Denny 256 MTWF 1.30 - 2.20
Prof. Hollmann
Denny 262E, office hour W 2.30–3.30 or by appt
hollmann@uw.edu
Welcome to Greek 305, an introduction to reading Attic prose after completion of our introductory sequence (Greek 101, 102, 103 or Greek 300, 103) or the equivalent thereof. The aim is to get used to reading Attic prose while consolidating knowledge of forms and syntax encountered in the introductory sequence and building up vocabulary of commonly used words.
We will read extracts in the original Greek from Xenophon's Anabasis, his account of his involvement as a mercenary in Cyrus' failed campaign in 401 BCE to take power from his brother, the Persian king Artaxerxes, and how he helped lead a stranded army of 10 000 Greeks back to safety. The text is a good introduction to constructions of Greek identity and presentations of non-Greek peoples and landscapes. Time and interest permitting, we could read extracts from other works by Xenophon (e.g. Symposium, Cyropedia).
The aim is to get used to reading Attic prose while consolidating knowledge of forms and syntax encountered in the introductory sequence (Greek 101-103) and building up vocabulary. Students will also work at home on translating simple sentences (based on similar sentences encountered in the readings) into Greek from English. These will be handed in and assigned a grade. Three translation quizzes (Greek into English) drawn from assigned readings (no vocabulary provided, no dictionaries or other aids) will be given over the course of the term, with a final exam covering the material since the last quiz.
Requirements and Grading:
Participation and in-class translation 25%
Prose composition assignments (syntax, Eng. to Greek) 20%
Quizzes (3) 30%
Final examination 25%
Here is the scale used to convert course grade in percentage form to GPA for course.
Course Texts:
1) M. W. Mather and J. W. Hewitt, eds. 1962. Xenophon’s Anabasis: Books I-IV, Norman, Okl. [[you will need to buy your own copy]]
2) H. W. Smyth. 1984 [1920]. Greek Grammar, rev. G. M. Messing, Cambridge, Mass. [[you can buy this or use copies in departmental seminar room. Talk to administrator Emily Warren to obtain entrance code]][[also available as part of the app Grammaticus]]
Addendum: Goodwin's Greek Grammar will be just as useful. The commentary refers to it by paragraph number, so you can look things up easily (I'll show this in class) and you can consult it online or download it here: Goodwin, Greek Grammar, ed. 1900
Here is a list of passages I have selected for us to read. These selections may be shortened or added to depending on our progress during the term.
Book 1
chapter 1
Darius on his deathbed sends for Cyrus (p. 51)
Cyrus is arrested by his brother, but is released on his mother's intercession (p.51)
He plans revenge (p.52)
His preparations to invade his brother's realm (p.52-53)
chapter 2
Artaxerxes is informed by Tissaphernes (p.56)
The march begins (p.56-58)
A feast-day in camp (p.58)
A belated pay-day. Epyaxa's visit (p.58-59)
A review of the Greeks impresses and alarms the barbarians (p.59-61)
Ch. 4
Fish worship (p.72)
The real object of the expedition divulged (p.72-73)
The Greeks are angry, but are induced to proceed (p.73)
Menon's clever stratagem to win the favor of Cyrus (p.73-74)
Ch. 5
The Arabian Desert (p.75-76)
[[The weakness of the Persian Empire (p.78)?]]
Ch. 8
Cyrus attacks the Persian center and wounds the King (p.93-94)
Cyrus and many of his train fall in battle (p.94)
Ch. 9
The youth of Cyrus (p.94-96)
His administration of his satrapy (p.96)
His system of rewards and punishments (p.96-97)
Book 3
Ch. 1
Distressing plight of the Greeks (p.140)
Xenophon to the front. How he came to be in the army (p.140-142)
Xenophon is incited by a dream to take action (p.142-143)
Assembling the captains of Proxenus, Xenophon ... is willing to take the leadership (p.143-145)
Ch. 2
Xenophon, in dress uniform, declares their only hope is in fighting (p.151)
A sneeze a sign of good luck (p.151)
Ch.4
NEW Ruins of Nineveh p. 164 line 17 – p. 165.
Book 4
Ch. 3
NEW Difficulties of crossing [Centrites river] p. 190 line 18 – p. 192 line 7
NEW Xenophon has a cheering dream, which is fulfilled by the discovery of a ford p. 192 line 8 – line 193 line 6.
NEW Plans and preparations for crossing p. 193–4
Ch. 5
NEW Eye troubles and frozen toes p. 204 lines 6–23.
NEW Despair of the sufferers. The enemy frightened away. p. 204 line 24 – p. 205 lines 1–17
Ch. 6
NEW Xenophon's suggestion for getting by without fighting p. 211–212
Xenophon jokes with Chirisophus about Spartan stealing, and Chirisophus retorts (p.212)
Ch. 7
"The sea! The sea!" (p.219-220)
Ch. 8
Poisonous honey (p.223-224)
Arrival at Trapezus (p.224)
Sacrifice and games (p.224-225)
Important Dates:
F Oct. 11: Quiz 1 [[NB this was incorrectly listed in previous version as F Oct 15]]
F Nov. 8: Quiz 2
M Nov. 11: No class—Veterans' Day
F Nov. 22: Quiz 3 [[NB this was incorrectly listed in previous version as M Nov 22]]
F Nov. 29: No class—Thanksgiving holiday
M Dec 9: Final Exam 2.30-4.20 pm, Denny 256
Please note:
- I will assign readings at the end of each class for the following session. We will begin by reading approximately a page of Greek per class and will gradually increase our pace. It is a good idea to get to know your classmates, so that you can get notes when you miss a class. I will keep our Canvas page updated to reflect any changes.
- Participation grades will be based on in-class translation and discussion.
- Grammar/composition assignments are due electronically by the assigned date. Time permitting we will discuss them in class that day.
- Make-up quizzes and exams will be granted in case of illness or personal emergency, or for university-approved events (e.g., athletics) that have been cleared with me in advance.
- Each quiz will include only the portions of the reading covered since the previous quiz. The final exam will include material from the entire quarter.
- If you require special accommodations during exams, please provide me with a letter from the Disability Resources for Students Office as soon as possible. All correspondence from DRS will remain confidential.
Schedule of readings (subject to change with notice) will be added soon!
Week 1
W Sept. 25 Introduction. PP presentation here
Begin p.51–52. See text "chunking" here
F Sept. 27 p. 51. We looked at some Persian names.
Week 2
M Sept. 30 p. 52
T Oct. 1 p. 52-53
W Oct. 2 p. 53.
F Oct. 4 p. 56 line 5 - p. 57. Information about word paradeisos.
Week 3
M Oct. 7 p. 57-59 line 13
T Oct. 8 p. 59 line 14 - p. 60 line 29
W Oct. 9 p. 60 line 29 - p. 61 line 4.
F Oct 11 Quiz 1 in class. Information about the quiz
Week 4
M Oct. 14 See text chunking here. Fish worship p. 72 lines 1 -19 (We took a brief look at a myth in Diodorus Siculus.); The real obj. of expedition revealed p. 72 lines 20–25, p. 73 1–2; The Greeks are angry p. 73 lines 3–13
T Oct. 15 Menon's clever stratagem p. 73 lines 14–25 p. 74 lines 1–14
W Oct. 16 Menon cont'd
F Oct. 18 See text chunking here. The Arabian Desert p. 75 lines 1-12 p. 76 lines 1–13;
Week 5
M Oct. 21 hand in Assignment 1 by 9.00am. You can also see the assignment here.
T Oct. 22 NB Class meets remotely by Zoom: https://washington.zoom.us/j/97593985409
See text chunking here pp. 93-94.
See text chunking here pp. 94-97. Cyrus attacks the Persian center p. 93 lines 23–25 p. 94 lines 1–10
W Oct. 23 NB Class will meet remotely by Zoom: Join URL: https://washington.zoom.us/j/93851219409
Cyrus and many of his train fall in battle p. 94 lines 11–23
The youth of Cyrus p. 94 lines 24–25 p. 95 lines 1–21
F Oct. 25 The youth of Cyrus p. 94 lines 24–25 p. 95 continued, lines 22-29, p. 96 lines 1-8.
Week 6
M Oct. 28 NO CLASS: Instructor out of town
T Oct. 29 Class taught by Prof. Lahiri
His administration of his satrapy, p.96 lines 9-24
His system of rewards and punishments, p. 96 line 24 to p. 97 line 12
W Oct. 30 Class taught by Prof. Lahiri
See text chunking here p. 140-141
Distressing plight of the Greeks p.140 lines 1-20
F Nov. 1 Remaining parts of p. 140 lines 1-20 if not finished on W.
Xenophon to the front p. 140 line 21 to p.141 line 29
Week 7
M Nov. 4 Xenophon is incited by a dream to take action (p.142 line 16 to p. 143 line 16). See text chunking here pp. 142–143.
T. Nov. 5 Assembling the captains of Proxenus, Xenophon ... is willing to take the leadership (p. 143 line 17 to p. 144 line 25). See chunking here pp. 143–145.
W. Nov. 6 Assembling the captains etc., p. 144 line 25 to p. 145 line 13.
F. Nov. 8 Quiz 2 in class, covering everything read since Quiz 1 (from p. 72 on to p. 144 line 14)
Week 8
M Nov 11 NO CLASS Veteran's Day
T Nov 12 Assembling the captains etc., p. 144 line 14 to p. 145 line 13
W Nov 13 Xenophon in dress uniform ... fighting p. 151 lines 1–14; A sneeze a sign of good luck p. 151 lines 15–24. See text chunking here.
F Nov 15 Ruins of Nineveh p. 164 line 17 – p. 165. See text chunking here.
Difficulties of crossing [Centrites river] p. 190 line 18 – p. 192 line 7. See text chunking here for this and what follows.
Week 9
M Nov 18 Hand in prose comp. assignment 2.
Xenophon has a cheering dream, which is fulfilled by the discovery of a ford p. 192 line 8 – line 193 line 6.
T Nov 19 cont'd
W Nov 20 Plans and preparations for crossing p. 193 line 7 – 16.
F Nov 22 Quiz 3 (covering everything read in class from p. 144 line 14 to p. 193 line 16)
Week 10
M Nov 25 Plans and preparations for crossing cont'd p. 193 line 16 – p. 194 line 8.
Eye troubles and frozen toes p. 204 lines 6–23. See chunked text here.
Despair of the sufferers. The enemy frightened away. p. 204 line 24 – p. 205 lines 1–17. See chunked text here.
T Nov 26 Xenophon's suggestion for getting by without fighting p. 211 lines 9–27, p. 212 lines 1–3. See chunked text.
W Nov 27 NO CLASS Self-study day
F Nov 29 NO CLASS Thanksgiving Holiday
Week 11
M Dec 2 Xenophon jokes with Chirisophus about Spartan stealing, and Chirisophus retorts p. 212 lines 4–19. See chunked text.
T Dec 3 "The sea! The sea!" p. 219 lines 1–27, p. 220 lines 1–9. See chunked text. Interesting article on finding Mt. Thekhes here.
W Dec 4 Poisonous honey p. 223 lines 20–27, p. 224 lines 1–4. See chunked text. Interesting article on Mad Honey here. Arrival at Trapezus p. 224 lines 5–17
F Dec 6 Sacrifice and games p. 224 lines 18–26, p. 225 lines 1–23
Exam Week
M Dec 9 EXAM 2.30–4.20 pm
Important UW policy-related things to know:
UW’s Religious Accommodations Policy:“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/, the Religious Accommodations Request form.”
UW’s Student Conduct Code:“The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/”
UW Disability Resources: Access and Accommodations:Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.
If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.
Academic Integrity: University of Washington students are expected to practice high standards of academic and professional honesty and integrity as outlined here: http://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf