ANTH 258
Divine Kingship in the Ancient Mediterranean Fall 2014
Division II
Cross-listed HIST 394 / CLAS 258 / REL 213
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

What is the relationship between politics and religion? How do kings legitimate their rule? Why did the ancient Greeks and Romans worship their emperors as gods? This course examines the origins and development of divine kingship in the ancient Mediterranean from its earliest beginnings in Pharaonic Egypt to the reign of the Christian Roman Emperors in the fourth century CE. We will address the various symbolic strategies employed by ancient kings to project their own divinity. These include portraiture, panegyric poetry, ritual processions, royal autobiography and monumental architecture, e.g., the Great Pyramids in Egypt and the Pantheon in Rome. We will also study the reception of royal art and ideology among the king’s subjects. Special attention will be paid to the role of the Roman emperor-cult in shaping social, political and religious identity in the Roman Empire.
The Class: Format: lecture/discussion
Limit: 30
Expected: 20
Class#: 1388
Grading: yes pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: evaluation will be based on classroom performance, quizzes, one 8- to 10-page paper, a midterm and a final exam
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: majors or prospective majors in Classics, Anthropology, Art History, and History
Distributions: Division II
Notes: meets Division 1 requirement if registration is under CLAS; meets Division 2 requirement if registration is under ANTH, HIST or REL
This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
HIST 394 Division II CLAS 258 Division I ANTH 258 Division II REL 213 Division II
Attributes: HIST Group G Electives - Global History
LEAD Facets or Domains of Leadership

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