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Art
History 405 |
| This course will explore
the secular and religious landscapes of ancient Greece, and the climate
in which its arts and culture developed and thrived. The course will be
organized primarily around the sites in which Greeks lived and worshipped:
their cities and sanctuaries. We will start by studying the Greek polis
in theory and practice. We will examine the theories of city planning, reading
the works of philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, urban planners such
as Hippodamus of Miletus, and considering historical and social factors
such as colonization which led to the foundation of so many cities. We will
then turn to the process of building a city. We will look at both monumental
and domestic architecture, and consider not only the forms of architecture
but also the technologies of construction, patronage, use and reuse of buildings,
and the finds which are associated with such buildings which help reconstruct
their chronology and use. Finally, in the latter part of the course we will address the religious life of the ancient Greeks within this civic context. After a brief introduction to Greek religion and cult practice, we will look at various sanctuaries in the Greek world. We will consider how sanctuaries were organized, what sorts of activities went on in them, and how they were related to civic life. We will end with an examination of religious art in its sacred context. |