GREEK EPIGRAPHY: CRITICISM, CONTEXTS, DIGITAL RESOURCES

The Course belongs to the historical area of ​​both LM curricula.
The course aims to ensure:
- advanced methodological skills in the description, reading and interpretation of epigraphic sources;
- ability to frame epigraphic sources both from the philological point of view and from the arcaheological one;
- awareness of the importance of this category in reconstruction and historical interpretation;
- interest in the history of studies with particular reference to antiquarian aspects, for the formation of corpora, for epigraphic collections;
- knowledge of digital tools (indexes, corpora, image archives), and of new forms of marking and cataloging of epigraphic texts.

By attending this course the student will be able to:
- read and translate, understand and interpret Greek epigraphic texts;
- correctly frame each document from a linguistic, alphabetic, typological, chronological point of view;
- describe in an appropriate manner the context of discovery, type of support, function and purpose of the document;
- propose an analytical commentary on the text, frame it in a historical way, propose suitable textual and documentary comparisons, and finally explain its relevance as a historical testimony with particular attention to the institutional aspects;
- use the paper and digital tools necessary for the analysis and understanding of epigraphic texts; access the main databases of literary and epigraphic texts;
- communicate in oral form using the specific terminology of the discipline;
- write a complete epigraphic item;
- participate in the discussion thanks to the comparison with other students on seminar opportunities led by the teacher.

It is necessary to have the basic notions of the discipline as indicated in the Syllabus concerning the teaching of Greek Epigraphy for the Three-year Degree (FT0060). Students who have not acquired the necessary skills must contact the teacher well in advance of the beginning of the course.
It is also indispensable Basic knowledge of the Greek language: students can acquire it by following the Greek Laboratory (divided into three different levels) offered within the DSU..

SEEKING PEACE. FORMS AND ACTORS OF DIPLOMACY IN GREEK CITIES

Even if war represents a constant dimension in the life of Greek cities, the political life of cities has seen since the archaic age the search for instruments capable of mediating peace and overcoming conflicts. Literary sources and epigraphic documents provide insight into the development of the art of diplomacy, and into the effectiveness and limits of mediation in the complex web of interstate relations. After a general introduction to this theme, the course will consider moments and protagonists of diplomatic action in Sicily and Magna Graecia in the classical age and early Hellenism. Through the study of documents of different types (treaties, honorary decrees, decrees of proxenia, catalogues) we will be able to see the men and instruments of diplomacy in action, also verifying the multiplicity of occasions and figures that allow the development of increasingly complex and articulated formal communication.

The course is organized as follows:
- general introduction:
- definition of the epigraphic corpora;
- use of the main resources with particular regard to the institutional aspect;
- detailed illustration of the Axon Database, available at the link: http://virgo.unive.it/venicepigraphy/axon/public/
- analytical study of a selection of important epigraphic documents,: reading, translation, dating, palaeographic commentary, historical and typological interpretation (according to the descriptive and interpretative scheme of the Axon Database):
- final exercises of autonomous editing of epigraphic cards (according to the Axon model) related to individual documents; discussion of the most interesting or problematic aspects.

Introduzione generale:


General Introduction

Guerra e pace in Sicilia e nel Mediterraneo antico (VIII-III sec. a.C.) : arte, prassi e teoria della pace e della guerra [Atti delle quinte giornate internazionali di studi sull'area elima e la Sicilia occidentale nel contesto mediterraneo, Erice, 12-15 ottobre 2003], a cura di C. AMPOLO, Pisa 2006
F. GAZZANO, Fra polemos ed eirene. Studi su diplomazia e relazioni interstatali nel mondo greco, Alessandria, Ed. dell'Orso (Culture antiche, 34) 2020.

Further bibliographical indications will be available on the Moodle site.

Database AXON: http://virgo.unive.it/venicepigraphy/axon/public/

Students not attending the Course are invited to contact the teacher; They have to write and discuss in the Class an epigraphic Item of the Database AXON.

Students will be evaluated on the basis of three aspects:
- active participation in the course during the lectures (20%)
- the oral discussion on a epigrahic document (40%)
- the final oral exam concerning both the topics presented during the lectures and the aspects discussed during the seminars of the students (40%).

Students not attending the Course:
- the oral discussion on a epigrahic document (50%)
- the final oral exam concerning the texts on the Syllabus (50%).

The course has a seminar structure, involving the active participation of students both in moments of collective discussion on general problems, and on the occasion of the individual presentation.
It also provides:
- a visit to the epigraphic collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Venice (if possible);
- one session in the DSU Greek Epigraphy Laboratory.

Italian

written and oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development