LFU:online

Critical assessment of different kinds of sources that inform historical reconstructions; writing of an essay; development of analytical perspectives and own critical points of view.

When the 2018 Winter Olympics have drawn to a close, we want to focus on the ancient site of Olympia. The sanctuary and its cults, known and respected in the entire Greek world, as well as its festival and athletic contests every four years made Olympia a focal point of religious, social, and political life in Archaic and Classical Greece. Surrounded by an impressive architectural ensemble, supraregional crowds of pilgrims and attenders communicated not only with supernatural beings, but also with each other; donators honored the gods via votive offerings, but presented themselves as pious, powerful, and victorious at the same time, competing against each other; states found a neutral, but eminently political zone for treaties. Based on literary, epigraphic, and archaeological sources, we will trace the emergence of Olympia and explore the potentials as well as the limitations of the extant source material. Moreover, we will discuss key literature.

Combination of lecture, reading tasks, and exercises.

Evaluation of exercises and participation in discussions, reading tasks and final essay.

Literature will be announced in class.

Online-enrollment required.