Courses

Department of Classics Courses

Course descriptions listed on this page are from the current College Catalog. For more information on the courses offered during the fall and spring semesters, please log in to the course schedule through STAR.
 

CLAS 101 — Women & Men in Greek Lit & Soc

A selection of ancient Greek literature read in translation, from Homeric epic to classical history and drama, with a focus on the relation between literature and social conditions.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 102 — Women & Men in Roman Lit & Soc

A selection of ancient Roman literature read in translation, including authors such as Vergil, Tacitus, Cicero, and Plautus, with a focus on the relationship between literature and social conditions.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 103 — Greek & Roman Epic

A study of classical epic, with special emphasis on Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Vergil's Aeneid, but including also other examples of the genre, such as Lucan or Statius. Topics to be considered include oral and literary epic, their social and political contexts, and the influence of classical epic on later literature.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 106 — Classical Drama

Study in depth of a selection of ancient Greek and/or Roman tragedies and comedies, with an emphasis on performance practices and contexts.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

CLAS 109 — Classical and Biblical Sources of European and English Literature

This course primarily examines how certain themes, typological figures and universal truths which are developed in Biblical and Classical literature have been adapted to new circumstances and handed down over the past two millennia. The other main focus of the course will be daily in-class writing assignments based on class discussions which will allow students to develop their creative and critical writing skills.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 112 — Greek Myths In Literature

Comparison of Classical and modern versions of several ancient Greek myths. The relationships between myth and literature are considered, as well as reasons why these myths have endured through the centuries. Emphasis is on dramatic versions of the myths; narrative poetry and other genres such as music and cinema may also be explored.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 114 — DiscerningGod&Discovering Self

This course traces the development of the concept and experiences of the process of discernment from Antiquity to the Renaissance by looking at a wide range of texts originally written in Greek or Latin in a case-study format. The primary focus will be the "discernment of spirits" as developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola in the Spiritual Exercises, with an emphasis on three key areas of discernment: Individual, Corporate, and Individual within Corporate.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature, Studies in Religion
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 120 — Mythology

An exploration of the significance of myths, their meanings and functions in the cultures of Greece and Rome. Special attention is given to more recent developments in the study of myths and their relation to rituals and folk tales. Babylonian, Egyptian, Hindu and American Indian mythology may be used for comparative purposes.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring

CLAS 121 — Ancient Science

A study of the goals, methods and subject matter of Greco-Roman science. Pays special attention to how science relates to the broader social, religious and intellectual context of the ancient world.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 129 — The Greek Hero in Myth and Art

This course will focus on a variety of ancient Greek heroes: Herakles, Achilles, Odysseus, Agamemnon, MeleagerJason, Aeneas, Thesus, Perseus and more. We will read great epics such as Homer's Iliad & Odyssey, the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius, Virgil's Aeneid; we will also read about these heroes in Greek tragedies, lyric poetry of Pindar and Bacchyides and the Metamorphoses of Ovid. In addition to literary sources, we will be looking at artistic representations of these heroes on Greek vases and sarcophagi, and in later art up to and including modern art.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 141 — Anc Greece: Freedom & Slavery

A study of Greek history from its beginnings to the death of Socrates. Emphasis is placed on a close analysis of the primary sources.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies
Typically Offered: Fall

CLAS 143 — Athenian Democracy

An analysis of the institutions, literature, and political thought inspired by the democracy of fifth- and fourth-century Athens.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature, Social Science
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

CLAS 145 — TheClassics&Conflict in the US

This course will look at uses of ancient Greece and Rome in American civic life and culture, with a focus on the reception of Classical ideas and models during periods of conflict in the US. This will include American engagement with the Classics in the revolutionary and constitutional periods, in the abolitionist movements of the nineteenth century and the civil rights era of the twentieth century, and in discussions about race, gender, and class identity in the twenty-first century.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies, Literature

CLAS 151 — History Of Ancient Rome

A survey of Roman civilization from the Regal period to the late Republic, with a special focus on the political and social forces that led to the establishment of the Principate. Concentrates on the primary sources for this period, including the historians, inscriptions, and monuments.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies
Typically Offered: Spring

CLAS 152 — History of Rome 2: Empire

A survey of Roman imperial civilization from the first to the sixth century. Concentrates on the primary sources for this period, including the historians, inscriptions, monuments, and coins.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies
Typically Offered: Fall

CLAS 160 — Intro To Classical Archaeology

An introduction to the methodologies employed by archaeologists. Most examples will be drawn from the artifacts, sites and monuments of the ancient Mediterranean world.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Arts
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring

CLAS 165 — Refugees in Ancient Myth&Today

An exploration of myths about migration and refugees in ancient drama and epic, considered alongside contemporary narratives of global migration. Special attention will be given to the 2015 migration crisis in Greece. This class will include a community-based learning component.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Annually

CLAS 166 — Ancient Painting and Mosaics

Introduces students to the art of mural (wall) painting in the Mediterranean from the Bronze Age through Late Antiquity, and to the art of mosaic from its origins in Classical Greece through Late Antiquity. Topics addressed are the techniques of fresco and mosaic; the relationship of mural painting to lost panel paintings by famous artists; the social meaning of wall and floor decoration in the ancient world; the roles of artist and patron; the Roman response to Greek painting and mosaic; and the Christian response to pagan painting and mosaic.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Arts
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

CLAS 188 — Alexander the Great and Asia

Considers the political, religious, and cultural encounters between the ancient Greek world and Asia generated by the expedition of Alexander the Great and the interpretations of the story of Alexander found in different cultural traditions from antiquity to the present day, from religious texts to heavy metal music.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 199-F01 — Digital Mythology

Myths are a kind of traditional tale. Like any traditional story, they are multiform: there is no single, "correct" version. We can think of a mythology as the collection of myths that relates all of the (potentially contradictory) versions of many stories.In this course we'll explore large collections of myths preserved in ancient handbooks of mythology and in scholarly commentaries on the major Greek epic, the Iliad. We will learn how to use digital methods to explore questions about Greek myth we could not answer from close reading alone. The course will emphasize both content and methodology. To the course title "Digital Mythology," you may add either of two subtitles: "Reading Greek mythology using data science" or "A first encounter with data science through Greek mythology.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature

CLAS 199-F02 — Before Rome: The Etruscans

TBD
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies

CLAS 199-F05 — Egyptian Painting & Archeology

GPA units: 1
Common Area: Arts

CLAS 199-F99 — Egyptian Art & Archeology

GPA units: 1
Common Area: Arts

CLAS 199-S01 — Cunning Seafarers: The Phoenicians

GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies

CLAS 199-S02 — Religious Resistance in the Hellenistic World

GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies

CLAS 199-S03 — Opening Classics

GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies

CLAS 199-S04 — Race in Antiquity

GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies

CLAS 199-S05 — Papyri to Pixels: Evolving Texts

GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature

CLAS 221 — Women in Classical Mythology

Examines the representations of mortal and immortal women in a variety of mythological narratives and in art. Consideration is given to the relationships between these representations and contemporary ideas about and images of women. Students should read Homer's Iliad and Odyssey in translation before enrolling in this class.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 222 — Archaeology of Pompeii

Examines the ancient city of Pompeii, with particular emphasis on the houses in which families lived. Domestic spaces both reflected and reinforced certain family structures, and so the houses of Pompeii provide us with information about subjects as varied as the power of the father, ancient slavery, the experience of childhood, the role of women, and ancient notions of public and private space, all of which topics will be addressed in this course through an examination of material culture. For purposes of comparison, the course will also briefly investigate the domestic spaces of the nearby site of Herculaneum, as well as other Italian sites like Cosa and Ostia.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

CLAS 223 — Ideological Destruction of Art

GPA units: 1
Common Area: Arts
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

CLAS 225 — Power, Persuasion, & Law

A study of Greek and Roman oratory based on the reading and rhetorical analysis of speeches delivered in the law courts and assemblies of 5th and 4th century Athens, and the late period of the Roman Republic (80-45 BC) where the focus will be on the law court speeches of Cicero. The course involves both an introduction to the legal procedures of the Athenian and Roman courts and assemblies, and careful analysis of the literary style and forms of legal argument in selected speeches.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 226 — Democracy and Rhetoric

Study of the power of words to create and to resolve conflict in Ancient Greek and Roman democracy. Close examination of ancient literary and historical sources in translation with comparison to modern parallels. Public speaking exercise on the model of the rhetoric of Georgias.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 233 — Nature in the Classical World

In this course, we will explore how the ancient Greeks and Romans engaged with the natural world surrounding them. Our course will consider several themes, including the relationship between city and country; philosophical treatments of the natural world; the role of the environment in literature; and the conceptualization of the universe and its origins. We will base our discussion of these themes on our analysis of evidence from antiquity, which will span both material remains like Greek temples and Roman villas as well as literary and philosophical works central to western civilization. Looking back at ancient philosophy, pastoral poems, and early epics, we will read selections from authors such as the pre-Socratic philosophers, Homer, Hesiod, Plato, Aristotle, Lucretius, and Seneca. Alongside our study of the ancient world, we will glance ahead to consider the reception of the Greeks and Romans' treatment of nature, with our contemporary readings including selections from Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si'.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature, Philosophical Studies
Typically Offered: Alternate Years

CLAS 264 — Ancient Sanctuaries & Religion

A detailed study of the archaeological remains from ancient sanctuaries. The buildings and monuments are studied in connection with other evidence for religious behavior in the different ancient cultures. Emphasis is on the cults and shrines of Ancient Greece and Rome but in different years, the ancient Near East and Egypt also are considered. Counts toward fulfillment of the Visual Arts major.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Arts
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

CLAS 267 — Archaeology and Time

How do we know that Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 A.D., that the Temple of Zeus at Olympia was completed by 456 B.C. or that the bulk of the construction of the Pantheon in Rome took place in the 120's A.D.? This course surveys the physical techniques and historical method that lie behind dates like these.
GPA units: 1
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

CLAS 299-F01 — The Iliad and its Reception

TBD
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature

CLAS 401 — Tutorial

Designed for selected students with approval of a professor and the Department Chair. This work may be done for one or two semesters.
GPA units: 1
Typically Offered: Annually

CLAS 402 — Tutorial

Designed for selected students with approval of a professor and the Department Chair. This work may be done for one or two semesters.
GPA units: 1
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring

GREK 101 — Introduction To Greek 1

A first course in Greek language involving a systematic introduction to Attic or Homeric Greek through an intensive study of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies
Typically Offered: Annually

GREK 102 — Introduction To Greek 2

A first course in Greek language involving a systematic introduction to Attic or Homeric Greek through an intensive study of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies
Typically Offered: Annually

GREK 213 — Intermediate Greek 1

Translation and analysis of Greek prose and poetry, with close attention to grammar and syntax. Students without the prerequisite should consult the department.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies
Typically Offered: Annually

GREK 214 — Intermediate Greek 2

Translation and analysis of Greek prose and poetry, with close attention to grammar and syntax. Students without the prerequisite should consult the department.
Prerequisite: GREK 213 or equivalent. Students who have taken any higher level GREK course may not enroll in GREK 214.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies
Typically Offered: Annually

GREK 301 — Seminars in Greek Literature

The GREK 301 seminars offer students the opportunity to study a variety of themes and authors in ancient Greek literature. The topics of the seminars change each semester, and typically one seminar is offered per semester. The authors explored in these seminars repeat in a two-year rotation. Over the course of two years, the seminars will include courses that explore themes in Homer; Herodotus or Thucydides; and Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, or Aristophanes; and the seminars will also include one instructor-designed course that does not focus on any of the above authors. Students may take a GREK 301 seminar in as many semesters as they would like, so long as the material in that seminar does not substantially overlap with the material of a previous seminar the student has taken.
Prerequisite: GREK 214 or any previous GREK 300 level course.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Annually

GREK 330 — Greek Lyric Poetry

A close reading in Greek of a variety of lyric poets such as Alcaeus, Pindar, and Sappho.
Prerequisite: GREK 214 or equivalent. Students without the prerequisite should consult the Department.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

GREK 332 — Homer

A reading of selected books of the Iliad and/or Odyssey with special attention to their literary value as well as to problems of oral composition, metrics, linguistics, authorship and text history.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

GREK 338 — Plutarch

Exegesis and translation of a biography by Plutarch, with attention to his essays and his place in Greek literature.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

GREK 340 — Herodotus

An examination of selected passages from the historian Herodotus' account of the Persian Wars.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

GREK 341 — Thucydides

An in-depth survey of Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War. Extensive selections of historical and literary significance are read in the original Greek.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

GREK 351 — Attic Orators: Demosthenes

A close study of the speeches of one or more Attic orators. One unit.
Prerequisite: GREK 213
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature

GREK 360 — Aeschylus

A detailed study of the Agamemnon and other dramas of Aeschylus in the original.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

GREK 362 — Euripides

An analysis of two plays in Greek, with special attention to Euripides' dramatic technique.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

GREK 401 — Tutorial

Designed for selected students with approval of a professor and the Department Chair. This work may be done for one or two semesters.
GPA units: 1
Typically Offered: Annually

GREK 402 — Tutorial

Designed for selected students with approval of a professor and the Department Chair. This work may be done for one or two semesters.
GPA units: 1
Typically Offered: Annually

LATN 101 — Introduction To Latin 1

A first course in Latin. As you are introduced to fundamentals of Latin grammar, you encounter a historical language and culture, and engage with how that language and culture continue to shape structures of power today.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies
Typically Offered: Annually

LATN 102 — Introduction To Latin 2

A continuation of Latin 101.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies
Typically Offered: Annually

LATN 105 — Accelerated Introductory Latin

LATN 105 (Accelerated Introductory Latin) offers students without any background in Latin the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of the Latin language in one semester. We will emphasize active participation through Latin composition, translation and student presentations, and alongside our study of the Latin language, we will explore Roman culture and history through examination of objects such as ancient coins, manuscripts, and inscriptions. After our work in LATN 105, students will be prepared to take LATN 213 (Intermediate Latin 1) in the fall semester.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies

LATN 211 — 1st Readings in College Latin

For students with two or more years of study in Latin at the secondary-schoollevel. This course includes a systematic review of grammar, and selected readingsfrom Latin authors
Prerequisite: Some high school Latin. You cannot take this course, if you have taken the Introductory Latin sequence at Holy Cross.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies
Typically Offered: Annually

LATN 213 — Intermediate Latin 1

For students who have completed LATN 101 and 102. This course includes selected readings from Latin authors and an extensive grammar review.
Prerequisite: LATN 102. Students who have taken a higher level LATN course may not register for LATN 213.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies
Typically Offered: Annually

LATN 214 — Intermediate Latin 2

For students who have completed LATN 101 and 102 or two years of pre-college Latin. This course includes selected readings from Latin authors and an extensive grammar review.
Prerequisite: LATN 213 or LATN 211-1st Readings in College Latin. Students who have taken a higher level Latin course may not enroll in LATN 214. Students without the prerequisite should consult the Department.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies
Typically Offered: Annually

LATN 275 — Advanced Latin Workshop

This intensive intermediate level course will consolidate the student's knowledge of Latin grammar through reading a variety of Latin texts.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies
Typically Offered: Fall

LATN 301 — Seminars in Roman Literature

Prerequisite: LATN 211, LATN 214 or any LATN 300 course.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Annually

LATN 320 — Sallust & Livy

Extensive readings from the works of the Roman historians Sallust and Livy. Study of the sources and methods of Roman historiography.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 321 — Tacitus

Concentrates on the Annals of Tacitus. Consideration is given to the Historiae, Agricola, and Germania.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Historical Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 322 — Cicero's Speeches

Selected orations of Cicero are read in the original. Emphasis is placed on rhetorical analysis and on the interpretation of historical and political developments of the first century B.C.E.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 323 — Roman Letter Writers

Selected letters of Cicero and Pliny are read in the original Latin, while those of Seneca are read in English. Consideration is also given to historical background and to the development of letter writing as a literary form.
Prerequisite: LATN 214 or LATN 315 or equivalent. Students without the prerequisite should consult the Department.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 324 — Juvenal

A detailed study of selected satires of Juvenal. Although emphasis is placed on the literary analysis of satire, some attention is also given to Juvenal's works as a source for understanding first century CE Rome.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 343 — Horace: Odes

Selected poems from the four books of Odes are read in the original. Emphasis is placed on literary analysis and interpretation. In addition, students read a sampling of Horace's other poetic works in the original.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 344 — Catullus

A literary study and analysis of the poems of Catullus.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 350 — Early Christian Literature

Reading in the original of selected works from the Patristic period. This course can count toward fulfillment of the Religious Studies major.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature, Studies in Religion
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 358 — Vergil: Aeneid

A study of Vergil's epic with emphasis on its literary artistry.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 359 — Vergil, Eclogues & Georgics

The development of pastoral and agricultural poetry, as exemplified in Vergil's two poetic masterpieces, Eclogues and Georgics.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 363 — Roman Comedy

Selected plays of Plautus and Terence read in Latin, combined with a study of Greek sources of Roman comedy.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 365 — Latin Elegy

Selected poems from the four books Propertius' elegies are read in the original. Appropriate attention is paid to the background of the elegiac genre. Emphasis is placed on literary analysis and interpretation. One unit.
Prerequisite: LATN 214 or LATN 315 or equivalent. Students without the prerequisite should consult the Department.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature

LATN 366 — Ovid's Metamorphoses

A close examination of the literary artistry of a number of individual stories in the Metamorphoses.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies, Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 370 — Josephus

Study of the ancient Latin translation of Josephus with comparison to the original Greek text.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Language Studies
Typically Offered: Every Third Year

LATN 399-F02 — Nation & Individual: Virgil

Prerequisite: LATN 211, LATN 214 or any LATN 300 course.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature

LATN 401 — Tutorial

Designed for selected students with approval of a professor and the Department Chair. This work may be done for one or two semesters.
GPA units: 1
Typically Offered: Annually

LATN 402 — Tutorial

Designed for selected students with approval of a professor and the Department Chair. This work may be done for one or two semesters.
GPA units: 1
Typically Offered: Annually