Term I

 

Week 1

Lecture. Introduction: Thucydides’ Archaeology or the polis as an army

 

Week 2

Lecture. The world of the Homeric hero

 

Week 3

Lecture. The birth of the hoplite

Seminar. Were Homeric heroes patriotic?

 

Week 4

Lecture. Herodotus and the wars of archaic Greece

 

Week 5

Lecture. The Persian Wars and the development of Greek warfare

 

Week 6

Reading week

 

Week 7

Lecture. Thucydides and the Athenian empire

Seminar. Empire and tragedy

ESSAYS DUE - WEDNESDAY 17TH NOVEMBER

 

Week 8

Lecture. Thucydides, Xenophon and the Decelean war

 

Week 9

Lecture. The emerging powers of fourth-century Greece

Seminar. Aristophanes’ Knights

 

Week 10

Lecture. Alexander’s armies and Hellenistic warfare

 

 

Term II

Week 1

Return of essays

Week 2

Lecture. The nature and causes of war in the Greek world

 

Week 3

Lecture. Ideology and status of the polis’ army

 

Week 4

Lecture. The new identity of the Hellenistic soldier

Seminar. City and imperial armies

 

Week 5

Lecture. The use of mercenaries and its risks

 

Week 6

Reading week

 

Week 7

Lecture. The development of naval warfare

Seminar. Xenophon the mercenary leader

ESSAYS DUE

 

Week 8

Lecture. Greek and barbarian cavalries

 

Week 9

Lecture. Stories of cities under siege

Seminar. The so-called ‘democratic peace’

 

Week 10

Return of essays

 

 

Term III

 

Week 1

Lecture. Ancient and modern warfare

 

Week 2

Lecture. Military achievements and political propaganda

 

Week 3

Revision lecture