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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of History, Classics and Archaeology : Ancient History

Undergraduate Course: The Greek World and Rome (ANHI10012)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of History, Classics and Archaeology CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryIn the third century BC the Greek world of the eastern Mediterranean was ruled by powerful kings who each controlled a part of Alexander's empire. The most important dynasties were the Antigonids in Macedon, the Seleucids in Syria and the Ptolemies in Egypt. By the time of Augustus none of these kingdoms existed. Instead the Greek world was ruled from Rome and was divided up into Roman provinces. It is this transformation that is the subject of this course.
Course description The course covers the period from the Illyrian Wars in the late third century to Pompey's defeat of the pirates and Mithridates in the mid first century BC. Themes covered will include the Roman conquest of the Greek east, the nature of Roman imperialism, the Greek reaction to Rome, the effect of eastern expansion on Rome itself. The course will use a range of source material but particular attention will be given to the contemporary Greek historian Polybius and a selection of inscriptions. It brings together the two main strands of the study of Ancient History, the Greek and the Roman, and contributes to understanding how and why the Greek world and its culture had a significant influence on Rome. The course works well in conjunction with 'After Alexander'.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed Ancient History 2a: Past and Present in the Ancient World (ANHI08014) OR Ancient History 2b: Themes and Theories in Ancient History (ANHI08013)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting 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:
  1. demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
  2. demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
  3. demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
  4. 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;
  5. demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
Reading List
Source material:
Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert and published by Penguin.
Sherk, R. K. Rome and the Greek East to the Death of Augustus (Cambridge 1984).

Secondary:
Derow, P. 'Polybius, Rome and the East', Journal of Roman Studies 69 (1979), 1-15.
Eckstein, A. Rome enters the Greek East (2008).
Erskine, A. (ed.), A Companion to the Hellenistic World (2003), chapters 4-6.
Erskine, A. Roman Imperialism (2009).
Gruen, E. The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome (1984).
Gruen, E. Culture and National Identity in Republican Rome (1993), esp. ch. 6.
Harris, W. V. War and Imperialism in Republican Rome, 327-70 BC (1979).
Kallet-Marx, R. Hegemony to Empire: the Development of Roman Imperium in the East (1995).
McGing, B. Polybius' Histories (2010).
Price, S.R.F. Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor (1984), chap.2.
Smith, C. and Yarrow, L. (eds), Imperialism, Cultural Politics, and Polybius (2012).
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsGreek World and Rome
Contacts
Course organiserProf Andrew Erskine
Tel: (0131 6)50 3591
Email: Andrew.Erskine@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Jenni Vento
Tel: (0131 6)50 3781
Email: jenni.vento@ed.ac.uk
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