1 COLLEGE YEAR IN ATHENS Spring Semester 2015 Course H/S311: The Development of Athenian Democracy: History and Institutions Course Syllabus Tuesday/Thursday 11-12.35 Instructor: Professor Edward M. Harris Available: After class or by appointment. 1. Course Description and Objectives This course offers a comprehensive overview of Athenian democracy from Solon to the defeat at Chaeronea in 338 BCE. The course will cover the main events of Athenian history in the sixth, fifth and fourth centuries BCE and the main institutions of Athenian democracy (Council, Assembly, Courts) and provide a brief introduction to the economy of the city in Classical period. One of the aims of the course is to analyze the sources for the history of the period in English translation with careful attention to their ideological context and to the problems of evaluating the evidence. The course will also study the interactions between institutions and events and between individual actors and collective practices. Students will be encouraged to study the material remains of Athenian democracy in excavations and museums. 3. Assessment - Grades Students are required to write one essay examining a particular historical question based on a close study of the sources. The essay should be around 2,500-3,000 words, excluding bibliography. The deadline is Friday, 17 th April. Students can choose any topic on which to write an essay within the framework of the course, but must discuss their proposed topic with the instructor to agree a title and to get advice on bibliography before starting research. A draft of the essay can be handed in for comment if given at least 7 days before the deadline. The object of this exercise is to engage fully with a variety of both primary evidence and secondary literature and to deploy that evidence in analyzing a historical question. The essay will be graded on: - Level of reading of the bibliography and engagement with previous scholarship. - Originality of thought and personal input into the subject. - Clarity of argument and structure of the essay. - Use of a variety of evidence to inform a historical issue. - Style and clarity of language, and format suitable to an academic paper. The mid-term exam (Tuesday March 10 th ) will consist of two essay questions and ten multiple choice questions.
2 The final exam will consist of a series of essay questions, from which the student chooses two to answer in 2 hours, covering all the topics discussed during the term, and twenty multiple choice questions. The final grade will be calculated from the grades assigned for: the mid-term (15%), final exam (40%), the essay (35%), and attendance, punctuality, and participation (10%). 4. Class Attendance - Absences Student attendance of all classes is mandatory; class discussion beings immediately, so please be on time. Continued lateness will lose you grade points (10% of the final grade). Attendance is taken at each session. In case of illness, it is the student s responsibility to contact the instructor and to make up for missed work (see also the general stipulations of CYA). If you have to miss a class due to illness, you should notify the Student Affairs Office. Students are also expected to participate in class discussion. 5. Class schedule, meeting points, and reading is compulsory because discussion depends on good knowledge of the sources and relevant modern literature. For each reading, there will be questions to answer. These questions are to help you pick out the most important points in the reading and to prepare you for class discussion. There will be occasional in-class quizzes based on readings and questions; these do not count toward the final mark, but are given to encourage you to answer the questions and to prepare for class discussion. 6. Meetings and Readings Tuesday, January 27 th 1. Introduction The society of the polis, the geography of ancient Greece, the main events in Athenian history, the sources for the history of Archaic and Classical Athens Thursday, January 29 th 2. Solon and Early Athens Harris Solon and the Spirit of Early Greek Law Harris Did Solon abolish debt-bondage? Aristotle The Constitution of the Athenians chs. 5-13 Tuesday, February 3 rd 3. Peisistratus and Tyranny Reading: Herodotus Book 1.59-64; Book 5.62-65 Aristotle Constitution of the Athenians 14-17 Thursday, February 5 th 4. The End of the Tyranny, the Reforms of Cleisthenes and Ostracism Herodotus Book 5 (selections) Thucydides Book 6, chapter 53 Aristotle The Constitution of the Athenians chs. 18-22
3 Tuesday, February 17 th 5. The Council Hansen Athenian Democracy chapter 10 Thursday, February 19 th 6. The Assembly Aristophanes Acharnians selection Hansen Athenian Democracy chapter 6 A selection of inscriptions in translation Tuesday, February 24 th 7. The Persian Wars and Greek Warfare Herodotus, Books 7, 8. 9 (selections) Thursday, February 26 th 8. The Athenian Empire: History Thucydides Book 1, chapters 89-118 Tuesday, March 3 rd 9. The Athenian Empire: Institutions Translated inscriptions Finley, The Athenian Empire: A Balance Sheet Thursday, March 5 th 10. Ephialtes and Aeschylus Eumenides Aristotle Constitution of the Athenians chs. 23-27 Aeschylus Eumenides Tuesday, March 10 th 11. Mid-term exam Thursday, March 12 th 12. The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides Book 1, chs. 23-88, 119-25 Tuesday, March 24 th 13. The Courts of Classical Athens Hansen, Athenian Democracy chapter 8 Thursday, March 26 th 14. Cleon and the Politics of the 420s Thucydides Book 3, chapters. 1-18, 27-50. Harris The Rule of Law in Action chapter 9
4 Tuesday, March 31 st 15. The Crisis of 415 Thucydides Book 6, chapters 6-29, 53-61 Andocides On the Mysteries (selections) Thursday, April 2 nd 16. The Events of 411 Thucydides Book 8, chapters Aristotle Constitution of the Athenians chapters 29-33 Tuesday, April 14 th 17. The Defeat of Athens, the Thirty, and the Reconciliation of 403 Xenophon Books 1 and 2 (selections) Aristotle Constitution of the Athenians chapters 34-41 Thursday, April 16 th 18. The Fourth Century Overview and Political Reforms Harris From Democracy to the Rule of Law? Tuesday, April 21 st 19. The Economy of Classical Athens Harris Workshop, Household and Marketplace Thursday, April 23 rd 20. Coinage in Classical Athens Guest Lecture by Professor Selene Psoma (Athens) Tuesday, April 28 th 21. Athenian Democracy and the Agora Guest Lecture by Robert Pitt Thursday, April 30 th 22. Demosthenes and Philip Demosthenes First Philippic, Olynthiacs 1-3 Tuesday, May 5 th 23. Demosthenes and Philip Demosthenes Second Philippic, Fourth Philippic Thursday, May 7 th 24. Retrospect Tuesday, May 12 th Final Exam: CB-3. General Bibliography Fornara, C. W. Translated Documents of Greece and Rome: Archaic Times to th End of the Peloponnesian War (Baltimore 1977). Hansen, M. H. The Athenian Democracy in Age of Demosthenes: Structure, Principles, Ideology (Oxford 1991)
Harris, E. M. Democracy and the Rule of Law in Classical Athens (Cambridge 2006). Harris, E. M. The Rule of Law in Action in Democratic Athens (Oxford 2013). Loening, T. The Reconciliation Agreement of 403/2 in Athens. (Stuttgart 1987). Meiggs, R. The Athenian Empire (Oxford 1972). Rhodes, P. J. The Athenian Boule (Oxford 1972). 5