ANCIENT GREEK HISTORY I
- Academic year
- 2025/2026 Syllabus of previous years
- Official course title
- STORIA GRECA I
- Course code
- FT0253 (AF:586060 AR:328839)
- Teaching language
- Italian
- Modality
- On campus classes
- ECTS credits
- 6
- Degree level
- Bachelor's Degree Programme
- Academic Discipline
- L-ANT/02
- Period
- 3rd Term
- Course year
- 3
- Where
- VENEZIA
- Moodle
- Go to Moodle page
Contribution of the course to the overall degree programme goals
- knowledge of the main events of ancient Greek history from the birth of the polis to the end of the fourth century BCE;
- knowledge of chronological and geographical contexts;
- awareness of the links between cause and effect and of the most significant topics of ancient Greek history with a closer focus on the social and cultural development of the Greeks;
- knowledge of the methodology of historical research, with particular emphasis on the analysis and interpretation of written sources and other historical evidences;
- awareness of the principal authors of Greek classical and hellenistic historiography.
Expected learning outcomes
- acquires a good knowledge of the main events, themes and figures of Greek history, also considering wider historical contexts;
- possesses the precise spatial and temporal coordinates in which to frame historical phenomena and figures;
- knows how to apply the fundamental categories of interpretation of Greek history through the critical analysis of literary and documentary sources read in translation (but with constant reference to the original texts);
- is aware of the specificity (and therefore of the limits and possible ambiguities) of the documentation available for the reconstruction of Greek history; therefore knows how to accept and understand the existence, and the validity, of different reconstructive hypotheses regarding some important thematic issues;
- is able to communicate the contents learned in a concise oral and written form using the technical terminology of the discipline;
- is able to apply the methodological tools learned to specific case studies selected for their exemplarity.
Pre-requirements
It is also expected that they will be able to deal autonomously with complex information, by making critical interaction of handbooks, lesson contents, knowledge of ancient literary and documentary texts, and individual readings of modern essays.
Students must also know how to orientate themselves in the geography of the Mediterranean, benefiting, if necessary, from a historical atlas.
Contents
General tools, basic methodology for the critical analysis of different types of historical sources. The archaic period: the birth of the polis; alphabetic writing; colonization; archaic legislators; archaic Sparta; Athens and Solon; tyrannies; the reforms of Cleisthenes. The classical period: Persian wars and Herodotus; the Pentekontaetia; the Athenian empire and democracy; Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War; the fourth century and the age of hegemonies; Xenophon of Athens; the Macedonians and Philip II; Isocrates, Ephors and Theopompus. The Hellenistic age: Alexander the Great and the Orient; Alexander's successors and the Hellenistic kingdoms; Rome in Greece.
Referral texts
2) M. Bettalli, A.L. D’Agata, A. Magnetto, Storia greca, Carocci, Roma 2021 (also previous editions), chapters 1-2; 7-30.
Assessment methods
Type of exam
The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.
Grading scale
For each question, the following grading criteria apply:
0 pts: no answer or incorrect answer
1 pt: Sufficient knowledge of the basic elements; schematic learning without personal elaboration; schematic written expression, not always correct, and poorly articulated
2 pts: Good knowledge of both basic elements and significant details; good personal elaboration; ability to communicate well and correctly
3 pts: Excellent and in-depth knowledge of the content; excellent personal elaboration ability; excellent expressive ability
Teaching methods
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals
This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development