ARLT 101g : Studies in Arts and Letters
Masters of Power: 10 Ancient Lives
Spring 2014
Prof. Vincent Farenga
Why Take This Course?
This course satisfies the G. E. requirement in Category V, Arts and
Letters, because it introduces you to works of literature, philosophy,
history, and film that span the ancient and modern worlds. Its central
question is: “What meanings can a great ancient life have in our
modern world?”
What Will You Learn in This Course?
 In-depth knowledge about the lives of ten remarkable individuals in
Greco-Roman antiquity: a democratic statesman (Pericles), two
brilliant generals (Alcibiades and Julius Caesar), a “world conqueror”
(Alexander), an empire builder (Augustus)—but also a philosopher of
dissent (Socrates), a monstrous tyrant (Nero), a power-mad matriarch
(Agrippina), and two lovers who thirsted for power (Mark Antony and
Cleopatra). You’ll learn their stories from Greek and Roman
historians and biographers (Thucydides, Plutarch, Arrian, Tacitus and
Suetonius) and philosophers (Plato, Xenophon, Seneca, Diogenes
Laertius).
 You’ll encounter these lives again from 1600 AD to today: in
Shakespearean tragedy (Julius Caesar [1599], Antony and Cleopatra
[1607]); in historical fiction (Stephen Pressfield’s The Tides of War
[2000]; Robert Graves’ I, Claudius [1934]; in feature films and TV
series (Oliver Stone’s Alexander [2004]; HBO Rome [2006-7], Joseph
Mankiewicz’ Julius Caesar [1953] and Cleopatra [1963]); the Taviani
Bros’ Caesar Must Die [2012]; the Royal Shakespeare Company’s
Antony & Cleopatra [1974]; and the BBC’s I, Claudius [1976].
 You’ll be able to analyze ancient and modern versions of these lives
to see how ancient lives can acquire new meanings relevant to
your own personal and professional lives--and to moral, social and
political issues in today’s world.
 You’ll be able to evaluate and interpret a leader’s life when it’s
framed through disciplines like history, literature [novel, tragedy,
epic], philosophy, and film (feature film).
 You’ll appreciate how differently an ancient life appears when we
look at him/her as: (1) an agent of power; (2) a moral character and
moral model; (3) an autonomous person; (4) an artistic character.
 You will improve your ability to write with authority, persuasion,
and creativity by developing different kinds of arguments about how
ancient lives are relevant to you and to our contemporary world.
What Are the Course Requirements?
1. Participation & Preparation: participate attentively and actively at
our two lectures each week and at your discussion section each
week. Note: this is not a grade for attendance.
One lecture class each week will combine lecture and general
discussion; the other will use “cold calling” to ask specific
questions of a limited number of students. Discussion sections will
combine general discussion with more structured activities like
debates, trials, role-play.
This part of the grade based on: (a) how frequently you answer and
ask questions; (b) how often you volunteer information in
discussions and react to ideas expressed by others; (c) how
accurate or insightful your answers are; (d) how prepared you are
to discuss the readings assigned for each class [10 %]
2. Midterm exam (short answer questions) [20%]
3. Three written assignments (4-5 pp. each) [15-15-15%] *
4. Final exam (not cumulative; mini-essay) [25%]
* The writing assignments are evaluated on the basis of: (a)
persuasive arguments; (b) amount of detailed factual information
used as evidence for the argument; (c) originality
Study Aids: To help you with assigned readings, “Focus Questions” will be
provided for certain texts. These highlight the key information and
developments you should look for and the key concepts you should
recognize. To guide you about exactly what you should be learning, I’ll
provide “What You Should Now Know” sheets (= study sheets). These will
also help you prepare for the exams. You will also be given sample exam
questions and full-credit answers. All these materials will be posted on our
course site on Blackboard.
What Are the Course Policies?
1. Policy on examinations: All students must be present for each exam.
A make-up exam will be given for medical or personal/family
emergency, but only if Prof. Farenga personally approves the
reason for your absence. NOTE: You must take the Final Exam on the
day indicated; there will be no exceptions. Please check your exam
schedule now to insure you have no conflicts with other exams or
travel plans.
2. Policy on writing assignments: Assignments are due at the start of the
discussion section on the day indicated in the syllabus. If an
assignment is handed in after that time, it will be penalized ½ grade (5
points) for each day it is late. An assignment will continue to receive
a ½ grade penalty for up to 3 days. After 3 days an assignment may
not be handed in unless Prof. Farenga personally approves this for
reasons of illness or personal/family emergency. Written assignments
may be submitted in hard copy only: electronic submissions are not
accepted under any circumstances.
3. Policy on academic integrity: We will adhere rigorously to the
university's policies on academic integrity as described at
www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/forms/tig.pdf. Violations, during
exams or through plagiarism in written work, will be reported to the
Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards (SJACS).
4. Policy on Grade of “Incomplete”: A grade of IN can only be assigned
if you do not complete work after the end of the 12th week because of
illness or personal emergency. Prof. Farenga must, however, approve
assignment of this grade. The missed work must be completed within
one academic year.
5. Policy on Completing Requirements: You must complete (= hand in)
ALL assignments (3 writing assignments, midterm exam, and final
exam). If you do not complete one or more of these requirements,
you can receive a final grade no higher than D (= 65/100).
6. Policy on electronic devices: electronic devices may only be used
during lecture to consult texts (on a Kindle, tablet, iPad, etc.).
Devices like laptops or tablets may not be used to take notes or link to
other sources of info.
7. Statement on Students with Disabilities: Any student requesting
accommodations based on a disability is required to register with the
Center for Testing and Assessment (STU 301; 213 740 7166) each
semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can
be obtained from this Center. Please have the letter delivered to Prof.
Farenga ASAP.
What Are the Required Readings? [available at University Bookstore]
Graves, Robert. I, Claudius. Penguin. ISBN 06792477X .
Johnson, David M. Ed, tr. Socrates and Alcibiades: Four Texts.
Focus/Pullins. 1585100692.
Plutarch. Lives That Made Greek History. Tr. P. Mensch. Hackett.
1603846.
_____. Roman Lives. Tr. R. Waterfield. Oxford UP. 019282502X.
Pressfield, Steven. Tides of War: A Novel of Alcibiades and the
Peloponnesian War. Bantam. 0385492529.
Reeve, C.D.C. Tr. Trials of Socrates. Hackett. 0872205894.
Romm, James. Ed. Alexander the Great: Selections from Arrian . . .
Hackett. 0872207277.
Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Washington Square Press.
0743482743.
Suetonius. Lives of the Caesars. Tr. C. Edwards. Oxford UP.
0199537569.
Thucydides. On Justice, Power and Human Nature. Tr. P. Woodruff.
Hackett. 087220168.
*Note: Additional required readings will be available on Blackboard &
Ares.
Instructor: Vincent Farenga, Prof., Classics & Comparative Literature.
Office:
THH 256-R, x00106, farenga@usc.edu.
Office hours: Wed 1 – 3 p.m. and by appointment
Discussion section leaders: Joseph O’Neill and Russell Pascatore
SYLLABUS
Please note: We’ll try to stay on schedule for class topics and reading
assignments, but if we need to adjust our schedule, you’ll receive notice by
email and on Blackboard of any changes when assignments are due or
exams are given. This syllabus is also posted on Blackboard and on the
Schedule of Classes.
Week 1
Jan 13
Course intro
Jan 15
On Pericles: Plutarch’s “Life of Pericles” Lives That
Made Greek History 86-108. Use the Focus Questions
on Pericles!
Week 2
Jan 20
MLK Day: No lecture or discussion section
Jan 22
On Pericles: his 3 speeches in Thucydides, On Justice,
Power & Human Nature 31-58.
On the nature of personhood: read Charles Taylor, “The
Concept of a Person” in Human Agency and Language
97-114 [on Blackboard].
On Alcibiades: start Plutarch’s “Life of Alcibiades,”
Lives That Made Greek History 129-154. Use the Focus
Questions on Alcibiades!
Week 3
Jan 27
On Alcibiades: read Pressfield, Tides of War 3-130.
Jan 29
On Alcibiades: the Athenian debate on invading Sicily in
Thucydides, On Justice, Power & Human Nature 111123.
Week 4
Feb 3
On Alcibiades: Thucydides’ account of Athens’
disastrous defeat against Syracuse 123-160;
On Alcibiades: Tides of War 147-216; 276-315.
Feb 5
On Alcibiades: Tides of War, 330-47 and 357-416.
Week 5
Feb 10
First Writing Assignment due in discussion section
this week. Note policy on assignments!
On the PW: read selection from Hanson’s A War Like No
Other (2005) 292-314 [Blackboard]
On Socrates read: (1) C.C.W. Taylor, “Life” in Socrates
3-20 [on Ares Reserve];
(2) “Life of Socrates” in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the
Philosophers (on Ares Reserve);
(3) On Socrates & Alcibiades, read Plato’s dialogue
“Alcibiades I” in Johnson, Socrates and Alcibiades 1-58.
Use the FQ’s on Socrates’ life!
Feb 12
On Socrates read: (1) Plato, “Apology of Socrates” in
Reeve, Trials of Socrates 26-61;
(2) Plato, “Crito” and death scene from “Phaedo” in
Trials of Socrates 62-83. Use the FQ’s on the
“Apology”!
Week 6
Feb 17
Presidents’ Day: No lecture or discussion section
Feb 21
Meet a poor, disabled Athenian citizen arguing for his
pension in Lysias’ speech (Blackboard). Use the FQ’s!
On Alexander: (1) Plutarch’s “Life of Alexander” Lives
That Made Greek History 228-259. Use the FQ’s on
Alexander!
(2) Diodorus & Arrian in Alexander the Great 7-13; 3342; 46-56.
Week 7
Feb 24
On Alexander: In-class viewing of scenes from Olive
Stone’s Alexander (2004);
On Alexander: Arrian, Alexander the Great 70-93; 12039; 154-73.
Feb 26
Midterm Exam. Note exam policy. See “What You
Should Now Know: Weeks 1 – 7” on Blackboard
Week 8
Mar 3
On Julius Caesar: Plutarch’s “Life of J. Caesar,” Roman
Lives 302-59. Use the Focus Questions on Caesar!
On Caesar: read “Caesar’s Celebrity: From Fame to
Fable” in Wyke, Caesar: A Life in Western Culture 1-21
(Blackboard).
Mar 7
On Caesar: Caesar’s own account of the siege of Alesia
and defeat of Vercingetorix in Caesar’s Gallic War [Ares
Reserve]. Use the FQ’s on Caesar in Gaul!
On Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo: meet them in
Caesar’s Gallic War (Blackboard).
Week 9
Mar 10
In-class viewing of final episode HBO’s Rome (2006),
Caesar’s assassination.
On the injustice of power, agents of power, and power
relations, read Engels and Marx Communist Manifesto
(1848) 14-21 (Blackboard);
On the nature of Nietzsche’s will to power and
Übermensch, read selection from his Thus Spake
Zarathustra (Blackboard).
Mar 12
On Caesar: Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Acts I & II;
On Caesar: In-class viewing of scenes from
Mankiewicz’s Julius Caesar (1953).
Week 10
Mar 24
On Caesar: Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar 112- 95 (Acts
III, IV, V).
More scenes from Mankiewicz’s Julius Caesar (1953).
Mar 26
Week 11
On Caesar: In-class viewing of scenes from Paolo &
Vittorio Taviani’s Ceasar Must Die (2012).
Mar 31
Second Writing Assignment due in discussion section
this week at start of class. Note policy on assignments!
On Mark Antony: Plutarch’s “Life of Antony,” Roman
Lives 365-430. See Blackboard sheet on themes in
Plutarch’s “Life of Antony.”
Apr 2
On Antony & Cleopatra: Shakespeare’s Antony &
Cleopatra (scenes from Acts I, II & III: see “Scenes
from Antony & Cleopatra” [on Blackboard]);
In-class viewing of scenes from Royal Shakespeare
Company’s Antony & Cleopatra (1974).
Week 12
Apr 7
Antony & Cleopatra: Shakespeare’s Antony & Cleopatra
(scenes from Acts III, IV and V: see “Scenes from
Antony & Cleopatra” [on Blackboard]).
In-class viewing of scenes from Royal Shakespeare
Company’s Antony & Cleopatra (1974).
Apr 9
On Fulvia (Mark Antony’s wife), read “Fulvia: The
Woman of Passion” in Roman Women (2001) 66-81
(Ares);
On Cleopatra, read “The Most Wicked Woman in the
World” from Schiff Cleopatra: A Life (2011): 142-61
[Blackboard].
On Caesar Augustus (Octavian), start Suetonius’ “The
Deified Augustus,” Lives of the Caesars 43-73.
Week 13
Apr 14
On Augustus: finish Suetonius’ life 73-97.
Augustus and Livia in Robert Graves’ I, Claudius,
chapters 2 -3 & 6-13. Use the Focus Questions!
See “Introduction to the Julio-Claudians”
[Blackboard].
Apr 16
On Augustus, Livia and their brood of Julio-Claudian
dynasts, read I, Claudius, chapters 24-26 and 29-34
Week 14
Apr 21
Third Writing Assignment due in discussion section
this week at start of class. Note policy on assignments!
In-class viewing of BBC’s I, Claudius (1976) (episode 1:
the death of Marcellus)
On Livia, read “Livia the Politician” in Roman Women
(2001) 100-117.
On Nero, read Suetonius’ “Nero” in Lives of the Caesars
195-227.
Apr 23
Nero & Agrippina in Tacitus’ Annals of Imperial Rome
284-319 (Ares Reserve). Use the Focus Questions on
Nero!
Week 15
Apr 28
Nero, Agrippina & Poppaea in Tacitus’ Annals 360-97
(on Blackboard)
On Nero, read how Seneca tried to influence the young
tyrant’s mind and character in a selection from “On
Clemency” [Blackboard].
On Nero, read a modern historian’s claim that he was not
insane: Champlin, “Epilogue” in Nero (2003): 235-237
[Blackboard]
Apr 30
Summary of our ten lives. What have you learned?
May 9
Friday Final Exam: 11 – 1 pm. Note exam policy. See
“What You Should Now Know: Weeks 8 – 15” on
Blackboard.