107-116 Legacy of Greece and Rome

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Usually 12.5 points of First Year Art History or Classics and Archaeology.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

This subject examines the achievements of the Classical world of Greece and Rome. It shows how, although the western Roman empire collapsed in the course of the 5th century, the eastern Empire survived and flourished for another 1000 years. When the eastern Empire finally fell in 1453, Classical learning and Classical art was again flourishing in Renaissance Florence. The subject examines the period of the Enlightenment, the Romantics, the Grand Tour, the Greek revival, antiquarianism, archaeology and museums, myth and popular culture. Students should complete the subject with an understanding of the ways in which Greek and Roman civilization influenced western art, architecture, and society up to the present day.

Assessment

An essay, a visual test and a take-home examination totalling 4000 words.

Prescribed Texts

A subject reader will be available.

• R Weiss, The Renaissance Discovery of Classical Antiquity. Oxford 1996.