This intensive course is ideal for students of the humanities who have an interest in ancient Greek history, art, religion, and culture. Life in contemporary Greece will also be discussed.

Through orientation sessions, lectures and extensive field trips, you will get a feel for the three-dimensional realities of ancient monuments, as well as for the landscape of Greece and its important role in the story of its people.

You will discover why there are few visible remains of the Spartans and visualize the battle of Marathon from the plain on which it was fought. You will walk in the stadium at Olympia-home to the original games-while observing the enormity of the project Athens undertook by hosting the 2004 Olympics.

Your studies will begin in Athens, where you will visit several of its archaeological treasures: the Acropolis, the ancient Agora, the Kerameikos, and the National Archaeological Museum. Following your time spent in Athens, you will travel to other sites on mainland Greece to observe some of the centers of prehistoric Mycenaean civilization.

Additionally, you will visit sites that provide vivid clues to the ancient Greek religion and its fundamental link to the polis system. These sites include the panhellenic sanctuaries at Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia, and Nemea; the city sites of Corinth, Sparta and Messene; and the battle sites of Marathon and Thermopylai.