Ancient-Greek contributions to the development and advancement of democracy, drama, philosophy, historiography, biology, medicine, astronomy, architecture — among other elements of culture — are common knowledge. Less well known is the ancient Greek role in the evolution of the novel and other forms of imaginative prose fiction in half-millennium from the first century bce to the fourth century ce. 

Early novels are mainly romances in which love conquers all — but only after the lovers endure excruciating dislocations and twists of fate — captivity, slavery, torture, live burial, attempted suicide, crucifixion. Pirates and brigands operate virtually unchecked; government is non-existent, ineffective, or part of the problem. These narratives span a wide geographic range, from Nubia (ancient Aethiopia) and Egypt to the Levant (Phoenicia and Syria), Anatolia, and the Near East, and across to Greece, Italy, and Sicily. Employing tropes of tragedy, new comedy, pastoral, tales of physical transformation (metamorphosis), and historical fiction (including science fiction), these works are often imbued with a unique religiosity focused on the Egyptian goddess Isis.

We will read six works in English translation: four romances, a novella of a man’s unfortunate transformation into an ass (he had wanted to become a bird) and his crazy misadventures, and a fantasy travelogue of excursions to such places as the moon and the Islands of the Blessed in the Underworld. 

This course has no prerequisites and assumes no prior knowledge of the subject.

The UMBC Ancient Studies Department will conduct its annual study tour in Turkey, March 14-23, 2025. The cost of $3,500 covers all air and land travel, twin-share accommodation for eight nights at four-star hotels, eight buffet breakfasts, two dinners, two lunches, and entrance to all archaeological sites and museums on the itinerary. A single room is available at an additional cost of $482. ANCS majors and minors, UMBC students, faculty, staff, alumni, and their friends and family are invited to join us. 

You can download a registration form from the department website (https://ancientstudies.umbc.edu). Please return this fillable form to Lydia DeRidder (lderidde@umbc.edu) by Oct.4, 2024. An initial deposit of $150 is due Oct. 4, 2024. Ancient Studies majors and minors can also download applications for travel subsidies from the department website. Please return completed subsidy forms to Dr. David Rosenbloom (dsrose@umbc.edu) by Sept. 27, 2024.

The tour begins with a two-night stay in Istanbul, followed one-night in Çanakkale (Troy), three nights in Kuşadasi, and two nights in Ankara, before returning to Istanbul for the flight home. In Istanbul, we will visit the Hippodrome of Constantine, Aghia Sophia, the Archaeological Museum, Topkapı Palace, and the Blue Mosque. Next, we travel to the archaeological site and museum of Troy en route to Kuşadası, the base of operations for trips to Ephesos, Priene, Miletos, and Didyma. We spend the last two days and nights in Ankara, visiting the magnificent Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, and three Hittite sites, the fortified capital Hattusa, the necropolis at Alaca Höyük, and the mysterious sanctuary and rock reliefs at Yazılıkaya.