Course Syllabus

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CLA 3930 Crime in Ancient Athens (Spring 2023)

Death of Hipparchus at the hands of Harmodius and Aristogeiton. Syriskos Painter, Athens 475-460 BC. For Harmodius and Aristogetion, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmodius_and_Aristogeiton

Contact Dr. Wolpert

Andrew Wolpert

Andrew Wolpert

Director of UF Quest and Associate Professor of Classics 

wolpert@ufl.edu

352-273-3702

Office: 333 Tigert Hall

Office Hours: MWF Period 4

 

I am available to meet with you during my office hours either in person or by Zoom. To meet me during my office hours via Zoom, please call or email me, and I will send you a link. If you want to meet with me at another time, please email me to schedule an appointment.

 

Class Meetings

Monday, Wednesday, Friday Period 5 in 118 Matherly Hall

Course Description

The courts of ancient Athens heard cases that concerned murder, assault and battery, theft, embezzlement, insurance fraud, slander, sacrilege, impiety, prostitution, rape, adultery, conspiracy to overthrow the democracy, and many other violations of Athenian law. This course examines those violent, harmful, and dangerous actions that the Athenians considered to be especially detrimental to society and compares ancient Athenian conceptions of crime to those of modern democracies, most especially in Europe, North American, and East Asia. Particular attention will be given to the ways in which the Athenians defined, regulated, and suppressed criminal activities and what the Athenian political discourse on crime reveals about Classical Athens as well as the nature of democracy, both ancient and modern.

This course confers 3 credits for the General Education requirement in the Humanities (H) and International (N)  subject areas (see "Grade Scale" for restrictions).

Learning Outcomes

CLAS 3930: Crime in Ancient Athens accomplishes the General Education objectives of the Humanities (H) and International (N) subject areas. At the end of the course, students will be expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes in content, critical and, communication:

  • Content: Students will identify and describe Athenian norms, customs, statutes, and laws to regulate anti-social behavior (H), and they will explain how Athenian laws and regulations against anti-social behavior differ from those of modern democracies, most especially in Europe, North America, and East Asia (N). Achievement of these learning outcomes will be assessed through Take Home Exams 1-4 and the Presentation.
  • Critical Thinking: Students will evaluate and analyze Athenian conceptions and representations of crimes and criminal activity as well as interpersonal conflicts and disputes that threaten the social order (H), and they will critically assess how interpersonal conflicts in ancient Athens are similar to and differ from those in modern democracies, and what this tells us about the nature of democracy and its legal system (N). Achievement of these learning outcomes will be assessed through Take Home Exams 1-4 and the Presentation.
  • Communicate: Students will express clearly and effectively in written and oral forms how crime was regulated in ancient Athens (H). Achievement of this learning outcome will be assessed through Take Home Exams 1-4 and the Presentation.

Required Text

Wolpert, Andrew and Konstantinos Kapparis, eds., The Legal Speeches of Democratic Athens: Sources for Athenian History (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2011).

Copies of the required textbook are also on reserve in Library West and the department library in 125 Dauer Hall. All other readings are available in the weekly modules.

Course Requirements

Weekly Schedule

Part 1: Athens and Criminal Law

Analyzes the history of the Athenian democracy, its political institutions, and legal system. Students will consider what are the defining characteristics of democracies, how ancient Athens differ from modern democracies, most especially those in Europe, North America, and East Asias, and how the Athenian legal system differs from its modern counterparts.

  • Week 1: The Athenian Democracy
    • John Rothchild, "Introduction to the Athenian Democracy of the Fifth and Fourth Centuries BCE," Wayne State University Law School Legal Studies Research Paper 32.7 (2007).
  • Week 2: The Athenian Legal System
    • David Cohen, "Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law in Classical Athens," in The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek Law, edited by Michael Gagarin and David Cohen (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 211–35.
    • Virginia Hunter, "Did the Athenians Have a Word for Crime," Dike 10 (2007): 5-18.
    • Take-Home Exam 1.

Part 2: Violence

Examines why interpersonal disputes erupt into violence, the extent to which the Athenian legal system curbs conflicts or becomes a stage for elite citizens to perpetuate their feuds, whether Athenian law functions in ways comparable to modern legal systems to regulate violent behavior and actions, and the extent to which democracies, both ancient and modern, promote the rule of law.

  • Week 3: Adultery and Murder 
    • D. M. MacDowell, The Law in Classical Athens (London: Thames and London, 1978), 109–20.
    • Gabriel Herman, "Tribal and Civic Codes of Behaviour in Lysias 1," Classical Quarterly 43 (1993): 406–19.
    • Lysias 1 (Wolpert and Kapparis).
  • Week 4: Wounding 
    • Lysias 3 in Stephen C Todd, tr., Lysias (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000), 42-52.
    • W. V. Harris, "Lysias III and Athenian Beliefs about Revenge," Classical Quarterly 57 (1997): 363–66.
    • Demosthenes 54 (Wolpert and Kapparis), pages 172–86.
    • David Cohen, Law, Violence and Community in Classical Athens (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 119–42.
  • Weeks 5-6: "Hybris"
    • Demosthenes 21 (Wolpert and Kapparis), 79-136.
    • David Cohen, Law, Violence and Community in Classical Athens (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 87–118.
    • Take-Home Exam 2.

Part 3: Impiety, Sacrilege, and Conspiracy 

Explores the intersections between religion, politics, and civil war in ancient Athens. Did the Athenians seeks to regulate religious and political beliefs or did they tolerate controversial views and opinions? What lessons do the civil wars of ancient Athens provide for modern democracies? How are threats to the democracy of classical Athens similar to and different from threats to modern democracies? What causes democracies to restrict personal freedoms? What causes them to collapse or to be overthrown?

  • Week 7: The Mutilation of the Herms and Profanation of the Mysteries
    • Sarah B. Pomeroy et al., A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) 200-213.
    • Selections from Thucydides
    • Selections from Andocides 1
    • Clara Shaw, Hardy, Athens 415: The City in Crisis (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2020), Chapter 5
  • Weeks 8-9: The Thirty Tyrants of Athens 
    • Sarah B. Pomeroy et al., A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) 215–223.
    • Xenophon, Hellenica (tr. Rex Warner) II.3.1-4.41.
    • Lysias 12 (Wolpert and Kapparis)
    • Andrew Wolpert, Remembering Defeat: Civil War and Civic Memory in Ancient Athens (Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002), 29-47.
    • Andrew Wolpert, "The Violence of the Thirty," in Ancient Tyranny, edited by Sian Lewis (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University, 2006), 213–23.
  • Weeks 10-11: The Trial of Socrates
    • Plato's Apology (tr. Hope May)
    • M. F. Burnyeat, "The Impiety of Socrates," Ancient Philosophy 17 (1997): 1–12.
    • Robert Parker, Athenian Religion: A History (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1996), 199–217.
    • Take-Home Exam 3.

Part 4: Sexual Deviancy

Study of Athenian conceptions of sexuality and sexual deviancy. How are Athenians views on sexuality similar to and different from modern views? Did the Athenians attempt to regulate sexual behavior for religious, social, or political reasons? Or did they avoid regulating sexuality activity in order to protect individual freedoms? How are Athenian regulations on sexual activity different from modern regulations? How are they similar? What does the Athenian discourse on sexuality tell us about modern debates on sexual norms and mores?

  • Weeks 12: Tragic Poisoning by a Stepmother
    • Antiphon 1
    • Victoria Wohl, "A Tragic Case of Poisoning: Intention between Tragedy and Law," Transaction of the American Philological Association 140 (2010), 43–65.
  • Week 13: Prosecution of a Courtesan
    • Demosthenes 59 (Wolpert and Kapparis)
    • Debra Hamel, Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003), 117–31.
    • Allison Glazebrook, "The Making of a Prostitute: Apollodoros's Portrait of Neaira," Arethusa 38 (2005), 161-87.
  • Weeks 14-15: Male Prostitution
    • Aeschines 1 (Wolpert and Kapparis)
    • Adriaan Lanni, "The Expressive Effect of the Athenian Prostitution Laws," Classical Antiquity 29 (2010), 46–50.
    • Take-Home Exam 4.

The required readings and assignments are posted in the weekly modules.

Grade Scale

A = 100–93% B = 86-83% C = 76-73% D = 66-63%
A- = 92–90% B- = 82–80% C- = 72-70% D- = 62-60%
B+ = 89-87% C+ = 79-77% D+ = 69-67% E < 60%

Grades are rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g., 89.4% = 89% and 89.5% = 90%).

A minimum grade of C is required for major and/or general education credit. Courses intended to satisfy the general education requirement cannot be taken S-U.

For more information on UF grades and grading policies, please consult the Undergraduate Catalog.

Course Policies

Academic Honesty

UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge which states, "We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honor and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code. On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: 'On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment'.” The Honor Code specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions. Furthermore, you are obligated to report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel. If you have any questions or concerns, please consult with the instructor of this class.

Attendance

Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies: https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-regulations/attendance-policies/

A late assignment is subject to points deduction for missing the deadline and for every day that passes before the work is submitted, unless an extension has been granted in accordance with UF policies on attendance (see assignment rubrics for more information).

COVID-19

In response to COVID-19, the following recommendations are in place to maintain your learning environment, to enhance the safety of our in-classroom interactions, and to further the health and safety of ourselves, our neighbors, and our loved ones:

  • If you are not vaccinated, get vaccinated. Vaccines are readily available and have been demonstrated to be safe and effective against the COVID-19 virus. Visit one.uf for screening / testing and vaccination opportunities.
  • If you are sick, stay home. Please call your primary care provider if you are ill and need immediate care or the UF Student Health Care Center at 352-392-1161 to be evaluated.
  • As with any excused absence, you will be given a reasonable amount of time to make up missed work.

Course Accessibility

Students with disabilities who experience learning barriers and would like to request academic accommodations should connect with the Disability Resource Center by visiting https://disability.ufl.edu/students/get-started/. It is important for students to share their accommodation letter with their instructor and discuss their access needs, as early as possible in the semester.

Course Evaluations

Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students/. Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens, and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/.

In-Class Recordings

Students are allowed to record video or audio of class lectures. However, the purposes for which these recordings may be used are strictly controlled. The only allowable purposes are (1) for personal educational use, (2) in connection with a complaint to the university, or (3) as evidence in, or in preparation for, a criminal or civil proceeding. All other purposes are prohibited. Specifically, students may not publish recorded lectures without the written consent of the instructor.

A “class lecture” is an educational presentation intended to inform or teach enrolled students about a particular subject, including any instructor-led discussions that form part of the presentation, and delivered by any instructor hired or appointed by the University, or by a guest instructor, as part of a University of Florida course. A class lecture does not include lab sessions, student presentations, clinical presentations such as patient history, academic exercises involving solely student participation, assessments (quizzes, tests, exams), field trips, private conversations between students in the class or between a student and the faculty or lecturer during a class session.

Publication without permission of the instructor is prohibited. To “publish” means to share, transmit, circulate, distribute, or provide access to a recording, regardless of format or medium, to another person (or persons), including but not limited to another student within the same class section. Additionally, a recording, or transcript of a recording, is considered published if it is posted on or uploaded to, in whole or in part, any media platform, including but not limited to social media, book, magazine, newspaper, leaflet, or third party note/tutoring services. A student who publishes a recording without written consent may be subject to a civil cause of action instituted by a person injured by the publication and/or discipline under UF Regulation 4.040 Student Honor Code and Student Conduct Code.

Resource and Services

Students experiencing either health or personal problems that interfere with their general well-being are encouraged to seek assistance through the university’s health care and counseling centers. Resources are also available on campus for students who wish to explore their career options.

You can also check out the UF Resources page for the many other university resources, services, and support that are available to you.

Credits

Course Summary:

Date Details Due