An introduction to the essentials of Sanskrit grammar. Designed to enable the student to read classical and epic Sanskrit as soon as possible.

Full details for CLASS 1332 - Elementary Sanskrit II

A continuation of HIERO 1450. For over two thousand years, from the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2100 BCE) into the Roman era, Egyptian monuments were inscribed with hieroglyphs of the Middle Egyptian writing system. Students will continue to learn the complete Middle Egyptian verbal system and continue to enrich their Egyptian vocabulary. We will also continue translating complete literary and religious texts, including the fantastic tale of a sailor's maritime misadventures and divine encounters (The Shipwrecked Sailor) and a hymn in honor of the sun god (The Litany of Re).

Full details for CLASS 1451 - Ancient Egyptian II: Introduction to Middle Egyptian Hieroglyphs

This course traces increasing restrictions on freedom of speech from the late Roman Republic to the imperial era. It thus offers a select survey of the most influential period of Latin literature with a specific political agenda. Also, since early first century statuary and architecture played a vital role in imperial propaganda, students look at how Octavian portrayed himself in the guise of specific gods, and observe the not always flattering depictions of these gods in Augustan poetry. In sum, students gain an intimate familiarity with the political climate of the late Roman republic and early imperial age in a synthesis of literature, history and iconography organized around the dueling themes of freedom of speech and censorship.

Full details for CLASS 1522 - FWS: Subversive Myth and Politics in Imperial Rome

This course will focus on the stories about the gods and heroes of the Greeks as they appear in ancient literature and art. We will examine the relationship between myths and the cultural, religious, and political conditions of the society in which they took shape. Beginning with theories of myth and proceeding to the analysis of individual stories and cycles, the material will serve as a vehicle for improving your written communication skills. Assignments include preparatory writing and essays focusing on readings and discussions in class.

Full details for CLASS 1531 - FWS: Greek Myth

Where do the words we use come from? This course examines the history and structure of the English vocabulary from its distant Indo-European roots to the latest in technical jargon and slang. Topics include formal and semantic change, taboo and euphemism, borrowing, new words from old, learned English loans from Greek and Latin, slang, and society.

Full details for CLASS 1699 - English Words: Histories and Mysteries

This course focuses on the rise and fall of the Athenian empire, beginning with its roots in the late Archaic period, continuing through its height in the mid-fifth century BCE, and ending with the city?s transformation into an oligarchy under Alexander the Great?s Successors. Topics include the development of Athenian democracy, the institutions of the Athenian empire, and the experience of non-Athenians under Athenian rule. Attention will be paid to the particular strengths and weaknesses of the ancient evidence for Athenian history, introducing students to the use of Greek inscriptions, coins, and material culture in the writing of ancient history. (HIST-HEU, HIST-HPE)

Full details for CLASS 2625 - The Athenian Empire: Athenian History, 600 to 300 BCE

This course examines the production and exchange of wine, beer, coffee and tea, and the social and ideological dynamics involved in their consumption. We start in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and end with tea and coffee in the Arab and Ottoman worlds. Archaeological and textual evidence will be used throughout to show the centrality of drinking in daily, ritual and political life. (ARKEO-RMNE)

Full details for CLASS 2630 - Drinking through the Ages: Intoxicating Beverages in Near Eastern and World History

This introductory course explores the roles of amulets, love potions, curse tablets, and many other magical practices in ancient Greek and Roman societies. In this course, you will learn how to invoke the powers of Abrasax, become successful and famous, get people to fall desperately in love with you, and cast horrible curses on your enemies! We will also examine a range of ancient and modern approaches to magic as a concept: what exactly do we mean by magic, and how does it relate to other spheres of activity, like religion, science, and philosophy? When people (in ancient times or today) label the activities of others as magic, what are the social and political consequences of that act? As we investigate the practices that Greeks and Romans considered magical, we will also explore what those practices can teach us about many other aspects of life in the past, such as social class, gender, religion, and ethnic and cultural identity. (ARKEO-RMNE)

Full details for CLASS 2646 - Magic and Witchcraft in the Greco-Roman World

In this course we explore the art of comedy and humor in ancient Greece and Rome, with all readings in English. We begin with the Greek stage comedies of Aristophanes and Menander, and a satyr play by Euripides. We then proceed to the musical adaptations of those comedies by the Roman playwrights Plautus and Terence. After that, we examine epigram and the classical art of telling jokes for social influence and political power. We will investigate philosophers' speculations on the nature of laughter alongside notable examples of humor in criminal trials and election speeches. Finally, we will read the five surviving joke books from antiquity (Cicero, Quintilian, Macrobius, Plutarch, and the Philogelos), and students will be given a chance to master the ancient art of telling a joke themselves. Special attention will be given to the censorship of humor through the ages.

Full details for CLASS 2650 - The Art of Humor in Greece and Rome

An introductory survey of ancient Greek philosophy from the so-called Presocratics (6th century BCE) through the Hellenistic period (1st century BCE) with special emphasis on the thought of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

Full details for CLASS 2661 - Greek and Roman Philosophy

Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian empire in 330 BCE changed the ancient world forever, expanding the Greek world beyond the Mediterranean as far as India. In this course we will look at the history of the Hellenistic period. It was a time of intense intercultural contact, increasing trade across long distances, and the creation of large Greek kingdoms in a world previously dominated by city-states. We will also look at the methodological challenges of studying a period without a unified narrative history, exploring how papyri, inscriptions, archaeology and coins can contribute to our understanding of the Hellenistic period. (HIST-HPE, HIST-HTR)

Full details for CLASS 2676 - The World after Alexander the Great: A History of the Hellenistic Period

This course offers an introduction to the history of the Roman empire, from the prehistoric settlements on the site of Rome to the fall of the Western empire in the fifth century and its revival in the East with Byzantium. Lectures will provide a narrative and interpretations of major issues, including: empire building, cultural unity and diversity, religious transformations, changing relations between state and society. Discussion section will be the opportunity to engage with important texts, ancient and modern, about Rome. (HIST-HEU, HIST-HPE)

Full details for CLASS 2689 - Roman History

An introduction to the phonology, morphology, and syntax of Proto-Indo-European and the chief historical developments of the daughter languages.

Full details for CLASS 2691 - Introduction to Indo-European Linguistics

This course offers an introduction to Greek mythology and its representation in Greek art, specifically vase-painting. It covers material from the late Geometric (8th c. BCE) to the Classical period (4th c. BCE) and beyond. We will examine how Greek myths were adapted and transformed across different contexts, and the ways in which textual and visual representations of myth diverged. Along with a focus on stories, styles, and iconographies, the class will explore issues surrounding Greek vase-painting and the material and techniques of production. Alternating between a chronological investigation and mythological subject matter, the lectures will explore representations of Greek athletics, rituals, the prevalent symposiastic culture, women, and death in light of socio-historical, cultural, and political contexts. Students will also be introduced to overarching themes: dynamics of trade, theories of viewership, pictorial narrative, status of the artist, gender, and historiographical concerns of connoisseurship and collecting.

Full details for CLASS 2722 - Greek Myth and Vase Painting

An introduction to the story of how human history from the earliest times through to the recent period interrelates with changing climate conditions on Earth. The course explores the whole expanse of human history, but concentrates on the most recent 15,000 years through to the Little Ice Age (14th-19th centuries AD). Evidence from science, archaeology and history are brought together to assess how climate has shaped the human story. (ARKEO-COS)

Full details for CLASS 2729 - Climate, Archaeology and History

These seminars offer an introduction to the humanities by exploring historical, cultural, social, and political themes. Students will explore themes in critical dialogue with a range of texts and media drawn from the arts, humanities, and/or humanistic social sciences. Guest speakers, including Cornell faculty and Society for the Humanities Fellows, will present from different disciplines and points of view. Students will make field trips to relevant local sites and visit Cornell special collections and archives. Students enrolled in these seminars will have the opportunity to participate in additional programming related to the annual focus theme of Cornell's Society for the Humanities and the Humanities Scholars Program for undergraduate humanities research. (ARKEO-COS)

Full details for CLASS 2750 - Introduction to Humanities

An introduction to the history and theory of writing systems from cuneiform to the alphabet, historical and new writing media, and the complex relationship of writing technologies to human language and culture. Through hands-on activities and collaborative work, students will explore the shifting definitions of writing and the diverse ways in which cultures through time have developed and used writing systems. We will also investigate the traditional divisions of oral vs. written and consider how digital technologies have affected how we use and think about writing in encoding systems from Morse code to emoji. (ARKEO-COS)

Full details for CLASS 2812 - Hieroglyphs to HTML: History of Writing

To be taken only in exceptional circumstances. Must be arranged by the student with his or her advisor and the faculty member who has agreed to direct the study. To be approved by the DUS.

Full details for CLASS 3391 - Independent Study in Sanskrit, Undergraduate Level

Selected readings in Sanskrit literary and philosophical texts.

Full details for CLASS 3396 - Advanced Sanskrit II

We will study several of Plato's major dialogues, including the Apology, the Meno, Phaedo, and Republic. Topics include knowledge and reality, morality and happiness, and the nature of the soul.

Full details for CLASS 3669 - Plato

May be taken upon completion of one semester of work at the 3000-level. To be taken only in exceptional circumstances. Must be arranged by the student with their advisor and the faculty member who has agreed to direct the study. To be approved by the DUS.

Full details for CLASS 3686 - Independent Study in Classical Civilization, Undergraduate Level

(ARKEO-COS, ARKEO-RMNE)

Full details for CLASS 3738 - Identity in the Ancient World

What is religion, and how can we use material culture to investigate ancient beliefs and rituals? This course (1) explores major themes and problems in the archaeology of ancient Greek religion, and (2) compares and critiques selected theoretical and methodological approaches to the archaeology of cult more generally. Students will examine ritual artifacts, cult sites, and other aspects of religious material culture, as well as primary textual sources (in translation). (ARKEO-RMNE, ARKEO-TM)

Full details for CLASS 3739 - Archaeology of Ancient Greek Religion

This course explores the practice, theory, and methodology of humanities research, critical analysis, and communication through writing and oral presentation. We will study the work and impact of humanists (scholars of literature, history, theory, art, visual studies, film, anthropology, gender and sexuality studies), who pose big questions about the human condition. By reading and analyzing their scholarship-critiquing them and engaging their ideas-we will craft our own methods and voices. Students will refine their research methods (library research, note taking, organizing material, bibliographies, citation methods, proposals, outlines, etc.) and design their own independent research project.

Full details for CLASS 3850 - Humanities Scholars Research Methods

Advanced discussion of topics in ancient philosophy. Topics vary by instructors.

Full details for CLASS 4662 - Topics in Ancient Philosophy

Topics for this course vary.

Full details for CLASS 4665 - Augustine

The Phoenicians have long been an enigma, a people defined by distant voices. Originating from present-day Lebanon, they were Semitic speakers, renowned seafarers and transmitters of an innovative alphabet that transformed how Mediterranean and Near Eastern folk wrote their languages. Having left us virtually no texts of their own, their history has resembled a patchwork of recollections from Old Testament and Hellenistic times. Recent archaeological discoveries, however, reveal patterns of trade, colonization and socioeconomic transformations that make the Phoenicians less enigmatic while raising new questions. Our class explores the third and second millennium Canaanite roots of the Phoenicians, as well as the Biblical and Greco-Roman perceptions of their early first millennium heyday. We will explore the Phoenician homeland and its colonies, and investigate their maritime economy, language, and religion through both archaeological and textual sources. Temporally the focus is on Phoenician rather than Carthaginian or Punic history, thus up to about 550 BCE. The class has a seminar format involving critical discussions and presentations of scholarly readings, and requires a research paper. (ARKEO-RMNE)

Full details for CLASS 4670 - Archaeology of the Phoenicians

How and why do landscapes come to inspire the religious imagination? And why do religious practices, rituals, traditions, and beliefs take place in particular landscapes? This seminar treats these questions by focusing on the desert, both imagined and real, as it has shaped religious ascetic practice, especially the development of Christian monasticism in the Middle East. We will read widely from monastic literatures, mostly from late ancient Egypt, to explore both the historical development of monasticism in Christianity and examine why the monastic impulse seems so closely tied to the desert. In addition to reading saints lives and the stories of hermits, we will read early monastic rules, the desert fathers, and we will draw from archaeological sources to examine the varieties of ascetic practices in the deserts of late ancient Egypt, Gaza, Sinai, Palestine, and Syria. Throughout the course we will explore ancient and modern ideas about wilderness and we will explore parallels between ancient Near Eastern literatures and their nineteenth- and twentieth-century parallels in the American frontier and environmental literatures.

Full details for CLASS 4677 - Desert Monasticism

Full details for CLASS 4722 - Honors: Senior Essay II

Advanced discussion of topics in ancient philosophy. Topics vary by instructors.

Full details for CLASS 7173 - Topics in Ancient Philosophy

Headline-making archaeological narratives using methods drawn from STEM fields have become increasingly common, yet how archaeological narratives are constructed from paleogenomics, organic residue analysis, or X-ray fluorescence spectrometry can often seem like an inscrutable ?black box.? This hands-on course unpacks the methods, theoretical frameworks, and contributions of STEM techniques to archaeology and the study of heritage materials. Through weekly readings, lectures, data analysis, labs, and a final science communication project, students will gain practical experience in chronometric dating, organic residue analysis and paleodiet reconstruction, and analysis of inorganic archaeological and heritage materials.

Full details for CLASS 7201 - Scientific Analysis of Archaeological and Heritage Materials

Pedagogical instruction and course coordination. Requirement for all graduate student teachers of LATIN 1201-LATIN 1202 and first-year writing seminars.

Full details for CLASS 7345 - Graduate TA Training

A course to prepare Classics graduate students for exams and for professionalization.

Full details for CLASS 7346 - Classics Graduate Preparation Seminar

This course offers an introduction to the history of the Roman empire, from the prehistoric settlements on the site of Rome to the fall of the Western empire in the fifth century and its revival in the East with Byzantium. Lectures will provide a narrative and interpretations of major issues, including: empire building, cultural unity and diversity, religious transformations, changing relations between state and society.

Full details for CLASS 7689 - Roman History

An introduction to the phonology, morphology, and syntax of Proto-Indo-European and the chief historical developments of the daughter languages.

Full details for CLASS 7691 - Introduction to Indo-European Linguistics

An introduction to the story of how human history from the earliest times through to the recent period interrelates with changing climate conditions on Earth. The course explores the whole expanse of human history, but concentrates on the most recent 15,000 years through to the Little Ice Age (14th-19th centuries AD). Evidence from science, archaeology and history are brought together to assess how climate has shaped the human story.

Full details for CLASS 7727 - Climate, Archaeology and History

This course takes advantage of recent theoretical work in Archaeology, Anthropology, and Art History to focus on the significance of materials such as marble, bronze, clay, gold, ivory, and precious stones in ancient Mediterranean visual culture and their relationship to practices of making. We will examine the relationship between medium, technology, style and iconography across a range of contexts, such as the role by played by clay-molding and bronze-casting in the development of Greek naturalism; the influence of chryselephantine techniques on depictions of the gods; the relationship between colored marbles and the iconography of empire; the application of pigments to sculptural surfaces; and the use of gems as personal seals. Throughout, our emphasis will not only be on the relationship between medium, facture, and habits of consumption and display, but also on the affordances and phenomenological qualities of different materials and their influence on ancient modes of viewing and representation. As part of the Yale-Cornell Consortium for the Study of Ancient Art, this course will also bring students of both institutions together in a workshop to be held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Students will develop research papers based on objects in the MFA collections and have a chance to learn about curatorial approaches and careers from museum experts.

Full details for CLASS 7740 - Materiality and Making in Ancient Mediterranean Art

This graduate level course considers the phenomenon of “magic” broadly construed, in the ancient Mediterranean, with particular attention paid to the manner in which the practice of magic is gendered. By considering Latin texts about magic (in English translation with the option to read in Latin) alongside material culture preserving magical texts in Latin, Greek, and Coptic, this course will provide opportunities to understand what and who practiced what we now call “magic” from the High Empire into Christian Late Antiquity.

Full details for CLASS 7742 - Magic and Gender in the Ancient World

What is religion, and how can we use material culture to investigate ancient beliefs and rituals? This course (1) explores major themes and problems in the archaeology of ancient Greek religion, and (2) compares and critiques selected theoretical and methodological approaches to the archaeology of cult more generally. Students will consider and analyze ritual artifacts, cult sites, and other aspects of religious material culture, as well as primary textual sources (in translation).

Full details for CLASS 7758 - Archaeology of Greek Religion: Theory, Methods, and Practice

Independent course in topics not covered in regularly scheduled courses. Students select a topic in consultation with the faculty member who has agreed to supervise the course work.

Full details for CLASS 7960 - Independent Study in Classical Studies

Continuation of GREEK 1101, prepares students for GREEK 2101.

Full details for GREEK 1102 - Elementary Ancient Greek II

This course offers a ground up introduction to the vocabulary and grammar of Homeric Greek with the goal of reading Homer's Iliad and Odyssey as soon as possible. Once students learn the language of the Iliad and Odyssey, they can move on to other works written in roughly the same formulaic diction, ranging from Hesiod's Theogony to the early philosophical verses of Empedocles and Parmenides. Teaching Beginning Homeric Greek at Cornell, affectionately known as 'baby' Greek, harkens back almost 100 years to the influential and popular courses of Professor Harry Caplan. In fact, this course uses an updated version of the same textbook used in Caplan's beginning Greek courses.

Full details for GREEK 1104 - Beginning Homeric Greek

The study of selections from the Iliad and/or Odyssey in Greek, with a focus on Homeric grammar, dialect, meter, poetics and composition.

Full details for GREEK 2103 - Homer

Undergraduate seminar in Greek.

Full details for GREEK 3120 - Seminar in Greek

May be taken upon completion of one semester of work at the 3000-level. To be taken only in exceptional circumstances. Must be arranged by the student with their advisor and the faculty member who has agreed to direct the study. To be approved by the DUS.

Full details for GREEK 3185 - Independent Study in Greek, Undergraduate Level

Continuation of GREEK 5111, prepares students for GREEK 5121.

Full details for GREEK 5112 - Elementary Ancient Greek II

This course offers a ground up introduction to the vocabulary and grammar of Homeric Greek with the goal of reading Homer's Iliad and Odyssey as soon as possible. Once students learn the language of the Iliad and Odyssey, they can move on to other works written in roughly the same formulaic diction, ranging from Hesiod's Theogony to the early philosophical verses of Empedocles and Parmenides. Teaching Beginning Homeric Greek at Cornell, affectionately known as 'baby' Greek, harkens back almost 100 years to the influential and popular courses of Professor Harry Caplan. In fact, this course uses an updated version of the same textbook used in Caplan's beginning Greek courses.

Full details for GREEK 5114 - Beginning Homeric Greek

The study of selections from the Iliad and/or Odyssey in Greek, with a focus on Homeric grammar, dialect, meter, poetics and composition.

Full details for GREEK 5123 - Homer

Topics vary by instructor.

Full details for GREEK 5130 - Seminar in Greek

Topics for this course vary by instructor.

Full details for GREEK 6102 - Advanced Readings in Greek Literature

Independent study in Greek for graduate students.

Full details for GREEK 7910 - Independent Study in Greek

This course is a continuation of LATIN 1201, using readings from various authors and prepares students for LATIN 1205.

Full details for LATIN 1202 - Elementary Latin II

Intermediate readings of Latin poetry. Topics change by instructor.

Full details for LATIN 2209 - Latin Poetry

Topics vary by instructor.

Full details for LATIN 3203 - Roman Poetry

May be taken upon completion of one semester of work at the 3000-level. To be taken only in exceptional circumstances. Must be arranged by the student with their advisor and the faculty member who has agreed to direct the study. To be approved by the DUS.

Full details for LATIN 3286 - Independent Study in Latin, Undergraduate Level

Continuation of LATIN 5211, using readings from various authors; prepares students for LATIN 5215.

Full details for LATIN 5212 - Elementary Latin II

Intermediate readings of Latin poetry. Topics change by instructor.

Full details for LATIN 5229 - Latin Poetry

Topics vary by instructor.

Full details for LATIN 5233 - Roman Poetry

This course is an introduction to and survey of Latin scripts from Roman antiquity through the early Renaissance, with an emphasis on the identification, localization, and reading of scripts. Class meetings will combine practical study of Latin scripts through medieval manuscripts in the Kroch library, facsimiles, and online digital reproductions with instruction in the cultural-historical background to manuscript production, library practices, and bibliographical resources. Students will also be introduced to basic techniques for codicological description and the principles of textual criticism.

Full details for LATIN 7222 - Latin Paleography

Reading and translation of Latin philosophical texts.

Full details for LATIN 7262 - Latin Philosophical Texts

Topic: Roman ways of reading.

Full details for LATIN 7272 - Graduate Seminar in Latin

Independent study for graduate students only.

Full details for LATIN 7920 - Independent Study in Latin