Undergraduate Course: The Greek World: Freedom, Democracy and Conflict in Classical Athens and Sparta (CLGE08005)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course explores the history of the Greek world from the birth of democracy in Athens to the rise of Macedon under Philip II (c. 508-330 BC). Through close engagement with a rich variety of ancient evidence - literary, epigraphic, archaeological, and visual - students will examine the political institutions, social structures, and cultural achievements of the classical Greek poleis, with particular attention to Athens and Sparta but extending across the wider Greek world. The many ways the Classical Greek world has influenced and keeps influencing our modern societies will also be considered. No prior knowledge of ancient history is required. |
| Course description |
The fifth and fourth centuries BC saw an extraordinary diversity of political experimentation across the Greek world. Hundreds of independent communities - poleis -developed radically different ways of organising collective life, from the direct democracy of Athens to oligarchies and the militarised regime of Sparta, and from small federal leagues to expansive hegemonies. This course provides a comprehensive introduction to that world. It follows a broadly chronological arc from the reforms of Cleisthenes and the Persian Wars through the growth of the Athenian empire, the Peloponnesian War, and the political upheavals of the late fifth century, to the shifting hegemonies of the fourth century and the emergence of Macedon as a major power. Alongside this political narrative, the course examines the social and economic structures of the Greek world - citizenship, slavery, gender, trade, religion, and cultural life - and situates Athens and Sparta within a broader landscape of Greek and non-Greek communities.
A distinctive feature of the course is its emphasis on the skills of historical analysis. Weekly tutorials are designed as a progressive introduction to the major types of evidence available for the classical period: historiography (Herodotus, Thucydides), epigraphy, forensic oratory, tragedy, comedy, visual and material culture. Students will learn to read these sources critically, to assess their biases and limitations, and to construct independent arguments on the basis of the evidence. By the end of the course, students will be equipped both with a secure knowledge of classical Greek history and with the analytical skills needed for more advanced study.
Issues of freedom and democracy resonate strongly in our contemporary world; the course invites students to reflect on these issues through the lens of the classical world.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | ** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of the political, social, religious, economic and cultural history of the classical Greek world, including the ability to make connections across a wide geographical and chronological range;
- identify, describe, and critically evaluate the major types of ancient evidence for this period (literary texts, inscriptions, coins, material culture, visual sources);
- locate and use scholarly resources independently, demonstrating the foundations of research skills appropriate to the disciplines involved in the study of the ancient world;
- construct and form an independent argument about the classical Greek world based on the available evidence in written and oral forms.
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Reading List
Rhodes, P. J. (2005), A History of the Classical Greek World, 478-323 BC. Blackwell.
Dillon, M. and Garland, L. (3rd edn, 2010), Ancient Greece: Social and Historical Documents from Archaic Times to the Death of Alexander. Routledge.
Rhodes, P. J. (2nd edn, 2007), The Greek City States: A Source Book. Cambridge University Press.
Constantakopoulou, C. and McInerney, J. (eds) (forthcoming 2026-2027), The Oxford History of the Classical Greek World. 7 vols. Oxford University Press.
Hansen, M. H. (1991), The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes. Blackwell.
Ma, J. (2024), Polis: A New History of the Ancient Greek City-State from the Early Iron Age to the End of Antiquity. Princeton University Press.
Low, P. (ed.) (2008), The Athenian Empire (Edinburgh Readings on the Ancient World). Edinburgh University Press.
Gagarin, M. (2011), Speeches from Athenian Law (The Oratory of Classical Greece 16). University of Texas Press
Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, trans. M. Hammond (Oxford World's Classics, 2009),Oxford University Press.
Herodotus, The Histories, trans. R. Waterfield (Oxford World's Classics, 1998), Oxford University Press. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
This course embeds curiosity and inclusivity in ILO 1, which specifies the ability to make connections involving diverse societies; reflection and critical thinking in ILO 2, which specifies the ability to compare diferent types of historical evidence; data and digital literacy and individuality in ILO 4, which specifies the ability to approach scholarship and find bibliography independently; and problem solving and communication in ILO 5, which specifies the ability to construct and form an independent argument.
This course surfaces the same skills, collaboration and adaptivity via assigned readings, lectures, and discussion-based tutorials. In particular, lectures will be supported with preparatory guidance for students, handouts, and presentations that surface the skills in view in each week.
This course articulates the same skills in the writing of summative coursework (essay and exam) and formatively via assigned readings, lectures, and informal discussions in tutorials. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mirko Canevaro
Tel: (0131 6)51 1256
Email: Mirko.Canevaro@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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