Abstract
Margaret Erwin Butler
Department of Classics
Stanford University
Teaching by destroying: the polis and the oikos in the classroom
Probing the relationship between polis and oikos is an effective and stimulating means of teaching undergraduates about ancient Athenian society. This approach, as developed for a Greek civilization class I taught at San Francisco State University, allows me to bring together evidence from the archaeology of Athens and from Athenian drama and speeches. From each category of evidence I offer a few illustrative examples of the delicate tensions between polis and oikos: how the destruction of the oikos can destroy the polis; how the preservation and promotion of the oikos can destroy the polis; how the preservation and promotion of the polis can destroy the oikos; and how recognizing their interdependence can preserve both. Presenting polis and oikos in these terms helps students learn how to articulate complex relationships and gives them a solid, comprehensible, and engaging introduction to an important aspect of Athenian society.
Return to CACW 2006 "Household and Society in the Ancient World" Program