2024–2025 Fall/Winter
CLA390H5F - Topics in Greek History and Culture: Magna Graecia: Culture and Society of the Western Greeks (Instructor: M. Haase)
"Greater Greece” (Gk. Megale Hellas; Lt. Magna Graecia) is the collective name for the Greek cities of in the coastal areas of Southern Italy and Sicily, where Greek settlers began to arrive in the 8th century BCE. The course explores Greek culture and society in southern Italy and Sicily through a wide variety of literary sources, including inscriptions, coins, and literary texts, but also material culture including art and architecture. We investigate the historical, political and economic situations that led to the Greek colonization, study its process from historical and archaeological perspectives, and analyse the development and the architectural and artistic productions of several Greek apoikiai (colonies). We analyse and compare the historical narratives on the foundations offered by Greek and Roman authors, the archaeological evidence (such as urban planning, the arrangement of domestic, public and sacred spaces in the Greek cities, and the relationship between each city and its territory), and the foundation myths that legitimized their colonisation. Last but not least, we explore the relationship between South-Italian Greek and non-Greek populations, its evolution over time, and the mechanisms by which local inhabitants appropriated elements of Greek culture.
CLA395H5S - Topics in Classics – Isis and Serapis: Mystery Religions in the Ancient World (Instructor: M. Haase)
This course explores some of the most captivating and enigmatic aspects of Greek and Roman religious practice: the spread and transformation of Egyptian deities across the Mediterranean world. Beginning in the fourth century BCE, the worship of gods such as Isis, Serapis, and Osiris moved beyond Egypt’s borders, gaining followers in regions as distant as Arabia and India. What was it about these gods and their rituals that resonated with non-Egyptians? How were Egyptian religious traditions adapted to meet the needs of a wider audience?
Focusing on the rituals, iconographies, and sanctuaries of these deities, we examine the worship of Isis, Serapis, and their associated figures, including Harpocrates, Anubis, the Apis bull, and Osiris. We also compare these with other prominent mystery cults of the ancient world, such as those dedicated to Dionysus, Demeter and Kore, and Mithras. The course investigates the ecstatic and transformative rituals of these cults, from the nocturnal Mysteries at Eleusis, where initiates re-enacted Demeter’s loss and recovery of Persephone, to the wild and frenzied rites of the Bacchic cult, and the secretive, initiation-focused mysteries of Mithras, where participants explored the mysteries of the universe.
These mystery religions played a central role in the ancient Mediterranean world, though many of their practices were secretive. Through an examination of literary sources (texts, inscriptions, and papyri), as well as visual material (Greek painted pottery, Roman frescoes, gold tablets, and the remains of religious sanctuaries), students gain insight into what it was like to participate in these life-changing rituals.