CLASS 7743 - Archaeology of the Hellenistic Mediterranean

(crosslisted)
(also ARKEO 7743, NES 7743)

Fall. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

Prerequisite: Some previous coursework in either Classics or archaeology.

C. Barrett.

The conquests and death of Alexander served as catalysts for major cultural transformation. Throughout the Mediterranean and beyond, Greco-Macedonian dynasties came to rule over foreign populations, establishing elements of Greek culture in places as diverse as Egypt, the Near East, Central Asia, and northwestern India. The resulting cultural interactions led not only to the creation of new, hybrid practices, but also new definitions of “Hellenicity.”
This seminar will provide an in-depth exploration of the cultural and historical developments of the Hellenistic period, with a particular emphasis on settlement archaeology and material culture. Chronologically, we will cover the period from Alexander’s death in 323 BCE to the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, when Octavian defeated Cleopatra VII to conquer the last remaining Hellenistic kingdom. We will examine the interactions between Greek and local cultures throughout the Hellenistic Mediterranean, considering material culture and iconography from both elite and popular contexts. We will also examine a range of different Hellenistic settlements, including the capital cities Alexandria and Pergamon; the important trading port of Delos; the well-preserved city of Priene; the Thessalian town of New Halos; the remote Bactrian city of Ai Khanum, in what is now Afghanistan; and the Egyptian city of Thebes, a site of frequent indigenous resistance to Greco-Macedonian rule.