This program emphasizes faculty-led visits to the most important archaeological monuments and museums in Athens—now the vibrant and cosmopolitan capital of modern Greece, but also a city in which traces of the past remain firmly embedded in the contemporary urban landscape.  The program aims to introduce students to the history of Athens and to the culture of its inhabitants through a series of on-site lectures and discussions.  It will begin with the emergence of ancient Athens as an independent city-state, discuss the city’s life as an imperial power and a subject state in other empires, and conclude by considering the significance of Athens and its ancient past for modern Greece.