The traveling educators and thinkers known as the sophists brought radical theories about politics, society, and morality to mid-fifth-century Athens and so helped to revolutionize much of Athenian thought, while precipitating a backlash and years of social and political upheaval. Today we can see their influence in different ways and to different degrees in nearly all of fifth-century Athenian literature. In this course, we will explore this important intellectual and social phenomenon by reading selected works of the sophists, such as Gorgias' Helen, and speeches of orators such as Isaeus and Lysias, as well as selections from Aristophanes' Clouds, the comedy which lampoons and lambastes sophistry in the person of Socrates and his Thinkery. We will also continue to review grammar and to develop Greek reading and interpretive skills throughout the semester. Evaluation will be based on classroom participation, quizzes, a midterm and a final exam. Several oral presentations and short essays may be required as well. Prerequisite: Greek 201 or permission of the instructor.