In the Classroom

HIGHLIGHTING A COURSE FROM OUR RICH CURRICULUM

HIST 309: HISTORY OF ANCIENT GREECE

BY DR. ALESSIA BERARDI

Since only a few, Heracles for example, acquire immortality in Greek myth, this desire to escape death is tragic, because the Greeks knew that it would never be fully realized, and there is no real reward even for virtuous men and women. Nevertheless, Greek culture cannot but express such a desire for immortality in beautiful poems, tragedies, monuments, and actions.

In History 309, I highlight this nobility of Greek history and culture, introducing my students to the main historical facts between 1100 and 260 BC. I underline the establishment of the polis and the desire for political freedom, the artistic and cultural creativity of the Greeks, and the continual wars and violence of that world.

Why is it important to us to listen and learn from these people so different from us? Not only because, as the ancients used to say, “history is a teacher of life”—that is true, but insufficient. Through the study of Greek history, we better learn who we are, because we also have the same desire for immortality as the ancients. Christ became man in a culturally Greek world, permeated by this desire for immortality and thirsting for the truth. By knowing how much we also desire truth and immortality, and thus bringing this ancient people close to us, we will be once more grateful for the grace that has been given to us in Christ.