Greek Culture and Civilization

The course offers a synoptic knowledge of the cultural history and its various topics. Major political events, currents of thought, and literary and artistic trends are presented in the passages from Slovene translations of historical, literary and philosophical texts.
Topics to be studied in the 1st semester:
- basic geography of mainland Greece and its colonies, and of Greek world in the Hellenistic period and under the Roman empire
- development and structure of political institutions
- military organization
- economy and trade
- religion
- literary culture and theater
- everyday life traditions (birth, marriage, death, funeral practices, cult of the dead, etc.), the culture of habitat (urban systems, public buildings, accommodations, roads, country life), and other aspects of everyday life.

Topics to be studied in the 2nd semester:
Reading and interpretation of Ancient Greek authors in Slovene translation and of brief quotes and basic terminology in Ancient Greek.
- Archaic period
- Classical period
- Hellenistic period
- Greece under the Roman empire
Passages, prepared in advance, are discussed in class, focusing on various topics: Greek conception of time and space, cult of gods, role of the individual in the Ancient Greek society, gender relations, family relations, position and role of Greek women and children, attitude towards war, relations between Greeks and so called barbarians etc.