Classics

Courses in the Department of Classics cover numerous aspects of the ancient Greco-Roman world. Our courses focus on the study of Greek and Latin literary, historical, and philosophical texts, as well as evidence from material remains such as art, architecture, and the archaeological remains of daily life, as well as public and private inscriptions. Courses in the languages (Latin and Greek) are designed to provide students with a thorough introduction to the language and literature of ancient Greece and Rome. Courses taught entirely with readings in English (Classics courses) include those centered around literary genres, Greek and Roman history, and topics such as gender and archaeology. Completion of the Greek or Latin sequences, 101, 102, 103, and 204, fulfills the college language requirement.

Major Requirements – 75 Total Credits

Core Language Courses – Required 18 credits

18 credits in Greek (GRK) or 18 credits Latin (LATN) above the 102 level. Please note that 101 and 102 do NOT count toward the 30 additional credits below unless they are in a second classical language.

Classical Civilization Courses – Required 18 credits

One course from each of the three groups below.

Additional Elective Courses – Required 30 credits

Additional elective courses in the general area of Classical Civilization (CLAS), Latin (LATN), or Greek (GRK), two of which must be at the 200 level or above.

• Up to 12 of these credits may be from a related department (History, Philosophy, Art History, Archaeology, Political Science, Religion), subject to adviser approval.
• 300-level Seminar courses, if taken before the senior year, may count toward these 30 additional credits.

Senior Seminar Course – Required 6 credits

• CLAS 384: Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 385: Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World
• CLAS 386: Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 387: Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World (not offered 2026-27)

Senior Integrative Exercise – Required 3 credits

• CLAS 400: Senior Research Project

Additional Departmental Notes

The Classics Departments of Carleton College and St. Olaf College cooperate in a program under which students of either college may elect certain courses on the other campus. This option is especially appropriate for upper level language courses not offered at Carleton. Carleton students should register for St. Olaf courses through the inter-registration process.

The Minor in Archaeology will interest many students who are attracted to ancient civilization.

The Classics Department offers three Minors in addition to the Classics Major. Per the College‘s guidelines on minors, students who declare a Classics Major are not allowed also to declare a Minor in the department. For a course to count toward a minor, a grade of C- or better must be earned. These courses cannot be taken on an elective S/Cr/NC basis. The department may make exceptions if appropriate.

Minor Requirements – 42 Total Credits

The Classics Minor is intended for students who wish to gain broad exposure to the study of the ancient Mediterranean world without required coursework in Greek and/or Latin. To earn a Classics Minor students must complete 42 total credits as described below:

Classical Civilization Courses – Required 18 credits

One course from each of the three groups below.

Additional Elective Courses – Required 18 credits

Courses in the general area of Classical Civilization (CLAS); Latin (LATN) or Greek (GRK) at any level may also count toward the Classics Minor. Up to 12 of the 18 credits may be from a related department (History, Philosophy, Art History, Archaeology, Political Science, Religion), subject to department chair’s approval.

300-level Classics Seminar Course – Required 6 credits

Minor Requirements – 42 Total Credits

The Greek Minor is intended for students who wish to deepen their understanding of the language and develop a fuller context for the literature and culture of the classical period. Students wishing to earn a Greek Minor must complete 42 credits of coursework as described below.

Greek Language Courses – Required 18 credits

Courses in the Greek language (GRK) at the 200 level or above.

• GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry
• GRK 230: Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: Homer: The Odyssey (not offered 2026-27)
• GRK 255: Euripides’ Alcestis
• GRK 285: Weekly Greek

Additional Elective Courses – Required 18 credits

Courses in upper-level Greek (GRK), Latin (LATN) at any level, or Classics (CLAS). Up to 12 of the 18 credits may be from a related department (History, Philosophy, Art History, Archaeology, Political Science, Religion), subject to department chair’s approval.

• CLAS 111: Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: Myth and Reception (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 112: The Epic in Classical Antiquity: Texts, Contexts, and Intertexts (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 116: Greek Drama in Performance (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 123: Greek Archaeology and Art (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 124: Roman Archaeology and Art
• CLAS 130: The Greek and Latin Roots of English (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 135: Critiquing the Gods in Ancient Literature
• CLAS 165: Race and Ethnicity in Ancient Greece
• CLAS 200: Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: History, Landscape, and Material Culture (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 214: Gender and Sexuality in Classical Antiquity
• CLAS 226: 49 BC in Real Time: Outbreak of Roman Civil War
• CLAS 227: Athens, Sparta, and Persia
• CLAS 229: The Collapse of the Roman Republic (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 230: Hellenistic Greek History (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 240: Rome: From Village to Superpower (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 384: Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 385: Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World
• CLAS 386: Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 387: Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World (not offered 2026-27)
• GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry
• GRK 230: Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: Homer: The Odyssey (not offered 2026-27)
• GRK 255: Euripides’ Alcestis
• GRK 285: Weekly Greek
• LATN 101: Elementary Latin
• LATN 102: Intermediate Latin
• LATN 103: Introduction to Latin Prose and Poetry
• LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry
• LATN 235: The Bacchanalian Affair
• LATN 237: Amor, Furor, Ira: The Epics of Vergil and Ovid (not offered 2026-27)
• LATN 243: Medieval Latin (not offered 2026-27)
• LATN 260: Catullus and Horace: Poetry, Pleasure and Politics
• LATN 285.01: Weekly Latin (27/SP)

300-level Classics Seminar Course – Required 6 credits

• CLAS 384: Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 385: Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World
• CLAS 386: Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 387: Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World (not offered 2026-27)

Minor Requirements – 42 Total Credits

The Latin Minor is intended for students who wish to deepen their understanding of the language and develop a fuller context for the literature and culture of the classical period. Students wishing to earn a Latin Minor must complete 42 credits of coursework as described below.

Latin Language Courses – Required 18 credits

Courses in the Latin language (LATN) at the 200 level or above.

• LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry
• LATN 235: The Bacchanalian Affair
• LATN 237: Amor, Furor, Ira: The Epics of Vergil and Ovid (not offered 2026-27)
• LATN 243: Medieval Latin (not offered 2026-27)
• LATN 260: Catullus and Horace: Poetry, Pleasure and Politics
• LATN 285.01: Weekly Latin (27/SP)

Additional Elective Courses – Required 18 credits

Courses in upper-level Latin (LATN), Greek (GRK) at any level, or Classics (CLAS). Up to 12 of the 18 credits may be from a related department (History, Philosophy, Art History, Archaeology, Political Science, Religion), subject to department chair’s approval.

• CLAS 111: Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: Myth and Reception (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 112: The Epic in Classical Antiquity: Texts, Contexts, and Intertexts (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 116: Greek Drama in Performance (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 123: Greek Archaeology and Art (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 124: Roman Archaeology and Art
• CLAS 130: The Greek and Latin Roots of English (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 135: Critiquing the Gods in Ancient Literature
• CLAS 165: Race and Ethnicity in Ancient Greece
• CLAS 200: Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: History, Landscape, and Material Culture (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 214: Gender and Sexuality in Classical Antiquity
• CLAS 226: 49 BC in Real Time: Outbreak of Roman Civil War
• CLAS 227: Athens, Sparta, and Persia
• CLAS 229: The Collapse of the Roman Republic (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 230: Hellenistic Greek History (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 240: Rome: From Village to Superpower (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 384: Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 385: Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World
• CLAS 386: Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 387: Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World (not offered 2026-27)
• GRK 101: Elementary Greek
• GRK 102.01: Intermediate Greek (27/SP)
• GRK 103: Greek Prose
• GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry
• GRK 230: Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: Homer: The Odyssey (not offered 2026-27)
• GRK 255: Euripides’ Alcestis
• GRK 285: Weekly Greek
• LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry
• LATN 235: The Bacchanalian Affair
• LATN 237: Amor, Furor, Ira: The Epics of Vergil and Ovid (not offered 2026-27)
• LATN 243: Medieval Latin (not offered 2026-27)
• LATN 260: Catullus and Horace: Poetry, Pleasure and Politics
• LATN 285.01: Weekly Latin (27/SP)

300-level Classics Seminar Course – Required 6 credits

• CLAS 384: Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 385: Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World
• CLAS 386: Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife (not offered 2026-27)
• CLAS 387: Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World (not offered 2026-27)

(These courses do not presume knowledge of Greek or Latin)

• CLAS 100.01 Greek Myth in Antiquity and Today

  Entertaining, horrifying, thought-provoking – Greek myths have exercised a powerful fascination continuously from the ancient world to our own times. Recent years have seen a proliferation of modern re-tellings and adaptations of these stories: novels, television series, film, music, theater, video games, and more. This class will focus on a selection of these modern works along with some of the ancient material they are based on. We will explore what functions myth may have fulfilled for people in ancient Greek culture, as well as what meanings they can hold for us.

  • Offered: Fall 2026
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: AI/WR1, Argument & Inquiry/WR1
  • Prerequisites:

    Student is a member of the First Year First Term class level cohort. Students are only allowed to register for one A&I course at a time. If a student wishes to change the A&I course they are enrolled in they must DROP the enrolled course and then ADD the new course. Please see our Workday guides Drop or 'Late' Drop a Course and Register or Waitlist for a Course Directly from the Course Listing for more information.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Elective
  • Faculty: Clara Hardy 🏫 👤

• CLAS 111 Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: Myth and Reception

  This course aims to familiarize students with important Greek mythological stories and figures as represented in Greek literature and art. During the course students will be introduced to select methods of studying and interpreting myths and will explore how myths helped the Greeks organize their understanding of the world and approach issues and problems that affected the lives of individuals and communities. Students will study the way in which myths have been received, interpreted, re-imagined, and rendered into artwork, theatrical performances, opera, and dance pieces in modern times and will discuss their relevance today.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture program.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Literary Analysis CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective

• CLAS 112 The Epic in Classical Antiquity: Texts, Contexts, and Intertexts

  It would be difficult to overstate the importance of the early Greek epics for the classical world and the western literary tradition that emerged from that world. This course will study closely both the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as Hesiod’s Theogony, and then consider a range of works that draw upon these epics for their creator’s own purposes, including Virgil’s own epic, the Aeneid. By exploring the reception and influence of ancient epic, we will develop an appreciation for intertextuality and the dynamics of reading in general as it applies to generations of readers, including our own.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: CX, Cultural/Literature LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis WR2, Writing Rich 2
  • Tags: CL: 100 level ENGL Foreign Literature CLAS Literary Analysis CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective

• CLAS 116 Greek Drama in Performance

  What is drama? When and where were the first systematic theatrical performances put on? What can Athenian tragedies and comedies teach us about the classical world and today’s societies? This course will explore the always-relevant world of Ancient Greek theater, its history and development, through the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. We will decode the structure and content of Greek tragedies and comedies, ponder their place in the Athenian society and the modern world, and investigate the role of both ancient and contemporary productions in addressing critical questions on the construction and performance of individual and communal identities.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Tags: ACE Theoretical CL: 100 level ENGL Foreign Literature THEA Minor Acting CLAS Literary Analysis THEA Literature Criticism History CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective

• CLAS 123 Greek Archaeology and Art

  This course explores the archaeology and art of the Ancient Greek world. Beginning with prehistory, we will track the development of the material culture of Ancient Greece through the Classical and Hellenistic periods, and conclude by discussing aspects of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires that followed. We will focus throughout on aspects of archaeological practice, material culture and text, art and society, long-term social change, and the role of the past in the present.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: CX, Cultural/Literature HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning
  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent ARTH Pre-1800 CL: 100 level ARTH Other Electives CLAS Archaeological Analysis CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective

• CLAS 124 Roman Archaeology and Art

  The material worlds of the ancient Romans loom large in our cultural imagination. From the architecture of the state to visual narratives of propaganda, Roman influence is ubiquitous in monuments across the West. But what were the origins of these artistic trends? What makes a monument characteristically ‘Roman’? And how has this material culture been interpreted and understood over time? This course explores the art, architecture, and archaeology of the ancient Romans both in the city of Rome and across the Empire, and considers the ways in which Roman trends have also influenced modern cultures.

  • Offered: Fall 2026
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: CX, Cultural/Literature IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent ARTH Other Electives CL: 100 level CLAS Elective CLAS Archaeological Analysis ENGL Foreign Literature GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective MARS Core Course MARS Supporting
  • Faculty: Alex Knodell 🏫 👤

• CLAS 130 The Greek and Latin Roots of English

  We speak it every day on campus, and it is the second most common language on the planet, but where did English come from? While its basic grammar is Germanic, much of its vocabulary—probably around 60 percent—comes from Greek and Latin. This course explores the varied and fascinating contributions that these two languages have made to English, focusing on the basic building blocks of words—bases, prefixes, and suffixes—while also considering the many routes the Classical languages have taken to enter modern English. This course is suitable for students of science, linguistics, and literature, as well as language lovers generally.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry QRE, Quantitative Reasoning
  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Elective LING Pertinent GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective

• CLAS 135 Critiquing the Gods in Ancient Literature

  The gods of ancient Greece and Rome were notoriously proud and spiteful—so why were some ancient authors so open in portraying immortals as cruel, corrupt, or even incompetent? This course combines translated selections from epic, drama, and philosophy to explore indictments and parodies of divinity in Greek and Latin literature as well as ancient responses to such criticisms. By analyzing the themes and cultural context of these works, students will learn to question what the ancients believed they and the gods owed each other, which gods could be criticized, and what separated tolerable critique from blasphemy.

  • Offered: Winter 2027
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry WR2, Writing Rich 2
  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Elective CLAS Literary Analysis GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Samuel Powell 🏫 👤

• CLAS 165 Race and Ethnicity in Ancient Greece

  The ancient Greeks were part of a rich Mediterranean cultural network stretching from the sands of Libya to the steppes of Central Asia. How did the Greeks portray themselves as similar to or different from these various peoples? Did they have a sense of racial or ethnic boundaries comparable to those we perceive today—and how should we define terms like ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ in the first place? In this course, students will examine ancient Greek depictions of groups such as Persians, Egyptians, and other Greeks to interrogate what lines separated ‘us’ from ‘you’ and how stable these lines were.

  • Offered: Spring 2027
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry WR2, Writing Rich 2
  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Elective CLAS Literary Analysis GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Samuel Powell 🏫 👤

• CLAS 200 Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: History, Landscape, and Material Culture

  This course provides a long-term view of the history, landscape, and material culture of Greece, from prehistory to the present day. While the monuments of ancient Greece are cultural touchstones, Greece has a remarkably diverse past, occupying a borderland between continents, empires, and cultures, both ancient and modern. Classroom study and on-site learning examine the wide range of sources that inform us about the Greek past (texts, archaeology, the environment), and focus especially on the stories told by places and things. Site visits in Athens and on trips throughout Greece highlight the importance of local and regional contexts in the “big histories” of the eastern Mediterranean.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
  • Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture program.

  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent CL: 200 level CLAS Archaeological Analysis MARS Supporting CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective

• CLAS 214 Gender and Sexuality in Classical Antiquity

  In both ancient Greece and Rome, gender (along with class and citizenship status) largely determined what people did, where they spent their time, and how they related to others. This course will examine the ways in which Greek and Roman societies defined gender categories, and how they used them to think about larger social, political, and religious issues. Primary readings from Greek and Roman epic, lyric, and drama, as well as ancient historical, philosophical, and medical writers; in addition we will explore a range of secondary work on the topic from the perspectives of Classics and Gender Studies.

  • Offered: Spring 2027
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: CX, Cultural/Literature HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning WR2, Writing Rich 2
  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Elective CLAS Literary Analysis GRK Minor Elective GWSS Elective LATN Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Clara Hardy 🏫 👤

• CLAS 226 49 BC in Real Time: Outbreak of Roman Civil War

  We will follow the collapse of the Roman Republic into civil war through study of day-by-day accounts of the events from Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon river to march on Rome on January 10th through to the final evacuation of the Roman army to Greece in early March and the dispersal of the Senate to different military camps. This is one of the only periods from the ancient Mediterranean world for which we have enough data to study so closely, and we will explore letters, historical accounts, autobiography, poetry, and archaeological remains to better understand these consequential three months.

  • Offered: Winter 2027
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry
  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Historical Analysis CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Jake Morton 🏫 👤

• CLAS 227 Athens, Sparta, and Persia

  Forged in the crucible of wars fought between cultures with diametrically opposed views on politics and society, the fifth century BC witnessed arts, philosophy, and science all flourish in thrilling new ways. The two radically different Greek states of Athens and Sparta first teamed up to defeat the invading Persian empire. While this shocking victory spurred their respective cultures to new heights, their political aspirations drove them to turn on each other and fight a series of wars over control of Greece–all the while with Persia waiting in the wings. We will study these events against the backdrop of the political, intellectual, and cultural achievements of Athens, Sparta and Persia, drawing on the rich body of literature and material culture from this period.

  • Offered: Fall 2026
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: CX, Cultural/Literature HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Elective CLAS Historical Analysis GRK Minor Elective HIST Ancient & Medieval HIST Pertinent Courses HIST Pre-Modern LATN Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Jake Morton 🏫 👤

• CLAS 229 The Collapse of the Roman Republic

  The class will investigate the factors that led a Republican government that had lasted for 700 years to fall apart, leading to twenty years of civil war that only ended with the rise of a totalitarian dictatorship. We will look at the economic, social, military, and religious factors that played key roles in this dynamic political period. We will also trace the rise and influence of Roman warlords, politicians, and personalities and how they changed Roman politics and society. We will study many of the greatest characters in Roman history, as well as the lives of everyday Romans in this turbulent time.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
  • Tags: CL: 200 level HIST Ancient & Medieval HIST Pre-Modern CLAS Historical Analysis CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective

• CLAS 230 Hellenistic Greek History

  Alexander the Great united the Greek states by force before waging a ten-year campaign that brought Greek influence all the way to India. In the aftermath of Alexander’s death, his generals divided the world into kingdoms that presided over an extraordinary flourishing of arts and science over the next 300 years. However, this period also saw these kingdoms continuously strive for domination over one another until they were in turn dominated by Rome. This class will explore one of the most exciting periods in ancient history, a time of great cultural achievements, larger than life characters, and devastating conflicts.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: CX, Cultural/Literature HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
  • Tags: CL: 200 level HIST Ancient & Medieval CLAS Historical Analysis HIST Pre-Modern CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective

• CLAS 240 Rome: From Village to Superpower

  This class will investigate how Rome rose from a humble village of outcasts and refugees to become the preeminent power in the entire Mediterranean. We will trace Rome’s political evolution from kings to the Republic, alongside their gradual takeover of the Italian peninsula. We will study how Rome then swiftly overpowered what had been the most powerful kingdoms in the Mediterranean and established themselves as dominant. Who were these Romans and what were their political, military, religious, and social systems that enabled them to accomplish so much? What critical events shaped their development and ultimately led to total political control of the Mediterranean world?

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: CX, Cultural/Literature HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
  • Tags: CL: 200 level HIST Ancient & Medieval HIST Pre-Modern CLAS Historical Analysis CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective

• CLAS 384 Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean

  We need food to live, but food also plays a crucial cultural, social, and economic role in our lives. As such, the study of food and foodways offers a cornucopia of approaches and insights into the lives of ancient peoples. This seminar will explore what, why, and how food was consumed, produced, traded, and thought about in the ancient Mediterranean world. We will study archaeological and literary sources of ancient evidence alongside modern scholarship and theoretical frameworks. Topics in the second half of the course will be driven by student interests as they develop their own research and present it at the department Symposium.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): Two Classics (CLAS) courses with a grade of C- or better.

  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent CL: 300 level CLAS Seminar CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective

• CLAS 385 Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World

  The Mediterranean is a world of islands, par excellence. This is particularly true of the classical world, when island polities, sanctuaries, and destinations played crucial roles in several aspects of social life and cultural production. This seminar examines what is special about islands and why and how they came to be places of such significance in the ancient Mediterranean. We will begin with some consideration of our sources and theories of insularity, then move into thematic and conceptual discussions of island biogeography and efflorescence; islands in myth and as political and religious spaces; and islands as strategic territories and connective nodes. Topics in the second part of the class will to a large extent be driven by student interests.

  • Offered: Fall 2026
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): Two Classics (CLAS) courses with a grade of C- or better.

  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent CL: 300 level CLAS Seminar CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Alex Knodell 🏫 👤

• CLAS 386 Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife

  Stories of gods, heroes and monsters were a pervasive part of life in ancient Greece and Rome, integrated into landscape, the built environment and cultural practice from ritual worship to informal storytelling, and they have retained their power to fascinate through subsequent eras. This seminar will investigate the roles myth played in the ancient world, drawing on literary, historical and archaeological evidence, as well as the most prominent theoretical frameworks for interpreting myths, and some examples of modern adaptations. Topics in the second half of the course will be driven by student interests as they develop their own research and present it at the department Symposium.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): Two Classics (CLAS) courses with a grade of C- or better.

  • Tags: CL: 300 level CLAS Seminar CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective

• CLAS 387 Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World

  Although it often goes unnoticed in our appreciation of the classical world and its cultural practices, magic was a ubiquitous part of everyday life. From love charms, curses, and healing spells, to divination, alchemy and astronomy, everyone had to engage with magic and its potential to influence events. This course will serve as an introduction to the beliefs and the practices of magic in antiquity, as well as the scholarship that documents and theorizes them. Topics in the second half of the course will be driven by student interests as they develop research projects to present at the department Symposium.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): Two Classics (CLAS) courses with a grade of C- or better.

  • Tags: CL: 300 level CLAS Elective CLAS Seminar GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective

• CLAS 400 Senior Research Project

  From topics developed in Classics 384, 385, 386, or 387, departmental majors will expand and refine their research into articles to be submitted to a journal of professional style, accepted and edited by the group into a presentable volume.

  • Offered: Winter 2027
  • Grading: S/NC
  • Credits: 3
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): CLAS 384 or CLAS 385 or CLAS 386 or CLAS 387 with a grade of C- or better AND is a Classics major AND has Senior Priority.

  • Faculty: Alex Knodell 🏫 👤

These courses all involve acquiring or using ancient Greek

• GRK 101 Elementary Greek

  From the triceratops (“three-horned-face”) to the antarctic (“opposite-the-bear-constellation”), ancient Greek has left traces in our language, literature (epic, tragedy, comedy), ways of organizing knowledge (philosophy, history, physics), and society (democracy, oligarchy, autocracy). It gives access to original texts from ancient Greece, early Christianity, and the Byzantine Empire, not to mention modern scientific terminology. In Greek 101 students will develop knowledge of basic vocabulary and grammar, and will begin reading short passages of prose and poetry. The class will meet five days a week.

  • Offered: Winter 2027
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Not open to students whose previous Greek language experience exceeds the requirements of GRK 101.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Minor Additional Elective LATN Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Clara Hardy 🏫 👤

• GRK 102.01 Intermediate Greek

  Study of essential forms and grammar, with reading of original, unadapted passages.

  • Offered: Spring 2027
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 101 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 102 on the Carleton Greek Placement exam.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Minor Additional Elective LATN Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Samuel Powell 🏫 👤

• GRK 103 Greek Prose

  Selected prose readings. The course will emphasize review of grammar and include Greek composition.

  • Offered: Fall 2026
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 102 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 103 on the Carleton Greek Placement exam.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Elective CLAS Core Greek Language LATN Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Jake Morton 🏫 👤

• GRK 204 Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry

  The goal for Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry is to gain experience in the three major modes of Greek expression most often encountered “in the wild”—prose, poetry, and inscriptions—while exploring the notion of happiness and the good life. By combining all three modes into this one course, we hope both to create a suitable closure to the language sequence and to provide a reasonable foundation for further exploration of Greek literature and culture.

  • Offered: Winter 2027
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LP Language Requirement No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 103 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 204 on the Carleton Greek Placement exam.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Elective CLAS Core Greek Language ENGL Foreign Literature GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective GRK Minor Language
  • Faculty: Samuel Powell 🏫 👤

• GRK 230 Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: Homer: The Odyssey

  Homer is perhaps the foundational poet of the western canon, and his work has been justly admired since its emergence out of the oral tradition of bardic recitation in the eighth century BCE. This course will sample key events and passages from the Odyssey, exploring the fascinating linguistic and metrical features of the epic dialect, as well as the major thematic elements of this timeless story of homecoming.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture program.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level ENGL Foreign Literature CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective CLAS Core Greek Language GRK Minor Language

• GRK 255 Euripides’ Alcestis

  What would you do if a god offered you the chance to escape the allotted day of your death? The catch: someone has to die in your place. Whom would you ask? This earliest of Euripides’ plays is also one of the hardest to pin down. Is it a tragedy? A comedy? We know it was performed in the place of a satyr play in the tragic competition of 438 BCE, but what are we to make of it? Students will continue to hone their Greek language skills, while also sharpening their understanding of meter and philological analysis.

  • Offered: Spring 2027
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 204 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 205 on the Carleton Greek Placement exam.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Core Greek Language GRK Minor Elective CLAS Elective GRK Minor Language LATN Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Chico Zimmerman 🏫 👤

• GRK 285 Weekly Greek

  This course is intended for students who have completed Greek 204 (or equivalent) and wish to maintain and deepen their language skills. Students will meet weekly to review prepared passages, as well as reading at sight. Actual reading content will be determined prior to the start of term by the instructor in consultation with the students who have enrolled. There will be brief, periodic assessments of language comprehension throughout the term.

  • Offered: Fall 2026, Winter 2027
  • Grading: S/CR/NC
  • Credits: 2
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 204 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 205 on the Carleton Greek Placement exam.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective GRK Minor Language
  • Faculty: Chico Zimmerman 🏫 👤 · Clara Hardy 🏫 👤

These courses all involve acquiring or using Latin

• LATN 101 Elementary Latin

  While many claims are made about the benefits of learning Latin, here’s what we know for sure: it’s a beautiful language, both intensely precise and rigorous, as well as poetically expressive and inviting. Spoken by millions in the ancient world and kept continuously “alive” up to the present, Latin provides a window onto an intellectual and cultural landscape that is both foreign and familiar to modern students. This beginning course will develop necessary vocabulary, forms, and grammar that allows students to begin reading short passages of unadulterated prose and poetry from the ancient Roman world right from the start.

  • Offered: Fall 2026
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Not open to students whose previous Latin language experience exceeds the requirements of LATN 101.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Minor Additional Elective GRK Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Samuel Powell 🏫 👤

• LATN 102 Intermediate Latin

  Continuation of essential forms and grammar.

  • Offered: Winter 2027
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 101 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 102 on the Carleton Latin Placement exam.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Minor Additional Elective GRK Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Chico Zimmerman 🏫 👤

• LATN 103 Introduction to Latin Prose and Poetry

  This course completes the formal textbook introduction to the morphology and syntax of Latin. The focus will be on consolidating and applying grammatical concepts learned throughout the Latin sequence to the reading of extended selections of authentic Roman prose and poetry.

  • Offered: Spring 2027
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 102 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 103 on the Carleton Latin Placement exam.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Elective CLAS Core Latin Language GRK Minor Elective
  • Faculty: Jake Morton 🏫 👤

• LATN 204 Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry

  What are the “rules” of friendship? Would you do anything for a friend? Anything? The ancient Romans were no strangers to the often paradoxical demands of friendship and love. The goal for Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry is to gain experience in the three major modes of Latin expression most often encountered “in the wild”—prose, poetry, and inscriptions—while exploring the notion of friendship. By combining all three modes into this one course, we hope both to create a suitable closure to the language sequence and to provide a reasonable foundation for further exploration of Roman literature and culture.

  • Offered: Fall 2026
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LP Language Requirement No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 103 and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 204 on the Carleton Latin Placement exam.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Elective CLAS Core Latin Language ENGL Foreign Literature GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective LATN Minor Language
  • Faculty: Chico Zimmerman 🏫 👤

• LATN 235 The Bacchanalian Affair

  In 186 BC stories of wild and debauched secret religious rites being celebrated under cover of night sparked panic in Rome, which led to a brutal state suppression of the cult. Was this a crackdown on impious behavior or political oppression? Over the course of the term we will translate three sources of evidence to determine what actually happened: the Roman historian Livy’s scintillating and outrageous account of this conspiracy; works by the Roman comedic playwright Plautus that might have shaped Livy’s storytelling; and the Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus, a detailed inscription found in southern Italy discussing the new laws Rome passed to suppress the cult.

  • Offered: Winter 2027
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Elective CLAS Core Latin Language GRK Minor Elective HIST Ancient & Medieval LATN Minor Elective LATN Minor Language
  • Faculty: Jake Morton 🏫 👤

• LATN 237 Amor, Furor, Ira: The Epics of Vergil and Ovid

  Two superlative Latin poets; two radically different epic poems. In this course we will read selections from the Aeneid and the Metamorphoses, focusing in particular on each poet's depiction of powerful emotions and their consequences. 

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 204 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 205 on the Carleton Latin Placement exam.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Elective MARS Supporting GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective CLAS Core Latin Language LATN Minor Language

• LATN 243 Medieval Latin

  This course offers students an introduction to post-classical Latin (250-1450) through readings in prose and poetry drawn from a variety of genres and periods. Students will also gain experience with medieval Latin paleography and codicology through occasional workshops in Special Collections.

  Not offered in 2026-27

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis LP Language Requirement
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 204 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 205 on the Carleton Latin Placement exam.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level MARS Core Course CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective CLAS Core Latin Language LATN Minor Language

• LATN 260 Catullus and Horace: Poetry, Pleasure and Politics

  From the volatile first century bce, we have two sets of Latin carmina: the vivid and passionate poetry of Catullus, and Horace's quieter but equally moving odes. This course will investigate the poetic style and techniques of each as we consider the larger question of how a poet responds to the shifting political forces of his world. We will also sample current scholarship on each poet.

  • Offered: Fall 2026
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 204 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 205 on the Carleton Latin Placement exam.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Elective CLAS Core Latin Language CLAS Literary Analysis LATN Minor Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Language
  • Faculty: Clara Hardy 🏫 👤

• LATN 285.01 Weekly Latin

  This course is intended for students who have completed Latin 204 (or equivalent) and wish to maintain and deepen their language skills. Students will meet weekly to review prepared passages, as well as reading at sight. Actual reading content will be determined prior to the start of term by the instructor in consultation with the students who have enrolled. There will be brief, periodic assessments of language comprehension throughout the term.

  • Offered: Spring 2027
  • Grading: S/CR/NC
  • Credits: 2
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 204 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 205 on the Carleton Latin Placement exam.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Elective GRK Minor Elective LATN Minor Elective LATN Minor Language
  • Faculty: Jake Morton 🏫 👤