General Information

Under the leadership of Perikles (460-429 BC) Athens achieved important advances in many fields, including art, architecture, literature, goverment, philosophy, politics and science. Important new buildings were built during this time both on the Akropolis of Athens as well as in the Agora and elsewhere in Attica. On the Akropolis alone there were buildings constructed that are among the most famous from antiquity including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the Athena Nike temple. Why were these buildings built, who paid for them and how were they used? In the Agora what buildings were built during the Periklean period? What do they tell us about Greek democracy, the form of government that was then in its infancy? Where were the plays of Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles performed? Where did the philosophers and the scientists spend their time? Where were the Panathenaic Games held? What did Athens in the mid-fifth century BC look like?

Grading

Midterm exam 30%
Research paper 30%
Participation and quizzes 10%
Final exam 30%