Greek History Ma
A.Y. 2023/2024
Learning objectives
The aim of the course is to provide students with secure advanced knowledge of Greek history in its chronological development as well as of the specific research methods and current approaches and perspectives within the discipline by means of an in-depth treatment of a monographic theme and a critical and methodologically sound approach to ancient sources.
Expected learning outcomes
The expected learning outcomes include:
- advanced knowledge of the development of Greek history and especially of the political, institutional, socio-economic and cultural issues investigated during the course;
- ability to analyse, contextualise and critically interpret ancient sources (literary, epigraphic and archaeological) according to their specific characters and the thematic issues they individually pose;
- ability to use research methods and bibliographical resources developed by modern scholarship with a view to investigating the ancient Greek world;
- ability to communicate effectively using appropriate language and proving capable of critical judgment with regard to the topics and issues taken into consideration.
- advanced knowledge of the development of Greek history and especially of the political, institutional, socio-economic and cultural issues investigated during the course;
- ability to analyse, contextualise and critically interpret ancient sources (literary, epigraphic and archaeological) according to their specific characters and the thematic issues they individually pose;
- ability to use research methods and bibliographical resources developed by modern scholarship with a view to investigating the ancient Greek world;
- ability to communicate effectively using appropriate language and proving capable of critical judgment with regard to the topics and issues taken into consideration.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
Course title: Freedom and Slavery in Greek Society from Homer to the Fourth Century BC (and beyond)
The topics covered with during the course will be as follows:
Part A
In part A.1, the aim is to examine, through the analysis of a selection of ancient testimonies, the origins, dynamics and problems related to the definition of the notion of freedom - understood, in its different forms, as freedom of the individual, freedom from a foreign power and political freedom (in this case, for instance, as opposed to tyranny) - in the Greek world from Homer to early Hellenism.
In part A.2, the focus will shift to the parallel phenomenon of slavery: the different forms of slavery will be examined, their origins, some of the legal aspects related to the status of slaves, the role of slaves in society and in the different sectors of the economy, the modalities of their exploitation, and the definition of «slave society».
Part B
Part B will continue the discourse on slavery, with specific reference to female slaves and their occupations. We will read in class the judicial speech Against Neera from the Demosthenic corpus ([Dem.] 59) concerning the affair of Neera, a high-class prostitute charged with the fraudulent exercise of rights belonging exclusively to Athenian citizens. The speech offers, from this vantage point, an interesting insight into Athenian society.
The topics covered with during the course will be as follows:
Part A
In part A.1, the aim is to examine, through the analysis of a selection of ancient testimonies, the origins, dynamics and problems related to the definition of the notion of freedom - understood, in its different forms, as freedom of the individual, freedom from a foreign power and political freedom (in this case, for instance, as opposed to tyranny) - in the Greek world from Homer to early Hellenism.
In part A.2, the focus will shift to the parallel phenomenon of slavery: the different forms of slavery will be examined, their origins, some of the legal aspects related to the status of slaves, the role of slaves in society and in the different sectors of the economy, the modalities of their exploitation, and the definition of «slave society».
Part B
Part B will continue the discourse on slavery, with specific reference to female slaves and their occupations. We will read in class the judicial speech Against Neera from the Demosthenic corpus ([Dem.] 59) concerning the affair of Neera, a high-class prostitute charged with the fraudulent exercise of rights belonging exclusively to Athenian citizens. The speech offers, from this vantage point, an interesting insight into Athenian society.
Prerequisites for admission
The course, an advanced course, is addressed to students who have already taken an introductory course in Greek History.
Teaching methods
Part A will be offered in a lecture format; part B will be more interactive and will be organized in a seminar-like format. The course takes the students through the different topics with an approach based on a detailed analysis and commentary on the relevant sources and a critical discussion of interpretative perspectives developed in modern scholarship. All texts and documents analyzed during the lectures are available, in advance for downloading, on the dedicated course website on the Ariel platform.
Attendance of lectures is recommended but is not compulsory.
Attendance of lectures is recommended but is not compulsory.
Teaching Resources
Part A
A.1
1) Together with the lectures notes and ancient sources examined during the course (uploaded ahead of each lecture on the Ariel website),
1) M.I. FINLEY, The Freedom of the Citizen in the Greek World, in Economy and Society in Ancient Greece, London, Chatto and Windus, 1981, pp. 77-94 (trad. it. in Economia e società nel mondo antico, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1984, pp. 101-124).
2) Un testo a scelta tra:
J. DE ROMILLY, La scoperta della libertà nella Grecia antica, Verona, Essedue Edizioni, 1991;
K. RAAFLAUB, La scoperta della libertà nell'antica Grecia, Milano, Ariele, 2015.
A.2
1) A text to be chosen between:
J. ANDREAU-R. DESCAT, Gli schiavi nel mondo greco e romano, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014;
M.I. FINLEY, Schiavitù antica e ideologie moderne, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1981.
2) D.M. LEWIS, Slavery and Manumission, in E.M. HARRIS-M. CANEVARO (edd.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Law, Oxford 2015 (pubblicazione online: DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199599257.013.21).
Part B
1) Demostene, Processo a una cortigiana: Contro Neera, a cura di E. AVEZZÙ, Venezia, Marsilio, 1986.
2) N. BERNARD, Donne e società nella Grecia antica, Roma, Carocci, 2011.
Bibliography for non-attendants
Part A
A.1
1) M.I. FINLEY, The Freedom of the Citizen in the Greek World, in Economy and Society in Ancient Greece, London, Chatto and Windus, 1981, pp. 77-94 (trad. it. in Economia e società nel mondo antico, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1984, pp. 101-124).
2) A text to be chosen between:
J. DE ROMILLY, La scoperta della libertà nella Grecia antica, Verona, Essedue Edizioni, 1991;
K. RAAFLAUB, La scoperta della libertà nell'antica Grecia, Milano, Ariele, 2015.
3) A text to be chosen between:
B. CONSTANT, La libertà degli antichi, paragonata a quella dei moderni. Traduzione a cura di G. Paoletti, Torino, Einaudi, 2001, pp. V-LX, 1-35;
D. MUSTI, Demokratia. Origini di un'idea, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1995, pp. 3-102.
A.2
1) M.I. FINLEY, Schiavitù antica e ideologie moderne, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1981.
2) D.M. LEWIS, Slavery and Manumission, in E.M. HARRIS-M. CANEVARO (edd.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Law, Oxford 2015 (pubblicazione online: DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199599257.013.21).
3) M. BETTALLI-M. GIANGIULIO (a cura di), Atene, vivere in una città antica, Roma, Carocci, 2023, pp. 67-178 (saggi di U. Fantasia, S. Ferrucci, L. Pepe, C. Bearzot, D.M. Lewis).
Part B
1) Demostene, Processo a una cortigiana: Contro Neera, a cura di E. AVEZZÙ, Venezia, Marsilio, 1986.
2) N. BERNARD, Donne e società nella Grecia antica, Roma, Carocci, 2011.
3) M. FARAGUNA, Aspetti della schiavitù domestica femminile in Attica tra oratoria ed epigrafia, in F. REDUZZI MEROLA-A. STORCHI MARINO (edd.), Femmes-esclaves. Modèles d'interprétation anthropologique, économique, juridique, Napoli, Jovene Editore, 1999, pp. 57-79.
A.1
1) Together with the lectures notes and ancient sources examined during the course (uploaded ahead of each lecture on the Ariel website),
1) M.I. FINLEY, The Freedom of the Citizen in the Greek World, in Economy and Society in Ancient Greece, London, Chatto and Windus, 1981, pp. 77-94 (trad. it. in Economia e società nel mondo antico, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1984, pp. 101-124).
2) Un testo a scelta tra:
J. DE ROMILLY, La scoperta della libertà nella Grecia antica, Verona, Essedue Edizioni, 1991;
K. RAAFLAUB, La scoperta della libertà nell'antica Grecia, Milano, Ariele, 2015.
A.2
1) A text to be chosen between:
J. ANDREAU-R. DESCAT, Gli schiavi nel mondo greco e romano, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014;
M.I. FINLEY, Schiavitù antica e ideologie moderne, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1981.
2) D.M. LEWIS, Slavery and Manumission, in E.M. HARRIS-M. CANEVARO (edd.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Law, Oxford 2015 (pubblicazione online: DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199599257.013.21).
Part B
1) Demostene, Processo a una cortigiana: Contro Neera, a cura di E. AVEZZÙ, Venezia, Marsilio, 1986.
2) N. BERNARD, Donne e società nella Grecia antica, Roma, Carocci, 2011.
Bibliography for non-attendants
Part A
A.1
1) M.I. FINLEY, The Freedom of the Citizen in the Greek World, in Economy and Society in Ancient Greece, London, Chatto and Windus, 1981, pp. 77-94 (trad. it. in Economia e società nel mondo antico, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1984, pp. 101-124).
2) A text to be chosen between:
J. DE ROMILLY, La scoperta della libertà nella Grecia antica, Verona, Essedue Edizioni, 1991;
K. RAAFLAUB, La scoperta della libertà nell'antica Grecia, Milano, Ariele, 2015.
3) A text to be chosen between:
B. CONSTANT, La libertà degli antichi, paragonata a quella dei moderni. Traduzione a cura di G. Paoletti, Torino, Einaudi, 2001, pp. V-LX, 1-35;
D. MUSTI, Demokratia. Origini di un'idea, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1995, pp. 3-102.
A.2
1) M.I. FINLEY, Schiavitù antica e ideologie moderne, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1981.
2) D.M. LEWIS, Slavery and Manumission, in E.M. HARRIS-M. CANEVARO (edd.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Law, Oxford 2015 (pubblicazione online: DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199599257.013.21).
3) M. BETTALLI-M. GIANGIULIO (a cura di), Atene, vivere in una città antica, Roma, Carocci, 2023, pp. 67-178 (saggi di U. Fantasia, S. Ferrucci, L. Pepe, C. Bearzot, D.M. Lewis).
Part B
1) Demostene, Processo a una cortigiana: Contro Neera, a cura di E. AVEZZÙ, Venezia, Marsilio, 1986.
2) N. BERNARD, Donne e società nella Grecia antica, Roma, Carocci, 2011.
3) M. FARAGUNA, Aspetti della schiavitù domestica femminile in Attica tra oratoria ed epigrafia, in F. REDUZZI MEROLA-A. STORCHI MARINO (edd.), Femmes-esclaves. Modèles d'interprétation anthropologique, économique, juridique, Napoli, Jovene Editore, 1999, pp. 57-79.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam is oral and aims at ascertaining knowledge of the topics dealt with during the course, also by means of a critical discussion of ancient sources and modern scholarship.
Assessment criteria are the following: ability to organize knowledge through discourse; ability to reason critically with regard to the topics considered; critical awareness of the problems of method posed by the study of ancient society and by the use of ancient sources; ability to present topics and express oneself with the specialist language appropriate to the discipline.
Marks are out of 30.
Assessment criteria are the following: ability to organize knowledge through discourse; ability to reason critically with regard to the topics considered; critical awareness of the problems of method posed by the study of ancient society and by the use of ancient sources; ability to present topics and express oneself with the specialist language appropriate to the discipline.
Marks are out of 30.
Unita' didattica A
L-ANT/02 - GREEK HISTORY - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-ANT/02 - GREEK HISTORY - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-ANT/02 - GREEK HISTORY - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
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Professor(s)