CLASSICAL STUDIES 175: WAR & PEACE IN CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY

Tuesdays and Thursdays, Williams 215
Spring, 1995


Rob S. Rice, Instructor, Williams 704, 8-6939
E-Mail: rrice@mail.sas.upenn.edu
Class Home Page : http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rrice/clas175.html

The requirements for the course are a paper of 8-12 pages, a midterm and a final examination. There will also be a short reading quiz early in the semester.

Required Texts:


Other Resources:

There will also be some required reading in my dissertation, The Rhodian Navy, 1994, which I will make partially availible over the Internet. The optional text, Polybius, The Histories, trans. by Mortimer Chambers, edited, abridged, and introduced by E. Badian, contains Polybius's informed analysis of the Roman military system, which will be referred to, among other things, and is a very cheap copy of the work for the serious student. Burstein, Stanley, editor and translator, The Hellenistic Age from the Battle of Ipsos to the Death of Kleopatra VII, Vol 3 in Translated Documents of Greece and Rome, Robert K. Sherk, series editor (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985) was originally required for this course, but I have (just now) been told it's out of print. It is now an optional text that would prove most useful for paper topics and research.

The most extensive modern account of Greek History in English is the Cambridge Ancient History (CAH), a work of multiple authors of which the first edition appeared between the two world wars. There are still many valuable chapters in this first edition. Of the new edition, which is in progress, only Vols. I-IV, which cover Ancient History down to 479 B.C., and VII, The Hellenistic World and the Coming of the Romans, have so far been published. Copies of both editions are on reserve in the Classics Seminar on the third floor the Van Pelt Library. N.G.L.Hammond, A History of Greece to 323 B. C. (Third edition, Oxford: OUP, 1987), is a one-volume history of early Greece, particularly valuable for geography and warfare.

Charles W. Fornara, Archaic Times to the End of the Peloponnesian War (Cambridge: CUP, 1983) [R] and Phillip Harding, From the End of the Peloponnesian War to the Battle of Ipsus (Cambridge: CUP, 1985) are valuable collections of translated documents (both literary and documentary) proceeding our Burstein but offering the same first-hand acquaintance with otherwise unobtainable ancient material. The Oxford Classical Dictionary (revised edition, 1970) [at the Van Pelt Reference Desk] is a one-volume encyclopaedia to which I will refer you often, which provides short articles on most of the places, persons and institutions that concern us in this course. A Companion to Greek Studies ,(Cambridge, 1905) is still a valuable (and neglected) collection of information, especially on ancillary and technical aspects of our subject. A copy of this work is on reserve in the Classics Seminar (call # 913.384 W 574). A recently published ancient atlas is Atlas of the Greek and Roman World in Antiquity , Editor-in-Chief N.G.L.Hammond (Park Ridge, N.J., 1981). A copy of this work is on reserve in the Classics Seminar (call # Folio G 1033 A84 1981). An older Classical Atlas (Boston, New York, Chicago: Ginn and Co.,1886), is on reserve in the Rosengarten Library. Finally, information on the civilizations preceding and following our subject may be profitably extracted from Michael Chelik, Ancient History: From its Beginnings to the Fall of Rome, Barnes & Noble Outline Series (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1969), and the condensed narrative, bibliography and timeline this book offers is useful for review, if by no means a replacement for your text. I will be supplying a supplemental biography of works concerning ancient warfare and diplomacy before you receive your paper topics.


Writing Assignment:

A paper of 8-12 typewritten, double-spaced, pages is required for you to receive a grade in this course. I will accept the 1st drafts of those students intelligent enough to submit their work by the deadline for that and mark them for revision before the actual due date. The papers will be graded according to your ability to present careful thought, careful research, and cogent argument. The University offers the assistance of its Writing Across the University program. WATU writing advisors can be found in locations throughout the campus, information available at 898-8525, 9-5. Topics for papers will be given out later in the semester or agreed upon with me before you start writing.


Lectures and Asigned readings

From Plutarch (Plu.); Hackett, (Hac.), Whitehead (Wht.), and Polybius (Plb.)
1. Tue. Jan. 16th. Introduction, materials, resources--Topic. Introductions to all three books.

2. Thu. Jan. 18th. The Origins of Warfare. Hac. pp. 15-35.

3. Tue. Jan. 23rd. Urban Culture and Its Consequences. Hac. pp. 36-53.

4. Thu. Jan. 25th. Urban Culture continued, Plu. Timoleon.

5. Tue. Jan. 30th. Ritual or Convention? Hac. pp. 54-81.

6. Thu. Feb. 1st. The Persians and the East. Hac. pp. 82-103.

7. Tue. Feb. 6th. The Persians and the Greeks. Plu. Agesilaius..

8. Thu. Feb. 8th. Roman Military Development. Hac. pp. 136-148.

9. Tue. Feb. 13th. The World Begins to Change. Hac. pp. 104-129.

10. Thu. Feb. 15th. Thebes and Macedon. Plu. Pelopidas.

11. Tue. Feb. 20th. Dionysius I. Plu. Dion.

12. Thu. Feb. 22nd. Defense of the City. Wht. pp. 17-42.

13. Tue. Feb. 27th. Defense, continued. Wht. pp. 45-61 and notes.

14. Thu. Feb. 29th. Defense, continued. Wht. pp. 61-77 and notes.

15. Tue. Mar. 5th. Defense, concluded. Wht. pp. 77-97 and notes.

16. Thu. Mar. 7th. MIDTERM

Tue. Mar. 12th. and Thu. Mar. 14th: SPRING BREAK

17. Tue. Mar. 19th. The World Turned Upside Down. Plu. Alexander, ch. 1-45.

18. Thu. Mar. 21st. Death and Birth of Empires. Plu. Alexander, ch. 45-77. DEADLINE FOR FIRST DRAFTS OF COURSE PAPER

19. Tue. Mar. 26th. Means of Coping: Denial. Plu. Demosthenes

20. Thur. Mar. 28th. Means of Coping: Adaptation: Plu. Phocion .

21. Tue. Apr. 2nd. The Sport of Kings. Plu. Demetrius.

22. Thu. Apr. 4th. Mechanized Warfare by Land and Sea. Hac. pp. 130-148

23. Tue. Apr. 9th. Two Differing Points of View. Plu. Pyrrhus

24. Thu. Apr. 11th. Rhodes in the Hellenistic World Rice, The Rhodian Navy, Chapter 6, Rhodes Among the Giants.

25. Tue. Apr. 16th. Rhodes and Rome

26. Thu. Apr. 18th. Roman Dominance. Hac. pp. 149-168; Plb. pp. 230-253

27. Tue. Apr. 23rd. The Professional National Army. Hac. pp. 169-191.

28. Thu. Apr. 25th. Retrospect. COURSE PAPERS DUE

May 9th, 8:30-10:30--FINAL EXAMINATION.

The final for CLST 175 will be on Thursday, 5/9/96, 8:30-10:30am in Williams 319.