CLA 230 - Cultural Crossroads in Antiquity: Egypt, Greece, and Persia (In Chicago) (1)

Focusing on the history of Egypt from the New Kingdom (ca. 1600 BCE) to the conquest of Alexander the Great (330 BCE) this course will examine the interactions between these empires, kingdoms, and city states of Egypt, Greece, and Persia. In addition to a discussion of the society, economy, and religion of Egypt, we will also examine the ways in which foreign rulers such as the Persian king Cambyses, Alexander the Great, and the Ptolemies used and manipulated ideologies and propaganda to solidify their claims to rule in Egypt, and the Egyptian responses to those foreign rulers. Other topics include contact between Greece and Persia, the Persian Wars, and the impact of the economic ties with Egypt on Greek society. Readings for the course will include Egyptian, Greek, and Persian literary and documentary sources in translation; we will also take advantage of the museum collections of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Field Museum to supplement these texts with material culture and art historical evidence. Offered every third year.
(Humanities)