Introductory description

This module proposes to explore the divergent trajectories of two of Classical antiquity’s most famous cities. Athens, on the one hand, is the archetype of the democratic state and the polis (city-state) model. It is one of the most studied ancient cities with iconic monuments including the Parthenon, Propylaia, and Hephaisteion. Thebes, on the other hand, was part of Boeotia, the archetype of the ethnos/koinon (federal state). Despite its leading role in antiquity, its monuments including the Ismenion and Herakleion are less well known. By placing these two cities in dialogue, productive discussions will emerge concerning state-development, technological exchange, what constitutes Greek art, and biases in the historiographic tradition.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Term 1: Archaeology of Athens
Week 1 – Topography and early Athens
Week 2 – The Peisistratids and their building programme
Seminar 1 – Attic pottery
Week 3 – Korai and thesauroi: The archaic acropolis
Week 4 – The Periclean building programme
Week 5 – The Athenian agora and the monuments of democracy
Seminar 2 – Museum displays and communicating to a public audience
Week 6 – Reading week
Week 7 – The Piraeus
Week 8 – Theatre and tripods: Lykourgan Athens
Week 9 – Attalids benefactions and portrait statues
Week 10 – Pausanias in Athens: Remembering and forgetting

Term 2: Archaeology of Thebes
Week 1 – Historiography and topography
Week 2 – Looting and repatriation (case studies of Tanagra Larnakes, Athanias Stele)
Seminar 1 – Why context matters: a material culture debate
Week 3 – Early Thebes
Week 4 – Forming identities: The Ismenion and Pindar
Week 5 – A local hero: Herakles and the Theban Herakleion
Seminar 2 –Boeotian pottery
Week 6 – Reading week
Week 7 – The Ptoion sanctuary and its oracle
Week 8 – Eleon and the limits of Theban expansion
Week 9 – A landscape of memory: Theban tombstones and statue bases
Week 10 – The Kabirion and mystery cults

Term 3:
Week 1 – The refoundation of Thebes and Hellenistic Boeotia
Week 2 – Pausanias in Boeotia: Mapping myths
Week 3 – Student-led paper workshopping session

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• A familiarity with major building programmes and their historical contexts.
• A deeper understanding of the topography of Athens and/or Thebes and their major monuments.
• An appreciation for the unique and innovative elements of Athenian and Boeotian material cultures.
• A deeper ability to critically assess primary sources and their biases.
• An increased awareness of the ethical dimension to antiquities collecting and museology.
• The ability to set their interpretations into a wider comparative context, drawing in other aspects of the study of the ancient world.
• The ability to effectively communicate the results of research with public audiences.
• In addition, finalists will develop The ability to set their findings into a wider comparative context, drawing in other aspects of the study of the ancient world The ability to seek out appropriate secondary literature and show discernment in the types of primary evidence addressed.

Indicative reading list

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Research element

• Students will have the opportunity to research one of the Attic vases in the Antiquities collection and write a museum display label (250 words) for it identifying its technique, shape, date, and iconography or decoration.
• Students will research and write a report centred on a Boeotian artifact held in the Ashmolean Museum collection (2,500 words).

Interdisciplinary

Students will gain familiarity with techniques of connoisseurship drawn from Art History. Lecture on looting and repatriation with legal scholar will introduce students to the practice of Law as it pertains to the collecting of ancient art.

Subject specific skills

Ability to identify and date Greek material culture; Ability to identify and integrate literary and archaeological data; Awareness of cultural patrimony debates and archaeological ethics.

Transferable skills

Critical thinking; Ability to conduct research; Ability to summarize information effectively; Ability to tailor writing to different audiences; Connoisseurship; Museological skills.