Required texts:
1. Athletics of the Ancient World: E. Norman Gardiner ($30)
2. Arete: Greek Sports from Ancient Sources: Stephen
G. Miller ($20)
Both of these are available at the BU Bookstore and are on reserve
in Mugar Memorial Library.
There will be handouts covering Roman sources.
Goals for the semester:
We will examine the place of athletics and athletic competition in
Greek and Roman society, mostly Greek. This will illuminate some
of the differences between these two societies, and will lead to consideration
of the role of sport in any society.
Workload and grading:
There will be two in-class exams, one hour each, and a two-hour final.
Each exam will cover material since the last one. You will write
one paper of 1500-2000 words (6-10 standard typed pages). You will
have reading assignments from the textbooks or handouts for each class.
The grades will be computed as follows:
| hour exams (2) | 20% each | 40% |
| final exam | 25% | |
| term paper | 20% | |
| participation | 15% | |
| total | 100% |
Schedule:
The two hour exams will be
| Thursday 9 July | |
| and | Thursday 23 July |
Hour exams will be given in the first hour of class, from 9:00 to 10:00,
and there will be a shortened class meeting afterwards, from about 10:15
to 11:30.
The final exam will be in the last scheduled class, Thursday 6 August,
and will be two hours long (9:00 to 11:00).
Make-up exams will be given in exceptional circumstances, if you make
arrangements at least 24 hours before the scheduled time of the exam.
The term paper is due in class on Thursday 30 July. Late papers will not be accepted.
Reading assignments by class:
1. Tues 30 June: Introduction: chronological and
geographic overview.
2. Thurs 2 July: Crete, Mycenae, and Homer.
General policies:
Attendance in class is strongly encouraged. Remember that one
session in Summer Term is roughly the equivalent of an entire week during
the year.
You should complete the reading assigned for each class before that days class. You need not bring your textbooks to class; you might find it helpful to bring your notes on the reading assignments.
I call your attention to University policy against plagiarism and other forms of cheating. Please refer to the Student Handbook for details.
Please note that except in the most extraordinary circumstances, I will
not give "incomplete" grades. As you know, an Incomplete means that
you did not complete the work of the course, and CAS policy states that
the Incomplete becomes an F if the work is not completed within one calendar
year.
Additional resources:
1. Books
All of the following books are on reserve in Mugar library except those
marked "reference," which are in Mugars reference section on the first
floor. Copies of the required textbooks are also on reserve, call
numbers GV21.F30 (Gardiner) and GV21.A73 1991 (Miller).
Finley, M. I., and H. W. Pleket. The Olympic Games:
the First Thousand Years. GV23.F56
Grant, M. (1995) Atlas of Classical History. G1033.G65 1994,
reference
Harris, H. A. (1966) Greek Athletes and Athletics. GV21.F64
. (1972) Sport in Greece and Rome. GV573.H3
Kyle, D. G. (1993) Athletics in Ancient Athens. GV21.K95
1993
Neils, J. (1992) Goddess and Polis: the Panathenaic
Festival in Ancient Athens. DF123.N45 1992
. (1996) Worshipping Athena: Panathenaia
and Parthenon. DF123.W67 1996
Nisetich, F. J. (1980) Pindars Victory Songs. PA4275.E5
N57
Oxford Classical Dictionary, third edition (1997). DE5.O9 1996, reference
Ruck, C. A. P., and W. H. Matheson. (1968) Pindar:
Selected Odes. PA4275.E5 F68
Scanlon, T. F. (1984) Greek and Roman Athletics:
a Bibliography. Z6121.S33 1984, reference
Wiedemann, T. (1992) Emperors and Gladiators. GV35.W54
1992
Wistrand, M. (1992) Entertainment and Violence in Ancient
Rome. GV31.W57 1992
Young, D. C. (1985) The Olympic Myth of Greek Amateur Athletics.
GV23.Y7 1984
There are two more sourcebooks analogous to Millers Arete, also on
reserve:
Robinson, R. S. (1955, repr. 1981) Sources for the History of
Greek Athletics. GV21.R6 1981
Sweet, W. E. (1987) Sport and Recreation in Ancient Greece.
GV21.S94 1987
2. On-line information
The Perseus Project: an evolving digital library of classical
texts and images.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu
Argos: search engine for sites on antiquity
http://argos.evansville.edu
The Atrium: for devotees of ancient Greece and Rome
http://web.idirect.com/~atrium
Roman Sites: a catalog of web sites on Roman antiquity
http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Roman/RomanSites*/home.html
Voice of the Shuttle: web page for humanities research
http://vos.ucsb.edu
Classical Association of New England home page
http://www.wellesley.edu/GreekandLatin/CANE/cane.html