The Benefits of studying this subject: Develop your analytical and critical thinking skills. • Acquire the confidence to handle a variety of research material and primary sources in building up a picture of the life and thought in the world of the Greeks and Romans. • Improve your written and oral communication abilities. • Deepen your understanding of current affairs. • Gain an appreciation of the role of literature, myth and history in civilization.
Topic 1
The major aim of this topic is a study of the character and achievements of Alexander as portrayed by his biographers. The topic will give an appreciation of the Greek encounter with the Persian Empire, the nature of Macedonian society and war machine. It will also study the impact of Alexander’s empire.
Topic 2
The aim in this topic is to gain an appreciation of the achievement of the major Greek dramatists. Students will acquire an appreciation of the role of drama in Athenian society and the role of the poet in Athens. The reliance on Greek myth and legend, the conditions of performance; the Greek concept of the tragic hero; the function of the chorus; the deus ex machina and the role of the comic playwright in society will also be studied.
Ancient Epic
The great foundational epics, Homer’s Odyssey and the Aeneid of Virgil form the core of the topic. The major characters and their world and the societies out of which the epics arose will be studied. The voyages of Odysseus and Aeneas will be compared and Virgil’s motives for writing the Aeneid will be treated. The ancient Irish epic poem “The Tain” will be studied for comparative purposes.
Topic 4
The aim of this topic is to carry out an examination of the Roman achievement in building, engineering, art, sculpture and mosaic.
