Classics 300: Art & Archaeology of Ancient Greece

This course explores the art, architecture, and archaeology of the Greek world from the early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC) to the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC). We will examine major cultural and artistic developments across a broad geographical range of the Hellenic world, encompassing present-day Greece, Western Turkey, Italy, and Sicily. Through an in-depth study of major monuments and sanctuaries—such as the Parthenon and Acropolis, Delphi, and Olympia—alongside houses, cities, sculpture, painting, ceramics, coins, bronze objects, and minor arts, we will analyze how archaeological records and material culture reflect the broader historical, social, and religious practices of the Greek world. The course follows a chronological framework, progressing through different artistic phases of Greek history. However, there will be occasional detours that focus on specific topics and thematic case studies, such as Greek colonization, sanctuaries across different periods (for example, Delphi), or a short detour into Persian art and archaeology when we reach the early Classical period. The course will be asynchronous, but since the instructor is currently in Greece, some classes may include sections recorded on-site—such as walking through the Acropolis of Athens and exploring ancient ruins up close.