CLS 158 - The Ancient “Other”: Greeks, Romans, and Barbarians

Course Units: 1

(Fall; Miller) Investigates the concept of the barbarian in ancient Greek and Roman culture, how the image of the barbarian was “constructed” by the Greeks and Romans and in turn defined their identity. The course will look at depictions both literary and visual of the peoples living on the edges of the Greco-Roman world and discuss the ways in which the barbarian came to invert, reflect, and criticize the Greeks and Romans themselves. Readings in English translation from historians, geographers, poets, philosophers, ancient novelists, and medical writers. CC: LCC, HUM