Course Description. This course aims to introduce the student to the first European historian, Herodotus of Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum on the Aegean coast of Turkey), ca. 485–425 BCE, and to follow his account of the invasion of Greece by the armies and navies of the Persian Achaemenid empire between 490 and 479. Highlights include the Athenian victory at Marathon, the defense of Thermopylae by Leonidas and his 300 (find out what really happened, as opposed to what you're told in the movies!), and the triumph of the Greek triremes at Salamis. The instructor lived in Greece for many years and has been over all the sites on foot or by caïque. Herodotus himself, a wonderful story-teller, wrote, he tells us, "that human events may not fade with time, nor the great and marvellous deeds achieved by both Hellenes and barbarians lose their renown: and, above all, to find the reason why they warred against each other." We shall aim to follow in his footsteps.
Evaluation. There are no prerequisites for this course apart from a desire to learn about the subject. There will be four written examinations (pre-midterm, midterm, pre-final and final) plus occasional quizzes. Grading will be on the standard rate out of 100: (97 upward = A+, 93–96 = A, 90–92 = A-, and so on down to D- = 60–62). Those who wish to enhance their grade by doing a term-paper will not be permitted to apply for this option until after the midterm, and only then if they have maintained at least a B average (with anything lower a student will be better occupied working on the basic material).
Required texts. The following will be needed by all students throughout the course:
- Herodotus: The Histories. Trs. Aubrey de Selincourt. Ed. John Marincola. 4th ed., Penguin 2003. N.B. No earlier edition will meet the needs of this course.
- Plutarch: The Rise and Fall of Athens. Nine Greek Lives. Trs. Ian Scott-Kilvert. Penguin 1960.
- Diodorus of Sicily: Vol. IV [Books IX-XII 40]. Trs. C.H. Oldfather. Heinemann/Harvard UP 1946.
- The Greco-Persian Wars. Peter Green. University of California Press 1996. N.B. I don't normally use my own texts (why have a dog and then bark yourself?), but the two I would have preferred, either A.R. Burn's Persia and the Greeks (2nd ed. 1984) or John Lazenby's The Defence of Greece 490-479 B.C. (1993)-the second of which disagrees with me throughout, which is wonderfully stimulating-are out of print and unavailable (except Burn in hardback, which costs a small fortune), so I have to fall back on the pis aller. Sorry about that.
