Athens is often seen as the embodiment of ancient civilisation, which in turn is regarded as the foundation of our own culture. The buildings on the Acropolis with its temple of the Parthenon might well be seen as the climax of the achievement of the ancient Greeks. Though there is much truth in this, there was far more to the city than fine buildings. The course will try to present a balanced though necessarily selective picture of the elements, positive and negative, which made up the city of Athens.
Although the physical aspect of the city will be given due consideration, special emphasis will be placed on inter-relationships between the inhabitants of Athens: citizens (both male and female), slaves and non-Athenian visitors to the city. The urban centre with its temples, shrines, assembly areas, streets, shops, houses and, above all, the agora, will serve as a backdrop for the activities which characterised life in the classical city. The course will attempt to show up the integration of politics with other aspects of civic life that was a key achievement of Athenian democracy.
As its overarching theme, the course will try to assess the uniqueness of ancient Athens as a city. This will involve comparisons and contrasts with a range of cities: ancient (Rome), medieval, modern and ‘third world’. Can the city of Athens, based on an agrarian economy and society, have anything in common with the urban communities created by industrial capitalism? Was Athens ‘the classic slum’? (Engels’ description of 19th-century Salford). A recurring question will be the degree to which the supposed connections between modern and ancient Greek culture are mythical or real.
After an initial session setting the scene, the approach will be thematic. So far as possible, the various topics will be explored through the works and words of the Athenians themselves, and other ancient authors. By the end of the course, those participating will have had an opportunity to encounter the ideas about Athens held by Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristophanes, Demosthenes, as well as a range of lesser-known but no less intriguing authors (Andocides, Lysias, Theophrastus, Pausanias and many more).
