Using archaeological and literary sources, this course is an introduction to the Greek world by way of the everyday lives of its inhabitants, focusing on the urban experience. Topics include religion, poetry, and politics; education, work, and leisure; housing and food; birth, growing up, marriage, and death.
This course is designed to help students access and understand the different sources that may be used to analyze and understand the ancient Greek past. Students will examine primary sources (literary, visual, and archaeological) as well as selected secondary sources. Assignments will familiarize students with the strategies scholars use to reconstruct the past based on material and literary evidence.