8TH SEMESTER

Mandatory Electives (choice of 3 out of 6)

This course explores the archaeology of Cyprus from the Early Iron Age through to the end of the Hellenistic period, a time of significant cultural, political, and artistic change. Drawing on archaeological, architectural, and epigraphic evidence, the course examines how Cypriot society responded to external influences – Phoenician, Assyrian, Egyptian, Persian, Greek, and Roman – while also maintaining distinct local traditions. Topics include the development of city-kingdoms, religious and funerary practices, the impact of Hellenisation, and the island’s shifting political status within wider imperial networks. Special attention is given to the ways in which material culture reflects changing identities, economic structures, and social organisation in this dynamic period of Mediterranean history.

75814 / 10 ECTS

This course covers the cultural and political history of Ancient Rome, starting from the rise of Augustus, focusing on the rule of emperors in the 1st and 2nd century CE; and ending with the crisis of the 3rd century CE and the reign of Constantine. Central topics will be the study of the principate, the stabilization of the Pax Romana and the Romanization of Europe, the arrival and rise of Christianity and the transformation of the Empire as a result, the long afterlife of the Roman commonwealth in the East following its fragmentation of the West in the 6^th century. Special emphasis will be paid to Rome’s imperial interactions with foreign cultures which helped shape “Roman” identity, while the last lectures will be devoted to the cultural legacy of Rome up to the present day. The history of the empire will be illustrated through readings that include the works of Tacitus and Ammianus Marcellinus, the philosophical treatises of Seneca, the Satires of Juvenal, Apuleius’ Metamorphoses and Augustine’s Confessions.

75805 / 10 ECTS

The course will focus on Plato's Theory of Ideas and Aristotle's Metaphysics. With regard to the former, the relation to the Athenian polis and the establishment of philosophy within it will be shown, particularly in relation to Socrates, Plato's philosophical initiator together with the latter's polemics against the Sophists; the overcoming of Socratic elenchus towards an elaborate metaphysical theory and the Platonic rejection of Sophistic phenomenalism and moral relativism will therefore be studied. Plato's position towards aesthetic productions will be also examined. In a second time, the Aristotelian Metaphysics will be presented, first as a General Ontology that attempts to define each being and then, as the elaboration of a First Philosophy that examines the primary beings, those that occupy a paradigmatic position in relation to the rest. Next, Aristotle's famous turn to empirical studies and his establishment of the autonomous sciences will be analyzed. Throughout the course, special attention will be paid to the practices of the institution of philosophical discourse in Ancient Greece.

75802 / 10 ECTS

The leading learning outcome of the course is the students’ introduction to the study of the work of the leading representative of 4th century historiography, the Athenian historian Xenophon, both in the original and in English translation. Secondly, the course will focus on those works of Xenophon that discuss in particular the most important political and military events at the turn of the 5th and the beginning of the 4th century, that led to the decline of the polis-state, and the fall of the Athenian hegemony (Hellenica, Anabasis). The students will learn to translate the original Greek with the assistance of their dictionary and discuss various aspects of Xenophon’s prose (grammar and syntax, structure, language and style, society and politics, the influence of Thucydides etc.).

75803 / 10 ECTS

The course is part of a series of specialized, advanced elective courses offered to the students in their final semester. This is an advanced Greek literature course which explores the two later eras of Greek literature, Hellenistic literature and Imperial literature. The two eras spread across a period of nearly eight centuries, from the late fourth century BCE to the fourth century CE (and even later for some critics). The leading learning goal of this course is to offer an in-depth exploration of the rich literary production of the Hellenistic and Imperial periods, examining texts of poetry and prose alike, including historiography, philosophical prose, and scholarly prose. Additionally, the students will be instructed how to work independently on special research topics drawn from the subjects analysed in the course and compose substantial research papers.

75818 / 10 ECTS

This course offers an in-depth study of Vergil’s Aeneid, focusing on its literary artistry, philosophical depth, and cultural impact. Through close reading of the Latin text, students will explore themes of empire and identity, heroism and violence, fate and free will, and the negotiation between myth and history. Attention will be given to Vergil’s intertextual dialogue with Homeric epic, his engagement with Roman political and moral ideals, and the poem’s reception in antiquity and beyond. The course emphasizes philological precision, advanced literary analysis, and critical engagement with major scholarly interpretations of the Aeneid as both a national epic and a work of profound ethical reflection.

75819 / 10 ECTS