Courses

This course explores the rise and fall of cultures and kingdoms during the Mediterranean Bronze Age (ca. 3200-1000 BC) through artistic and architectural remains. Special attention is given to the Minoans, Mycenaeans, Hittites, and Trojans, their relationship to one another, as well as to other regions of the Mediterranean (e.g., Egypt). Topics include: trade in raw materials and elite goods, the development of ceramics and sculpture, expressions of kingship, the Trojan War in myth and reality, and geo-environmental studies, such as the volcanic eruption of Thera. Attention is given to factors that contributed to widespread social and political collapse at the end of the Bronze Age.