Subject Course Number Long Course Title Description
CLAS 100 Beginning Latin An introductory course for both those with no background in Latin and those who seek a better understanding of the forms and basic syntax of the language.
CLAS 110 Intermediate Latin A continuation of Classics 100 with readings to develop experience with connected literary discourse. Selections include classical and post-classical prose and poetry.
CLAS 125 Intensive Elementary Greek An accelerated introductory course emphasizing the basic systematic structure of Greek. Classics 125 and 225 provide students with the ability to read both classical and New Testament Greek.
CLAS 150 Survey of Greek History A study of ancient Greek history from the Bronze Age to 146 B.C. Emphasis on the rise and fall of the Greek city-state as a political, societal, and cultural model. Readings include the historians Herodotus and Thucydides.
CLAS 160 Survey of Roman History A study of the history of Rome from its origins through the Republic and Empire to 410 A.D. Emphasis on political and cultural developments and the acquisition of empire. Readings may include Livy, Tacitus, Suetonius, and the Historia Augusta.
CLAS 190 Tutorial Studies in Classics Study of Greek, Latin, ancient history, classical civilization, and/or linguistics, arranged and carried out in cooperation with an instructor.
CLAS 199 Independent Study in Classics Independent study of Greek, Latin, ancient history, classical civilization, and/or linguistics, arranged in consultation with the department.
CLAS 225 Intermediate Greek Reading A continuation of Classics 125, conducted at a similar pace. Readings from a variety of texts. Successful completion fulfills Lawrence’s foreign language requirement.
CLAS 230 Introduction to Latin Literature An introduction to the reading and translation of extended passages of Latin literature. Texts to be studied include works of poetry and prose from the late Republic and early Empire. Successful completion satisfies Lawrence's foreign language requirement.
CLAS 235 Ancient Philosphy after Aristotle A study of three Greek philosophical schools whose world-views were fundamental in the intellectual culture of ancient Rome: the Epicureans, the Stoics, and the Academics. Readings are in English translation and include Lucretius, Cicero, Seneca, Epictetus, and Augustine.
CLAS 250 Classical Mythology An examination of myths, legends, and folk tales selected from Greek and Roman literature and emphasizing differences in species (human/animal), gender (male/female), and nationality (Greek or Roman/barbarian).
CLAS 260 Classical Literature in Translation A study of several specific literary texts selected from the corpus of ancient Greek and Latin prose and poetry, read in English translation. Selections vary year to year.
CLAS 270 Athletes and Heroes in Ancient Greece A study of the “agonal drive,” the competitive spirit that dominated ancient Greek culture and civilization. Emphasis on the Olympic Games and the Athenian dramatic competitions at the Festival of Dionysus.
CLAS 280 Warfare in Classical Antiquity A study of the practice of warfare in classical antiquity from Homeric Greece to the Roman Empire. Topics to be considered include: Homer's Iliad and the warrior ideal, the political implications of hoplite and trireme warfare, the Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian War, the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar, the organization and tactics of the Roman legion, and Roman frontier policy. Emphasis on the close interaction of military, political, and cultural developments in Greek and Roman history.
CLAS 300 Periclean Athens A study of the history of Athens from the end of the Persian Wars to the execution of Socrates (479 TO 399 B.C.). A wide range of material and topics will be considered: social and political developments, warfare, empire, diplomacy, intellectual and cultural life. Emphasis on the revolution in ideas and visions of humanity that defined the golden age of classical Greece.
CLAS 310 Augustan Rome An introduction to ancient Rome and Roman civilization, focusing on the Age of Augustus in all its aspects: art, literature, politics, empire, law, entertainment, and society. Emphasis on the political and cultural changes that took place during this revolutionary period.
CLAS 320 Slaves and Barbarians in Greece and Rome An examination of the cultural role of slaves and barbarians in the societies of ancient Greece and Rome. Topics to be considered include: representations in literature and art; legal and social status; and issues of labor, war, and trade. Emphasis on questions of power, identity, and assumptions of cultural superiority.
CLAS 340 Archaic and Classical Greek Art A study of Greek art and architecture to the end of the fourth century B.C. Topics include the great sanctuaries at Olympia, Delphi, and Athens; the development of mythological narrative in sculpture and vase painting; the political and propagandistic function of Greek art; and the beginning of portraiture.
CLAS 345 From Alexander to Kleopatra: Art of the Hellenistic Age A study of Greek and Greek-influenced art from the time of Alexander the Great to the Roman conquest of Egypt in 31 B.C. Topics include portraiture and the royal iconography of the Hellenistic rulers, the development of regional styles in sculpture, and the influence of the Romans as patrons.
CLAS 350 Roman Art A study of the art and architecture of the Etruscans and the Romans to the end of the Roman empire. Topics include the funerary arts of the Etruscans, the art and archaeology of Pompeii and Herculaneum, developments in imperial portraiture and historical relief, technological innovations in architecture, and the beginnings of Christian art.
CLAS 355 Women in Classical Antiquity This course examines the roles of women in ancient Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman societies, using historical, literary, art historical, and archaeological sources. Topics will include these cultures’ constructions of gender and the ways in which they affected the relationship of women (and men) to social, religious, political, economic, and legal institutions.
CLAS 365 Archaeology of the Prehistoric Aegean A study of archaeological investigations in the Aegean region — Greece, Crete, the Cycladic Islands, and western Turkey. Emphasis on the evidence of cultural development from Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers and herders through the development of the Bronze Age “palace” civilizations of the Minoans and Mycenaeans.
CLAS 389 Topics in Classics This course examines specific topics in non-literary Greek and Latin texts that augment and enhance our understanding and appreciation of classical antiquity. Texts to be studied may include: the Latin Vulgate text of the New Testament; Roman Imperial inscriptions; Donatus and Priscian on the teaching of Latin in the Middle Ages; Homeric scholia.
CLAS 390 Tutorial Studies in Classics Study of Greek, Latin, ancient history, classical civilization, and/or linguistics, arranged and carried out in cooperation with an instructor.
CLAS 399 Independent Study in Classics Independent study of Greek, Latin, ancient history, classical civilization, and/or linguistics, arranged in consultation with the department.
CLAS 400 Roman Comedy Close reading of two plays by Plautus and/or Terence, selected from the following: Amphitryo, Casina, Menaechmi, Rudens, Andria, Eunuch, Phormio, and Adelphoe.
CLAS 405 Mediaeval Latin Reading selections include both prose and poetry, emphasize ecclesiastical and intellectual history, and document continuity and change within the Latin language.
CLAS 410 Ovid A study of Ovid’s poetics as represented in a book of the Metamorphoses or the Ars Amatoria.
CLAS 415 Roman Historians A study of selections from several Roman historians, chosen to emphasize specific historical events and persons depicted on Roman coins in the university’s Ottilia Buerger Collection of Ancient and Byzantine Coins.
CLAS 420 Latin Popular Literature Readings vary from year to year; past texts have included Augustine’s Confessions and the Cena Trimalchionis of Petronius.
CLAS 425 Horace and Catullus Careful reading and concentrated study of selected Horatian odes and Catullan lyrics.
CLAS 435 Cicero Close reading of a selection from the works of Cicero. Examples include Pro Caelio, Pro Archia, and the Catilinarian Orations.
CLAS 450 New Testament Greek Careful reading of the Gospel of John and parallel passages in other Gospels, with special attention to variant manuscript readings.
CLAS 455 Homer Readings from the Iliad and/or Odyssey.
CLAS 460 Plato Close reading of one dialogue in Greek, such as the Meno, Symposium, or Crito, and of others in translation.
CLAS 465 Greek Drama A study of selected dramas such as Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, the Agamemnon and Antigone of Sophocles, and Euripides’ Bacchae and Medea.
CLAS 480 Greek Historians Close reading of extended passages from several Greek historians, including Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon. Historical as well as literary and stylistic issues will be considered.
CLAS 500 Medical Language: Origins and Etymologies An introduction to the origins of medical arts and medical vocabulary in classical antiquity and to the etymological principles governing the history and derivation of medical terminology. Emphasis on specific episodes in the history of medicine and on the Greek and Latin linguistic elements in medical discourse.
CLAS 510 The Origins of War A study of the concerns that lead states to war, through analysis of the strategic and diplomatic crises that precipitated two great historical conflicts: the Peloponnesian War in 431 B.C. and the First World War in 1914. Students will regard themselves as diplomats assigned to report on the developing situations.
CLAS 520 The Romance Languages and Their Histories An introduction to the development of Romance languages from Latin. Emphasis on a comparative study of the structures of the modern Romance languages. Taught in English.
CLAS 540 Topics in Ancient Art An examination of a particular topic in ancient art history. Students are expected to carry out independent research. The topic will change periodically. Course may be repeated with the consent of the instructor.


Topic for Fall Term 2008: Coins from the Ottilia Buerger Collection
Students in this course will research a selection of the unpublished Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman coins from the collection in preparation for an exhibition of them in the Wriston Galleries in Winter Term 2009.
CLAS 590 Tutorial Studies in Classics Advanced study of Greek, Latin, ancient history, classical civilization, and/or linguistics, arranged and carried out in cooperation with an instructor.
CLAS 599 Independent Study in Classics Advanced independent study of Greek, Latin, ancient history, classical civilization, and/or linguistics, arranged in consultation with the department.
CLAS 690 Tutorial Studies in Classics Advanced study of Greek, Latin, ancient history, classical civilization, and/or linguistics, arranged and carried out in cooperation with an instructor.
CLAS 699 Independent Study in Classics Advanced independent study of Greek, Latin, ancient history, classical civilization, and/or linguistics, arranged in consultation with the department. Students considering an honors project should register for this course, for one or more terms.