The Acropolis of Athens
HAA 134
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
This course offers an introduction to the monuments of the Acropolis of Athens and their various afterlives. We will begin with the rock itself and the ancient structures built upon it. Focusing especially on the major monuments of Periclean Athens – including the Propylaia, the Erechtheion, and above all the Parthenon – we will study their architecture and sculptural decoration, situating them in the artistic, religious, and political contexts in which they gained meaning. We will follow the history of these monuments through the end of antiquity and into the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. The controversy surrounding the removal of the so-called “Elgin Marbles” in the early 19th century will launch us into a consideration of the Acropolis’s enduring place in modernity, and we will examine how the Acropolis’s monuments have come to take on new forms of signification.
Class Notes
Registration is by petition only. When submitting a petition, please provide one or two sentences outlining your interest in the course and your reasons for wishing to enroll. Decisions will be made on a rolling basis; if demand is high, priority will be given to HAA and Classics students. Enrollment will be finalized by September 2, 2026; students with approved petitions who have not enrolled by this date may have their petitions cancelled. Attendance on the first day of class is required.
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
