Classical Languages & Literatures

The Department of Classical Languages and Literatures regards its principal mission as instruction of students in the languages and literatures of Ancient Greece and Rome. We believe that the study of Greek and Latin provides students with a rigorous intellectual training that is transferable to other areas of learning and life. We practice the deep study of language on texts—literary, historical and philosophical—that we admire for the directness and vigor with which they confront central issues of the human condition: love and death, freedom and tyranny, justice and injustice. A sustained confrontation with classical texts not only heightens a student’s sensitivity to literature and involves her in a valuable cultural odyssey, but also prepares her for a life of thoughtful and engaged citizenship in the world of the 21st century.

Students majoring in classics or classical studies should be able to:

• Translate with accuracy and understanding Latin and/or Greek texts from a variety of historical periods and genres.

• Appreciate literary texts (epic, tragedy, elegy, oratory, history or philosophy) in relation to their historical frameworks, both diachronic (texts in dialogue with one another across a literary tradition) and synchronic (texts responding to specific historical conditions).

• Have a working knowledge of the basic tools and resources, both print and electronic, for conducting research about ancient Greek and Roman culture.

• Write clear, cogent interpretive arguments that demonstrate an ability to evaluate and engage critically with both primary sources and secondary literature.

• Communicate ideas clearly and effectively in oral argument.

• Develop an historical awareness of the enduring influence of the classics in the arts and culture of subsequent periods up to the present day.

The Department of Classical Languages and Literatures currently offers four majors: classics, classical studies, Greek and Latin.

Classics

Advisers: Members of the department

Basis: Greek 100y and Latin 100y

Requirements: Nine semester courses in the languages of which six must be at or above the intermediate level and including not fewer than two in each language. One classics-in-translation course may be substituted for one language course at the discretion of the student and with the approval of the adviser.

Classical Studies

Advisers: Members of the department

Basis: Greek 100y and Latin 100y

Requirements: Nine semester courses. Four must be chosen from GRK and/or LAT, and at least two of these must be at or above the intermediate level. At least two courses must be chosen from classics-in-translation (CLS), and at least two must be chosen from archeology (ARC), art history (ARH), comparative literature (CLT), government (GOV), ancient history (HST), philosophy (PHI) and/or religion (REL), in accordance with the interests of the student and in consultation with the adviser. With the approval of the adviser, courses in other departments and programs may count toward the major.

Greek

Advisers: Members of the department

Basis: Greek 100y

Requirements: Nine semester courses in the language, of which six must be at or above the intermediate level. One classics-in-translation course may be substituted for one language course at the discretion of the student and with the approval of the adviser.

Latin

Advisers: Members of the department

Basis: Latin 100y

Requirements: Nine semester courses in the language, of which six must be at or above the intermediate level. One classics-in-translation course may be substituted for one language course at the discretion of the student and with the approval of the adviser.

Classics

Requirements: Six four-credit courses, of which at least four must be courses in the Greek or Latin languages, including no fewer than two in each language. At least two of these six must be at or above the intermediate level.

Greek

Requirements: Six four-credit courses, of which at least four must be courses in the Greek language and at least two must be at or above the intermediate level. The remaining courses may be chosen from Greek history, art, ancient philosophy, ancient political theory, ancient religion or classics in translation. At least one course must be chosen from this category.

Latin

Requirements: Six four-credit courses, of which at least four must be courses in the Latin language and at least two must be at or above the intermediate level. The remaining courses may be chosen from Roman history, art, ancient philosophy, ancient political theory, ancient religion or classics in translation. At least one course must be chosen from this category.

Honors Director: Nancy Shumate

Requirements: A 3.7 average for courses within the major through the junior year. Honors candidates will complete a yearlong, 8-credit thesis and will take an examination in the general area of the thesis.

Evaluation: In determining the final honors evaluation the department weights the thesis at 60%, grades at 30%, and the examination at 10%.

Fall 2021

GRK 100Y Elementary Greek 
A yearlong introduction to ancient Greek through the language of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the two 8th-century epics that represent the culmination of a long and rich tradition of oral poetry. The ancients regarded these poems as unparalleled masterpieces; the great tragedian Aeschylus called his own plays "crumbs from Homer's table," and both epics have endured over the millennia and are still alive and relevant. Identity, love, seduction, loyalty, the tension between individualism and community, between home and adventure -- these are some of the very human issues the Odyssey explores. Students will learn all the fundamentals of Greek vocabulary and grammar, and experience the joy of reading Homer's Odyssey in the original. Credits: 5 
Barry Spence
 
GRK 214 Greek Poetry of the Archaic Age
An exploration of the poetic masterpieces of the Archaic period. We will study some of the songs bards performed to the accompaniment of the lyre, stories of war, exile and homecoming, monsters and divinities, love and lust. Readings will be chosen from works such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days, the Homeric Hymns. {F} {L} Credits: 4
Hans Hansen

GRK 400 Special Studies 
For majors and honors students who have had four advanced courses in Greek. Admission by permission of the department. Credits: 1-4 
Members of the department

Spring 2022

GRK 100Y Elementary Greek 
A yearlong introduction to ancient Greek through the language of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the two 8th-century epics that represent the culmination of a long and rich tradition of oral poetry. The ancients regarded these poems as unparalleled masterpieces; the great tragedian Aeschylus called his own plays "crumbs from Homer's table," and both epics have endured over the millennia and are still alive and relevant. Identity, love, seduction, loyalty, the tension between individualism and community, between home and adventure -- these are some of the very human issues the Odyssey explores. Students will learn all the fundamentals of Greek vocabulary and grammar, and experience the joy of reading Homer's Odyssey in the original. Credits: 5 
Barry Spence

GRK 215 Greek Prose and Poetry of the Classical Age
An introduction to different genres of prose and poetry in the Classical period, with attention to linguistic differences over time and region. Readings will be chosen from works such as Herodotus' History of the Persian War, the poetry of Solon the wise Athenian lawmaker, the philosophical dialogues of Plato, the Athenian courtroom speeches of Lysias, the tragedies of Euripides. Prerequisite: three semesters of Greek or permission of the instructor. {F} {L} Credits: 4
Thalia A. Pandiri

GRK 400 Special Studies 
For majors and honors students who have had four advanced courses in Greek. Admission by permission of the department. Credits: 1-4 
Members of the department 
 

Fall 2021

LAT 100Y Elementary Latin 
Fundamentals of grammar, with selected readings from Latin authors in the second semester. This is a full-year course. Enrollment limited to 30. Yearlong courses cannot be divided at midyear with credit for the first semester. Credits: 5 
Rebecca Worsham 

LAT 212 Introduction to Latin Prose and Poetry 
Practice and improvement of reading skills through the study of a selection of texts in prose and verse. Systematic review of fundamentals of grammar. Prerequisite: LAT 100y, or the equivalent. {F} {L} Credits: 4 
Nancy Shumate

LAT 400 Special Studies 
For majors and honors students who have had four advanced courses in Latin. Admission by permission of the department. Credits: 1-4 
Members of the department 

Spring 2022

LAT 100Y Elementary Latin 
Fundamentals of grammar, with selected readings from Latin authors in the second semester. This is a full-year course. Enrollment limited to 30. Yearlong courses cannot be divided at midyear with credit for the first semester. Credits: 5 
Nancy Shumate

LAT 214 Introduction to Latin Literature in the Augustan Age
An introduction to the "Golden Age" of Latin literature, which flourished under Rome's first emperor. Reading and discussion of authors exemplifying a range of genres and perspectives such as Virgil, Ovid, and Horace, with attention to the political and cultural context of their work and to the relationship between literary production and the Augustan regime and its program. Practice in research skills and in reading, evaluating, and producing critical essays.  Prerequisite: LAT 212 or permission of the instructor. {F} {L} Credits: 4
Hans Hansen

LAT 330 Advanced Readings in Latin Literature I & II 
Topics course.
Authors vary from year to year, but they are generally chosen from a list that includes epic and lyric poets, historians, orators, comedians and novelists, depending on the interests and needs of the students. May be repeated for credit, provided the topic is not the same. Prerequisite: two courses at the 200-level or permission of the instructor. 
Topic: Ovid, Metamorphoses: A study of the Metamorphoses of Ovid, the bad boy of Augustan literature, with a focus on possible meanings of the idea of metamorphosis in Ovid's cultural and political milieu, and in later ones such as that of the North African writer Apuleius and his Metamorphoses.

LAT 400 Special Studies 
For majors and honors students who have had four advanced courses in Latin. Admission by permission of the department. Credits: 1-4 
Members of the department 

Although our principal focus is on work in the original languages, we are committed to bringing the classics to as many students as possible through courses in translation, both in our department and in the Program in World Literatures. We think that the classics in translation should provide as wide an audience as possible with a foundation in the Western literary tradition and, more broadly speaking, in Western intellectual history. But there is much in the classical world that is decidedly non-Western, for the ancient Mediterranean teemed with an astonishing diversity of cultures. There is no pressing contemporary issue for which the ancient world does not offer an interesting case study in cultural alternatives, and we believe that a classics department should explore issues of contemporary concern through courses in translation.

CLS 150 Roots: Greek and Latin Elements in English 
What does “hypocrisy” have to do with the ancient Greek theater? And what does “delirium” have to do with Roman agriculture? Sixty percent of all English words are derived from Greek and Latin roots, yet the history and effective use of these words is problematical for many speakers of English. This course combines hands-on study of Greek and Latin elements in English with lectures and selected primary readings that open a window onto ancient thinking about language, government, the emotions, law, medicine and education. The course is graded S/U only. One evening meeting per week. {L} Credits: 2 
Members of the department 
Normally offered in alternate years 

CLS 190 The Trojan War 
The Trojan War is the first conflict to be memorialized in Greco-Roman literature—“the war to start all wars.” For Homer and the poets who came after him it raised such questions as: What justifies going to war? What is the cost of combat and the price of glory? How does war affect men, women and children, winners and losers? We look at the “real” Troy of the archaeological record, then focus on imaginary Troy as represented by Homer, Aeschylus, Euripides, Virgil, Ovid and Seneca. WI {A} {L} Credits: 4 
Members of the department 
Normally offered in alternate years 

CLS 217 Greek Art and Archaeology 
Same as ARH 217. This course is a contextual examination of the art and architecture of Ancient Greece, from the end of the Bronze Age through the domination of Greece by Rome (ca. 1100-168 BCE) and handles an array of settlements, cemeteries, and ritual sites. It tracks the development of the Greek city-state and the increasing power of the Greeks in the Mediterranean, culminating in the major diaspora of Greek culture accompanying the campaigns of Alexander the Great and his followers. The course takes a broadly chronological approach, and the question of a unified Greek culture is stressed. Continuing archaeological work is considered. (E) {A} {H} Credits: 4 
Rebecca Worsham
Normally offered in alternate years

CLS 218 Hellenistic Art and Archaeology
We will examine the art, architecture, and material culture of the Hellenistic period, spanning the years from 323 to 31 BCE and representing one of the most exciting and dynamic eras of Greek history. Beginning with the expansionist campaign of Alexander the Great and ending with the conquests of the future emperor Augustus, it is a time of fast-paced change, experimentation, and diversity. In addition to examining the archaeology of this period, we will explore ideas about the accessibility of archaeological material and how this may be facilitated through digital collections and virtual reconstructions. {A} {H} Credits: 4
Rebecca Worsham
Offered in spring 2022

CLS 227 Classical Mythology 
The principal myths as they appear in Greek and Roman literature, seen against the background of ancient culture and religion. Focus on creation myths, the structure and function of the Olympian pantheon, the Troy cycle and artistic paradigms of the hero. Some attention to modern retellings and artistic representations of ancient myths. {A} {L} Credits: 4 
Members of the department
Normally offered in alternate years

CLS 233 Gender and Sexuality in Greco-Roman Culture 
The construction of gender, sexuality, and erotic experience is one of the major sites of difference between Greco-Roman culture and our own. What constituted a proper man and a proper woman in these ancient societies? Which sexual practices and objects of desire were socially sanctioned and which considered deviant? What ancient modes of thinking about these issues have persisted into the modern world? Attention to the status of women; the role of social class; the ways in which genre and convention shaped representation; the relationship between representation and reality. {H} {L} Credits: 4 
Members of the department
Normally offered in alternate years

CLS 237 Artifacts of Daily Life in the Ancient Mediterranean 
This course uses the artifacts of the Van Buren Antiquities Collection as a starting point for investigating the daily life of the Greek and Roman worlds. In particular, students will select and research an object or objects for which to develop an "object biography," through which the people who produced, used, and re-used these objects might be accessed. Additional attention is given to the place of objects in archaeological practice and narratives. (E) {H} {S} Credits: 4 
Rebecca Worsham
Offered in spring 2022 

CLS 260 Transformations of a Text: Shape-Shifting and the Role of Translation 
Whose work are you reading when you encounter a text in translation? How is the author’s voice modulated through the translator’s? What constitutes a “faithful” or a “good” translation? How do the translator’s language and culture, the expectations of the target audience, and the marketplace determine what gets translated and how? We consider different translations of the same text, including rogue translations, adaptations and translations into other forms (opera, musicals, film). Students produce their own translations or adaptations. No prerequisites, but students who have not taken CLT 150 are urged to enroll in that (2-credit, S/U) course concurrently. Credits: 4 
Thalia Pandiri
Offered in spring 2022

CLS 400 Special Studies 
For majors/minors and advanced students who have had three classics or other courses on the ancient world and two intermediate courses in Greek or Latin. Admission by permission of the department. Credits: 1-4 
Members of the department 
Normally offered both fall and spring semesters

Fall 2021

FYS 147 Power Lunch: The Archaeology of Feasting 
Throughout history, food and dining have formed some of the most fundamental expressions of cultural identity—in a very real sense, we are what we eat, and how we eat. This cross-cultural examination of the topic begins by exploring the various roles that feasting played in the world of the ancient Mediterranean, particularly the cultures of Greece and Rome. We then move through time to examine comparative material from contemporary societies. How does food define and create culture? In what ways does dining express or reinforce inequalities? These and other questions are tackled through the use of primary literature, anthropological studies, and archaeological material, along with hands-on approaches. Enrollment limited to 16 first-year students. (E) WI {H} {S} Credits: 4 
Rebecca Worsham

WLT 202 Western Classics in Translation, from Homer to Dante 
Same as ENG 202. Texts include The Iliad; tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides; Plato’s Symposium; Virgil’s Aeneid; Dante’s Divine Comedy. Lecture and discussion. WLT 202/ENG 202, like WLT 203/ENG 203, is among the courses from which comparative literature majors choose two as the basis of the major. Students interested in comparative literature and/or the foundations of Western literature and wanting a writing-intensive course should take 202 or 203 or both. WI {L} Credits: 4 
Nancy J. Shumate

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Recently Offered Courses

ARH 212 Ancient Cities and Sanctuaries                                                                                                                                               This course explores many different aspects of life in the cities and sanctuaries of the ancient Near East, Egypt, Greece, Etruria and Rome. Recurrent themes include urbanism, landscapes and patterns of worship, including initiation, sacrifice and pilgrimage. We probe how modern notions of the secular and the sacred influence interpretation and how sometimes the seemingly most anomalous features of the worship of Isis or of the juxtaposition of commercial and domestic space within a city can potentially prove to be the most revealing about life in another place and time. Group A, Counts for ARU {A} {H} Credits: 4 
Barbara A. Kellum

ARH 280 Swords and S(c)andals: Ancient Rome in Film/Form
Since the beginning of cinema, the decadence of the ancient Romans has been a subject of fascination. Starting with HBO's Rome (2005-2007) and Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000), we'll explore the multiple sources of the visual tropes used to construct this universe and seek to analyze it in aesthetic, historical, and ideological terms. Their twentieth-century counterparts from films of the silent era to Hollywood epics like Spartacus (1960) and Cleopatra (1963) as well as cult classics like Caligula (1979) will be scrutinized in order to gain an understanding of how the Romans functioned cinematically as cultural signs in varying historical contexts. Enrollment limited to 20. Group A, B {A} {H} Credits: 4
Barbara A. Kellum

ARH 291 Topics in Art History
The Presence of the Past: Libraries as a Building Type in the Ancient Mediterranean World 
Taking the famed third-century BCE library at Alexandria, Egypt, as its centerpiece, the course first considers precedents like the library of the Assyrian king Assurbanipal at Nineveh with its epics and omen texts on clay tablets, then turn to later extant examples like the Library of Celsus at Ephesus to discuss the development of the library as a public building type. We also compare later innovations from Labrouste’s Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève in Paris to Snøhetta’s award-winning 2002 Bibliotheca Alexandrina on the site of the ancient library, to Maya Lin’s renovation of Neilson Library (under construction), analyzing how the buildings themselves make systems of knowledge manifest. Group A, Counts for ARU {A} {H} Credits: 4 
Barbara A. Kellum

FYS 142 Reacting to the Past 
In Reacting students learn by taking on role, in elaborate games set in the past; they learn skills—speaking, writing, critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, and teamwork—in order to prevail in complicated situations. Reacting roles do not have a fixed script and outcome. While students adhere to the intellectual beliefs of the historical figures they have been assigned, they must devise their own means of expressing those ideas in papers, speeches or public presentations. Class sessions are run entirely by students; instructors guide students and grade their oral and written work. It draws students into the past, promotes engagement with big ideas, and improves intellectual and academic skills. Enrollment limited to 24 first-year students. WI {H} Credits: 5 
Joshua Birk, J. Patrick Coby

FYS 197 On Display: Museums, Collections and Exhibitions 
Why do people collect things and what do they collect? Members of this seminar explore these questions by focusing on local museums and exhibitions. From a behind-the-scenes look at the Smith College Museum of Art to an examination of hidden gems like the botanical sciences herbarium collection or that cabinet of curiosities which is Mount Holyoke’s Skinner Museum we research the histories of these collections and analyze the rationale of varying systems for ordering objects. By learning the critical skills of visual analysis and by grappling with the interpretations of art historians, anthropologists and psychologists, we attempt to come to an understanding of how knowledge is constructed in the context of display and how visual juxtapositions can generate meaning. Enrollment limited to 16 first-year students. WI Credits: 4 
Barbara A. Kellum

GOV 100 Introduction to Political Thinking 
A study of the leading ideas of the Western political tradition, focusing on such topics as justice, power, legitimacy, revolution, freedom, equality and forms of government—democracy especially. Open to all students. Entering students considering a major in government are strongly encouraged to take the course in their first year, either in the fall or the spring semester. {S} Credits: 4 
Mlada Bukovansky, Donald Baumer

GOV 261 Ancient and Medieval Political Theory
An examination of the great thinkers of the classical and (time permitting) medieval periods. Possible topics include family and the state, freedom and the gods, warfare faction, politics and philosophy, secular and religious authority, justice, citizenship, regimes and natural law. Selected authors include: Sophocles, Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Thucydides, Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle, Polybius, Cicero, Lucretius, Augustine, Aquinas and Marsilius. {S} Credits: 4
J. Patrick Coby

GOV 265 Reacting to the Past: America's Founding 
A departmental version of the historical role-playing First-Year Seminar by the same name, featuring games on the American Revolution and the Constitutional Convention. Course satisfies the department's political theory requirement and is open to all levels of students. {S} Credits: 4 
J. Patrick Coby

HST 201 (L) The Silk Road and Premodern Eurasia 
An introduction to major developments and interactions among people in Europe and Asia before modernity. The Silk Roads, long distance networks that allowed people, goods, technology, religious beliefs and other ideas to travel between China, India and Rome/Mediterranean, and the many points in between, developed against the backdrop of the rise and fall of steppe nomadic empires in Inner Asia. We examine these as interrelated phenomena that shaped Eurasian encounters to the rise of the world-conquering Mongols and the journey of Marco Polo. Topics include: horses, Silk and Steppe routes, Scythians and Huns, Han China and Rome, Byzantium, Buddhism, Christianity and other universal religions, Arabs and the rise of Islam, Turks, Mongol Empire, and medieval European trade, geography and travel. {H} Credits: 4 
Richard Lim 

HST 202 (L) Ancient Greece 
A survey of the history of the ancient Greeks during their most formative period, from the end of the Bronze Age to the end of the Classical Age. We examine the relationship between mythology, archaeology and historical memory, the evolution of the city-state, games and oracles, colonization, warfare and tyranny, city-states Sparta and Athens and their respective pursuits of social justice, wars with Persia, cultural interactions with non-Greeks, Athen’s naval empire and its invention of Democracy, family and women, and traditional religions and forms of new wisdom, and the trial and death of Socrates in 399 B.C.  {H} Credits: 4 
Richard Lim

HST 203 (L) Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World 
The career and conquests of Alexander the Great (d. 323 B.C.) wrought far-reaching consequences for many in Europe, Asia and Africa. In the ensuing Hellenistic (Greek-oriented) commonwealth that spanned the Mediterranean, Middle East, Central Asia and India, Greco-Macedonians interacted with Egyptians, Babylonians, Jews, Iranians, Indians and Romans in ways that galvanized ideas and institutions such as the classical city as ideal community, cult of diving kings and queens, “fusion” literatures, mythologies and artistic canons and also provoked nativist responses such as the Maccabean revolt. Main topics include Greeks and “barbarians,” Alexander and his legacies, Hellenism as ideal and practice, conquerors and natives, kings and cities/regions, Greek science and philosophies, old and new gods. This course provides context for understanding early Christianity, Judaism and the rise of Rome. {H} Credits: 4 
Richard Lim 

HST 206 (C) Aspects of Ancient History
Topics course
Diseases, Health and Medicine in the Ancient World: An Intellectual and Cultural History 
This course introduces students to the history of the culture and history of the ancient Mediterranean world through the lens provided by Greek and Roman medical writers. The Greek Enlightenment in the sixth century B.C. ushered in a "scientific" approach to healing that continued to evolve throughout antiquity even as traditional methods retained their importance. Specific themes highlighted in this course include interactions between traditional temple healing, the magical arts and scientific medicine; the emergence of an epidemiology based largely on environmental factors; women as health practitioners; women's bodies in ancient medical theorizing and practice; and medicine and the ancient educational system. No previous background needed and first-year students are welcome. {H} Credits: 4 
Richard Lim

PHI 124 History of Ancient and Medieval Western Philosophy
A study of Western philosophy from the early Greeks to the end of the Middle Ages, with emphasis on the pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics and Epicureans, and some of the scholastic philosophers.  {H} {M} Credits: 4
Susan Levin

PHI 242 Medical Ethics
An exploration of key issues in the area of medical ethics. Following the consideration of relevant philosophical background, topics to be addressed include patient autonomy and medical paternalism; informed consent; resource allocation and social justice; reproductive technologies and genetic screening; euthanasia and the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment; and the experimental use of human subjects. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or health studies. {S} Credits: 4
Susan Levin

PHI 304 Colloquium in Applied Ethics 
Topic: Enhancing Humans: How We Could Do It, Whether We Should 
Humans have always sought to elevate the conditions of their existence. What differentiates enhancement’s strongest proponents, so-called transhumanists, from earlier thinkers like the ancient Greeks is their belief that crossing the divide from our plane of being to a higher one is possible, even inevitable, through humans’ technological ingenuity. Given their content and implications, scrutiny of transhumanists’ views is essential. Areas this colloquium addresses include transhumanists’ and their critics’ views of human nature; the implications of existing brain science for transhumanists’ more extravagant claims; their notions of knowledge, values and education; and transhumanists’ handling of risks, including those that are potentially grave. {H} {S} Credits: 4 
Susan Levin