Achilles' heel, the Trojan Horse, Pandora's Box, an Oedipal complex, a Herculean task-themes and figures from classical mythology continue to play an important role in our everyday life. We will read the original tales of classical heroes and heroines as depicted by Homer, the Greek tragedians, Vergil, Ovid, and others. Why do these stories continue to engage, entertain, and even shock us? What is the nature and power of myth? Readings from ancient sources in English translation.

Ancient Greek historians associated the ruins of Bronze Age cities with the legends of the Trojan War, the lost city of Atlantis, and the labyrinth of the Minotaur. This course takes a more archaeological approach, combing the ruins for evidence that allow us to reconstruct complex societies that integrated contributions from diverse participants, including enslaved people and foreigners, as well as heroic adventurers. We will investigate the role of African and Asian cultures in early Greek state formation and collapse, technologies of art and writing, and religious traditions featuring a mother goddess. The course requires no background and offers an introduction to archaeological analysis as well as the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean.

Ancient Roman civil law; its early development, codification, and continuing alteration; its historical and social context (property, family, enslavement); its influence on other legal systems. Extensive use of actual cases from antiquity.

The founders of Western civilization were not monotheists. Rather, from 1750 B.C.E. until 500 C.E., the ancient Greeks and Romans sacrificed daily to a pantheon of immortal gods and goddesses who were expected to help mortals to achieve their earthly goals. How did this system of belief develop? Why did it capture the imaginations of so many millions for over 2,000 years? What impact did the religion of the Greeks and Romans have upon the other religions of the Mediterranean, including Judaism and Christianity? Why did the religion of the Greeks and Romans ultimately disappear?

Greek 102 builds on what you learned in Greek 101 in the fall (see the description of Greek 101 for details) and completes your introduction to the ancient Greek language.  In the last month or so, we’ll turn from the textbook to reading excerpts from actual Greek authors like Lysias, Euripides and Sappho. Steady review throughout the term will reinforce what you learned in the fall at the same time you’re learning new material.  A single year can take you from knowing no Greek at all to being able to read texts that shaped the western literary, philosophical, and political traditions.  Studying Greek will also strengthen your English vocabulary, improve your command of English grammar, and enhance your writing skills.

In this course students will read selections from Herodotus' Histories. We will consider the text in light of the historiographical and literary traditions, with a view toward understanding Herodotus' innovations and inheritance.

Latin 102 builds on what you learned in Latin 101 in the fall (see the description of Latin 101 for details) and covers the rest of Latin.  In the last month or so, we’ll turn from the textbook to reading actual ancient and medieval Latin texts, such as love poems, letters, and myths.  Steady review throughout the term will reinforce what you learned in the fall at the same time you’re learning new material.  A single year can take you from knowing no Latin at all to being able to read texts that shaped the western literary, philosophical, and political traditions.  Studying Latin will also strengthen your English vocabulary, improve your command of English grammar, and enhance your writing skills.

Latin literature flourished in the Imperial period, even though it is referred to as "Silver" instead of "Golden" Latin Literature. We'll explore various authors and genres, which may include Seneca (philosophy and drama), Tacitus (history), Pliny (letters), Juvenal (satire), and Martial (epigrams). We'll also examine the impact of rhetoric and the emperor himself on the writing of Latin prose and poetry.

Through daily visits to archaeological sites and museums, this intensive travel course will explore the complexities of cultural exchange in the ancient Mediterranean world. We will assess first-hand the different forms of evidence for history and ask how ancient literary works, inscriptions, artifacts, and buildings can work together to help us understand ancient places and how they were perceived in the past. We will also consider how the challenging topics of ancient empires, colonization, and long-distance
trade are currently being presented to the public, and how heritage programs sponsored by local governments, UNESCO, and private enterprises are changing how residents and visitors access sites and museums.

Topic for 2026: Wintersession in Naples, Italy

We will survey the mix of cultural groups–including Oscans, Etruscans, and Greeks–that were flourishing here before Rome's political influence spread across the region. We then aim to put the stunning remains of Pompeii and other sites preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE into a broader cultural and historical context, and help students understand how cities such as Naples and Pozzuoli continued to thrive after the Vesuvian eruption.

A survey of the development of archaeology. The methods and techniques of archaeology are presented through an analysis of excavations, non-invasive surveys, and recovered artifacts. Case studies span the globe with special emphasis give to projects based in the Mediterranean and New England. Students are introduced to techniques for reconstructing the past from material remains. The course includes a field trip to a neighboring archaeological site.

The mythic tales of gods and heroes featured in the epic poems, sacred hymns, and tragic theatre of Greece and Rome were also present in material form as votive statues, on painted vessels, and in architectural decoration. This course will focus on the interplay between textual and visual representations of Olympian deities like Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon; legendary figures such as Heracles, Theseus, and the heroes of the Trojan War; and the infamous women of myth: Helen, Clytemnestra, and Medea. We will analyze how visions of the heroic age-replete with legendary battles, divine seductions, and exotic monsters-provided ancient societies with new opportunities to create a shared history, foster ethnic and civic identity, and transmit ideological values about age and gender.

Greek 101 and 102 will teach you all you need to know to learn to read Plato, Sappho, Sophocles, and Herodotus in their original language, with no previous knowledge required. While learning Greek, you will also learn another amazing language at the same time: English. Students who study Greek also learn English grammar and vocabulary with a level of detail and clarity that you must experience to believe. Students interested in math and the sciences will excel at Greek and benefit enormously from the vocabulary you learn, since 90% of scientific vocabulary comes from classical languages.  In Greek 101, you will learn how to pronounce ancient Greek, and we will cover more than half of Greek grammar, so by the end of the year, you will be reading Attic Greek.

Close reading and discussion of a play (or plays) from the extant works of the Athenian playwright Euripides. Translation and discussion of the Greek text will be supplemented with additional reading of Greek dramas in translation as well as secondary readings on issues relating to the plays and their broader literary, social, political, and cultural contexts.

In a single year that assumes you have not studied Latin before, Latin 101 and 102 will teach you how to read major Latin works in their original language, substantially increase your English vocabulary (thousands of English words come ultimately from Latin), improve your writing skills in English, enhance your command of English grammar, and either build on your knowledge of Spanish, French, or Italian if you’ve already studied one of them or help you learn them if you haven’t (they are called “Romance” languages because they come from Latin, the language of the Romans).  You’ll learn how to pronounce Latin out loud so you know how it sounds and you’ll acquire a reading knowledge, but we will not converse in Latin.  Latin 101 covers roughly half of the year’s material, and by the end of the semester you’ll be able to read simple stories. 

How can we read Roman poetry the way a Roman would have read it, knowing what to expect in a poem and a poetry book? An exploration of features common to many Roman poems and books of poetry, with focused attention to the dramatic nature of Roman poetry (speaker, addressee, scene, monologue, dialogue), diction and poetic language, simile and metaphor, point of view, intertextuality (the relationship of one poem to another), ekphrasis, genre and generic composition (e.g., the song before the lover's closed door, the drinking song, the letter), the structure of a poetry book (opening poem, sphragis-or closing-poem, internal balancing), and the resonances of the various popular meters. Readings from major Latin poems in Latin and from various Roman works in translation; focused exercises to build the skills necessary for reading Latin poetry. Course includes hands-on sessions for learning to make papyrus sheets and ancient ink and to practice writing on papyrus with tools like those used in the ancient world.