Archaeology

The course aims to addressing the knowledge of the settlement patterns and socio-political structures of Magna Graecia and Sicily through the examination of all the available sources of information and with reference to the main topics concerning the current scientific debate. The territorial patterns, settlement organizations and socio-cultural processes that that arose in the different areas of southern Italy from the 8 th century BC onwards will be considered, also through the examination of specific case studies. In particular, the issues related with the very first phases of the colonial phenomenon in Southern Italy as well as urban and territorial organisation of the cities and the cultural manifestations that can be defined through the examination of the archaeological dossier and the ancient literary sources will be examined. During the first week, the main themes animating the current debate on 'Greek colonisation in the West' will be brought into focus. During the second week, an outline of the landscapes and settlement forms and socio-political arrangements of Greece and the Aegean area between the 13th and 8th centuries BC will be provided. During the third week, a picture of the landscapes and settlement forms and socio-political arrangements of the territories and communities of Southern Italy between the 11th and 8th centuries BC will be provided. During the fourth week, traditional and scientific-naturalistic dating methods and chronological sequences of colonial settlements in Southern Italy and Sicily will be examined. In week five, the earliest 'colonial' settlements in the West will be examined, and the interaction between local communities and allogenic groups during the 8th and 7th centuries BC will be explored. In addition, the nature and definition of the concept of the ancient 'city' in relation to ancient literary sources and modern debate will be explored. In the sixth week, the analysis of the oldest Greek settlements in the West will be completed and the analysis of colonial poleis in the Archaic period will begin. The urban layout and organisation of the chorai; the architectural manifestations and the most significant productions will be examined. In addition, forms of socio-communal organisation and religious and cultic structures will be examined. In week seven, the analysis of colonial poleis in the Archaic period will be completed. The examination of the urban layouts and organisation of the chorai will continue; the architectural manifestations and the most significant productions will be examined. In addition, the structures of the indigenous communities of the inland areas and the forms of socio-communal organisation of the Western polytheiai will be examined with particular reference to the emergence of tyrannical figures within them. In the eighth week, the colonial polis in the classical age will be examined. The urban layout and organisation of the chorai will be examined; the architectural manifestations and the most significant productions. Particular attention will also be paid to certain political events of particular relevance such as the Battle of Himera, the development of Athenian influence in the West, and the emergence of Syracusan power. During the ninth week, the urban and rural landscapes and socio-political organisations of the poleis of Magna Graecia and Sicily in the 4th century BC will be examined. Particular attention will be paid to the ethnogenesis of the Italic populations. Week 10 will continue the examination of the urban and rural landscapes and socio-political organisations of the poleis of Magna Graecia and Sicily in the 4th century BC. Particular attention will be paid to the role and growing importance of the Italic populations in the political, social and military dynamics of the Greek poleis of the West and the early relations with Roman power. In the eleventh week, the course will conclude with an examination of the gradual inclusion of Magna Graecia and Sicily in the Roman political orbit up to the Battle of Zama. The changes in the settlement patterns of urban centres and territories following inclusion within the Roman political domain will be examined.

No previous experience/classes needed

- G. F. La Torre, Sicilia e Magna Grecia. Archeologia della colonizzazione greca d'Occidente, Laterza, Roma - Bari 2011. - Analysis of the documentary dossier relating to a polis of Sicily or Magna Graecia among those collected in the volume "An Inventory of archaic and classical poleis" (available online). For those not attending, in addition to the bibliography indicated, the study of the essay by E. Greco Città greche di Magna Grecia e Sicilia: caratteri e strutture, in Magna Grecia: città greche di Magna Grecia e Sicilia. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani S.P.A, Rome 2012, pp. 55-69.

Meeting attendance.

Oral examination.

Didactics includes face-to-face lectures supported by the projection of graphical and didactic material useful for an in-depth study of the topics covered.