GREEK AND ROMAN STUDIES 371 (Fall Term, 2002/3):

ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF ANCIENT GREECE AND THE AEGEAN

    An introduction to the artistic and architectural expression of the Greeks and Minoans from the Early Bronze Age through the second century B.C. We will consider architecture and the figurative arts as evidence for cultural attitudes towards humans, the gods, the physical world, and the exploration of form, colour, and movement. I will place emphasis on the careful discussion of selected monuments illustrated through photographs, casts, and ancient literary sources. There are no prerequisites for the course, but GRS 100 and 200 are recommended.

    The goal of the course is to make you familiar with the major monuments of Minoan, Mycenaean, and ancient Greek art and architecture, the evolution of the style and technology of these monuments over time, and the cultural and historical context of this evolution. You will be expected to be learn how to identify the chronology, style, and cultural meaning of the monuments discussed, and to analyze and compare monuments of various genres and periods.

Instructor:

Prof. John P. Oleson. Clearihue B423. Tel. 721-8519.

E-mail: jpoleson@uvic.ca. Web page: http://web.uvic.ca/~jpoleson.

Office hours: Monday 2:30-3:20, Wednesday 11:30-12:20, or by appointment.

Schedule:

Monday and Thursday at 1:00-2:15 p.m. in Clearihue A301.

Text: John G. Pedley, Greek Art and Archaeology. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002.

Requirements:

(1) Mid-term examination (October 17, 30% of term grade).

(2) Research paper (2,500-3,000 words. Due 25 November. 35% of term grade), or three short assigned analyses of objects in the Greek and Roman Studies Department Collection of reproductions (1,000-1,250 words each; due 3 October, 28 October, 14 November; 35% of term grade).

(3) Final examination (35% of term grade).

Examinations consist of slide identification and comparison, short answer questions, and an essay. I will not accommodate students who book travel home before the final examination schedule has been released.

Grading System:

All assignments must be completed in order to receive a passing grade. I will assign percentage grades to the examinations, letter grades to the short analyses and the research paper. At the end of term, however, I am required to hand in letter grades to the Records Office. I will use the following equivalencies when converting the numerical grades: A range, 100-86%, B range, 85-76%, C range, 75-66%, D range, 65-50%, F range, below 50%, or failure to complete assigned work by the stated deadlines without first requesting a legitimate extension. The range of A grades indicates excellent work, of B good work, of C fair work, of D and below poor or failing work. The failing grade of E (conditional supplemental) will only be assigned to research papers or short written assignments, and only in the exceptional cases where failure seems to be the result of a simple mechanical problem. Cheating or plagiarism of any type may result in a grade of F for the term. Spelling, grammar, and style are taken into consideration in grading the short analyses and the research paper. I will distribute a cover sheet that sets out in detail my expectations and my system for evaluating research papers, and a working definition of plagiarism. There is also a definition of plagiarism on the Department web site.

Lecture Syllabus and Reading Assignments (subject to alteration in detail):

Sept.

5: Introduction to the Study of Greek Art and Architecture.

9: Rise of the Minoan Culture, Minoan Architecture.

12: Minoan Art: Frescoes and Pottery.

16: Minoan Art: Metalworking and Sculpture.

19: The Shaft Graves and the Genesis of Mycenaean Greece.

23: Mycenaean Architecture.

26: Mycenaean Minor Arts.

30: Collapse of the Mycenaean Culture, The "Dark Age."

Oct.

3: Geometric and Orientalizing Art in the Aegean.

FIRST SHORT PAPER DUE.

7: Beginnings of Greek Sculpture, kouros and kore types, 620-500 B.C.

10: Genesis of the Greek Temple and Sanctuary. Archaic Pedimental Sculpture.

14: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY.

17: MIDTERM EXAMINATION.

21: Attic Black-Figure Vase-Painting, Numismatic Art.

24: The Temple of Zeus at Olympia and the Early Classical Style.

28: Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painting; Genesis of the High Classical Style.

SECOND SHORT PAPER DUE.

31: The High Classical Style, Polykleitos and Pheidias.

Nov.

4: The Architecture and Sculpture of the Parthenon.

7: Late Classical Sculpture: Kephisodotos, Praxiteles, Skopas, Lysippos.

11-13: READING BREAK.

14: Fourth-Century Greek Painting, The Genesis of the Hellenistic Style.

THIRD SHORT PAPER DUE.

18: Architecture and City Planning in the Late Classical and Hellenistic world.

21: Guest Lecture: The Hellenistic World.

25: Hellenistic Art.

RESEARCH PAPER DUE.

28: Hellenistic Art.

Dec.

2: Summation and Synthesis.

FINAL EXAMINATION

Reserve List:

If you want further historical background to the lectures and your reading, see H. Bengstrom, History of Greece from the Beginning to the Byzantine Era (Ottawa 1988), or any other recent history of Greece. For more detailed information on selected periods or topics, see the recent third edition of The Cambridge Ancient History (Ref. D57/C25/1970; also in the stacks, and the Greek and Roman Studies and History Reading Rooms).

Pedley, John G. Greek Art and Archaeology. 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1998) (DF130/P44/1998).

Pollitt, Jerome J. Art and Experience in Classical Greece (Cambridge, 1972) (N5630/P54).

----- Art in the Hellenistic Age (Cambridge, 1986) (N5630/P55).

----- The Art of Ancient Greece: Sources and Documents (Cambridge, 1990) (N5630/P56).

Richter, G.M.A. A Handbook of Greek Art. 6th ed. (New York, 1969) (N5630/R49/1969b)

----- Sculpture and Sculptors of the Greeks. 3rd ed. (New Haven, 1970) (NB90/R54/1970)

Robertson, M. History of Greek Art from the Archaic to the Hellenistic Period (Cambridge, 1974) (N5630/R6)

----- Art of Vase Painting in Classical Athens (Cambridge 1992) (NK4645/R7).

Stewart, Andrew. Greek Sculpture: An Exploration. (New Haven, 1990) (NB90/S75).

van Keuren, Frances. Guide to Research in Classical Art and Mythology. (Chicago 1991)  (Reference N7760/V35).

Web-Based Bibliography:

I have posted on the UVic server an extensive and up-to-date computerized database of bibliography on Greek art and architecture that you will find useful in preparing your research paper. Although not all the works are available in our library, UVic call numbers are given where known. To access the database, log on to your COUS users account in one of the Mac labs, then look for the “SFG Users” symbol on the desktop. The database will not work on the PCs, since they do not have FileMakerPro. Click on the symbol, open the Greek and Roman Studies folder, the J.P. Oleson folder, then the GRS 377 folder, then “Greek Bibliography”. You will have to open FilemakerPro from the launcher on the desktop. You can search the database by author, title, keywords, etc. Even if you have not used FilemakerPro before, the procedures are easy to figure out. Please see me if you need help, and let me know if you find any errors or omissions in the material, or have any suggestions. When you print out a selected set of bibliography, be sure to set the pull-down menu at the top left corner to “POBiblio”, or you will wind up printing the whole interface screen rather than just the data. To examine or search the database, set the same pull-down menu to “Data Entry”. Course handouts will also be posted here.

Web Sites:

You may also want to consult various resources on "the Net." I list below a few good places to start, but all the sites have links to further resources. You can find links to some of these resources, and many others, at the home page of the Department of Greek and Roman Studies (http://web.uvic.ca/grs/links.html).

University of Michigan Classics Department website. An enormous list of links to a variety of sites relevant to Greek art and architecture

http://classics.lsa.umich.edu/welcome.html

TOCS-IN. An archive of tables of contents of journals relevant to Classics and Classical Archaeology, with some abstracts:

http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/amphoras/tocs.html

Perseus Project. 13,000 images of Greek art and architecture, with links to on-line ancient texts. We also have the large image database available on a local server in the CALL facility.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/

Diotima. A database of information concerning women and gender in the ancient world.

http://www.stoa.org/diotima

Electronic Resources for Classicists. Lots of material.

http://www.tlg.uci.edu/index/about.html

Guide to Underwater Archaeology Resources on the Internet. Some Greek shipwreck material.

http://www.pophaus.com/underwater

[rev. 08/02]