Athens, Sparta, Persia
- Course Code
- CLAS 0071 / HIST 0071
- Course Type
- Tutorials
- Subject Credit
- Course Availability
This course explores the history of the Greek states - especially Athens and Sparta - during the fifth century BCE. This was a period of political rivalry and experimentation within Greece, and a series of confrontations and/or negotiations with the massive might of the Persian Empire. This period is deeply engaging in itself, and has exercised a perennial fascination in subsequent thought, not least because of the historical writings of Herodotus and Thucydides.
Sample topics
- The polis
- The Persian Wars
- Persians and Greeks
- The Delian League and the Peloponnesian War
- Comedy, tragedy and Athenian politics
- Historiography: Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon
- Art and architecture
- Economic life