Empire and imperialism were constant features of the Greek world in the Classical period. We need look no further than Sparta’s exploitation of her the helots or Athens’ fifth and fourth century empires for evidence of this. But there was more to Classical Greece than Athens and Sparta. In addition to Athens and Sparta this module explores the roles that Thebes, Thessaly, Macedonia and various other Greek poleis and ethne played in shaping the political landscape of Classical Greece. Particular emphasis will be placed on the concepts of freedom, autonomy and imperialism. Through case studies of these varied and often conflicting interests you will explore conflicts such as the Persian, Peloponnesian, ‘Sacred’, and ‘Social’ wars from the perspective of various “empires” that were fighting for hegemony, political relevance, and even survival.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
research different aspects of empire and imperialism in the Classical Greek world;
analyse the available evidence and determine its contribution to our understanding of empire and imperialism in the Classical Greek world;
synthesise and evaluate themes across a wide range of diverse material;
demonstrate specialised knowledge concisely in a written form.