Instructors:
Prof. Alexander Hollmann (Classics) (weeks 1–5)
hollmann@uw.edu: office hours W, 1.30-2.30 & by appointment, Denny M262E
Prof. Nektaria Klapaki (JSIS, Hellenic Studies) (weeks 6–10)
nklapaki@uw.edu: office hours M, 9:00-10:00 & by appointment, Thomson 225B
Course Description
How are Ancient and Modern Greece connected to each other? Partly real and partly invented, the bond between them can simultaneously be described in terms of revival and continuity, but also in terms of discontinuity, tension, appropriation and conflict. In the first half of the course we will look at some of the most distinctive features of and moments in Ancient Greek culture: the combination of competition and collaboration that gave rise to tyranny, oligarchy, and radical democracy, tragedy and comedy, athletic competition, and a much imitated style of art and architecture; how the Greeks presented themselves for generations to come in their literature, art, and architecture and saw themselves in relation to other peoples around them. In the second half of the course we look at Modern Greece and its relationship with Ancient Hellas: how has the heritage of Ancient Greece shaped Modern Greece? How have the excavations at Knossos and the debate about the Parthenon marbles impacted Modern Greek identity? How have Ancient Greek drama, myth and ritual been revived and to what end? What lies behind the modern (Greek) institution of the Olympic Games? How has the ancient Greek concept of democracy been used, appropriated, and abused?
We will explore primary texts and images both ancient and modern (poetry, history, novels, painting, sculpture, photography, and film) and a wide range of secondary readings in history, archaeology, literary criticism, cultural studies, and political science. There are no prerequisites.
Course Learning Objectives
- to become familiar with key features of Ancient and Modern Greek culture
- to study Ancient and Modern Greek self-perceptions
- to understand the ambivalent relation between Modern and Ancient Greece
- to familiarize themselves with the key aspects of modern Greek identity and the ideological processes whereby they were constructed
Course components
- Quizzes 1 and 2 (first half of course) (12.5% each = 25%)
- Midterm assessment 25%
- Quizzes 3 and 4 (second half of course) (12.5% each = 25%)
- Final assessment 25%
Here is the scale used to convert final grade from percentage to GPA.
Required Course Reading Material
- Johanna Hanink, The Classical Debt: Greek Antiquity in an Era of Austerity(Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press, 2017).
- Other assigned readings will be available through Canvas and as handouts in the class
Course Policies
Please come to class prepared to participate. This includes having read the readings assigned for the day and have considered the study questions (if these have been assigned).
All Powerpoint presentations shown in class will be posted on the website after the class. Because we will often be working on the content up until the time of the class we cannot undertake to post these before the class. Please note that Powerpoint presentations are only outlines and not a substitute for notes. If you miss a class, please ask a fellow student if you can copy their notes.
If you cannot comply with a due date on an assignment or assessment, please let us know as soon as you can.
Week 1
M Jan. 6 Introduction and Overview. Powerpoint 1a and 1b.
W Jan. 8 Bronze Age: Minoan and Mycenaean periods. Powerpoints 2a and 2b.
Week 2
M Jan. 13 Mycenaean to Dark Age. Powerpoint 3A.
Watch this presentation by Prof. Nakassis "Orientalism and the Mycenaeans" and come to class prepared to discuss the study questions.
W Jan. 15 Dark Age to Archaic. Powerpoints 3A and 3B. Reading and questions for discussion in class: passages from Homer, Iliad 18 and 24.
Take-home quiz 1 (covering material through W. Jan. 15) released Th. Jan. 16 9.00am., due by Sat. Jan. 18 9.00am
Week 3
M. Jan. 20 NO CLASS: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
W. Jan. 22 Archaic period generally and in Athens. Powerpoints 4A and 5.
Week 4
M. Jan. 27 Athens in Classical period. Read Hanink, “How Athens Built Its Brand” (The Classical Debt, pp. 32-69) and come to class prepared to discuss these study questions. Powerpoints 5 and 6.
W. Jan. 29 Athens in Classical period. Democracy. Powerpoint 7.
Take-home quiz 2 (covering material through W. Jan. 29) released Th. Jan. 30 9.00am, due by Sat. Feb. 1 9.00am
Week 5
M. Feb. 3 Athenian democracy cont'd. Powerpoint 7. Greeks and Others: Powerpoint 8. Hellenistic to Imperial period. Powerpoint 9. Please take a look at these readings and come to class prepared to discuss these questions.
W. Feb. 5 Hellenistic to Imperial period cont'd. Powerpoint 9.
Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. Powerpoint 10.
Take-home midterm exam released Sat. Feb. 8 9.00am, due by W. Feb. 12 9.00am
Week 6
M Feb. 10
Modern Greek Identity: Ancient Greece and Byzantium. From the Revival Model to the Continuity Model. Romantic Hellenism and Philhellenism.
Readings: Hanink 2017: 104-131, 139-147, 167-170
Study Questions for Feb 10, 2025
Modern Greek History Timeline (for reference only)
Powerpoint presentation: 11 JSIS 239_Revival_Continuity_Romantics & Philhellenes.pptx
W Feb. 12
Historiography and Folklore Studies. Modern Greek folk songs and orality. The ritual lament.
Readings: Alexiou 2002: 36-51
Study Questions for Feb 12, 2025
Powerpoint presentation: 12 JSIS 239_MG folk songs_Ritual lament.pptx
Week 7
M Feb. 17: NO CLASS (President's Day)
W Feb. 19
Archaeology and Modern Greek Identity. Claiming the classical heritage for themselves. Lord Elgin and the Parthenon marbles. The Parthenon marbles debate today.
Readings: Hanink 2017: 1-8, 131-139
Powerpoint presentation: 13 JSIS 239_Parthenon marbles.pptx
Study Questions for Feb. 19, 2025
Study Guide for Take-home Quiz 3
TAKE-HOME QUIZ 3: Th Feb 20 released 9am, due by Sat Feb 22, 9am
Week 8
M Feb. 24
Excavations in Knossos
Readings: Papadopoulos 2005: 101-133
Study Questions for Feb. 24, 2025
Powerpoint presentation: 14 JSIS 239_Knossos excavations.pptx
W Feb. 26
Ancient Greek culture in modern Greece. Modern Greek drama. Tragedies on exile islands.
Readings: Van Steen 2002: 375-393
Study Questions for Feb. 26, 2025
Powerpoint presentation: 15 JSIS 239_Modern Greek drama_Tragedies on exile islands.pptx
Week 9
M Mar. 3
Ancient Greek myth in modern Greek literature and culture. Neopagan revivals in modern Greece.
Readings: Hanink 2017: 182-186
Cavafy, "Ithaca" Cavafy, Ithaca.pdf
Sikelianos 1996: 26-29, 98-105 (Aphrodite Rising) Sikelianos, 'Aphrodite Rising'.pdf
Seferis 1995: 3-28 (Mythistorema) Seferis 'Mythistorima'.pdf
Study Questions for Mar. 3, 2025
Powerpoint presentation: 16 JSIS 239_AG myth in MG lit_Neopagan revivals.pptx
TAKE-HOME QUIZ 4: T Mar 4 released 9am, due by Th Mar. 7, 9am
Quiz 4 Study Guide: Quiz 4_Study Guide_2025-1.pdf
W Mar. 5
The modern Olympics. Baron de Coubertin and the modern revival of the Olympics. The 1896 Olympics. Spyros Louis.
Readings: Yalouri 2004: 295-331
Hanink 2017: 170-6
Study Questions for Mar. 5, 2025
Powerpoint presentation: 17 JSIS 239_1896 Olympics-1.pptx
Week 10
M Mar. 10
The 2004 Olympics: Greece between the local and the global.
Readings: Hanink 2017: 186-94
Study Questions for Mar. 10, 2025
Powerpoint presentation: 18 JSIS 239_2004 Olympics-1.pptx
W Mar. 12
Democracy today. Financial crisis and direct democracy. The Occupy Greece movement and the appropriation of ancient Greek heritage by Golden Dawn.
Readings: Hanink 2017: 195-271
Study Questions for Mar. 12, 2025
Powerpoint presentation: 19 JSIS 239_Financial crisis, direct democracy, Golden Dawn.pptx
TAKE-HOME FINAL EXAM Sat Mar. 15, released 9am, due by W Mar 19, 9am