Ancient Greek Politics and Political Thought

4 credits · Undergraduate

This course explores the varieties of political experience and ideas in the ancient Greek world, focusing on the Classical era. We’ll consider different regime types (kingship, tyranny, democracy, oligarchy), places (Athens, Sparta, Crete, Syracuse, and beyond Hellas, Persia, Carthage, and Egypt), political forms (city-state, nation, alliance, empire), institutions (assembly, council, courts, offices) and persons (political leader or “demagogue,” citizen, woman, foreign resident, slave). The readings are broadly chronological and include a wide variety of sources: epic and elegiac poetry, tragic and comic drama, history, inscriptions, speeches, pamphlets, and philosophy.