CLAS44530: Greek Epigraphy

• None

• Students with no existing knowledge of Greek should be enrolled on CLAS40430 Ancient Greek for Research.

• To introduce students to the study of Greek epigraphy.
• To explore the origins and history of the Greek epigraphic habit, and the reasons for its varied development in different places and periods.
• To study a wide range of epigraphic texts, and to analyse both their function in their original context(s) and their utility for modern historians of the Greek world.
• To enable students to develop the specific skills required to study and (for students with sufficient knowledge of Greek) edit Greek inscriptions.
• To build students confidence in using epigraphic material in their research.

• The (approximately 100,000) extant inscriptions from the Greek world constitute a rich and exciting source of evidence for the Greek historian, as well as raising important research questions in their own right.In this module, we will explore these questions by studying a wide selection of Greek inscriptions.
• In doing so, we will be interested in, one the one hand, developing our understanding of each of these manifestations of the epigraphic habit, and, on the other, exploring the ways in which this epigraphic evidence can illuminate various aspects of Greek political, religious or cultural activity.
• This module will not only equip students with the skills needed to ask questions with and of inscribed evidence, but will also introduce them to the practical techniques of the epigrapher.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Detailed knowledge of a selection of Greek epigraphic texts.
• Knowledge of a range of current scholarship on those texts.
• An understanding of the scholarly debates surrounding the nature and function of inscribed writing in the Greek world.
• Awareness of the way(s) in which inscribed material can contribute to debates on specific questions/problems in Greek history.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Familiarity with the editorial and publishing conventions used in epigraphic scholarship.
• Familiarity with the main corpora (and related publications) of epigraphic texts.
• An ability to evaluate epigraphic publications critically.