What is Classics?

Classics is the study of the ancient Greek & Roman cultures (c. 3000 B.C.E.-476 C.E.), the two intertwined civilizations that lie at the root of modern Western culture. Figures of myth, great leaders, creators of profoundly moving poetry and drama, great philosophers and artists who produced some of the world’s most exquisite art and architecture—from Homer to Alexander the Great, from Julius Caesar to Constantine and beyond, the legacies of these individuals have deeply influenced many later ages and are still highly relevant today. We have more evidence about the Greeks and Romans than most other early cultures: poetry, plays, novels, prose treatises, histories, vases, sculpture, architecture, inscriptions, and papyri. At Trent, students can study ancient literature in all its forms, the history of Greece and Rome, art history and archaeology (including ancient Egypt), myth and religion, women in antiquity, philosophy, and the ancient languages themselves (Latin and classical Greek).

List of Courses Offered in 2011 -2012