100-level

CLAS120
People, Places and Histories of the Graeco-Roman World
Description
In this course we will survey events in antiquity from Homer through to the Roman Emperor Constantine. On the way we will explore the world of fifth century Athens, gaining an insight into the society that established democracy and move on to appreciate Alexander's campaigns and the formation of the Hellenistic kingdoms after his death. We will also turn to the west of the Mediterranean Sea and investigate the development of Rome from a small town to the capital of a large Empire, its constitutional transformations and the social impact of those changes on people's sense of place and identity.
Occurrences
Semester One 2026
Points
15 points
Restrictions
CLAS111; CLAS112; CLAS113
CLAS122
Myth, Power and Identity in the Graeco-Roman World
Description
In this course students will consider how the Greeks and the Romans thought of themselves and others in their mythology and social power structures. Students will gain an understanding of ancient cosmic world-views, gender issues, colonisation and identity in Archaic and Classical Greece and Augustan Rome, and the relevance of such ideas now. Students will read, analyse and interpret ancient literary texts (selections from epic, tragedy, etc.) and material culture (art and architecture) that depict Greek and Roman myths as well as expressing ancient political and social views.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2026
Points
15 points
Restrictions
CLAS104; CLAS105
CLAS135
Beginner's Greek
Description
An introduction to Ancient Greek grammar and to the reading of Ancient Greek texts, building on from the material learnt in CLAS151. Students, in this course, concentrate on Ancient Greek only, learning the language of fifth century Athens through the reading of texts. The dialect we learn is Attic Greek, which, when learnt, will enable access to other Greek dialects including New Testament Greek.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2026
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
CLAS151, or by approval of the Head of Department.
Restrictions
CLAS131
CLAS145
Beginners' Latin
Description
An introduction to Latin grammar and to reading Latin, following on from CLAS151.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2026
Semester Two 2026 (Distance)
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
CLAS151 or by approval of the Head of Department
Restrictions
CLAS143
CLAS151
Greek and Latin for Absolute Beginners
Description
This course introduces Greek, Latin grammar to students by way of English grammar. At the end of the course students will understand the most important basic grammatical concepts in Greek and Latin and will have a working vocabulary of about 75 words in each language. They will be prepared to continue more intensive study in Greek and/or Latin.
Occurrences
Semester One 2026
Semester One 2026 (Distance)
Points
15 points
Restrictions
CLAS134, CLAS144, CLAS 143, CLAS 131

200-level

CLAS208
Archaeology of the Ancient Mediterranean World
Description
This course introduces the basic principles of archaeology as a discipline. It will focus on the main categories of evidence for Classical Archaeology and will use examples drawn from sites in the Mediterranean basin from 3000 BCE- 400 CE. The course will also use artefacts in the collections of the Teece Museum and the Canterbury Museum.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2026
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points from 100 level in CLAS, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA, or 60 points at 100 level from any other bachelor's degree.
CLAS213
Alexander the Great
Description
A survey of the career of Alexander the Great (336 to 323 BC) with special attention to problems of source interpretation.
Occurrences
Semester One 2026
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level from CLAS, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.Either 15 points of CLAS at 100-level with a B pass; or 30 points of CLAS at 100-level; or any 45 points from the Arts Schedule. RP: CLAS 111 or any 100-level course in CLAS.Either 15 points of CLAS at 100-level with a B pass; or 30 points of CLAS at 100-level; or any 45 points from the Arts Schedule. RP: CLAS 111 or any 100-level paper in CLAS .
Restrictions
CLAS313
CLAS219
Sport and Leisure in the Ancient World
Description
A study of the impact of sport and leisure on various aspects of ancient life and their modern reconstructions. Note: course requirements in this combined 200 and 300-level course will be appropriate to the level at which the student is enrolled.
Occurrences
Semester One 2026
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level from CLAS, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.Either 15 points of CLAS at 100-level with a B pass; or 30 points of CLAS at 100-level; or any 45 points from the Arts Schedule. RP: Any 100-level course in CLAS.
Restrictions
CLAS319
CLAS223
Sex, Love and Gender in the Ancient World
Description
This course investigates ancient attitudes towards sex, conceptualisations of love and the construction of gender through analyses of mythic, literary and artistic representations of men and women, and their interactions. The investigation will be accompanied by reflections on the impact of Graeco-Roman perceptions of sex, love and gender on Western views in terms of changes and continuities.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2026
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level from CLAS, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.Either 15 points of CLAS at 100-level with a B pass; or any 30 points from the Arts Schedule. RP: Any first year Arts Courses
CLAS234
Intermediate Greek 1
Description
A study of selected Greek texts and unseen passages, with emphasis on the development of knowledge of the language.
Occurrences
Semester One 2026 (The Arts Centre Christchurch)
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
CLAS135, or subject to approval of the Head of Department.
Restrictions
CLAS231
CLAS235
Intermediate Greek 2
Description
Continued study of Greek literature and unseen passages, with emphasis on the development of knowledge of the language. This involves reading important texts by authors such as Sophocles, Euripides, Thucydides, Homer and others, as well as analysing these more fully in their cultural and literary context.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2026 (The Arts Centre Christchurch)
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
CLAS234, or subject to approval of the Head of Department.
Restrictions
CLAS231
CLAS244
Intermediate Latin 1
Description
The aim, by the end of the course, is to equip students with the skills and knowledge to enable them to read actual Latin texts and great authors such as Catullus, Vergil, Ovid, Cicero, Tacitus and others who remain amongst the most influential and important literary figures of the ancient world.
Occurrences
Semester One 2026 (The Arts Centre Christchurch)
Semester One 2026 (Distance)
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
CLAS145, or subject to approval of the Head of Department.
Restrictions
CLAS241
CLAS245
Intermediate Latin 2
Description
Continued study of selected Latin texts and unseen passages, with emphasis on the development of knowledge of the language.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2026 (The Arts Centre Christchurch)
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
CLAS244, or subject to approval of the Head of Department.

300-level

CLAS319
Sport and Leisure in the Ancient World
Description
A study of the impact of sport and leisure on various aspects of ancient life and their modern reconstructions. Note: course requirements in this combined 200- and 300-level course will be appropriate to the level at which the student is enrolled.
Occurrences
Semester One 2026
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from CLAS, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.Either 15 points of CLAS at 200 level with a B pass; or 30 points of CLAS at 200 level; or any 45 points at 200 level from the Arts Schedule
Restrictions
CLAS219
CLAS325
Roman Social History
Description
A study into Roman society, focusing on the day-to-day life of Rome's inhabitants. Topics may include familial relationships, health and wellbeing, urban infrastructure, occupations, bars, nocturnal lighting and events, floods, fires, travel, among others. What emerges are insights that will fascinate and in some cases surprise.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2026
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from CLAS, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
CLAS307, CLAS407 (in 2003, 2008, 2010), CLAS425
CLAS326
Concepts of Art and Literature from Homer to Aristotle
Description
Today, all over the world, Greek dramas continue to be performed and adapted; Homer's epics are forever finding new audiences through new translations, adaptations and interpretation on film and TV; and Greek art attracts millions of people worldwide to galleries, museums and archaeological sites. But what did these works mean to the ancients themselves? In what ways did the Greeks link visual and verbal artforms to other issues such as psychology, ethics, politics and desire? Are modern ways of viewing these ancient works compatible with ancient responses to them or are there vast differences in post-antique ways of reading ancient literary and material culture? If so, what are these differences? Some answers to these and other related questions can be found in looking at ancient writings about the visual and verbal arts in Archaic and Classical Greece and reconsidering these artworks in the light of such writings. This course analyses Greek views of visual imagery (primarily paintings and statues), poetry and rhetoric in the Archaic and Classical Greek world (c. 750-320 BC). Over this period many of the most influential developments in these media were achieved, and critical thinking about art, language and poetry first burgeoned, particularly in the fifth century. In fact, the very terms that have become central to our way of categorising and thinking about visual, verbal and aural artforms - music, poetry, lyric, epic, tragedy, comedy, drama, rhetoric, graphics, mimesis.
Occurrences
Semester One 2026
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from CLAS, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
CLAS315, CLAS454, CLAS414
CLAS335
Advanced Greek
Description
Continued study of Greek literature and unseen passages, with emphasis on the development of knowledge of the language. This involves reading important texts by authors such as Sophocles, Euripides, Thucydides, Homer and others as well as analysing these more fully in their cultural and literary context.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2026 (The Arts Centre Christchurch)
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
CLAS235, or subject to approval of the Head of Department.
Restrictions
CLAS331
CLAS345
Advanced Latin
Description
Continued advanced study of Latin texts and unseen passages.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2026 (The Arts Centre Christchurch)
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
CLAS245, or subject to approval of the Head of Department.
Restrictions
CLAS341

Not Offered Courses in 2026

100-level

CLAS120
People, Places and Histories of the Graeco-Roman World
Description
In this course we will survey events in antiquity from Homer through to the Roman Emperor Constantine. On the way we will explore the world of fifth century Athens, gaining an insight into the society that established democracy and move on to appreciate Alexander's campaigns and the formation of the Hellenistic kingdoms after his death. We will also turn to the west of the Mediterranean Sea and investigate the development of Rome from a small town to the capital of a large Empire, its constitutional transformations and the social impact of those changes on people's sense of place and identity.
Occurrences
CLAS120-26S1 (D)
Semester One 2026 (Distance) - Not offered
For further information see CLAS120 course details
Points
15 points
Restrictions
CLAS111; CLAS112; CLAS113
CLAS122
Myth, Power and Identity in the Graeco-Roman World
Description
In this course students will consider how the Greeks and the Romans thought of themselves and others in their mythology and social power structures. Students will gain an understanding of ancient cosmic world-views, gender issues, colonisation and identity in Archaic and Classical Greece and Augustan Rome, and the relevance of such ideas now. Students will read, analyse and interpret ancient literary texts (selections from epic, tragedy, etc.) and material culture (art and architecture) that depict Greek and Roman myths as well as expressing ancient political and social views.
Occurrences
CLAS122-26S2 (D)
Semester Two 2026 (Distance) - Not offered
For further information see CLAS122 course details
Points
15 points
Restrictions
CLAS104; CLAS105