| title | Hocbigg - Classics |
|---|---|
| description | Path to a free self-taught education in Classics! |
The Classics curriculum is a complete education in Classics using online materials.
This repository is organized into three main components:
- Core Curriculum (this page): the foundational knowledge of the field;
- Advanced Topics: focused study in specific areas;
- Projects: support learning through practical application throughout the curriculum.
Process: Learners may work through the curriculum independently or collaboratively, and either sequentially or selectively.
- For simplicity, courses in the Core Curriculum are ordered according to their prerequisites.
- The Core Curriculum provides a shared foundation and is intended to be completed in full.
- Advanced Topics are optional; learners are encouraged to select one area of focus and complete all courses within that topic.
Practical work is integrated through the Projects section and may be undertaken alongside coursework.
Note: When there are courses or books that don't fit into the curriculum but are otherwise of high quality, they belong in extras/courses, extras/readings.
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Forums:
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Subreddits:
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You can also interact through GitHub issues. If there is a problem with a course, or a change needs to be made to the curriculum, this is the place to start the conversation. Read more here.
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Join our Discord server (for discussions around this and other curricula):
- How to use this curriculum
- Orientation to Classical Studies
- The Ancient Mediterranean World
- Languages of the Classical World
- Classical Literature
Classics is the interdisciplinary study of the ancient Greco-Roman world. To build a coherent foundation from absolute beginner level to advanced study, complete the core sections in the following pedagogical sequence:
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Orientation to Classical Studies Begin here to understand what Classics encompasses as a discipline, how classicists analyze disparate sources of evidence (literary texts, inscriptions, papyri, and material remains), and how knowledge of antiquity is constructed.
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The Ancient Mediterranean World Establish your contextual framework across three essential pillars:
- Historical & Geographical Foundations: Master the chronology from the Bronze Age through Late Antiquity and learn the geography of the Mediterranean basin.
- Material Culture & Classical Archaeology: Understand physical artifacts, urban landscapes, and monuments that ground ancient texts.
- Classical Mythology & Religion: Acquire literacy in the mythic cycles and religious rituals that inform all Greco-Roman literature, politics, and art.
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Languages of the Classical World Attain intermediate reading proficiency in at least one classical language (Latin or Ancient Greek).
- Beginners typically start with one language before adding the second.
- Combine inductive reading methods with systematic grammar study and reference lexicons.
- Transition to original texts using tiered intermediate readers and commentary-supported editions.
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Classical Literature Engage directly with canonical primary works. Read complete works or major selections in translation while working through key passages in the original language using commentaries.
Upon completing these core modules, you will possess the foundational knowledge of an undergraduate Classics major: chronological and geographical grounding, familiarity with material culture and mythology, intermediate competence in a classical language, and direct analytical experience with primary Greco-Roman texts.
| Subject | Resources |
|---|---|
| What is Classics? Scope and Modern Relevance | Mary Beard and John Henderson, Classics: A Very Short Introduction |
| Disciplinary Methods & Evidence (Historiography, Epigraphy, Papyrology, Transmission) | Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, and Esther Eidinow (eds.), The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4th ed.); William Allan, Classical Literature: A Very Short Introduction |
| Introduction to Evidence and Historical Analysis | Open Yale Courses: Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205, Lectures 1–2) |
| Subject | Book | Video / Digital Resource |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze Age & Ancient Near East Context | Eric H. Cline, 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed; Marc Van De Mieroop, A History of the Ancient Near East | Open Yale Courses: RLST 145 Contextual Lectures |
| Ancient Greece (Bronze Age to Hellenistic Period) | Sarah B. Pomeroy et al., Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History; Thomas R. Martin, Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times | Open Yale Courses: Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205 with Donald Kagan) |
| Ancient Rome (Regal Period to Empire) | Mary T. Boatwright et al., The Romans: From Village to Empire | MIT OpenCourseWare: 21H.132 The Ancient World: Rome |
| Historical Geography & Spatial Tools | Richard J. A. Talbert (ed.), Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World | Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire (DARE); Pleiades: Gazetteer of Ancient Places |
| Subject | Book | Video / Digital Resource |
|---|---|---|
| Greek Art & Archaeology | William R. Biers, The Archaeology of Greece: An Introduction; Ian Morris and Barry B. Powell, The Greeks: History, Culture, and Society | Perseus Digital Library: Art & Archaeology Artifact Browser |
| Roman Architecture, Urbanism & Monuments | Paul Zanker, Roman Art; Nancy H. Ramage and Andrew Ramage, Roman Art: Romulus to Constantine | Open Yale Courses: Roman Architecture (HSAR 252 with Diana E. E. Kleiner) |
| Material Epigraphy, Numismatics & Daily Life | Beryl Rawson (ed.), A Companion to Families in the Greek and Roman Worlds; John Bodel (ed.), Epigraphic Evidence: Ancient History from Inscriptions | Current Epigraphy and Open Digital Collections |
| Subject | Primary & Secondary Texts | Reference / Digital Resource |
|---|---|---|
| Greco-Roman Mythological Canon | Mark P. O. Morford, Robert J. Lenardon, and Michael Sham, Classical Mythology (Oxford University Press); Robin Hard, The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology | Perseus Digital Library: Classical Mythology and Primary Texts |
| Primary Mythological Sources | Hesiod, Theogony and Works and Days (trans. M. L. West); The Homeric Hymns (trans. Michael Crudden); Ovid, Metamorphoses (trans. A. D. Melville or Allen Mandelbaum) | Theoi Greek Mythology Project / Perseus Digital Library |
| Ancient Greek & Roman Religion | Walter Burkert, Greek Religion; J. A. North, Roman Religion | Oxford Classical Dictionary: Articles on Cult, Ritual, and Divination |
| Level | Resource |
|---|---|
| Primary Textbook (Inductive / Reading Method) | Hans H. Ørberg, Lingua Latina per se Illustrata: Pars I: Familia Romana and Pars II: Roma Aeterna |
| Primary Textbook (Grammar-Translation Alternative) | Frederic M. Wheelock and Richard A. LaFleur, Wheelock's Latin; or Andrew Keller and Stephanie Russell, Learn to Read Latin (Yale University Press) |
| Reference Grammar & Lexicon | J. B. Greenough et al., Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar (available via Perseus and DCC); Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary |
| Intermediate Readers & Student Commentaries | Dickinson College Commentaries (Latin Texts, Core Vocabulary, and Media); Geoffrey Steadman, College Latin Commentaries series |
| Digital Texts & Spoken Latin Audio | The Latin Library (Repository of Classical Latin Texts); Luke Ranieri (ScorpioMartianus Latin pronunciation tutorials) |
| Level | Resource |
|---|---|
| Primary Textbook (Reading Method) | Maurice Balme, Gilbert Lawall, and James Morwood, Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek (Books I–II); Joint Association of Classical Teachers (JACT), Reading Greek |
| Primary Textbook (Systematic Grammar Method) | Donald J. Mastronarde, Introduction to Attic Greek (University of California Press) |
| Grammar Tutorials & Audio Portal | Donald J. Mastronarde, Ancient Greek Tutorials (AtticGreek.org) |
| Reference Grammar & Lexicon | Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar (available on Perseus); H. G. Liddell and R. Scott, An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon |
| Intermediate Readers & Digital Commentaries | Dickinson College Commentaries (Greek Texts and Vocabulary); Perseus Digital Library (Greek Texts and Morphology Tools) |
| Genre | Texts & Recommended Editions |
|---|---|
| Epic & Didactic Poetry | Homer: Iliad (selections: Books 1, 6, 9, 16, 22, 24) and Odyssey (selections: Books 1, 9–12, 19, 21–23), trans. Richmond Lattimore or Emily Wilson; Hesiod: Theogony and Works and Days. Text and commentary at Perseus Digital Library: Homer and Dickinson College Commentaries |
| Tragedy | Aeschylus: Oresteia (Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides); Sophocles: Oedipus Rex and Antigone; Euripides: Medea and Bacchae. Recommended editions: Oxford World's Classics / Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics. Online at Perseus Digital Library |
| Comedy | Aristophanes: Clouds, Frogs, and Lysistrata. Recommended translations: Jeffrey Henderson (Loeb Classical Library) or Peter Meineck (Hackett). Online text at Perseus Digital Library |
| Historiography | Herodotus: Histories (selections: Book 1, Books 7–8; The Landmark Herodotus, ed. Robert B. Strassler); Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War (selections: Book 1; Book 2: Funeral Oration and Plague; Book 5: Melian Dialogue; The Landmark Thucydides). Online at Perseus Digital Library |
| Philosophy & Oratory | Plato: Apology, Crito, and Symposium (trans. Alexander Nehamas and Paul Woodruff); Lysias: Speech 1: On the Murder of Eratosthenes (canonical introductory prose text). Online text with notes at Dickinson College Commentaries and Perseus Digital Library |
| Genre | Texts & Recommended Editions |
|---|---|
| Epic Poetry | Virgil: Aeneid (core books: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12), trans. Robert Fagles, Robert Fitzgerald, or Sarah Ruden; Ovid: Metamorphoses (selections: Books 1, 8, 10). Online texts and commentaries at Perseus Digital Library: Virgil and Dickinson College Commentaries: Aeneid and Metamorphoses |
| Lyric, Elegy & Epigram | Catullus: Carmina (selections: Poems 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 51, 76, 85, 101); Horace: Odes (selections: Books 1–3); Propertius and Tibullus (elegiac selections); Martial: Epigrams (selections). Text and commentaries at Dickinson College Commentaries and The Latin Library |
| Historiography & Biography | Sallust: Bellum Catilinae; Livy: Ab Urbe Condita (Book 1: Foundation of Rome); Tacitus: Annals (selections: Books 1–4, 14–15) and Agricola; Suetonius: Life of Augustus. Text and commentaries at Perseus Digital Library and The Latin Library |
| Oratory, Rhetoric & Philosophy | Cicero: In Catilinam I, Pro Archia Poeta, and De Re Publica (Dream of Scipio); Seneca the Younger: Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (selections). Text and commentaries at Dickinson College Commentaries: Cicero and Perseus Digital Library: Cicero |