Undergraduate Course: Persica: Ancient Greek Historians and the Persian Empire (ANHI10053)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | 'Persica' is the name given to a particular field of Greek history writing which developed throughout the fifth and fourth centuries BCE: 'Persica' are works written about the Persians and their empire at the time when the Achaemenid dynasty was ruling the biggest land empire the world had ever seen. This course is a unique opportunity to study this fascinating and illuminating literary genre which has had a fundamental effect on western perceptions of the east. |
| Course description |
The Persians exerted a remarkable hold over the Greek imagination, and Greek literature overflows with references to all kinds of diverse Persian exotica: Persian-sounding (but fake) names, references to tribute, to proskynesis (obeisance), law, impalement, the office of the King's Eye, good roads, eunuchs, gardens, drinking, and gold, to cite but a few. 'Persica' served an important function in the Greek world, for they fulfilled the Greeks' need to understand the alien culture which they simultaneously most feared, derided, and desired. From the late Archaic period to the age of Alexander the Great, each successive generation of Greeks had its own 'Persica' which served to reconfirm, as needed, national identity against the ever-changing yet ever-present external Persian threat. It is no coincidence that the desire to understand their powerful neighbours was expressed by mainly the Greeks of Asia Minor, and the authors of all known 'Persica', Herodotus and Ctesias amongst them, were born (and often resided) in cities under the intermittent domination of the Achaemenids. This course will study key moments in the development of the genre of 'Persica' and offer the student close readings of key texts, attempting to understand both their context and content by placing them within the cultural and literary phenomena which characterise the historical development of Greek cultural contacts with the Persian Empire. Moreover, the legacy of 'Persica' will be discussed too, as the genre had an impact on (and was inspired by) other literary sources, most notably tragedy, comedy, and the novel.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics related subject matter(at least 2 of which should be in Ancient History) at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
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Reading List
Asheri, D. Lloyd, A. & Corcella, A. (2007) A Commentary on Herodotus Books I-IV. Oxford.
Fowler, M.A. & Marincola, J. (eds.). (2002) Herodotus. Histories Book IX. Cambridge.
Llewellyn-Jones, L. (2012) ¿Great Kings of the Fourth Century BCE and Greek Conceptions of the Persian Past¿ in J. Marincola, L. Llewellyn-Jones & C. McIver (eds.), Greek Notions of the Past in the Archaic and Classical Eras (Edinburgh Leventis Studies). Edinburgh. 317-46.
-(2013a) King and Court in Ancient Persia 559-331 BCE. Edinburgh.
-(2013b) 'Empire of the Gaze: seraglio fantasies à la greque in Chariton¿s Callirhoe' in S. Blundell, D. Cairns & N. Rabinowitz (eds.), Vision and Power in the Ancient World. Publisher: Helios (special edition). 167-91.
Llewellyn-Jones, L. & Robson, J. (2010) Ctesias' History of Persia: Tales of the Orient. London.
Sancisi-Weerdenburg, H.(1987) 'Decadence in the Empire of decadence in the sources? From source to synthesis: Ctesias' in H. Sancisi-Weerdenburg, (ed.), Achaemenid History Vol. I. Sources, Structures and Synthesis. Leiden. 33-45.
Stronk, J. (2010) Ctesias' Persian History: Introduction, Text and Translation. Stuttgart.
Tuplin, C. (1996) Achaemenid Studies. Stuttgart.
- (2004) 'Doctoring the Persians: Ctesias of Cnidus, physician and historian'. Klio 86. 305-347.
- (2007) 'Herodotus on Persia and the Persian Empire' in R.B. Strassler, ed. The Landmark Herodotus. New York. 792-97.
Wiesehöfer, J, Rollinger, R. & Lanfranchi, G. (eds.) (2011) Ktesias' Welt/Ctesias' World. Wiesbaden.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Special Arrangements |
In order for a student from outwith Classics to be enrolled, contact must be made with a Classics Secretary on 50 3580 for approval to be obtained. |
| Keywords | Persica |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Tel: (0131 6)50 3585
Email: L.Llewellyn.Jones@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Elaine Hutchison
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: E.Hutchison@ed.ac.uk |
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