Studying at York
Special Topic: Archaeology and Mythology of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean - ARC00097H
- Department: Archaeology
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: H
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
Module summary
Did the Trojan war really happen? Is Romulus, the eponymous founder of Rome, a historical figure? This module is about the archaeology of the Greek and Roman world with a special focus on how mythology and objects and physical spaces have created connections between different cultures around the Mediterranean (and beyond). The module will study how this connection shaped politics, identity, and religion. It will also critically examine how both mythology as well as science and archaeology have produced knowledge about Mediterranean history.
Related modules
A directed option - students must pick a Special Topic module and have a choice of which to take
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2024-25 |
Module aims
Special Topics focus upon the archaeology of a well defined time, space or theme and the modules seek to allow students, in small groups, to focus upon primary source material and to apply to it the theoretical and thematic perspectives learned over your first and second years. The aim is to facilitate the acquisition of deeper knowledge of one aspect of the past than has been possible in more general courses.
Specifically this module aims:
- To examine the scholarly approaches to the study of Greek and Roman archaeology from a Mediterranean perspective
- To evaluate and critique the philosophy of science through studying how myth and empirical science are used as knowledge frameworks and have affected history.
- To develop research, analytical and communication skills.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- demonstrate a broad and comparative knowledge of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean in terms of geography, chronology, and archaeological remains
- critically discuss and assess the key theories, methods and debates, and their limitations
- critically evaluate primary data and evidence
- communicate an in-depth, logical and structured argument, supported by archaeological evidence
Module content
Archaeology is as much about objects as it is about stories, and this Special Topic module will have as its primary goal to understand how the combination of mythology and archaeology have affected the creation of Mediterranean history. The connection between the myth of the Trojan war in Homer’s Iliad and the Bronze Age site Hisarlik in Turkey for example, have made many scholars believe that the myth actually happened.
In the Greek and Roman worlds, the historicity of these myths were never questioned. They acted as ways to create identities, to claim land; myths were part of politics in regional dynamics, created religious rituals, and were a never-ending inspiration for artistic output. The stories of the hero Hercules for instance, brought Greek mythology to places such as Spain, Morocco, and Egypt, forging connections and creating shared identities. The Romans believed that they were descendants from a Trojan prince called Aeneas, hereby forging a deep connection between Anatolia and Italy. Both the Greek as well as the Roman myths have managed to unify but also eradicate many local mythologies in the area. Understanding the relation between myth and matter, will therefore give us a unique perspective into the ancient world, a more diverse palette of religion and myth in the Mediterranean, and will in this way add to important current debates ranging from colonialism, storytelling, to issues of identity and multivocality.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Oral presentation/seminar/exam | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Oral presentation/seminar/exam | 100 |
Module feedback
Formative: written feedback from module leaders
Summative: written feedback within the University's turnaround policy
Indicative reading
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Bernard Knapp, Peter van Dommelen 2015. The Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
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Greta Hawes. 2017. Myths on the map: the storied landscapes of ancient Greece Oxford. Oxford University Press.
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Bruce Louden. 2011. Homer’s Odyssey and the Near East. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press.