Sparta and Crete: Classical Greek Society Beyond Athens

The course is an introduction to the histories of ancient Sparta and Crete. Through examining evidence from Sparta and Crete during the classical period, this course aims to go beyond an Athenocentric view of 'Greek society'. In this course, students will encounter the complex and contradictory evidence for the fabric and character of classical Spartan society and the nature of her institutions through a close study of texts in translation. Lectures will focus upon political, social and economic institutions as well as ideologies of warfare and community, the role of women, and sexuality. Other topics include the character of slavery in Sparta (helotage), how it compares in legal terms to slavery at Athens, and its function in Sparta's political economy. Crete presents very different material for study. Though the lectures shall present the evidence of Aristotle, Ephorus and other non-Cretan writers who comment on Cretan society, the main focus will be on epigraphy and in particular the 'Great Code' of Gortyn (IC IV 72), supplemented by a selection of other Gortynian inscriptions in translation. Beyond an in-depth study of Gortynian laws on the household, family, and slavery, students will compare the example of Gortyn to the generalisations found in the literary sources which present Crete as undifferentiated (though it contained over 60 different city states, most of them independent of one another) in order to gauge the degree to which Cretan city states displayed common institutions and practices. Notable seminars to note:  One seminar on women and property rights in Sparta and Crete and One seminar on education and socialisation of citizen boys, which includes discussion of same-sex relations   Credit Level: 10 Year taken: Year 3 Undergraduate

Not running in 2025/26