Ancient Civilizations
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News and updates about the course are posted here.
Bookmark this page as your main entry point to the course website. That way, you’ll be sure to see any changes and other information I’ve posted here.
These announcements are also sent out by email to all actively enrolled students on my roster.
- If you are actively enrolled and are not receiving these emails, it may be that your email system is filtering emails from me (in which case, please whitelist me so you do receive them).
- Or, I may have the wrong email address for you. If you do not find the emails from me in your filtered emails folder, please send me an email and confirm your address so I am able to reach you with information and updates about the course.
Readings in Clouds
18 October 2026
I’ve had a couple of questions about the readings in Clouds, so I wanted to make sure everyone was clear on what’s assigned.Read more…
Current Announcements (4)RSS feed
Midterm Exam grades are posted
25 October 2026
The midterm exam grades are posted on the My Grades page. Apologies for the delay in getting these back to you. Many of you did good work, and the overall average was a recent high.
Exam Notes. Note that included in the PDF, behind the grading cover sheet, is a handout with notes on the responses for the exam. It is also posted separately on the Exams page. I did not mark up or scan the blue books.
Estimated Course Grade. At the bottom of the My Grades page, you’ll see that the midterm and all other grades to this point are included in an estimated course grade so far, based on the assignments to date. This obviously only reflects what’s been done so far.
Important note: Even if your estimated course grade is lower than you would like now, that does not mean you will not pass the course. The final exam and two essays are still ahead, which altogether are more than half your course grade, plus the remaining quizzes and responses.
Note that the final exam also counts more than the midterm, and you will have a full two hours to take it. Most people do better on the final than they do on the midterm.
If you have not submitted your Gilgamesh essay, make sure to do so, and make sure to keep up with the readings and in-class discussion for Clouds so that your second essay will be as strong as you can make it.
Welcome to Week 9!
25 October 2026
This week we’re talking about the two influential cities that emerge in the Archaic period, both with opposing and increasingly extreme ideas of what it means to be Greek. One is Sparta, a society dedicated to the art of war, and the other is Athens.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. What do you think goes into making the Spartans like this—so different, so focused on being warriors? What does being a warrior society mean to them? Why aren’t more poleis like this, especially given the other cities are so impressed by the Spartans’ dedication? What are the biggest drawbacks of the Spartan system?
How are the Athenians different, and why? What’s their vision of the ideal society? What makes the Athenian system keep changing so much, while Sparta becomes fixed in their dedication to the art of war?
Everything changes with the Persian Wars, a huge watershed for the Greeks. Even the battles of this war are remembered forever—Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis. Why do you think the Greeks were really able to defeat the vastly more powerful Persians? How do you think the war changed them? What was most remarkable to you about the Persian Wars?
Also, we enter the middle section of Clouds, where the “Socrates” character gets weirder and weirder, and Strepsiades gets more and more confused. What do you think Aristophanes is getting at here? What was he trying to show by having “Socrates” talk about the gods in this way?
Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you on Tuesday!
Quiz #5 grades and markups posted
25 October 2026
The grades and markups for Quiz #5 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
I recommend spending a moment to take a look at the Quiz Notes for this quiz, which are live on the Quiz Notes page and on the Print/PDF page, and are also included in the quiz markups.
Clouds essay page has been updated
25 October 2026
I’ve added a few new links for the suggested comparison works on the Clouds essay page. This should provide you with more options as you approach your Clouds essay.
The Ancient Texts page has been updated as well, and a new Collections section added to help you find ancient texts not listed there. This may be useful if you choose the film option for the Images essay.
Any questions, let me know!
Archive
Welcome to Week 8!
18 October 2026
This week we’ll be starting our exploration of the Greek idea, beginning with the Greek Dark Age—the period during which the Greeks recovered from the collapse of the Bronze Age and built a new civilization.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. The Greek Dark Age is frustrating and fascinating to historians of ancient Greece, because this period of rebirth, during which the foundations and chief elements of Hellas as we know it come into being, happens while the Greeks have no writing system, and so there are no literature or records until the very end—we can’t hear them creating a new Greek society.
What do you think most drove the Greeks during the Dark Age? If the communities of the Aegean were so isolated and so fiercely independent, how did they end up having so much in common? How did they end up with such a clear idea of what it meant to be Greek?
We’re also reading the first sections of Clouds. What is Strepsiades worried about at the start of the play? What impressions do you get of “Socrates” and the Thinkery? Do you get a sense of what the playwright, Aristophanes, is trying to say here?
Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you Tuesday!
Found iPad
15 October 2026
If you left your iPad after the midterm, I have it in my office (CA-292). I'll be here until 6 p.m. today (Thursday).
Gilgamesh essay grades and markups posted
13 October 2026
The grades and markups for the Gilgamesh essay are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
If you have any questions about the grades, comments, or deductions, please don’t hesitate to seek me out by email or in office hours.
Reversible deductions. Some of you may find that you received “reversible deductions” for issues relating to formatting and citations. The good news is, those are points that you can get back. Check the cover page of your markup to see if there are any check marks and points taken off next to the reversible deductions. If there are, I made notes on the cover sheet or in the essay about the issue, and included a handout with the requirements.
Please resubmit your essay to Brightspace with those problems fixed, and I’ll be in a position to reverse those deductions. Only reversible deductions can be reversed, so don’t resubmit for anything other than reversible deductions.
Missing essays. If you have not gotten your paper in, please do so as soon as you can. In terms of your course grade you’re better off with any grade, even with a lateness penalty, than a zero for the assignment. Remember also that the lateness penalty is capped at a maximum of 30 points, so turning your paper in, even very late, is better than not doing so.
Quiz #4 grades and markups posted
12 October 2026
The grades and markups for Quiz #4 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
I recommend spending a moment to take a look at the Quiz Notes for this quiz, which are live on the Quiz Notes page and on the Print/PDF page, and are also included in the quiz markups.
Welcome to Week 7!
11 October 2026
The midterm exam will be held in-person on Thursday, October 15, in our normal meeting room and class period. Please arrive on time. You will only have the normal class period (from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m.) to take the exam. Make-up exams will be arranged only in cases of documented medical/family emergency.
The review sheet (detailing content and structure) is posted on the Exams page on the course website, along with links to other resources. Make use of your notes, fellow students, quiz notes, and so on. Remember, the Videos page has videos on every subject covered in class. The midterm will cover everything in the course so far up through the meeting on Ancient Asia.
Monday classes are meeting on Tuesday, October 13. There is no meeting of Civilizations of the Ancient World on Tuesday.
Reminder: To prepare for next week, make sure you have your copy of Clouds. See the Books page on the course website for more.
See the sticky at the top of the Announcements page for more guidance on the exam. Email me with any questions, and good luck!
Quiz #3 grades and markups posted
4 October 2026
The grades and markups for Quiz #3 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
I recommend spending a moment to take a look at the Quiz Notes for this quiz, which are live on the Quiz Notes page and on the Print/PDF page, and are also included in the quiz markups.