Paper 6: Classical Essays

Aims and objectives

1. To introduce the intellectual and philosophical, historical, material and visual, and linguistic cultures of Greek and Roman antiquity.
2. To develop the practice of interpretation across the whole range of classical study through close study of texts and artefacts.
3. To introduce the variety of critical methodologies possible in the study of classical antiquity and major current trends in scholarship.
4. To develop a sense of the importance of classical antiquity and its study for the modern world.
5. To develop skills in writing research essays.

Scope and structure of the examination paper 2024–25

Candidates will be expected to submit two essays, each related to a different topic chosen from the following four groups: Greek and Roman philosophy (B Caucus), history (C Caucus), art and archaeology (D Caucus), and linguistics (E Caucus). The two essays must be chosen from two different groups. The topics shall be chosen from a list of suggested titles to be issued on Monday of the 8th Week of Lent term. Essays are to be submitted not later than 12 noon on the Monday of the 4th week of Easter Term.

The word limit is 2,500 words, including notes, but excluding bibliography. Illustrations may be presented under the heading ‘Illustrations’ at the end of the essays and may include figures, maps, charts, diagrams, plans and data in tables, all of these with captions. As long as captions are kept as brief as possible and are not used as a substitute for information which should properly be placed in the main text, they are not included in the word count. 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. Some questions will give opportunity to engage with the issues raised in the ‘Classics Now’ lectures (see below).

For each essay, students should receive a maximum of 60 minutes of supervision and only one full draft is to be read by supervisor. Students are required to declare that the submitted essay is their own work, and does not contain material already used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose.

From 2024/25, candidates who have taken Prelim are no longer required to submit at least one essay related to a non-literary topic on which they were not examined in Prelim.

Courses descriptions

Greek and Roman Philosophy

This set of lectures provides an introduction to Ancient Greek Philosophy. In the Michaelmas term we will look mainly 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, Meno, 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 Republic and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. We will consider their respective discussions of happiness and human excellence in relation to their epistemological and metaphysical views. For the Republic, 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 Easter term we will look at two themes: the Hellenistic philosophies of Epicureanism and Stoicism and Early Greek Philosophy and Science.

Ancient History

The second-century BC Greek writer Polybius, like many in antiquity, compared Roman hegemony over the Mediterranean with previous empires, which had already come and gone, as well as the current Carthaginian competition. This course examines imperial rule from the Persian empire in the sixth century BC to Late Antiquity, when Roman dominion in the East were threatened by the imperial successors of the Persians centred in what is now Iran. Issues to be explored will include how empires was created in the first place; the ways in which they both exploited the territories subjected to them, and sought to unify their empires under central control; and how the capitals of imperial powers reflected their imperial status.

The first part will cover the rise and fall of empires from Achaemenid Persia through those of Athens, Sparta and Macedon, to the formation of the Hellenistic kingdoms after Alexander. The second part will explore the rise of Roman power in conflict with Carthage and the Hellenistic Kingdoms, its consolidation and then challenge from Sassanian Persia.

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); A.B. Bosworth, Conquest and empire. The reign of Alexander the Great (1988); 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); F. Millar, The Roman Empire and its neighbours (1967).

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 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 archaeology, and introduce their importance for studying the Greek and Roman worlds at large. The following 16 lectures familiarise students with the range of material culture produced across the chronological and geographical span of classical antiquity. The focus of these later lectures will be on key sites, issues and approaches.

Suggested readings

(Starred [*] items are accessible online through iDiscover): 

*S. Alcock and R. Osborne, Classical Archaeology, 2nd edn. (Oxford, 2011); *J. Barringer, The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Greece (Cambridge 2014); 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. 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); J. Whitley, The Archaeology of Ancient Greece (Cambridge, 2001).

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.

Classical and Comparative Philology and Linguistics

Classical and Comparative Philology and Linguistics: 16 lectures (8 MT and 8 LT). The course is designed to introduce the systematic study of language in general and of the classical languages in particular, with the aim of supporting students’ language learning and consolidation while explaining both the concepts and techniques of modern descriptive and theoretical linguistics and the ways in which these can be fruitfully applied to the analysis of Greek and Latin. There will be discussion of selected testimonia from ancient authors and analysis of passages and examples taken from mainstream authors. An advanced knowledge of Greek or Latin is not presupposed.

Subject to Directors of Studies’ approval, supervisions will be organised centrally to complement the lectures.

Those who plan to offer one or more of the Group E papers (Historical and Comparative Linguistics) in Part II of the Tripos are advised to attend at least some of the lectures for linguistics in Part IA, even if they do not intend to answer linguistics questions in Paper 6 of Part IA, or to take a linguistics paper in Part IB.

Introductory readings:

Students may find the following helpful as introductory or follow-up reading for many of the concepts introduced throughout the whole course:

Larry Trask, Language: The Basics (Routledge 1999, 2nd edn.); Ralph Fasold & Jeff Connor-Linton (eds), An Introduction to Language and Linguistics (Cambridge, 2014, 2nd edn.); James Clackson, Language and Society in the Greek and Roman Worlds (Cambridge, 2016); Coulter George, How Dead Languages Work (Oxford, 2020); Egbert J. Bakker (ed.), A Companion to the Ancient Greek Language (Blackwell, 2010); James Clackson (ed.), A Companion to the Latin Language (Blackwell, 2011).

Ancient Greek and Latin are “dead” languages, meaning that we only have written evidence for these languages. These four lectures will explore how we can know what they sounded like. To this end, the concept of “sound” as an element of the language will be explained before discussing the sounds of Greek and Latin individually and as systems.

Recommended reading:

J. Clark, C. Yallop and J. Fletcher, An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology, Blackwell 2006

W.S. Allen, Vox Graeca, Cambridge 1987

W.S. Allen Vox Latina, Cambridge 1978

Ancient Greek and Latin are “dead” languages, meaning that we only have written evidence for these languages. In these lectures we will explore the relationship between speech and writing. We will discuss the nature and the workings of the alphabet and then look at its origin, development and spread, and discuss how it is used by putting it in a linguistic, historical and cultural context. We will then read a number of primary sources (inscriptions) and literary texts in order to see how all of this works in practice.

Introductory reading:

Peter Daniels and William Bright, The World’s Writing Systems New York 1996

Andrew Robinson, The Story of Writing, London 2007

James T. Hooker, Ancient writing from cuneiform to the alphabet, London 1990

Alison E. Cooley, The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy, Cambridge 2012

Arthur Geoffrey Woodhead, A Study of Greek Inscriptions, 2nd ed., Cambridge 1981

In these lectures we explore the Greek and Latin languages as systems; systems that despite their considerable similarities and still show a great number of differences. How come fero and φέρω look the same in the first-person singular but completely different in the third-person plural? Why does Latin have more cases than Greek, but no aorist or optative? And what are all these cases for anyway? By analysing phonology, morphology and syntax we shall try to come to better understand why Greek and Latin work the way they do. We shall illustrate the lectures with selected passages from the Target Texts, and highlight the many different ways in which people spoke and wrote Greek and Latin.

Introductory reading:

Leonard Palmer, The Latin Language, London 1954 (older, but still useful; many reprints)

Michael Weiss, Outline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin, 2nd edition, 2020 (advanced, but a useful place to look for particular details)

Leonard Palmer, The Greek Language, Bristol Classical Press, 1996

Stephen Colvin, A Brief History of Ancient Greek, Wiley-Blackwell, 2014

Classics Now: live issues past and present

This course will consist of a variable number of lectures each year, focused on different topics. The lectures will introduce students to some key aspects of the history of Classics as a discipline, and the many ways in which the study of Greece and Rome has participated and continues to participate in live issues of politics, power and identity in the modern world. Every Caucus will offer at least one lecture for the module. Essay questions reflecting this module will be set in IA Paper 6.

The 2024/25 schedule of lectures will be the follwing:

• 27 January / Shushma Malik - Empire and Nationalism
• 3 February / Susanne Turner - Decolonising the Museum
• 10 February / Jane Rempel - Good women/Crafty women: wool-working and household production in the Classical period
• 17 February / Tim Whitmarsh - Firing the Canon
• 24 February / Pippa Steele - Endangered language and writing, in the ancient world and today
• 3 March / Lea Cantor - The historiography of Greek philosophy in the context of the global history of philosophy
• 10 March / Simon Goldhill - Race and raciness