2025-26

The course introduces students to aspects and areas of the splendid civilization that Byzantium developed.  The course examines various matters, such as Byzantine society, daily life in city and countryside, state administration, philanthropy, education, the Church, monasticism and the refulgence cast by Byzantium over her neighbours.  It also offers an analysis of medieval Greek literature and intellectual culture.  It does not, however, deal with the various art forms that reached a peak in Byzantium (These matters are dealt with in detail in courses concerning Byzantine art).

The course recounts, chiefly on the basis of archaeological finds, these two cultures that are related to one another. One succeeded the other and during the transitional period from one to the other covered the same ground.

The subject matter of the course is material culture and societies during the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods and the Bronze Age throughout the Balkans and Anatolia. The aim of the course is to present in summary form matters regarding the spatial organization, architecture, burial practices and material culture of prehistoric communities during the chief periods of prehistory in the various regions in question, together with interpretations and views regarding economy, social organization and social relations.

The goal of a teacher lies in his or her students cultivating their abilities, in a teaching environment characterized by a spirit of co-operation, to
deal with historical sources of various types, written, visual or oral, drawn from the whole spectrum of history,
to evaluate such sources in terms of their teaching potential,
to use them in teaching and to incorporate them as an organic part of the lesson plan.
The course has a workshop-oriented approach and will involve attending lessons in schools. The number of students admitted will therefore be limited.