85135 - Archaeology of Greek Cities

Learning outcomes

The course aims to investigate the peculiarities of the urban civilization of the Greek world, with particular reference to the characteristics of urban schemes, monumental apparatuses and their evolution, of the different forms of culture promoted in the contexts of the poleis from the Minoan-Mycenaean to the late Hellenism. The student faces the Greek world of his own and of the East, facing specific in-depth topics. These also concern the different aspects of figurative expressions and material culture, according to the methods developed in different historical and social contexts. The student is therefore able, at the end of the training course carried out in the course, to move critically in the problems faced, not only with useful tools for the correct understanding and elaboration of the knowledge produced in the specific field, but is also in possession of the indispensable knowledge for develop projects and conduct research in archaeological field activities.

Course contents

The program examines the birth and development of the urban model in the Greek world understood in its broadest sense. After the first examples of the Minoan and Mycenaean sphere, some of the main Greek cities will be examined: Athens, Corinth, and other examples taken from the insular world (Delos, Rhodes) and micro-Asiatic (Priene, Ephesus, Miletus).

"The archeology of the city" will be declined in all its aspects and from all points of view, from urban planning to architecture, from the productive aspects to the artistic ones, from the management of the chora to the cd. "archeology of death".

Readings/Bibliography

Given the "seminar" nature of the course the frequency of lessons is strongly recommended.

Attending students are required - in addition to the study of frontal lecture notes - to prepare at least one volume chosen from the following (further bibliographical indications will be provided during the lessons):

- E. GRECO, M. TORELLI, Storia dell'urbanistica. Il modo greco, Bari 1983

- E. GRECO (a cura di), Topografia di Atene. Sviluppo urbano dalle origini al III secolo d.C., voll. 1-5, Paestum 2010-2015

- E. LIPPOLIS, G. ROCCO, M. LIVADIOTTI, Architettura greca: storia e monumenti del mondo della polis dalle origini al V secolo, Bruno Mondadori 2007

- M.C. MONACO, Ergasteria. Impianti artigianali ceramici ad Atene e in Attica, Roma 2000

- B. d’AGOSTINO, La necropoli e i rituali della morte, in S. Settis (ed.), I Greci. Storia, cultura, arte, società, 2. Una storia greca, 1. Formazione, Torino 1996, pp. 435-470, to read together with M. S. MIRTO, La morte nel mondo greco, Roma 2007

- Ploutos e Polis. Aspetti del rapporto tra economia e politica nel mondo greco (Atti dell'Incontro Internazionale di Studi, Roma 20-22 maggio 2013), Roma 2016

- E. GRECO, Ippodamo di Mileto. Immaginario sociale e pianificazione urbana nella Grecia classica, Paestum 2018

- M. MARI, L'età ellenistica. Società, politica, cultura, Roma 2020

 

Non-attending students are required to prepare at least two volumes selected from the list mentioned above (obviously it is possible to propose alternative volumes to those indicated). Non-attending students will also have to present a study (written or oral) on a Greek city of their choice (also not included in those discussed in class), to be discussed during the final exam.

 

 

Teaching methods

Given the particular setting of the course all students are invited to attend the lessons, which will have as much as possible a "seminar" cut, with active participation in the presentation of the study themes.

Students who could not attend the lectures will have to study a manual chosen from those listed under "texts / bibliography", together with a further reading, to be chosen from those recommended in the previous section.

Anyone who has particular interests (or needs) can contact the teacher to define any alternative programs.

Assessment methods

The learning assessment will take place through individual interviews. The student will have to prove that he has the basic knowledge of Greek urban planning. On the basis of the lessons followed, the student must be able to correctly contextualise the documented sources submitted (archaeological, epigraphic, iconographic), with specific attention to the chronological aspects. He will also have to show that he is able to connect the archaeological data with the historical and artistic-historical repercussions. The verification will also involve an accurate query on all the texts indicated in the bibliographic program.

Non-attending students, given the stated educational objectives, will also require a specific study of the bibliographic material appropriately assigned by the teacher to supplement the missed class attendance.

Teaching tools

The lessons will be supported by the projection of images that, at the end of the lessons, will be provided to the student.

Office hours

See the website of Giuseppe Lepore