Sports and Daily Life in Ancient Rome. Readings include selections from ancient writers in translation and from recent scholarship on topics in Roman history and society available in a course pack obtainable from AccuCopy at the corner of Maynard and East William, and books available from Shaman Drum. Grades will be based upon midterm and final examinations and upon computer assignments and participation in class. Magic and Magicians in the Greco-Roman World. There are no prerequisites for this course.
Work load is moderate.
Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. This course will focus on issues relating to Greco-Roman Egypt, and especially to the Greek and Roman encounter with a civilization very different from their own. We shall read the detailed discussions of Egypt by Herodotus, Diodorus, Strabo, Plutarch, and others, as well as the Egyptians' own attempts to explain their culture to a Greek-reading audience. We shall also focus on some of the papyri found in Egypt itself, and what they can teach us about daily life in an ancient multicultural society. Throughout the course, we shall be paying special attention to ethnic stereotypes and biases on the one hand, and to cross-cultural interaction on the other.