Robert Garland
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
This series takes you from the great Classical and Hellenistic eras through Greece’s dramatic modern history. You’ll discover Greek culture in examples such as: Athenian democracy; Greek religious beliefs; Greek drama, epic poetry, and philosophy; and Greek sculpture, vase painting, and architecture.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Begin this final episode by reviewing criticisms leveled against the ancient Greeks, and aspects of Greek society which are “hot button” issues for the modern world, such as the repression of women and the elitist nature of their society. Conclude with five compelling reasons for studying the Greeks, from their areas of unsurpassed excellence to the beauty and wonder of their civilization.
3) The Greek World: A Study of History and Culture: Episode 18,Greek Historians: The Birth of History
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Take the measure of two of ancient Greece’s greatest historians. Begin with the work of Herodotus, often called the “father of history”; grasp the qualities of his history writing, and how he established the first principle of historiography: impartiality. Continue with Thucydides, credited with establishing the discipline of scientific history and the political theory of Realpolitik.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Look into the origins of the great philosophical tradition within ancient Greece, and the contributions of the early, pre-Socratic philosophers. Then, examine the work of the philosophical giants Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, taking account of the core ideas and the influence of each. Conclude by exploring two major Greek philosophical traditions: Stoicism and Epicureanism.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Uncover the origins of Greek drama, and how it evolved into the form of a chorus and masked actors. Learn about early theater festivals; the elements of a Greek theater; and how plays were selected, financed, and performed. Finally, study the rituals of theater going, the use of theatrical devices and stage machinery, and the story of how the Greeks’ iconic plays survived into the modern era.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
The art of war was integral to ancient Greek culture. Delve into warfare as portrayed in the Iliad, observing the highly ritualistic nature of Homeric combat. Continue with the classical warfare of the hoplites, phalanxes of heavily armed soldiers, and learn about hoplite tactics, strategy, and weaponry. Study Athens’s mighty naval forces, and assess the changing rules of battlefield conduct.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Take an overview of Greece’s Classical Age, an astonishing period of human accomplishment, which the series will treat in detail. Explore defining events of the period, from the 479 BCE defeat of the Persians, through the period of the Peloponnesian War, to the emergence of Macedonia as a great power and the exploits of Alexander.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Examine the many compelling reasons to study the ancient Greeks, from their phenomenal art and architecture to their philosophy, religion, and inventions of drama and democracy. Consider how we identify the Greeks, in cultural, historical, and linguistic terms. Finally, note the influence of Greece’s landscape and physical environment on the development and character of Greek civilization.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Grasp the contours of Greece’s Dark Age, an era of restricted trade and a breakdown of centralized power. Take note of the achievements of this epoch, such as iron technology, the Greek alphabet, and the advent of the Olympic Games. In the following Archaic Period, chart Greece’s geographical expansion, creation of city-states, invention of coinage, and movement toward democracy.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Here, follow the struggle of the Greeks under the Ottomans, which became a bloody political movement for Greek independence. See how European intellectuals, artists, and Europe’s major powers supported the movement, leading to the founding of the nation-state of Greece in 1830. Track Greece’s territorial expansion through the ensuing century, and its tumultuous modern history up to the present.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
The conquests of Alexander the Great gave birth to the world we call Hellenistic. Observe how Alexander’s military expansionism brought a vast geographical area under the influence of Greek civilization. Note how the conquered peoples embraced Hellenistic culture, how Alexander’s empire fragmented after his death, and how the majestic city of Alexandria became a major center of learning.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
For the ancient Greeks, every human activity contained a religious dimension. Examine the underlying worldview of the Greeks’ polytheistic religious beliefs, and where we find it represented in literature. Look at each of the major Greek gods, and their characteristic roles and qualities. Grasp the very human moral and psychological attributes of the gods, and what constituted piety and impiety.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Encounter the major styles of Greek vase painting, in examples by master painters such as the Dipylon Master and Exekias, noting their remarkable iconography portraying social ritual, war, and mythological scenes. Learn about black and red figure technique, the use of incised decoration and brushwork, and the superlative qualities of Greek painting in both conception and realization.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Explore the fascinating and conflicted relationship between the Greeks and their Roman conquerors. Take account of the profound impact of Greek culture on Rome, and how the Romans both despised and admired the Greeks. Witness the founding of the Byzantine Empire, its flourishing of scholarship and theology, and the major role of Islamic scholars in preserving and disseminating Greek learning.
15) The Greek World: A Study of History and Culture: Episode 23,Eating and Drinking among the Greeks
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
As a final perspective on Greek culture, take a spirited look at Greek food and drink across the ages. Observe how the ancient Greeks ate, considering their diet, meal rituals, staple foods, and a signature Spartan dish. Learn about Greek food today, sampling a spectrum of standout dishes and traditional foods and wines. Then, visualize an ancient “symposium,” or traditional drinking party.
16) The Greek World: A Study of History and Culture: Episode 22,Greek Language, Literacy, and Writing
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Examine the structure of the ancient Greek language, how it embodies and expresses thought, and how common linguistic devices express the Greek mindset. Learn about the evolution of writing in Greece, and the wealth of information available to us from ancient papyri. Finally, take account of literacy in ancient Greece, and our indebtedness to literate slaves who were copyists and transcribers.
17) The Greek World: A Study of History and Culture: Episode 2,Bronze Age Greece: Minoans and Myceneans
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Trace the origins of human habitation on the mainland and islands of Greece. Study the Bronze Age cultures of the Cycladic islands; the famed Minoan civilization centered on Crete, with its palaces and religious ritual; and the Mycenaean civilization, with its monumental architecture. Learn about Mycenae’s connection with the Trojan War, and what may have led to its collapse.
18) The Greek World: A Study of History and Culture: Episode 17,Greek Politics, Law, and Public Speaking
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Radical, participatory democracy was established in Athens in the 5th century BCE. Study the mindset and features of Athenian democracy, as it empowered every citizen to speak and vote, and required citizens to participate in civic affairs. Assess ancient and modern critiques of Greek democracy. Then study ancient Athenian legal practice, highlighting the system of trial by jury.
19) The Greek World: A Study of History and Culture: Episode 12,The Perfection of Greek Architecture
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Study the primary forms of Greek architecture, which emblemize Greek civilization and have profoundly impacted architecture in the West. Visit the Acropolis of Athens as the ancient Greeks would have seen it; take in the magnificent features of the Parthenon, as well as those of other temples and civic structures. Learn also about Greek domestic architecture, house plans, and town planning.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
With the fall of Constantinople in 1453, learn how the Greeks fared under Ottoman rule. Then trace the processes through which Europe rediscovered classical antiquity. Grasp the philosophical spirit of the Renaissance, which brought a sudden interest in the ancient Greeks. Chart the huge influence of Greek mythology on Western art, and how Greek literature was widely disseminated in the West.