Unit GREEK HISTORY

Course
Philosophy and ethics of relationships
Study-unit Code
A001313
Curriculum
Filosofia
Teacher
Massimo Nafissi
Teachers
  • Massimo Nafissi
Hours
  • 72 ore - Massimo Nafissi
CFU
12
Course Regulation
Coorte 2021
Offered
2022/23
Learning activities
Affine/integrativa
Area
Attività formative affini o integrative
Academic discipline
L-ANT/02
Type of study-unit
Obbligatorio (Required)
Type of learning activities
Attività formativa monodisciplinare
Language of instruction
Italian
Contents
The program for students who take a 6 CFU exam is limited to points 1a and 2;
for students of Classics who take a 12-credit exam, it includes points 1a-b, 2, 3a;
for other students wishing to obtain 12 credits, it includes points 1a-b, 2, and 3b.
Further reading is required for all non-attending students (4).

1. An introduction to Greek history, from the Bronze Age to the Battle of Actium.
2. Basic knowledge of the works of Herodotus and Thucydides.
3a. Colonial founding stories and other origin stories in Herodotus and Thucydides..
3b. The Athenian Empire: comparing the ancients’ different opinions.
4. Readings for non-attending students.
Reference texts
1.
Handbook: M. Bettalli (ed.), Storia Greca, 3rd. ed., Carocci, Roma, 2021.
A historical atlas that pays sufficient attention to the geographical space in which the different phases of Greek history develop.
1b.
Readings from M. Giangiulio (ed.), Introduzione alla storia greca, Il Mulino, Bologna 2021:
• A. Duplouy, Le élite arcaiche, pp. 77-90;
• M. Faraguna, Diritto e società, pp. 117-128;
• N. Luraghi, Il potere personale: i tiranni, pp. 159-171;
• M. Giangiulio, La democrazia, pp. 175-183;
• E. Franchi, Leghe e stati federali, pp. 185-196.

2.
Full reading of one of the nine books of the Stories of Herodotus and of one of the eight books of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, in any recent translation of their works.

A general introduction to the figures, thought and work of the two historians.
Herodotus:
- students attending the curriculum of Classics, D. Asheri, Introduzione generale. In Id. (ed.), Erodoto. Le Storie, l. I. La Lidia e la Persia, Milano, Fond. Valla - Mondadori, 1988, pp. IX-LXIX;
- all other students: M. Bettalli, Erodoto, in M. Bettalli (a cura di), Introduzione alla storiogra-fia greca, nuova ed. Roma 2009, pp. 47-66.
Thucydides:
F. Ferrucci, Tucidide, in M. Bettalli (a cura di), Introduzione alla storiografia greca, nuova ed. Roma 2009, pp. 67-96.
3a. Monographic section for students of classics
Colonial founding stories and other origin stories in Herodotus and Thucydides. Reading of the texts in the original language, translation, essential commentary.
The bibliography will be indicated during the lessons.
3b. Monographic section.
The Athenian Empire: comparing the ancients’ different opinions.
Further readings (essential and recommended) will be suggested during the lectures.
4.
Students of any course of study attending less than 60% of the lessons who intend to obtain 6, 9 or 12 credits are required to read one of the following three monographs:-
- M.H. Hansen, La democrazia ateniese nel IV secolo a.C. (trad. it. A. Maffi), LED, Milano 2003, pp. 133-388;
- M. Giangiulio, Democrazie greche, Carocci, Roma 2015;
- M. Giangiulio (a cura di), Introduzione alla storia greca, Il Mulino, Bologna 2021, 15-262.


Students with disabilities and/or DSA, in consultation with the lecturer, may request any teaching materials in accessible formats (presentations, handouts, workbooks), provided if necessary in advance of the lessons, as well as the use of other technological tools to facilitate study. For general information, consult the University Services at https://lettere.unipg.it/home/disabilita-e-dsa and contact the Departmental Contact Person.
Educational objectives
Knowledge
• Knowledge of the general lines of Greek history, from the Bronze Age to the battle of Actium. Clear knowledge of the succession of events and of the different phases of the historical development and of the geographical frameworks in which they take place.
• General knowledge of the political and social institutions and the culture of the Greek world, in their local and temporal diversities, with particular reference to Athens and Sparta.

• Knowledge, also through the reading of sources in translation, of some problems of Greek history of the archaic and classical period, the work of Herodotus and Thucydides, the essential features of classical historiography and its use for knowledge of the past.
• First rudiments in the analysis of a classical historiographical text; tools for reading and commenting on the text of Herodotus and Thucydides; perspective of the author, oral traditions, historical reconstruction, with particular reference to the foundation stories. (12 CFU exam, students of Classics)

Applying knowledge and understanding:
• Using a language appropriate for the description of historical phenomena of the ancient world, as well as possessing general and specific concepts necessary to describe these phenomena.
• Ability to express - when necessary - the complex, problematic, and hypothetical character of historic reconstructions.
• Ability to reflect upon historical phenomena and processes, within the limits posed by a non-analytical knowledge of the same.
• Sensitivity to an approach under which historiographic sources are not passive reports of events, but expression of historical thought and forms of narrative construction, as well as elaboration of preexisting traditions, either oral narratives or historiographical reconstructions.
Prerequisites
No special requirements, except for students attending the curriculum of classics who are expected to have basic knowledge of the Greek language, its morphologic features and lexicon. Students in the curriculum of classics that take a final exam without having studied the Greek language in high school must demonstrate that they have embarked on a path of learning thereof.
Teaching methods
Lectures.
Reading sources and documents in Italian translation.
Reading of sources in the original language in the last part of the course (last 9 lessons).
Other information
Attendance checked by roll call. Supplementary readings are imposed to students who attend less than 60% of lessons. Attendance by working students is not checked.
Students with disabilities and/or DSA: for all information on the University's services, see https://lettere.unipg.it/home/disabilita-e-dsa and contact the Departmental Contact Person.
For reception times, see the lecturer's page: https://www.unipg.it/personale/massimo.nafissi/didattica
Learning verification modality
Interview:
- Verification of knowledge, with special reference to points 1, 2, 3a e 3b, 4, of the program.
- Level of oral exposition skills: clarity and propriety of language, particularly in reference to key-concepts in the description of the institutions and social phenomena, political and cultural and historical development; ability to express complex concepts and hypotheses; synthesis ability;
- for students in the curriculum of classics, knowledge of Greek and translation of texts listed in the syllabus.
The test typically takes 30'-40 '.

Schedules of specific convenience may be agreed for working students.
Students with disabilities and/or with SLD who, having completed regular accreditation through SOL, have obtained access to University services, can apply for the compensatory tools ensured by law (e.g. textbooks in digital format; teaching materials in accessible formats: presentations, handouts, workbooks, provided if necessary in advance of the lessons), for which consult https://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa.
For the request, students are invited to ask the teacher, who will put them in contact with the Disability and/or DSA Department Coordinator (prof. Alessandra Di Pilla: alessandra.dipilla@unipg.it)
Extended program
1. An introduction to Greek history, from the Bronze Age to the Battle of Actium. Chronological and geographical framework, political and social institutions, political and cultural history.
2. Personal reading (in translation) of one of the books from Herodotus' Histories and one from Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. An adequate information on Herodotus, Thucydides and their works is also required.
3a. Colonial foundation stories and other origin narratives in Herodotus (I 163-167; IV 145-158; V 41-47) and the so called Sicilian Archaeology in Thucydides (VI 1-6,1). Reading in the original language and commenting on these texts will introduce students to the complex factors that determine their content, starting from the author's perspective, moving on to (mostly but not always) oral traditions, and finally arriving at the historical data and reconstruction.
3b. Reading of Thuc. II 35-46. Reading of [Xenophon], Constitution of the Athenians.
4. Substitute readings (listed above) for students of any course of study attending less than 60% of the lessons.
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