The Persian Wars: From Marathon to Salamis

Location: 15 Tholou Street

Season: July 18, 2027 to July 31, 2027

Session Dates: July 18th – 31st, 2027

Application Deadline: May 31, 2027

Deadline Type: Rolling

Website: https://www.herc.gr/

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
Hellenic Education & Research Center (HERC)

Project Director:
Dr. C. Jacob Butera (Utah State University)

Project Description:

This program will introduce students to the history and archaeology of the Persian Wars through an exploration of the sites and locations in Greece that shaped the wars and their outcomes.

Students will visit the battlefields of Marathon, Thermopylae, Plataea, Artemision, and Salamis, tracing the Persian path through Greece and studying the Greek resistance that eventually turned away the Persians and ushered in the Classical Period. The program will also explore the cult sites of the Athenian Acropolis and the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, both of which house many of the monuments and dedications that commemorate and celebrate the wars. In addition to visiting these important sites, students will read the ancient accounts that preserve for us the events of the Persian Wars. Writers like Aeschylus, Herodotus, Plutarch, and Diodorus Siculus. In this way students will be able to puzzle through our often contradictory sources and examine the ways in which the Persian Wars were recorded, remembered, and reimagined.

The trip will begin in Athens, with visits to the Acropolis (destroyed by the Persians in 480 BCE) the Acropolis Museum, and the National Archaeological Museum. Day trips will take students to the ancient Athenian ports at Salamis and Phaleron, home of the navy that became the centerpiece of the Athenian thalassocracy. Day trips will then take students to Marathon, Eretria (also sacked by the Persians in 480 BCE), Thermopylae, Plataea, Delphi, and more. Finally, we will spend several days exploring Salamis site of the Greek victory that defeated the Persian navy and altered the course of the war, and history.

In addition to the academic goals of the program, students will also have time to explore Athens, swim in the Aegean, and take in the culture of Greece as we explore one of the definitive events from its ancient history.

Period(s) of Occupation: Classical

Notes:
Persian Wars, Marathon, Thermopylae, Plataea, Artemision, Salamis, Athenian Acropolis, Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, Aeschylus, Herodotus, Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: Full length of program

Minimum Age: 18

Experience Required: No particular experience is required but participants with some background in Classics or Ancient History will be given priority.

Room and Board Arrangements:
Students will share apartments and/or hotel rooms. The program fee includes a welcome dinner, breakfast during weekdays and a farewell dinner.

Academic Credit:
Recommended credit: 4 credits offered by the applicant's home institution. Tuition is €2,900 (Euros) and includes tuition, accommodation, field trips and the meals stated in "Room and Board".