McGill Classical Studies Summer Field Trip 2015: Greece
Course Instructor: Prof. Hans Beck
CLAS 348: Greek and Roman Topography
Course Requirements:
-Preparation for the trip with two seminar meetings and associated readings
-Presentation of a site selected by each student when on the ground in Greece
-Completion of a paper after returning from the trip
When it comes to Classics, Greece is where it all began. The network of densely packed cities and sanctuaries which steered the course of Greek history from its archaic origins through to the end of the Roman Imperial period and beyond have left a legacy whose importance is difficult to overstate. This year’s trip will take us to the most important sites in this network and, in the process, through the spectacular scenery that separates them. Beginning with Athens and its foremost sites and museums, we will then head to Delphi before continuing across the Isthmus of Corinth and into the Peloponnese. The following days will take us to all of the major sites on the peninsula – Corinth, Argos, Mycenae, Sparta, Pylos, and Olympia, to name only a few – and in the process we will encounter first-hand the major players in every era of Greek history. It was here, moreso than anywhere else, that the Greek tradition and all that it subsequently inspired were forged. In Greece we can see the collision of this Classical foundation with its Roman, Byzantine, Frankish, and Turkish antecedents, and experience the breadth and depth of the Greek experience. All of this, of course, is set against the stunning backdrop of modern Greece in all of its natural beauty and cultural vibrancy.
Throughout the trip we will keep a keen eye on how topography and geography influenced the development of our sites, and thus the trip will be of academic interest not only to Classicists but also students of anthropology, geography, and contemporary history.