easily.