History 222, Hellenistic Greece and Republican Rome

Course Description: Throughout the Hellenistic period (336-31 BCE) of north Africa, the Mediterranean, and Near East people collectively worshipped the cult of powerful individuals, so it seems appropriate to approach this time and place by studying individuals. From Alexander the Great to Gaius Octavius (alias Augustus) we are presented with an astonishing string of megalomaniacal imperialists. It is only in this context that Rome's meteoric rise to prominence becomes comprehensible, and in this context that we can understand the decline of republican values that left autocratic rule of the whole Roman empire in the hands of Alexander's highly self-conscious imitator, Julius Caesar. Therefore this course will concentrate on three topics: the tactics and careers of the most powerful and influential individuals; the biographical historiography arising around them; and the historical forces that led to and sustained such an autocratic period.

Requirements: The following will be required of all students taking the course:

• attend classes with a look of intense intellectual curiosity
• complete all the assigned reading carefully taking notes and thinking about the inherent issues
• read Walbank/Beard and take a test on the basic background
• write out a developed problem with the reading for the day (for discussion days)
• contribute thoughtfully to class discussion
• demonstrate the fruits of reading, thought and discussion in the midterm and final exams
• complete one of the following projects (original work is required here):
  • 10 page research paper.
  • 10 page narrative from an ancient perspective.
  • 5 page critical review of a scholarly book (requires instructor's approval).
  • 5 page critical review of The First Man in Rome (or substantial historical novel approved by the instructor).

Grading:

• Test: 10%
• Class Participation: 20%
• Midterm: 20%
• Project: 30%
• Final: 20%

Schedule:

1. (August 28) Introduction to the Course (Intro Photos).
2. (August 30) Review of Mediterranean Geography (comparative maps) [read Walbank chapters 2 and 3]
3. (September 1) Review of Civilization Before Greece [read Walbank chapters 6, 8 and 11]
4. (September 4) Review Greek History [read Beard chapters 1-3]
5. (September 6) Review of Hellenistic/Roman History [read Beard chapters 4-6]
6. (September 8) Test on Background Information
7. (September 11) Lecture: Philip of Macedon and his Precedents
8. (September 13) Greek Historiography: the tradition of historical self-consciousness from Herodotus to Polybius [read the prefaces to Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon's Cyropaedia, and Polybius on Blackboard]
9. (September 15) Demosthenes, Isocrates and the Greek Debate on Macedonian imperialism [read Demosthenes' Second Philippic and Isocrates' To Philip on Blackboard]
10. (September 18) Alexander the Great: consolidation of power [read Plutarch's life of Alexander]
11. (September 20) Alexander the Great: military campaigns [lecture]
12. (September 22) Alexander the Great: tactics [read Engels on Blackboard]
13. (September 25) Alexander the Great: world "Hellenization" [prepare to discuss the Hellenistic dream of unification (see esp. Walbank pp. 60-78; 209-226 and Plutarch's life of Alexander]
14. (September 27) Alexander the Great: "corruption" and death [read Arrian on Blackboard]
15. (September 29) Alexander’s Followers: Eumenes [read Plutarch's Eumenes]
16. (October 2) Alexander's Followers: Demetrius [read Plutarch's Demetrius]
17. (October 4) Alexander’s Followers: Agis [read Plutarch's Agis]
18. (October 6) Lecture: Ethnicity in the Hellenistic Period
19. (October 11) Antiochus and Conflict with the Jews: read 2 Macabees
20. (October 13) Midterm Exam
21. (October 18) Origins of Rome [read Livy from beginning to the death of Tullus -- pp. 29-69 in the Penguin, and Dionysius Halicarnassus on Blackboard]
22. (October 20) Lucretia and the Birth of the Republic [read Livy to the end of book one -- pp. 69-104 in the Penguin]
23. (October 23) Camillus and the Second Founding of Rome [read Plutarch's life of Camillus]
24. (October 25) Rome and its early Allies: the Latin Revolt [read Livy 8.1-14 on Blackboard]
25. (October 27) Lecture: Roman Origins and Myth
26. (October 30) Pyrrhic War [read Livy's epitome 12-14 on Blackboard and Plutarch's Pyrrhus]
27. (November 1) Marcellus and the Assault of Syracuse [read Plutarch's Marcellus]
28. (November3) Lecture: Hellenistic Scientific Achievements (photos)
29. (November 6) Flamininus and Roman Greece [read Plutarch's Flamininus]
30. (November 8) The Gracchi, Land Reform, and Violence [read Plutarch's Tiberius Gracchus]
31. (November 10) Lecture: Summary of the Roman Constitution and its Development
32. (November 13) {PROJECT DUE} Lecture: Marius and Military Reform
33. (November 15) Sulla Rebuilds the Republic [read Plutarch's Sulla]
34. (November 17) Lecture: Pompey and Maius Imperium
35. (November 20) Caesar, Dicatator for Life [read Caesar and Suetonius' Suetonius' Life of Caesar ]
36. (November 27) Marc Antony and the Civil War [read Plutarch's Marc Antony]
37. (November 29) Cleopatra and the End of Macedonian Rule in Egypt [read Horace Odes 1.37]
38. (December 1) Lecture: Gaius Octavius and a New Peace (photos)
39. (December 4) The Breakdown of the Roman Republic and dawn of the empire (lecture/discussion)
40. (December 6) Review for Final Exam (optional)
41. (December 8) Study Day (no class)
42. (December 14) Final Exam (9 AM)

Texts:

• M. Beard, SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome.
• F.W. Walbank, The Hellenistic World.
• Livy, The Early History of Rome.
• Plutarch, Parallel Lives.
• [recommended: C. Scarre, The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome]

Attendance: Since class participation is a significant graded percentage of this course, each class a student misses will detract from this grade. Several absences will not do permanent damage, but more than 8 (out of 42 meetings -- i.e. almost 20%) will be serious.

Honor Policy: Like any academic work at UR all work done for this course falls under the honor code. If you have any doubt what constitutes "unauthorized assistance," please come and talk to the instructor before trying it. Generative AI tools are authorized for use in this class for the following activities: generating discussion questions; exploring project topics; and improving writing style. All use of AI tools must be properly cited. Please consult the library resource on how to cite generative AI in one’s work.

N.B. The instructor does not allow make up tests under any circumstances, nor does he accept late work.

last modified 7-5-2023