Why do the ancient Greeks occupy such a prominent place in conceptions of Western culture and identity? Covering the 11 centuries from the end of the Neolithic period to the rise of Alexander the Great, this course traces the history of Classical Greece and its foundational influence on all of Western civilization. The knowledge you gain here will increase your comprehension not only of history, but of all Western religion, art, architecture, philosophy, and literature as well.
Ancient Greek Civilization
Discover why the ancient Greeks occupy such a prominent place in Western culture and identity in this engrossing course taught by a historian and archaeologist.
Rated 4 out of
5
by
jojojojojo from
Good but dated.
I really enjoyed this course that gives a thorough overview of Ancient Greek History (exactly what i was looking for).
That being said, the class was filmed a long time ago (1998!) and it shows. Obviously, greek history hasn't changed much since then (even though there are some new discoveries and theories), but the presentation is a bit old and dated. This topic deserves a new version.
Date published: 2024-08-12
Rated 5 out of
5
by
janny221 from
ancient greece
I learnt so much and I was always fascinated the lectures
Date published: 2024-03-20
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Colourful Pete from
Very interesting
I'm half way through the course so far I have found it very interesting stimulating my interest in ancient Greece. Well presented.
Date published: 2022-11-02
Rated 5 out of
5
by
flux from
Very good!
This course is an excellent introduction to Ancient Greece. Prof. McInerney speaks calmly and clearly and is easy to listen to, and presents many different viewpoints and theories.
Date published: 2022-09-05
Rated 5 out of
5
by
garbled from
Ancient Greek Civilization
Professor McInerney's course is well organized, clearly presented, with alternate opinions of
other archeologists, culminated with his own conclusion. The best lecturing of many courses on similar subjects.
Date published: 2022-07-22
Rated 5 out of
5
by
LJP23 from
Great course!
I have read about and considered Greek history for many years. This is a masterful summary of what we know. Prof. McInerney brought out many relationships and links I had never heard of before, even though this is a survey course. Excellent product!
Date published: 2022-06-14
Rated 5 out of
5
by
mas30 from
Fine introduction to Ancient Greece
These are excellent lectures. They are clear, well organized, and accessible. I knew little about Ancient Greece when I started watching them, now I know a lot more! My one very minor criticism would be that the maps could be clearer.
Date published: 2022-05-21
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Anonymous from
I bought 'Ancient Greece' a month ago and have so enjoyed listening to it, as I have
many other titles from The Great Courses library. Professor McInerney is extremely knowledgable regarding the subject matter. And he covers a vast array of aspects of
the history of Ancient Greece. But I very much appreciate the fact that he works to
make sure his listeners understand that, while there are many familiar aspects about
Ancient Greece, there are many completely alien aspects as well. This was a great
purchase, both entertaining and enlightening.
Date published: 2022-05-16
Overview
About
Dr. Jeremy McInerney is Davidson Kennedy Associate Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. McInerney earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He was the Wheeler Fellow at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and has excavated in Israel, at Corinth, and on Crete. He serves on the Managing Committee of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece. Professor McInerney's research interests include topography, epigraphy and historiography. He is the author of The Folds of Parnassos: Land and Ethnicity in Ancient Pholis, and has published articles in a variety of academic journals including Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, the American Journal of Archaeology, Hesperia, and California Studies in Classical Antiquity. In 1997, he was an invited participant at a colloquium on ethnicity in the ancient world, hosted by the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington.
01: Greece and the Western World
Why do we feel such a strong affinity with the ancient Greeks? When and how did the West begin to venerate the Golden Age of Athens under Pericles?
31 min
02: Minoan Crete
Bronze Age Crete has been dubbed a "palatial society" whose magnificent buildings housed a complex, hierarchical world. But this world remains shrouded in mystery.
30 min
03: Schliemann and Mycenae
Inspired by Homer's poems, Heinrich Schliemann uncovered the elite warrior culture of Mycenae, "rich in gold." The relationship of this culture to that of Bronze Age Crete has long been a subject of intense scholarly debate.
29 min
04: The Long Twilight
Civilization in Bronze Age Crete and Mycenae declined rapidly after 1200 B.C.E. Archaeologists have long argued about the cause: Was it natural disaster, military invasion, internal strife, or some combination of these?
30 min
05: The Age of Heroes
During the ancient "Dark Ages," the predominant unit of Hellenic society was a tribal or clan-based group known as the oikos (household). Poets such as Homer created an imaginative world that provided society a heroic, aristocratic ethos....
31 min
06: From Sicily to Syria-The Growth of Trade and Colonization
Greek colonies were established as near as the Mediterranean and as far away as Ukraine. While the causes of Hellenic colonization are complex, its results were important. Trade filled Greek coffers. Intellectual imports, such as written language and artistic motifs, arrived as well.
30 min
07: Delphi and Olympia
The preclassical institutions of the Olympic Games and the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi were crucial elements in fixing Greek identity.
29 min
08: The Spartans
Conflict, tension, and civil unrest were endemic in most Greek city-states from the 8th century B.C.E. onward. Sparta, however, formed a notable exception. How did it avoid civic violence?
30 min
09: Revolution
Solon, the "father of the Athenian constitution," was elected to forestall factional strife. He attempted to formalize rights and privileges based on wealth rather than birth, and did away with debt-bondage. He laid the groundwork for the rule of law in Athens.
29 min
10: Tyranny
Contrary to our modern definition of tyranny, the Greek word originally meant the seizing of power by an ambitious man. The tyranny of Peisistratus and his sons kept the peace in Athens and nurtured its prosperity for more than 50 years.
29 min
11: The Origins of Democracy
Cleisthenes recognized that the common Athenian was a more potent political force than any aristocrat, and used this knowledge to take control of an Athens newly freed from the Peisistratid tyranny. Under his rule, the Athenians established the elements of democratic governance.
31 min
12: Beyond Greece-The Persian Empire
The epic confrontation between Greece and Persia changed Greek history forever. In this lecture, the Persian Empire is examined and, as far as possible, without the bias of Greek sources. The portrait that emerges is of a complex and sophisticated society.
32 min
13: The Persian Wars
The Persian Wars, 490-479 B.C.E, were probably of more consequence to the Greeks than to the Persians. From these confrontations the Greeks articulated their idea of eleutheria (freedom), which is still embedded in Western culture. What was freedom as the Greeks conceived it?...
31 min
14: The Athenian Empire
An alliance of Aegean city-states, the Delian League was formed in the aftermath of the Persian Wars while Athens enjoyed great prestige. The Golden Age of Pericles was the age of imperial Athens, during which time the Parthenon, Propylaia, and Erectheion were completed.
31 min
15: The Art of Democracy
Athenian democracy was a remarkable achievement. Although participation was restricted to adult male citizens, the assembly, council, courts, and magistracies guaranteed a broad basis for sharing power.
30 min
16: Sacrifice and Greek Religion
Greek spiritual life rested on a fluid cosmology in which faith was personal while religion was a public affair that revolved around a communal sacrifice. These sacrifices were organized as festivals, leading us to ask: Which ranked first in importance, performance or belief?
31 min
17: Theater and the Competition of Art
Familiar as Greek plays seem to us, their roots lie in the more foreign realm of ancient religious festivals. The power of drama was seen as connecting the community with the divine. Therefore, the straightforward structure of most Greek dramas should not blind us to their powerful emotional role and content.
30 min
18: Sex and Gender
Ancient Greek attitudes toward sex and gender differed markedly from our own. Activity and forcefulness characterized the masculine ideal. Women, on the other hand, were thought to need the protection of their family and society.
30 min
19: The Peloponnesian War, Part I
The Peloponnesian War, 431-404 B.C.E., was a contest between Athens and Sparta, the two most powerful states in Greece. Thucydides, an Athenian general, wrote his observations and attempted to analyze scientifically the causes of the war. His account remains important not only because it is remarkably detailed, but because Thucydides saw the gap between societal ideals and the realities of power.
30 min
20: The Peloponnesian War, Part II
Thucydides wanted to teach his audience fundamental truths about history rather than entertain people with war stories. To him, human events followed a pattern. He writes with great restraint but stunning depth and power.
30 min
21: Socrates on Trial
The philosophic traditions of Ionian inquiry and sophistic pedagogy met in the career of Socrates, who concentrated almost exclusively on moral philosophy. Plato immortalized his trial and execution in the "Apology," "Crito," and "Phaedo." Was Socrates a martyr, as Plato and many others have held, or is there another explanation for his fate?
31 min
22: Slavery and Freedom
Slaves were ubiquitous in classical Greece; even the poorest citizens owned slaves because the amount of time needed for participation in democratic government meant that the eleutheros, the free man, needed to have others do his domestic tasks. How did the Greeks reconcile the ideal of democracy with the practice of slavery?...
30 min
23: Athens in Decline?
The history of Greece during the 4th century B.C.E. is divided between the early decades when important developments were made in many areas, and the later decades, during which Greece came under the domination of the Macedonian kings. Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum changed philosophy forever, and writers such as Xenophon and Menander produced enduring prose and drama.
31 min
24: Philip, Alexander, and Greece in Transition
Once Philip II had conquered Greece, he used the dream of a Panhellenic crusade to unite the Greeks and conquer the Persian Empire. Philip's son, Alexander the Great, went a long way toward realizing this dream when he led Greco-Macedonian armies in the conquest of Persia and extended the Greek "empire of influence" across Asia as far as the northern marches of the Indian subcontinent.
31 min
