Classical Studies

CLAS 201 (3): Classical Mythology

The more important classical myths read in 

English translations of Greek and Latin authors; 

their expression in ancient literature; what myth 

is, what it is for, how myths work and what they 

reveal about the history, culture, and values of 

the society which used them. V.2.

CLAS 205 (3): Ancient Greece

This course will survey ancient Greek literature, 

history, and philosophy starting from Homer 

and Sappho and ending with Euripides and 

Plato. All works will be studied in their historical

and cultural contexts and there will also be 

consideration of major developments in Greek 

art and architecture. Much of the focus will be 

on the political and cultural achievements of 

5th century Athens. Key issues will include the 

beginnings of democracy, the rise of literacy and 

the birth of philosophy, and the development of 

tragedy, comedy, and historiography. Offered 

alternate years. V.1, V.2.

CLAS 206 (3): Greeks and the Other

This course will examine Greek conceptions of 

self and other as seen through a wide range of 

literary and historiographical texts, as well as

material and textual evidence left by the culturally 

disenfranchised (e.g., curse tablets). Topics will 

include death, the position of women, resident 

aliens, the construction of the “barbarian”, and 

the status of slaves. Authors read will include 

Herodotus, Thucydides, Sophocles, Euripides, and 

Aristophanes. Offered alternate years. V.1, V.2.

CLAS 207 (3): The Rise and Fall of the Roman

Republic

This course covers the history, literature, and 

culture of the Roman people from the period 

of Etruscan influence to the end of the Republic 

and beginning of the reign of the first emperor 

Augustus (seventh through first centuries B.C.). 

Primary emphasis will be on the last century of 

the Republic, the “Roman Revolution” from 133 

to 31 B.C., which also saw the flowering of

classical Latin literature and culture. Attention will be 

given to the influence of Etruscan and especially 

Greek culture on the development of Roman 

civilization, especially in the areas of literature, 

religion, art and political thought. Authors read 

include: Plautus, Terence, Livy, Catullus, Cicero 

and Sallust. Offered alternate years.  May be 

counted as an adjunct course toward the minor in 

gender studies. V.1, V.2.

CLAS 208 (3): Society and Culture in the 

Roman Empire

This course looks at the history, literature, and 

culture of the Roman world from the reign of 

Augustus to the end of Roman rule in the West 

(31 B.C.-476 A.D.). The course will be divided 

into three parts: (1) a survey of political and 

cultural developments under the Julio-Claudian 

and Flavian emperors; (2) Roman culture at the 

height of the Empire, focusing on some of the 

most important aspects of Roman social and 

civic life (slavery, women and the family, law, 

religion and art); (3) the rise of Christianity, 

from the second century to the end of the fourth 

century. Attention will also be given to the

diversity of cultures found within the limits of the 

Roman Empire, and the legacy of Roman

civilization to later European and Mediterranean 

cultures. Authors read include: Vergil, Ovid, 

Tacitus, Suetonius and Apuleius. Offered

alternate years.  May be counted as an adjunct

course toward the minor in gender studies.

 V.1, V.2.

CLAS 211 (3): Roman Archaeology and Art

This course will cover Roman material culture (art 

and architecture) including its roots in Etruscan 

architecture and sculpture (8th-6th century B.C.), 

the development of portraiture during the Republic, 

the art and architecture of the Roman Empire 

(including Pompeii), and the art and architecture 

of the Constantinian period (4th c. A.D.). Included 

will be readings and discussions regarding the 

problems of chronology and dating of ancient

artifacts, as well as the use of ancient literary sources 

to place artifacts in their context. Students will do 

a project utilizing Sweet Briar’s classical antiquities 

collection. Offered alternate years. May be counted 

toward the major and minor in archaeology. V.1, 

V.6a.

CLAS 219 (3): Ancient Philosophers in Context

This course focuses on the historical and

cultural contexts in which ancient philosophy was 

practiced, while also tracing various themes 

throughout the ancient philosophical tradition. 

Major differences between modern and ancient 

notions of the philosophical method and way 

of life are also considered. Course readings will 

come from Pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, the 

Stoics, Epicureans, Romans, and late-antique 

philosophers. May be counted toward the major in 

philosophy. V.1.

CLAS 224 (3): The Greek Novel: Text and Context

In this course we will explore the emergence of 

the Greek novel during the Roman Empire and 

the cultural context that produced this nascent 

genre. Through tales of true love, romance, 

faked deaths, and encounters with pirates, we 

will investigate questions of genre, gender, and 

status as well as examine the nature of Greek life 

and literature under Roman rule. V.2.

CLAS 261 (1, 2, or 3): Directed Study

Prerequisites: One CLAS course and permission

of the instructor. The study of introductory level

material by an individual student or by a small

group of students under the immediate supervision

of a faculty member.

CLAS 307 (3): Gender and Sexuality in the

Ancient Mediterranean

Prerequisite: Sophomores admitted by permission;

a 100- level course in classical studies or in gender

studies is recommended. Study of the cultural

constructs of sex and gender as seen in the literature,

law and material culture of Greek and Roman

societies (including Egypt and the Near East in the

Greco-Roman period). Explores societal stereotypes

regarding women’s abilities and behavior and the

strategies devised by women in response to those

stereotypes. Attitudes toward marriage and the family, 

homosexuality, and fertility control will also be treated.

Emphasis will be on interpretation of ancient texts,

literary, legal and documentary (all in English translation),

and current scholarship. Topic and time period will vary.

Offered alternate years. May be counted as a core course

toward the minor in gender studies. V.5.

CLAS 315 (3): The Later Roman Empire: Law, 

Religion, and Society

Prerequisites: CLAS 211, CLAS 307, or HIST 

223; first-year students and sophomores with 

permission. This course looks at the Roman 

Empire from the third through the fifth century, 

the time of “decline and fall” which saw the 

triumph of Christianity and the disintegration 

of the western half of the Empire into regional, 

“barbarian” states. Emphasis will be on the social 

and religious changes the Roman world saw, and 

readings will include selections from the legal 

sources and Christian writings that survive from 

this period. Offered alternate years. III.W, V.1.

CLAS 318 (3): Topics in Classical Culture

Prerequisite: First-year students and sophomores

with permission; at least one course in classical

civilization is strongly recommended. This course

investigates themes and issues in classical civilization,

drawing from a wide variety of sources including

literary, philosophical, and historical writings,

inscriptions, papyri and artistic modes of production

(e.g., vase paintings, sculpture, etc.). Topics will vary,

with future topics including the paradoxical status of

gladiators in imperial Rome; Greek conceptions of the 

grotesque; and ideas of death, commemoration, and

the afterlife.

CLAS 361 (1, 2, or 3): Special Study

Prerequisites: 100-level CLAS course and permission

of the instructor. The study of an intermediate level

topic by an individual student or by a small group

of students under the immediate supervision of a

faculty member.

CLAS 377 (1, 2, or 3): Internship

Prerequisites: Three credits in CLAS and permission

of instructor, department chair, and dean. This

course is graded P/CR/NC only.

CLAS 452 (3): Senior Seminar

Prerequisite: Non-majors by permission. The 

departmental senior exercise, required of all 

classics majors and open to other qualified 

students by permission. It involves intensive 

study of an author, period, genre, or topic not 

covered, or only partially covered, by regular 

course offerings. Topics will vary from year to 

year. III.O, III.W.

CLAS 461 (1, 2, or 3): Independent Study

Prerequisites: One 100-level CLAS course, one 

200-level CLAS course, and permission of the 

instructor. Pursuit of an upper level research 

project determined in advance by the student in 

consultation with a faculty member who will act 

as the sponsor.