Greece Field School: Wisdom and Tragedy - Ancient Greek Approaches to Living with Uncertainty

Students were fully immersed in ancient Greek civilization through reading ancient Greek drama, poetry, philosophy and history while visiting related archeological sites in and around Athens. Visits in Athens included the Acropolis (home to the famous temple to Athena, the Parthenon), the Dionysian theatre (location of performances of ancient Greek drama) and museums with significant holdings of relevant artifacts such as the National Archaeological Museum and the Museum of the Acropolis.  There were numerous day trips from Athens to locations such as Mycenae and Epidaurus (to see the archaeological sites of the civilization of Homer’s epics), Thebes (the setting of Sophocles great tragic drama Antigone), Delphi (where people from around the world would come to communicate with the gods, seeking pronouncements from the oracles regarding their undertakings), Corinth (one of ancient Greece’s largest cities and sometimes enemy of Athens), and the island of Aegina (where there is an especially well-preserved temple of Athena).  The students also met with contemporary Greek scholars exemplifying the living tradition of the legacy of ancient Greece in current Greek culture.  

Field School Details

• Instructor: Dr. John Hacker-Wright, Department of Philosophy
• Offered: Summer 2023