This course examines the translation of classical (poetic) texts as a way of receiving these texts and rendering them accessible - and fresh - for new audiences. The course consists of five components: (1) an introduction to the field of Translation Studies; (2) diachronic study of some of the most influential writers on translation, i.e. from Cicero to 21st century theorists; (3) the translation and adaptation of Greek texts by Latin authors at the beginnings of Latin literature; (4) close study of selected Greek and Latin poetic texts against a selection of published translations of them in English; (5) translation practica.

This course examines the technological achievement of Ancient Greeks from Prehistoric to Roman times. It is structured around key crafts, such as ceramics, stone and bronze sculpture, ivory-working, glass-making, carpentry, and weaving. The production sequence for each craft is presented, as well as the interconnectedness among different crafts. Visits to local craft studios promote an experiential learning. Students learn how craft practitioners carried out major technological projects, ranging from temple construction, to time-recording machinery, water engineering, and ship construction. The low social status of the workers is contrasted with the elevated appreciation of their products. The impact of environmental, economic, and cultural factors on the endurance, innovation, or abandonment of technological expertise is also addressed.

This course therefore concentrates on the evidence for Greek sanctuary sites between 1000 and 600 B.C. We examine the excavated material from numerous sanctuary sites, including architectural remains (temples and/or altars), votive offerings of bronze and clay, and any other evidence revealing religious practices during these formative years. The role the sanctuaries played in society is also considered with a view to their political, social, economic and spiritual implications for Archaic Greek life.

This course will examine the histories written by ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as the broader questions of historiography. What did history mean to the ancients, and what techniques did they use to "bear witness" to the past? How do the writings of ancient historians inform our understanding of classical antiquity? Ancient Greek and Roman historians to be covered include Herodotus, Thucydides, Livy, and Tacitus.

A chronological, thematic, and interdisciplinary study of Rome from Forum to Fascism, the readings in CLAS 412/512 include selections from some of the most influential writers and texts of western literature-- travelers, historians, artists, writers, reporters, scientists, critics, art historians, and politicians. Since our goal is to study the ancient iconic city Rome and its reception through the neo-classical period through many lens, we shall also include a range of artists and visuals, including a visit to the Special Collections Library to view manuscripts, facsimiles, and incunabula, a visit to the UAMA collection, and trip to the nearby San Xavier Mission, the "Sistine Chapel of the West."

This course is an introduction to the language, literature and writing system of Old Persian. Old Persian, one of the oldest Indo-European languages which survived in written records, was the native language of the Achaemenid kings and one of the languages used in the state documents of the Achaemenid Empire (550-320 BCE). The corpus of Old Persian mainly consists of royal inscriptions issued by Darius I (533-486 BCE) and Xerxes I (486-465 BCE). The royal inscriptions include the political ideology of the kings, and chronicle some of the major events that occurred during their reigns. By analyzing the texts in the original language and in the context of the political history of the empire, this course also offers an introduction to the history of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire which remained to this date the ideal of kingship in Iran, and profoundly influenced all later Iranian dynasties.

This course focuses on Cleopatra VII (69-30 BCE), the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt and one of the best-known women in history and a key powerbroker during a period of important political change, one with enduring repercussions for the western world. She has been, however, deliberately memorialized as a "romantic" agent, a deployer of "feminine wiles", whose gender and political toolbox rightly doomed her efforts to failure. Students will interrogate the process of transforming a historical individual into an object lesson, a trope of femininity, and a cinematic legend, unpacking the messages crafted for a range of audiences and purposes by multiple creators, including Cleopatra herself. We begin with the historical background of the Hellenistic period, cosmopolitan and multicultural, focusing especially on the dynamism of women in the ideology of royal power and as image-makers in their own right, developing special forms for female authority and female patronage. A number of earlier Cleopatras establish context and particular precedents, creating official personae to engage effective interactions with fundamental groups; these include the resilient Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra II (r. 175-116 BCE) and Cleopatra Thea, token in a dynastic alliance who became Great Queen of Syria, dominating the Seleucid throne for a generation. Students will then sift through the evidence for Cleopatra VII, both the contentious (and largely hostile) material for her Mediterranean activities as well as the Egyptian record that may represent the specific efforts of the queen herself, utilizing then-ancient symbol and ritual to assert her legitimate imperial authority and structure her collaboration with major stakeholders in the Nile realm. The last section of the course looks to the lingering memory of Cleopatra long after her death, closely examining images in drama, art, and film to explore how the story of Cleopatra has been crafted and recrafted to represent different "truths" about sex, power, and identity.

The Empire through the reign of Constantine the Great.

The Republic to the death of Caesar.

In this class, you will investigate a variety of topics related to people's lives in Classical Greece: democracy, economics, family life, gender, slavery, science, religion, and friendship. You will read and discuss ancient texts from the 4th century BCE -- histories, court speeches, how-to manuals, and philosophy -- in order to figure out for yourself what happened and how people lived.