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GHI 116 Classical Greek and Roman History
Cincinnati Christian University office: 244-8445
Dr. Sara Fudge office in Presidents Hall
Early Fall, August 16-20, 2010
Start time: Monday, 12:30 am
Syllabus
Summary of Course Rationale
This course is designed to develop an appreciation for the historical setting in which we find the New Testament. This study will focus on the Greek and Roman nations surveying different aspects of their society beginning with the early civilizations of the Minoans and Mycenaeans and ending with the Fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Course Objectives
1. To learn the historical and cultural framework of the New Testament.[Bible outcome #3; History outcome #5]
2. To learn geographical locations, the names of prominent people in history and their political and military movements as these influenced people of history and today. [History outcome #3]
3. To understand the social, ethical and religious setting as well as the philosophical thought of the time [History outcome #6].
4. To employ critical and creative thinking to the study of ancient leaders and what we can learn from their life experiences. [History outcome #4].
Agenda Readings: Nagle, 7th ed.
Aug. 16 Introduction, Minoans, Mycenaeans, Sparta, Athens 67-92
discussion of the Odyssey
Aug. 17 Archaic Culture, Greek & Persian Wars, Peloponnesian 93-154
Wars, Classical Period
AAegean@
Aug. 18 Alexander the Great, Hellenism, Early Rome, 155-240
the Republic, Punic Wars
Map quiz, Nagle p. 70
Aug. 19 Roman Army, Julio-Claudian rulers, 241-308
Flavian-Severan rulers
Field Trip to the Cincinnati Art Museum (picnic in the park)
Aug. 20 Religion, Jews in Roman, Fall of the Roman Empire 309-320
Rome=s Legacy
Map quiz, Nagle pp. 160, 195; Final exam
Required Texts
Nagle, D. Brendan. The Ancient World: A Social and Cultural History, 7th ed., Prentice Hall, 2006.
Jeffers, James. The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999.
Class Requirements and due dates
1. Class Attendance and Participation
2. 2 map quizzes (Wednesday & Friday) [History outcome#3]
3. Museum paper, due Aug. 27 [History outcome #3]
4. Reading of James Jeffers; The Greco-Roman World and paper: due Sept. 10 [History outcome #5, #6]
5. Comprehensive final exam: Aug. 20 [History outcome #1, #6]
6. All assignments need to be: typed, single-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt, 1” margins.
Please turn in all assignments as hard copies to my office or to my mailbox with your mailbox number on them. No electronic copies please.
“Those who fail to study and appreciate their past can only hope for a limited understanding of people” (Jules R. Benjamin).
Map Assignment
Two quizzes will be given in class on four maps, see the agenda. It will include cities, mountains, bodies of water, regions, anything marked on the map or what we may add to it in class. Knowing specifically where history took place helps us to follow the flow and movement of history and may help us understand the motivations for these movements (I want the gold in your hills!).
Reading of James Jeffers’ The Greco-Roman World
Read The Greco-Roman World by James Jeffers. Write a description of the everyday life for someone living in the Roman Empire in New Testament times according to your reading of Jeffers. You may put it in story form or documentary/research form. If you use story form, name your main character Marcus or Julia. You may describe a day in the life of Julia or Marcus or you may take your reader through a few years of his/her life or through an experience in his/her life. I will be looking for at least fifteen pieces of background information from Jeffers to be woven into your story. Be creative.
Your grade will be determined on the following criteria:
· References: give page numbers in parentheses noting where you found the specific cultural characteristic used in your story/documentary
· 1000 words total
· How well you present your information (grammar, clarity, mechanics of writing)
· A variety of characteristics to show many aspects of the culture
· Note on the first page what % of Jeffers you completed reading. There will be a penalty for not noting this.
Museum Visit
Thursday we will take a trip to the Cincinnati Art Museum with a picnic in the park. The museum has a small but significant display of Greek and Roman artifacts. There are many other interesting displays to enjoy as well. Art is a reflection of its maker. As you view the art of the Greeks and Romans, consider how their art expresses a familiarity to our culture today. What can you find in their art that reflects a similarity to us? You may see it in their depiction of their athletes, artists, government, citizens, activities, etc.. Choose one item from the museum displays for your example (give its museum number and name). Write 200 words. Please bring $5 to cover costs.
Final Exam
The final exam will be explained in class. This exam is not a group project and should not be done in collaboration with others. The answers should be taken from your class notes and the textbook.
Grade Evaluation
Museum paper ...... 5%
2 Map quizzes ...... 20%
The Greco-Roman World by Jeffers ...... 30%
Final exam ...... 45%
Late Work
Please do your work on time! The professor feels no obligation to accept late work. If the student feels there is a justifiable excuse for not being ready along with the rest of the class, s/he needs to contact the professor. There will be a penalty applied to late work, 10-50%.
Attendance
Attendance is vital in any class for optimum performance. Any student who misses 7 class sessions (7 hours) will automatically be dropped from the class and receive a failing mark. Reinstatement is possible but unlikely, see Registrar. This applies whether the absences were excused or unexcused. Arriving late, leaving early or sleeping in class will count as an absence.
Disclaimer: The professor may make adjustments to this course plan including assignments or policies as needed at her discretion.
“People who think that history is irrelevant run the risk of history making that judgment of them.” Jules R. Benjamin, A Student’s Guide to History, p. 14.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY- Greek & Roman History
Amos, H. D. & A. G. P. Lang. These Were the Greeks. Dufour Editions, Inc., 2005.
Barrett, Anthony A. Caligula. Yale University Press: New Haven, 1989.
Boardman, John, Jasper Griffin, Oswyn Murray. The Roman World. Oxford University Press: New York, 1992.
Breasted, James Henry. Ancient Times. Ginn and Company: Boston, 1944.
Burrell, Barbara, Kathryn Gleason and Ehud Netzer. "Uncovering Herod's Seaside Palace," Biblical Archaeology Review. May/June 1993.
Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1990.
Frier, Bruce W. and Thomas A.J. McGinn. A Casebook on Roman Family Law. Oxford University Press, 2004.
Geva, Hillel. "Searching for Roman Jerusalem." Biblical Archaeology Review. Nov/Dec, 1997.
Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. New York; Random House, Inc., before 1794.
Glay, Marcel Le, Jean-Louis Voisin, Yann Le Bohec, Antonia Nevill, David Cherry, Donald Kyle, Eleni Manolaraki. A History of Rome. 4th ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
Goldsworthy, Adrian. The Punic Wars. London: Cassell & Co., 2000.
Grant, Michael. The Twelve Caesars. New York: Michael Grant Publilications Ltd. (Scribner), 2000.
______. The Founders of the Western World. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1991.
______. From Alexander to Cleopatra. Collier Books, Macmillan, 1982.
______. History of Rome. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1978.
Grant, Robert. Fall of the Roman Empire. Macmillan, Barnes & Noble,
Green, Peter. The Greco-Persian Wars. Funiversity of California Press, 1996.
______. Alexander of Macedon, 356-323 B.C. University of California Press: Los Angeles, 1991.
Heather, Peter. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians. Oxford University Press, 2006.
Holum, Kenneth. "Hadrian's Imperial Tour." Biblical Archaeology Review. Nov/Dec, 1997.
Jeffers, James S. The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity. Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1999.
Kohne, Eckart, Cornelia Ewigleben. Gladiators and Caesars, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
Kontrolis, Konstantinos P. Mycenaean Civilization. Athens, 1974.
Long, A. A. From Epicurus to Epictetus: Studies in Hellenistic and Roman Philosophy. Clarendon Press: Oxford, 2006.
Martin, Thomas. Ancient Greece. Yale University Press: London, 1996.
Meier, Christian. Caesar, a Biography. Basic Books: New York, 1982.
Mikalson, Jon. Ancient Greek Religion. Blackwell Publishing, 2005.
Mitchell, Stephen. A History of the Later Roman Empire AD 284-641. Blackwell Publishing, 2007.
Nagle, D. Brendan. The Roman World: Sources and Interpretation. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hill, 2005.
______. The Ancient World: A Social, and Cultural History. 7th ed New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hill, 2010.
Pollitt, J.J. Art in the Hellenistic Age. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Pomeroy, Sarah B., Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, Jennifer Tolbert Roberts. Ancient Greece:: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. Spartan Women. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Reid, T.R. "The Power and the Glory of the Roman Empire," National Geographic. vol. 192, no. 1, (July, 1997): 2-41.
______. "The World According to Rome," National Geographic. vol. 192, no. 2, (Aug., 1997): 54-83.
Rhodes, P. J. Athenian Democracy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Rives, James. Religion in the Roman Empire. Blackwell Publishing, 2007.
Starr, Chester G. The Ancient Greeks. New York: Oxford University Press, 1971.
______. The Ancient Romans. New York: Oxford University Press, 1971.
Tingay, G. I. F. & J. Badcock. These Were the Romans, 2nd ed., Dufour Editions, Inc., 1998.
Ward-Perkins, Bryan. The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization. Oxford University Press, 2005.
Yamauchi, Edwin. Persia and the Bible. Baker Book House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1990.
______. New Testament Cities in Western Asia Minor. Baker Book House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1980.
Zoll, Amy. Gladiatrix: The True Story of History’s Unknown Woman Warrior. New York: Berkley Boulevard Books, 2002.