Introduction

The Masters Degree Program in Greek and Roman Studies consists of two Degree Programs: Master of Arts (MA) and Master of Philosophy (MPhil). The MA program also has two streams: Stream I which consists of course work and a research component and Stream II under which applicants complete course work only. In the MPhil Degree program, all the applicants are required to complete a research component, which is generally in the form of a research-based thesis, in addition to related course work. For more information, please refer to the current version of the Postgraduate Prospectus published by the PGIHS, University of Peradeniya.

As regards the courses under the Masters Degree Programs, please note that the operation of optional courses depends on the availability of the staff and the interest of the students enrolled. All courses will be available only in English medium. Each course carries three credits.

Overview

Semester	Course Code	Course Title	Prerequisites	Status (C/O)
First	GRS 601	Advanced Greek/ Latin I	The following course codes in Western Classical Culture (WCC)or Greek and Roman Studies (GRS) in the Bachelor of Arts Degree (Special/General) or Postgraduate Diploma in Western Classics/Greek and Roman Studies at the University of Peradeniya: WCC 204, 208, 304, 308, 403, 406 OR GRS 204, 209, 304, 309, 403, 409;OR WCC/GRS 501, 502 OR exemption through a diagnostic test.	C
First	GRS 603	Greek Political Thought	None	O
First	GRS 604	Roman Political Thought	None	O
First	GRS 605	Classical Historiography	None	O
First	GRS 607	The Imperial Period from Augustus to Hadrian	None	O
First	GRS 608	Roman Satire	None	O
First	GRS 609	Greek Pottery and Vase Painting	None	O
First	GRS 610	Life after Death in Greek and Roman Religion	None	O
First	GRS 612	Slavery in the Ancient World	None	O
First	GRS 615	Early Greek Poetry	None	O
First	GRS 619	Reception of Greek and Latin Literature	None	O
Second	GRS 602	Advanced Greek/ Latin II	The following course codes in Western Classical Culture (WCC) or Greek and Roman Studies (GRS) in the Bachelor of Arts Degree (Special/General) or Postgraduate Diploma in Western Classics/Greek and Roman Studies at the University of Peradeniya: WCC 204, 208, 304, 308, 403, 406 OR GRS 204, 209, 304, 309, 403, 409; OR WCC 501, 502; GRS 601;OR exemption through a diagnostic test.	C
Second	GRS 606	Women in Classical Antiquity	None	O
Second	GRS 611	Medieval Latin	The following course codes in Western Classical Culture (WCC) or Greek and Roman Studies (GRS) in the Bachelor of Arts Degree (Special/General) or Postgraduate Diploma in Western Classics/Greek and Roman Studies at the University of Peradeniya: WCC 204, 208, 304, 308, 403, 406 OR GRS 204, 209, 304, 309, 403, 409; OR WCC 501, 502 OR exemption through a diagnostic test	O
Second	GRS 613	Deformity and Disability in the Ancient World	None	O
Second	GRS 614	Music in the Ancient World	None	O
Second	GRS 616	Hellenistic Poetry	None	O
Second	GRS 617	Advanced Greek Prose Composition	The following course codes in Western Classical Culture (WCC) or Greek and Roman Studies (GRS) in the Bachelor of Arts Degree (Special/General) or Postgraduate Diploma in Western Classics/Greek and Roman Studies at the University of Peradeniya: WCC 204, 208, 304, 308, 403, 406 OR GRS 204/211, 209/212, 304/311, 309/312, 403/413, 409/414; OR WCC 501, 502; WCC/GRS 601, 602 (Greek);OR exemption through a diagnostic test	O
Second	GRS 618	Advanced Latin Prose Composition	The following course codes in Western Classical Culture (WCC) or Greek and Roman Studies (GRS) in the Bachelor of Arts Degree (Special/General) or Postgraduate Diploma in Western Classics/Greek and Roman Studies at the University of Peradeniya: WCC 204, 208, 304, 308, 403, 406 OR GRS 204, 209, 304, 309, 403, 409; ORWCC/GRS 501, 502; WCC/GRS 601, 602 (Latin);OR exemption through a diagnostic test	O
Second	GRS 620	Research Methodology and Writing Skills	None	C

C = Compulsory | O = Optional

MA and MPhil Curricula

Semester ONE

GRS 601 - Advanced Greek/ Latin I

Course Code	GRS 601
Course Title	Advanced Greek/ Latin I
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to explain grammatical structures and literary styles of the prescribed authors and comment on their subject matter. They will be able to assess the different genres and their contribution to the literary culture of ancient Greece/Rome and, assess the influence of the prescribed authors/ texts on modern literature.
Course Content	This course entails a study of the grammar, style and content of the prescribed texts in the original.

GRS 603 - Greek Political Thought

Course Code	GRS 603
Course Title	Greek Political Thought
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to comment on, analyze and compare and contrast the political concepts of ancient Greek political thinkers and the extent of their impact and influence on the political thought and institutions of the ancient Greeks and on modern political thought.
Course Content	A study of post - Aristotelian philosophy with special reference to the Epicureans, Cynics and Stoics. Neo-Pythagoreans, Neo-Academics, Epicurean philosophical relationship to Atomism. Concept of universe, highest good etc. Cynicism, its origin and prominent teachers, their influences. Zeno, Stoicism and its spread in Rome. Concept of god and the world, the good of man as duty. Roman stoicism of Seneca and others. Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius.

GRS 604 - Roman Political Thought

Course Code	GRS 604
Course Title	Roman Political Thought
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to comment on, analyze and compare and contrast the political concepts of ancient Roman political thinkers and the extent of their impact and influence on the political thought and institutions of the ancient Romans and on modern political thought.
Course Content	Introduction to ancient Roman political thought; Cicero: De Re Publica, De Legibus, De Officis; Political philosophy in the Roman Empire: Later Stoicism, Platonism and Neoplatonism; Seneca; Epictetus; Plutarch; Marcus Aurelius.

GRS 605 - Classical Historiography

Course Code	GRS 605
Course Title	Classical Historiography
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to identify and distinguish between the styles, aims and objectives of Greek and Roman historians under study in the course, and be able to trace their influence on the subsequent generations of historians up to the modern times.
Course Content	Before history; origin and growth of the historical traditions of ancient Greece; Herodotus; Thucydides; 4^th century and Hellenistic historiography; Polybius; origins of Roman historiography; Sallust; Livy; Tacitus; Ammianus Marcellinus.

GRS 607 - The Imperial Period of Rome from Augustus to Hadrian

Course Code	GRS 607
Course Title	The Imperial Period of Rome from Augustus to Hadrian
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to analyze and expound the reasons behind the success and failure of particular regimes and various political, social and cultural backgrounds that influenced them, and compare and contrast the successes and failures of ancient Roman regimes with the modern and extract the lessons that can be earned from their successes and failures.
Course Content	Birth of imperial Rome: late Republic, Augustus; Tiberius; Caligula; Claudius; Nero; civil wars; Vespasian and Titus; Domitian; Nerva and Trajan; Hadrian; position of women and their contribution; socio-economic life in the empire; place of religion; political administration under imperial rule; army and military policy; the provincial government.

GRS 608 - Roman Satire

Course Code	GRS 608
Course Title	Roman Satire
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to analyze the significance of satire as a literary genre and the role of Latin literature in its formation. They will also be able to assess its impact on Roman society and, differentiate between the various styles of the satirists and assess their influence on modern works of satire.
Course Content	Introduction: origin from satyr play, comedy and parody; Ennius and Lucilius; Horace; Perseus; Juvenal; Martial; Seneca; Lucian; Petronius; Menippeans; diatribe, fable, epigram.

GRS 609 - Greek Pottery and Vase Painting

Course Code	GRS 609
Course Title	Greek Pottery and Vase Painting
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to evaluate Greek vase paintings with reference to their aesthetic, historical, and archaeological value as well as their significance for the study of mythology, art, literature, and society of ancient Greece. They will also be able to assess the influence of Greek pottery and vase painting on modern art(pottery and vase painting).
Course Content	Introduction; the types, functions and the diffusion of Greek pottery; the significance of vases for Greek mythology, art and society; the stages of the development of vase painting; Minoan and Mycenaean vases; Proto-Geometric and Geometric vases; Black and Red Figure vases; funerary vases and regional varieties; Hellenistic vase painting.

GRS 610 - Life after Death in Greek and Roman Religion

Course Code	GRS 610
Course Title	Life after Death in Greek and Roman Religion
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to learn the philosophy and the mythological concepts behind death and its role in determining prominent features of Greek and Roman culture. They will also be able to compare Greek and Roman views on afterlife with those of other ancient cultures including Sri Lanka.
Course Content	Introduction; death and attitudes to death in religion, family and society; the event of death, funeral rites and rituals; the concept of the soul; notions of survival and immortality, Hades and the Isles of the Blest: Homer, Hesiod, Plato; reincarnation and apotheosis; the impact of ritual and moral purity; mystery religions and their contribution to the notion of survival after death.

GRS 612 - Slavery in the Ancient World

Course Code	GRS 612
Course Title	Slavery in the Ancient World
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to identify, compare and contrast the position of slaves in ancient Greece and Rome, and they shall, in broad terms, be able to appreciate the position of these slaves in relation to those in other slave holding societies in the ancient as well as the modern world.
Course Content	Introduction; types of slaves; position of slaves: domestic and rural slaves; slaves owned by the state; treatment of slaves; sources of slaves; manumission; slave revolts; slaves as property; debt bondage; impact of slaves on Greek and Roman political and social life, literature, and art.

GRS 615 - Early Greek Poetry

Course Code	GRS 615
Course Title	Early Greek Poetry
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to trace the development of Greek literature from Homer to the lyric poets of early Greece. They will be able to analyze the development of Greek poetry through the different genres, and comment on the characteristics of the different periods as well as authors. They will also be able to assess the influence of ancient Greek lyric on modern writers of the East and the West.
Course Content	Homer; Hesiod; Cyclic epics; Homeric hymns; Archilochus; early Greek elegy; Callinus; Tyrtaeus; Mimnermus; Theognis; Solon; Semonides; Hipponax; Archiac choral lyric; Alcman; Stesichorus; Sappho; Alcaeus; Ibycus; Anacreon; skolia; Simonides; Pindar; Bacchylides; women poets.

GRS 619 - Reception of Greek and Latin Literature

Course Code	GRS 619
Course Title	Reception of Greek and Latin Literature
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to assess the influence and impact of ancient Greek and Latin literary works on the literary works and culture of the modern world.
Course Content	Introduction; the reception of the Classics; Reception theories; representation of Greece and Rome in Medieval and modern Eastern and Western of works of art, literature, race, film and gender studies, post-colonialism; Greek and Latin authors; uses of classical texts and their impact.

Semester TWO

GRS 602 - Advanced Greek/ Latin II

Course Code	GRS 602
Course Title	Advanced Greek/ Latin II
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to explain grammatical structures and literary styles of the prescribed authors, translate and comment on their subject matter. They will, in addition, be able to assess the different genres and their contribution to the literary culture of ancient Greece/Rome, as well as the influence of the prescribed authors/ texts on modern literature.
Course Content	This course entails a study of the grammar, style and content of the prescribed texts in the original.

GRS 606 - Women in Classical Antiquity

Course Code	GRS 606
Course Title	Women in Classical Antiquity
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to analyze and comment on ancient attitudes, issues, and concepts regarding female citizens and non-citizens reflected in the more prominent Greek philosophers and compare them with modern discussions on gender studies.
Course Content	The social status and life of women in Mycenaean, Classical, and Hellenistic Greece and in the Republican and Imperial Rome; education; political rights; love, marriage and sex life of women; slave women, hetaerae, prostitution, and homosexuality, and the views of important Greek and Roman thinkers on women with special reference to Plato and Aristotle.

GRS 611 - Medieval Latin

Course Code	GRS 611
Course Title	Medieval Latin
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to read Medieval Latin texts in the original, identify and comment on their grammatical and syntactical features. They will also be able to identify and comment on the Medieval Latin writers, their contribution to the prose and poetic works of their times and assess the significance of Medieval Latin literature and culture in the formation of European thought and culture.
Course Content	Introduction; Christian Latin; early Medieval Latin (c. 500-1000AD); prose and verse from the 11^th century; prose and verse from the 12^th century.

GRS 613 - Deformity and Disability in the Ancient World

Course Code	GRS 613
Course Title	Deformity and Disability in the Ancient World
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to analyze the nature of deformity and disabling conditions experienced by the ancients, the status of such persons in society, their life and living conditions, and the opportunities for employment and recreation available to them, and compare and contrast with the condition of the disabled persons in the modern age.
Course Content	Ancient perceptions of various types of deformity and disability, their causes and effect on society; depiction of deformity and disability in art and literature; the life and achievements of well-known persons with disabilities; social issues related to deformity and disability: child exposure, public attitudes towards disability and disabled persons, and religious prohibitions.

GRS 614 - Music in the Ancient World

Course Code	GRS 614
Course Title	Music in the Ancient World
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to assess the importance of music in ancient society as well as how different types of music and forms of entertainment evolved in the course of time. They will also be able to compare and contrast the types of ancient music with their modern counterparts.
Course Content	Introduction; evidence for music in literature and art; works on music theory; philosophy and aesthetics; musical instruments; the place of music in society; patronage; festivals and competitions; famous musicians; the use of music in sacrifices and other religious rituals, drama and public events; extant musical examples; the impact of Greek and Roman music on the music of the West.

GRS 616 - Hellenistic Poetry

Course Code	GRS 616
Course Title	Hellenistic Poetry
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to discuss the literary works during the Hellenistic age of literary production. They will be able to analyze the development and the characteristics of the period through the different literary genres that existed at the time. They will also be able to assess the influence of Hellenistic literary works on the subsequent ages of writers in Greece and Rome down to the modern times.
Course Content	Introduction to Hellenistic poetry; Philetas; Antimachus; Demetrius of Phalerum; Zenodotus from Ephesus; Callimachus; Theocritus; Apollonius of Rhodes; Artus; Nicander of Colophon; Eratosthenes of Cyrene; Alexander of Ephesus; Apollodorus of Athens; Aristophanes of Byzantium; Aristarchus; Rhianus of Crete; Euphorion of Chalcis; Moschus of Syracuse; Bion of Smyrna; Machon; Herodas; Meleager; Lycophron; Posidippus of Pella; Asclepiades.

GRS 617 - Advanced Greek Prose Composition

Course Code	GRS 617
Course Title	Advanced Greek Prose Composition
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to compose both simple and complex sentences and passages in ancient Greek and, exercise the grammar skills acquired in previous Greek courses.
Course Content	The article; adjectives and pronouns; verbs; relative clauses; participles; sequence of tense and moods; indirect statement; questions; commands, exhortations and wishes; purpose clauses; result clauses; verbs of fearing and precautions; conditional clauses; impersonal verbs; the gerundive.

GRS 618 - Advanced Latin Prose Composition

Course Code	GRS 618
Course Title	Advanced Latin Prose Composition
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to compose both simple sentences and complex passages in Latin and exercise the grammar skills acquired in the previous Latin courses.
Course Content	The cases and declensions; verbs; the infinitive mood; indirect statement; subjunctive mood; the use of participles; the moods; final relative and adverbial clauses; generic, consecutive, and purpose clauses; consecutive adverb clauses and noun clauses; questions; conjunctions; fear clauses; conditional clauses; the gerund and the gerundive; impersonal verbs; temporal clauses; relative, and ‘cum’ clauses; causal and concessive clauses; clauses of comparison; reported speech.

GRS 620 - Research Methodology and Writing Skills

Course Code	GRS 620
Course Title	Research Methodology and Writing Skills
ILOs	At the end of the course students will be able to practice the different bibliographical traditions, citation methods and research methodology practiced in the Humanities with special emphasis on classical studies.
Course Content	Choosing a topic, Preparing the research proposal, Collecting material, Employing basic research sources and techniques, Literary sources: manuscripts, papyri, textual criticism, translation and comment, Epigraphic sources, Archaeological sources: with special references to pottery painting and coins, Using the library and electronic resources and locating essential resources, Planning the dissertation, Organizing, outlining and writing, Style of presentation, Footnotes, Bibliography, Defending the dissertation.