Through a reading of the three earliest works of historiography (Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon) this course investigates the motivations, preoccupations, ambitions, and techniques driving the invention of History, as discipline and as narrative form. Students will read substantial extracts of all three works in the original Greek and gain familiarity with each author's style and idiom.

25 * 1 hour seminars as scheduled in MyCampus. This is one of the honours options in Greek and may not run every year. The options that are running this year are available on MyCampus.

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The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ Exam (2-hour duration) - 60%

■ Oral Presentation ( 10 Minutes) - 20%

■ Commentary on text passage (1,500 words) - 20%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ There are no alternatives to the exam, but extra time can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

■ Recorded Presentation or Written script of equivalent length or Power point with substantial notes as alternative to oral presentation.

■ There are no alternatives to the commentary, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

This course aims to:

■ Allow the students to study in depth the three Classical Greek authors who invented the discipline of History and the genre of historiography: Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon.

■ Give the students the opportunity to read substantial extracts of these three texts in Greek.

■ Make the students familiar with the main scholarship on these three authors and on Classical Greek historiography generally.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Translate the Greek of Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon into correct and idiomatic English, both orally and in writing.

■ Relate the three texts to their historical and intellectual context.

■ Summarize and engage critically with the main scholarly debates about the three texts and about Classical Greek historiography more generally.

■ Interpret each of the three works both on its own and as part of a tradition.

■ Formulate their own analysis of each of the three texts and argue it coherently and persuasively both orally and in writing.