The Greeks: Old Western Culture

This course utilizes lectures and readings from the Old Western Culture curriculum. As an integrated humanities class, it offers the student an overview of the history, theology, philosophy, poetry and art produced by the culture of the ancient Greeks. The achievements of the Greeks continue to affect our world in countless ways and form part of the background of the New Testament. Students will watch lectures by master teacher and story-teller Wes Callihan. They will read timeless texts, learn from some of the brightest minds in history, and complete assignments in a Workbook to guide them through their journey. In weekly recitations with Dr. Soderberg, students will discuss the weekly material, share insights, and pursue wisdom together.

Note: this course counts for the 8th grade “Classical” Integrated Humanities credit required by the Kepler Education Diploma Track.

Special Needs: This course is open to Spellers. “Spellers” are individuals who use a letterboard to communicate. They have apraxia, which limits their ability to speak reliably. Apraxia is common with Autism and Down Syndrome, and various other diagnoses. Frequently, people with apraxia are thought to have cognitive deficits. However, these individuals routinely demonstrate normal and higher than normal cognition once they are fluent on their letterboards. For more, see this FAQs on what this option entails for families, and how this might affect the overall class experience.

Course Objectives:

1. To gain an appreciation for the main historical figures and overall cultural framework of the ancient Greeks.
2. To become proficient in the conversational approach to learning: close readings, interpretive questions, and Socratic discussions of the texts.
3. To develop lateral thinking skills by analyzing and synthesizing themes and motifs.
4. To write persuasively about perennial human questions.
5. To learn from both the mistakes and triumphs of the past, to help us live more faithfully in the present.

Texts: (students will read all, or selections, from the following)

*Through the Old Western Culture Readers, students can easily access a print edition or e-book of the works covered in each unit. (Note: Roman Roads Media offers a special 25% discount on all Old Western Culture lectures, Workbooks, and Readers for students at Kepler Education.)

Quarter 1 - The Epics

• The Iliad & The Odyssey by Homer

Quarter 2 - Drama & Lyric

• Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers & The Eumenides by Aeschylus – Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus & Antigone by Sophocles – The Trojan Women & The Medea by Euripides – The Frogs by Aristophanes – Sappho’s Poems – Odes of Pindar * – Idylls of Theocritus by Theocritus – Works and Days by Hesiod – The Fall of Troy* by Quintus of Smyrna

Quarter 3 - The Historians (works slightly abridged)

• The Histories by Herodotus
• The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides -Anabasis (The Persian Expedition) by Xenophon

Quarter 4 - The Philosophers

• The Apology, The Crito, The Phaedo, The Phaedrus, The Republic (Book I, II, VII, VIII, IX, X) by Plato
• The Metaphysics (Book I, XII), Nicomachean Ethics (Book I, VIII), The Poetics by Aristotle

What Do We Mean by "Old Western Culture"?