HIST 30033 Ancient Mysteries: Sense and Nonsense
A survey of ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern history from the Paleolithic Age to the Fall of Rome, including ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Levant, Greece and Rome. The course examines in a scholarly manner various topics from this period to show the history of the interest and expose common misinformation. Typical mysteries considered are the fall of Rome, the historical Jesus, the pyramids, Biblical events, the Neanderthal problem, the search for the Trojan War. (NWH)