DSBcA05 History of Ancient Greece I

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/2/0. 3 credit(s) (plus 3 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Michal Habaj, PhD. (lecturer)
Mgr. et Mgr. Libor Pruša (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Michal Habaj, PhD.
Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Erlebachová
Supplier department: Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
The completion of the Introduction into studies and Proseminary in the case of Ancient History students.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is:
- to make students familiar with the beginnings of ancient times in Europe, the relationships between Europe and the Near East during this era and the continuity and differences between Minoan, Mycenaean and Greek civilizations;
- to explain basic differences in the ancient history, the history of Greece in the Dark Ages and the Archaic period and its cultural contribution to the global cultural heritage;
- to illustrate in detail the origins and history of Greek poleis and their society.
Learning outcomes
The student will be able to:
- evaluate the development of ancient Greece on the basis of recent sientific data;
- elucidate the transition from the tribal society to the state (polis);
- explain the importance of Greek culture for today's world.
Syllabus
  • 1) Minoan and Mycenaean civilization: the state, society, culture. Dark Ages: basic features.
  • 2) Archaic period I: colonisation, the development of poleis, economic changes
  • 3) Archaic period II: Sparta
  • 4) Archaic period III: Athens
  • 5) Greco-Persian wars
  • 6) Pentekontaetia
  • 7) Athens of Pericles: the development of the maritime empire, democracy
  • 8) Peloponnesian war
  • 9) The hegemony of Sparta
  • 10) The period of alternating hegemonies I
  • 11) The period of alternating hegemonies II
  • 12) Magna Graecia and Sicily in the 5th and 4th c. BCE
  • 13) Basic characteristics of sources for periods under consideration
Literature
    required literature
  • BURIAN, Jan and Pavel OLIVA. Civilizace starověkého Středomoří. Vydání druhé, revidované. Praha: Arista Books, 2015, 346 stran. ISBN 9788086410746. info
  • BURIAN, Jan and Pavel OLIVA. Civilizace starověkého Středomoří. Vydání druhé, revidované. Praha: Arista Books, 2015, Strana 359. ISBN 9788086410753. info
  • HABAJ, Michal. Od Tróje k Termopylám. Príbeh archaického Grécka (From Troy to Thermopylae. Story of archaic Greece). Bratislava: Perfekt, 2019, 288 pp. ISBN 978-80-8046-946-7. info
  • HABAJ, Michal and František HŘÍBAL. Alexander Veľký (Alexander the Great). Bratislava: Perfekt, 2018, 358 pp. ISBN 978-80-8046-900-9. info
  • OLIVA, Pavel. Kolébka demokracie : dějiny a kultura klasického Řecka 5.-4. stol. př. n. l. 1. vyd. Praha: Arista, 2000, 163 s. ISBN 8086410048. info
  • OLIVA, Pavel. Zrození řecké civilizace. 1. vyd. Praha: Academia, 1976, 176 s. URL info
    recommended literature
  • HALL, Jonathan M. A History of the Archaic Greek World ca. 1200-479 BCE. Second Edition. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014.
  • The Oxford handbook of the state in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. Edited by Peter F. Bang - Walter Scheidel. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013, xii, 555. ISBN 9780195188318. info
  • SCHULZ, Raimund. Athen und Sparta. 4., durchgesehene und biblio. Darmstadt: WBG (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft), 2011, xii, 180. ISBN 9783534717996. info
  • The Oxford handbook of the Bronze age Aegean (ca. 3000-1000 BC). Edited by Eric H. Cline. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010, xxxiii, 93. ISBN 9780195365504. info
  • HRADEČNÝ, Pavel. Dějiny Řecka. 2., dopl. a rozš. vyd. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2007, 768 s. ISBN 80-7106-192-1. info
  • CASTLEDEN, Rodney. Mycenaeans. 1st pub. London: Routledge, 2005, xiv, 282. ISBN 0415363365. info
  • SHEAR, Ione Mylonas. Kingship in the Mycenaean world and its reflections in the oral tradition. Philadelphia: INSTAP Academic Press, 2004, xii, 233. ISBN 1931534128. info
  • BENGTSON, Hermann. Griechische Staatsmänner des 5. und 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. München: C.H. Beck, 1983, 325 s. ISBN 3406085091. info
  • BARTONĚK, Antonín. Zlaté Mykény. 1. vyd. Praha: Panorama, 1983, 300 s. info
  • PRESSOVÁ, L. Stará Kréta. Praha, 1978. info
  • OLIVA, Pavel. Sparta a její sociální problémy. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 1971, 339 s. info
  • ADORNO, Francesco. Klasické Atény. Edited by Etela Šimovičová, Translated by Anna Škorupová. 1. vyd. Bratislava: Tatran, 1970, 320 s. info
  • BENGTSON, H. Griechische Geschichte (von den Anfängen bis in die römische Kaiserzeit). München, 1969. info
  • BARTONĚK, Antonín. Zlatá Egeis. 1. vyd. Praha: Mladá fronta, 1969, 357 s. URL info
  • OLIVA, Pavel. Raná řecká tyrannis. Praha, 1954. info
Teaching methods
Lecture once a week, seminar once a week, in multimedia classrooms.
Assessment methods
Exam on the history of Mycaenean Greece, the Dark Ages and the Archaic period and Classical period of Greek history.
The seminary evaluation is based on active class participation and an essay.
For students, who have chosen exam as evaluation: It is only possible to register for the exam after successfully handing-in the essay!
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Information on completion of the course: Studenti Dějin starověku ukončují zkouškou. Studenti jiných oborů ukončují kolokviem.
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
Note related to how often the course is taught: dvakrát týdně (přednáška, seminář); seminář je povinný pouze pro studenty Dějin starověku.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
Teacher's information
Literature is constantly updated during the lectures.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/DSBcA05