Paper 3: Classical Topics and Paper 4: Literary Essay

Aims and objectives

1. To introduce the linguistic, literary, material and intellectual culture of Greco-Roman antiquity.
2. To set the learning of the Latin language in its historical, social and cultural context.
3. To develop the students' skills as readers and interpreters of Greco-Roman culture and society.
4. To develop the students' essay writing skills.

Scope and structure of the examination 2026-27

Paper 3 is 2-hour exam (not including reasonable adjustments). Candidates will be expected to answer two questions, one on each of the non-literary topics studied. We recommend that equal time be spent on each answer.

Paper 4 consists of a submitted essay on Ovid Metamorphoses 3. The topic shall be chosen from a list of  titles to be issued on Monday of the 8th Week of Lent term. Essay questions may expect knowledge of texts set to be read in translation as well as Ovid Met. 3. There is a word limit of 2,500 words for this essay, including notes, but excluding bibliography. For this essay, students should receive a maximum of 60 minutes of supervision and only one full draft is to be read by supervisor. Qualities which will be looked for will be: a good knowledge of the text and an ability to comment on its language and style where appropriate; knowledge of the most relevant secondary material and the capacity to offer some level of close reading and criticism of this material; the ability to construct a coherent argument. Students are required to sign a declaration that the submitted essay is their own work, and does not contain material already used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose. Essays must be word-processed (1.5 spacing) unless permission has been obtained from the Faculty Board to present them in handwritten form. The style of presentation, quotation and reference to books, articles and ancient authorities should be consistent and comply with the standards required by a major journal.

Course descriptions

Literature

See the page for Papers 1-2.

Greek and Roman Philosophy

This course includes two sessions ('How to do ancient philosophy') giving a general introduction to philosophy through the eyes of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers: the lecture asks What is philosophy? And what does it take to be a philosopher? Is there a method or a specific way to "do" philosophy? The class provides very basic conceptual tools for approaching philosophy lectures, reading philosophical texts and scholarly literature, and writing essays by thinking in terms of "building an argument". No preparation is required for attending the lecture and the class, which are open to all students, independently of whether they will choose to pursue philosophy in their studies.

The main set of lectures provides an introduction to Ancient Philosophy. In the Michaelmas term we will start by looking at the fascinating emergence of new ways of describing the cosmos and the place of human beings in it that find expression in Early Greek Philosophy and Science. We will then look at Plato’s presentation of the figure of Socrates, a presentation that is often inseparable from Plato’s own philosophical views. The lectures will consider how to read and interpret Plato’s ‘Socratic conversations’ philosophically and show how they can be a provocation to further philosophical inquiry. The main texts will be Plato’s Apology, Euthyphro, Phaedo, Protagoras, Gorgias, and Symposium. Those attending the course are encouraged to read as much as possible of these in advance. A convenient translation, all in one volume, is John Cooper ed. Plato: the complete works (Hackett: Indianapolis, 1997). In the Lent term we will consider two central texts in greater detail: Plato’s Meno and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. We will consider their respective discussions of human excellence in relation to their epistemological and metaphysical views. For the Meno, see the translation in Cooper ed. (above); for the Nicomachean Ethics, see Sarah Broadie and Christopher Rowe (transl. and comm.), Nicomachean Ethics (Oxford 2002). In the second half of Lent term we will also explore the ethical thought from the two Hellenistic philosophies of Epicureanism and Stoicism.

Ancient History

Eight participatory seminars on how ancient historians frame, produce, and reflect on their research will be held across one term (Michaelmas). We will start by looking at one of the fundamental aspects of historical scholarship: arguing about the past. We will see how ancient historians mark out the stakes of their research and how they think we ought to approach our sources. We will move on to discuss a range of topics over the weeks to see how both traditional and more recent focuses have developed in the field. We will interrogate how ancient historians write world history, the history of gender, economic history, cultural history, environmental history, and political history. The aims of these seminars are: 1) to introduce scholarship on a range of major methodologies for studying ancient history; 2) to enable critical analysis of debates in ancient history across a variety of issues and current trends in the field; and 3) to provide a basis from which students can reflect further on the ancient history papers or coursework they undertake throughout the classical tripos. All are welcome.

Introductory reading:

Neville Morley, Theories, Models and Concepts in Ancient History (London, 2004).
Michael Bentley, 'British Historical Writing' in Schneider and Woolf (eds.) The Oxford History of Historical Writing, Volume 5: Historical Writing Since 1945 (Oxford, 2011).

The second-century BCE Greek historian and Roman political prisoner Polybius compared Roman hegemony over the Mediterranean with previous empires come and gone. Following in his footsteps and those of other ancient and medieval authors, this course examines imperial rule in and around the Mediterranean from the Persian empire in the sixth century BC to the third century CE, when Roman dominion in the Eastern Mediterranean was threatened by the Persians’ successors in what is now Iran. It will explore how empires rose and fell, and how they worked, focusing in addition on Athens, Sparta, the ‘Hellenistic’ kingdoms, Carthage, and the Parthians, with glances across at comparative material from ancient India and China as well as more recent empires. Issues to be explored will include definitions of state and empire; how empires were created in the first place; the ways in which empires exploited the territories and people subjected to them; they ways they learnt from each other; strategies of unification and central control; forms of resistance; and how imperial capitals reflected that status.

This course also provides a broad outline political history of the ancient Mediterranean world, which can be complemented by the paper on cultural, social and economic history: Inequalities and social change in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds.

Introductory bibliography: A. Kuhrt, The Persian Empire: a corpus of sources from the Achaemenid period (2007); P.J. Rhodes, The Athenian Empire (Greece & Rome New Surveys in the Classics 17, 1985); P. Low ed., The Athenian Empire (2008); G. Shipley, The Greek world after Alexander, 323-30 B.C. (2000); C. Champion, Roman Imperialism: Readings and Sources (2004); A. Lintott, Imperium Romanum: Politics and Administration (1993); P. Garnsey & R. Saller, The Roman Empire: Economy, Society and Culture, 2nd edn. (2015); E. Dench, Empire and Political Cultures in the Roman World (2018); M. Lavan, Slaves to Rome: Paradigms of Empire in Roman Culture (2013); M. Canepa, The Iranian Expanse:Transforming Royal Identity through Architecture, Landscape, and the Built Environment 550 BCE - 642 CE (2018); P.F.Bang & W. Scheidel, eds, The Oxford World History of Empire (2021).

Our connection to the ancient past is indirect and delicate - resting on the proper interpretation of a limited number of small, unevenly distributed, and distorted reflections. This course will introduce this range of reflections - our ancient sources. We will explore the various types of evidence used by ancient historians, considering the pitfalls of each, the kind of history a particular source might produce, and the ways in which historians can critically assess the geographical, chronological, and social perspectives and imbalances of the material. How might the questions we ask of literary evidence differ from those we ask of archaeological data? How might inscriptions and documentary sources illuminate the lives of people neglected by other sources? What determines whether an event or period is 'well documented' or not? What are the difficulties and opportunities latent in bringing modern perspectives to ancient material? Students will develop a strong understanding of the landscape of ancient sources, as well as an appreciation for the fragility of the thread which connects modern observers and antiquity.

Classical Art and Archaeology

This course provides an introduction to the scope and potential of the art and archaeology of the Greek and Roman worlds. The first 8 lectures will offer an overview of the questions, methods, and themes of classical 'art' and archaeology, and introduce the importance and inter-relationship of these strands of knowledge for studying the Greek and Roman worlds. The following 16 lectures familiarise students with the range of material culture produced by different peoples across the chronological and geographical span of Classical Antiquity. The focus of these lectures is on key sites, issues and approaches.

Suggested readings (double-starred [**] items are accessible online through iDiscover): **S. Alcock and R. Osborne, Classical Archaeology, 2nd edn. (Oxford, 2011); M. Beard and J. Henderson, Classical Art from Greece to Rome (Oxford, 2001); A. Claridge, Rome: Oxford Archaeological Guides (Oxford, 2010); J. Elsner, The Art of the Roman Empire AD 100-450, 2nd edn. (Oxford, 2018); R. Neer, The Art and Archaeology of the Greek World, 2nd edn.(London, 2019); R. Osborne, Archaic and Classical Greek Art (Oxford, 1998); **C. Shelmerdine (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age (Cambridge, 2008); **N.J. Spivey, Greek Sculpture (Cambridge, 2013);  N.J. Spivey and M.J. Squire, Panorama of the Classical World (2004); S. Tuck, A History of Roman Art (Chichester, 2015).

For students following this course for the first time or who would like some additional background information on topics addressed in lectures, we are recommending the following books as supplements to the weekly reading lists in Moodle.

R.T. Neer, Art & Archaeology of the Greek World, 2nd edn. (London, 2019)

M.D. Fullerton, Art & Archaeology of the Roman World (London, 2020)

Both of these books are accessible both online through iDiscover, or in hard copy in the Classics Faculty Library. The content of these books will roughly map onto the Lent Term lectures in the following way:

Week 1 – Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Greece: Neer, Chapters 1-3

Weeks 2 & 3 – Archaic and early Classical Greek world: Neer, Chapters 4-8

Week 4 – Classical and Hellenistic Greek world: Neer, Chapters 11-14

Week 5 – Early Rome: Fullerton, Chapters 1-2

Weeks 5 & 6 – Early Principate: Fullerton, Chapters 4-7

Weeks 7 & 8 – Roman life and death: Fullerton, Chapters 8-11

Please note that assessment topics and questions will be set independently of these and other recommended readings.