William Bubelis

From the death of Socrates until the foundation of the Roman Empire, Greece and the Ancient Near East underwent profound changes that still resonate today. This course surveys the political, social, economic, and military developments of this period, especially Alexander the Great's legacy.

Thucydides created a distinct and critically important tradition of historical writing with his incomplete but monumental history of the Peloponnesian War. We will read extensive passages of the Greek text and examine numerous questions of Greek history and historiography that arise from or intersect with Thucydides' work.

From the earliest surviving examples of their writing onward, Greeks inscribed in verse a dazzling array of texts. Ranging from religious votives and graffiti to tombstones and personal possessions, these metrical texts constitute a distinct and significant element of ancient culture. This course both surveys these texts, many of which challenge or complicate our notions of Greek poetry and culture, and also situates them against the poetic traditions represented in manuscripts and papyri. To that end, we will explore canonical literature such as Simonides and the Palatine Anthology as well as a few prose texts that also speak of verse inscriptions. In addition, the course offers a comprehensive introduction to the essential techniques and skills of epigraphy, which is the study of inscriptions.