AN4434 Experiencing the Gods in Ancient Greece

Academic year

2024 to 2025 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

Available to General Degree students with the permission of the Honours Adviser

Planned timetable

to be confirmed

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr R T Anderson

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Ralph Anderson

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

Religion is ubiquitous in the literary and material evidence from ancient Greece, from passing prayers to lengthy depictions in poetry and prose, and from humble votive offerings to monumental temples. Yet this abundance of evidence poses enduring challenges to modern interpretation. This module examines the religious lives of the Greeks ca. 500-300 BCE with a focus on their religious experience. What was it like to attend a festival? How did the Greeks perceive and interpret omens from their gods? What did the Greeks mean when they claimed that a god had appeared to them? How can we unearth the 'meaning' of a ritual, or understand the relationship between symbolic ritual and practical work? The answers to these questions depend heavily on the methods we use to address them, and this module will also ask searching questions about how we select and interpret the evidence in order to reconstruct ancient religious experience.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

AS STATED IN THE SCHOOL OF CLASSICS UNDERGRADUATE HANDBOOK

Assessment pattern

2 hr - Written Examination = 40%, Coursework = 60%

Re-assessment

3-hour Written Examination = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

2 hours per week