Course Description
Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the area destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Concentration will be on political, social, religious, and economic life, combined with a study of the painting, sculpture, and architecture of the excavated cities and villas.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students are required to direct seminar sessions and write more extensive research papers.
Athena Title
Pompeii and Herculaneum
Prerequisite
CLAS 1000 or CLAS 1000E or CLAS 1000H or CLAS 1010 or CLAS 1010E or CLAS 1010H or CLAS 1020 or CLAS 1020E or CLAS 1020H or CLAS 3000 or CLAS 3010 or CLAS(ANTH) 3015 or CLAS(ANTH) 3015E or CLAS 3030 or CLAS 3040 or CLAS3050 or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. THE STUDENT WILL BROADEN HIS/HER KNOWLEDGE OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATION BY AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF THE MOST COMPLETELY PRESERVED ANCIENT CITY. 2. THE STUDENT WILL LEARN HOW THE CITY OF POMPEII GREW AND WAS ORGANIZED DURING THE PRE-ROMAN PERIOD; THAT IS, DURING THE GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND SAMNITE ERAS. 3. THE STUDENT WILL LEARN IN DETAIL HOW THE GOVERNMENT OF A ROMAN CITY OF THE EARLY IMPERIAL PERIOD WORKED. 4. THE STUDENT WILL LEARN HOW THE POMPEIAN ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN THE POLITICAL LIFE OF HIS CITY BY STUDYING HOW AND WHERE HE VOTED, AND FROM ELECTION NOTICES PAINTED ON WALLS, LEARN WHO RAN FOR OFFICE AND WHO SUPPORTED THE VARIOUS CANDIDATES. 5. THE STUDENT WILL LEARN THE ROLE OF A PROVINCIAL ITALIAN TOWN IN THE ROMAN IMPERIAL ORGANIZATION; ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY OF ROME, CONTACTS WITH IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATORS, TRADE, AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE IMPERIAL CULT. 6. THE STUDENT WILL LEARN THE NAMES, CAREERS, AND IN SOME CASES INTIMATE DETAILS OF MANY PEOPLE WHO PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE LIFE OF THESE CITIES, E.G., MAGISTRATES, PRIESTS, BANKERS AND MERCHANTS. 7. THE STUDENT WILL LEARN HOW THE COMMON MAN LIVED, HIS VOCATIONS, AVOCATIONS, SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS, FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, HIS IDLE THOUGHTS AND SERIOUS REFLECTIONS, THE DETAILS OF DAY-TO-DAY EXISTENCE. 8. THE STUDENT WILL LEARN THE TECHNIQUES, MOTIFS, AND STYLES OF POMPEIAN WALL PAINTING, THE BASIS FOR PRESENT KNOWLEDGE OF ROMAN PAINTING. 9. THE STUDENT WILL STUDY THE MAJOR AND MINOR INDUSTRIES OF POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM AND WILL LEARN THEIR PLACE IN THE LIFE OF THESE ROMAN CITIES. 10. THE STUDENT WILL LEARN HOW AND WHERE THE CAMPANIANS RELAXED OR ENJOYED VARIOUS ENTERTAINMENTS BY STUDYING THE AMPHITHEATRES, THEATRES, ODEONS, AND PALAESTRAS. 11. THE STUDENT WILL LEARN HOW AND WHERE THE ROMANS BURIED THEIR DEAD, THE RITUALS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PART OF LIFE AND THE THOUGHTS AND BELIEFS HELD BY THE ROMANS CONCERNING DEATH. 12. THE STUDENT WILL STUDY THE MARITIME AND RUSTIC VILLAS OWNED BY LOCAL FAMILIES AND BY WEALTHY PERSONAGES FROM ROME, INCLUDING THE EMPEROR. 13. THE STUDENT WILL LEARN THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ROMAN ARCHITECTURE IN CAMPANIA BY STUDYING THE REMAINS OF PRIVATE HOUSES, TEMPLES, BATHS, GOVERNMENTAL BUILDINGS, AND VILLAS. 14. THE STUDENT WILL LEARN HOW THESE CITIES WERE DESTROYED AND CENTURIES LATER DISCOVERED AND EXCAVATED, AND HOW THEIR DISCOVERY INFLUENCED THE ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND LITERATURE OF EUROPEAN CULTURE IN THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 15. THE STUDENT WILL ENGAGE IN CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS OF THE VARIOUS CATEGORIES OF EVIDENCE FOR POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM. 16. THE STUDENT WILL PRODUCE WRITING APPROPRIATE TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE COURSE AND TO THE DISCIPLINES OF CLASSICS AND CLASSICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
Topical Outline
I. CAMPANIA: THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND II. TOPOGRAPHY AND POPULATION III. PUBLIC LIFE (GOVERNMENT, ADMINISTRATION, ELECTIONS, PUBLIC FINANCE) IV. PRIVATE LIFE (RELIGION, DEATH AND BURIAL, RECREATION, VOCATIONS) V. ARCHITECTURE (PUBLIC BUILDINGS, TEMPLES, HOUSES AND VILLAS) VI. ART (WALL PAINTING, SCULPTURE, MINOR CRAFTS) VII. INFLUENCE ON EUROPEAN ART, ARCHITECTURE AND LITERATURE
Syllabus