7TH SEMESTER

Mandatory Electives (choice of 3 out of 6)

This course offers an in-depth introduction to the archaeology of Cyprus from the island’s earliest human presence to the emergence of complex societies in the Early Iron Age. Through the study of archaeological evidence – settlements, burials, material culture, and environmental data – students will explore the major cultural developments across the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, and Early Iron Age periods. Particular attention will be paid to the island’s role as a crossroads of interaction between the Aegean, Anatolia, and the Levant, as well as to local innovations and transformations in response to shifting economic, social, and political conditions. Themes such as metallurgy, trade networks, cult practices, and the emergence of urbanism will be addressed, providing insight into both the unique trajectory of Cypriot societies and their place within the wider eastern Mediterranean world.

75701 / 10 ECTS

This course examines the funerary practices in Greece, from the protohistoric period to late antiquity (3rd c AD) in a diachronic and comparative perspective. Grave typology, placing the dead, burial offerings, grave marking, burial ritual remains, funerary iconography, funerary legislation are some of the topics examined, with special reference to case studies from Attica, Crete, Macedonia and the Peloponnese.

75810 / 10 ECTS

The course sets out to study in detail the function of myth in the context of human experience in Greek antiquity. Lectures build on information extracted from primary sources (the literary texts themselves); selected works from a variety of literary genres will be explored in translation, while particular emphasis will be paid to the poems of Hesiod and the Homeric Odyssey, the latter of which will be studied in its entirety.

75702 / 10 ECTS

The course aims to offer an introduction to the study of Greek texts written on papyrus and other writing materials, such as ostraca, fabrics, wooden tablets from the Hellenistic to the early Arabic period, and to teach the methodology of reading and editing papyri with the help of new technologies and digital tools. In addition, the course aims to familiarize the students with the basic styles of Greek writing, regarding both book hands and cursive, during the aforementioned period. By the end of the semester, the students will be acquainted with various aspects of the Eastern Mediterranean world of this period as they emerge from the study of papyri: literature, language, institutions, history, economics, religion, science, law, everyday life of people etc. Additional goals of the course include the introduction to the scholarship of the discipline of Greek Papyrology and the acquisition of substantial knowledge required for a better understanding of the papyrus texts within their historical and literary contexts.

75703 / 10 ECTS

The aim of the course is to introduce students to numismatics and their contribution to Greek history. The seminar will examine the invention of coinage in Lydia, its spread in the Greek world, the different values of a coin, the relation of coinage to legislation, the role of issuing authorities and their different types, numismatic iconography and its relation to the religious and legendary background of the issuing authority, weight standards and the reasons for their adoption and sometime change from one to another, significant changes between the Classical and the Hellenistic periods. The seminar will also describe what is numismatic/ monetary policy, as well as coinage and the economy of the Greek polis.

75817 / 10 ECTS

Historiography

This course explores the major traditions, methods, and innovations of Roman historiography from Republic to Early Empire. Through close reading of selected works by authors such as Sallust, Livy, Tacitus, and Suetonius, students will examine narrative strategies, the shaping of collective memory, the interplay between history and rhetoric, and the construction of political and moral exempla. Attention will also be given to the historiographical use of myth, ethnography, and biography, as well as the relationship between Roman historical writing and Greek models. Emphasis is placed on critical engagement with the Latin texts in the original language, philological analysis, and modern interpretative debates on the purpose and function of Roman historical writing. 

75818A / 10 ECTS

Seneca

This course offers an in-depth study of selections from Seneca’s philosophical writings within the broader context of Roman Stoicism and imperial culture. Through close reading of his dialogues, essays, and selected letters, students will explore Seneca’s reflections on ethics, psychology, time, fate, and the pursuit of wisdom. Special emphasis will be placed on the literary artistry of his prose, the tension between philosophy and politics in his role as advisor to Nero, and the reception of his thought in later philosophical and literary traditions. Students will engage with the Latin texts in the original language, develop advanced skills in interpretation and philological analysis, and assess modern scholarly debates on Seneca’s philosophy, style, and cultural significance.

75818B / 10 ECTS