Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

Searchable Course Catalog

header image

CLAS0420A-S14

Seminar in Classical Lit
The Humanism of Herodotus

Senior Seminar: The Humanism of Herodotus
Herodotus (485-424 BC), “the Father of History,” is also regarded as the first sociologist and ethnographer. The plan and argument of his work, however, including its many fantastic stories, disclose a philosophic intention that resists easy categorization. Herodotus’ subject is the “Greek miracle”: how the tiny and fractious cities of Greece took concerted action against the overwhelming might of the Persian kings who invaded Greece in 490 and 479 BC. This unlikely triumph of political freedom and limited government over despotic empire is told against the background of the Afro-Asiatic origins of Greek civilization, which Herodotus uncovers in wide-ranging investigations of the customs and religions of Greece, Lydia, Media, Persia, Egypt, Libya, and Scythia. In this course we will pursue a close reading of Herodotus in translation; the seminar is open to all students with some previous background in Greek and/or Roman literature.
Course Reference Number (CRN):
20466
Subject Code:
CLAS
Course Number:
0420
Section Identifier:
A

Course

CLAS 0420

All Sections in Spring 2014

Spring 2014

CLAS0420A-S14 Seminar (Witkin)
CLAS0420B-S14 Seminar (Witkin)