Four unforgettable weeks reinventing democracy in its famous birthplace.

"You are about to embark on an adventure. Prepare yourself for an imaginary walk from the Peiraeus to the site of the first ekklesia at the Pnyx."

So begins the pedagogical adventure set in Athens, Greece just after the expulsion of the Thirty Tyrants from Athens in 403 B.C. As a group of citizens, divided into factions, you will determine the future of Athenian democracy.

Faculty:

Photo by Nancy Evelyn

Dr. Nancy Felson, Reacting Coordinator Professor Department of Classics University of Georgia

Curriculum:

CLAS 4300/6300: Reacting to the Past, 3 credit hours

The Threshold of Democracy, Athens 403 BC begins at the moment when the Thirty Tyrants have been expelled from Athens and democracy is being restored. Students, divided into 4 factions, each with its own goals and values, convene to plot their course of action. They meet in Assembly and lawcourt to determine the future of Athens and the fate of Socrates, recreating the intellectual dynamic of one of the most formative periods in history.

CLAS 4340/6340: Ancient Athens, 3 credit hours

Students will explore the development of the Athenian polis from Solon to Socrates and beyond. They will live in the neighborhood of ancient Athens, and will visit such important sites as the Agora, Pnyx, Acropolis, the prison, and the Piraeus. They will reconstruct Athenian institutions and ideology through literary and historical records, and will reenact such festivals as the Panathenaia and the Greater Dionysia. Homeric epic, Greek tragedies and comedies, the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, and Plato’s dialogues will be central texts.