AN4146 The Supremacy of Greece: Athens, Sparta and Thebes 479-366 BCE

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 1

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

TBC

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

Module coordinator

Dr S Lewis

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

Module Staff

Dr S Lewis

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

Module description

Between 479 and 366 BCE Athens, Sparta and later Thebes and Thessaly contested the rule of Greece through imperial expansion and ideological dominance, leading to both constant warfare as the states struggled for power, and huge progress in philosophy and the arts brought about by the force of competition. This module studies the fifth- and fourth-century empires of Athens and Sparta and their effects on the Greek world at large. The period is exceptionally rich in sources - the histories of Thucydides and Xenophon, Athenian tragedy and comedy, inscriptions, coinage and art - and the module uses these to investigate themes such as political development and dissent, the relations between Greeks and outsiders, and the expression of ideological dominance.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

AS STATED IN THE SCHOOL OF CLASSICS UNDERGRADUATE HANDBOOK

Assessment pattern

3-hour Written Examination = 50%, Coursework = 50%

Re-assessment

Examination = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

2 hours of seminars per week.

Scheduled learning hours

20

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

280

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Identify and analyse the major events of Greek history from 479 to 338 BC, and significant aspects of Greek interaction with their neighbouring states.
  • Analyse and discuss the responses of ancient historians to the events of their own times and the construction of early historical models.
  • Evaluate and critique modern theories of the historical development of classical Greece.
  • Apply appropriate methods for the critical evaluation of evidence for ancient Greek political cultures, archaeological, literary and artistic.
  • Formulate sophisticated arguments about the development of classical culture and politics, supported by detailed case-studies.