Great and Wondrous Deeds

Parthenon

As resident of Los Angeles can attest, we spend a lot of time commuting around the city. Over the past few months, this has been especially true for me. To pass the time, I usually listen to music on the radio. However, I decided to change it up and listen to recordings of lectures on Ancient Greek civilization. I've always been a student of Classical Civ, but I've mostly been focused on the Romans. Well, I decided it was finally time to give Greece a bit of my time.

Sure. I've read the standard repertoire, Homer and Hesiod, Sophocles and Euripides, Plato and Aristotle. However, it was always in passing, part of a literature or philosophy class. Just another primary text to grind through. So, although I could claim to be widely read in the Greek classics, it was a really shallow claim.

Anyways, I got a few courses from the Teaching Company and was surprised at their overall quality. Each course was an excellent basic survey of the topic. They actually make feel good about the long and frequent drives that I make around town. The 405 is no longer a detestable waste of my time. ;-)

I've listened to a few courses by Jeremy McInerney, Chair of the Department of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He's a very good lecturer and his courses have good organization with broad focus, including cultural, economic, military, and political elements. I've listened to "Ancient Greek Civilization", "Age of Pericles" and "Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age."

Another fine lecturer is Elizabeth Vandiver of Whitman College. Her courses focus on literary topics. She's very good at explaining the basics of a work, as well as both the broader context and the specific nuances. However, I think the listener will get more from these lectures if they have previously read the work under study. For instance, I've only read Herodotus in bits and pieces, never "cover to cover." Therefore, in her course "Herodotus: The Father of History," I got more out of the areas in which I was familiar. I also listened to her course on "Greek Tragedy" and "The Odyssey of Homer." All three of these courses were excellent.

Finally, you can't study Ancient Greece without doing some philosophy. I listened to a couple of course by David Roochnik of Boston University, "Introduction to Greek Philosophy" and "Plato's Republic." Both of these courses were well organized and with very accessible lectures. I was especially impressed by the course of the Republic. Given my previous unhappy experiences with this work, I was doubtful that any lecturer could keep my interest on the subject. He did. Bravo!

Euphronios Krater

Anyways, I highly recommend these courses. Moreover, I'm interested in actually reading some Ancient Greek studies.

Here's a link to the Teaching Company's website.

Prof. Jeremy McInerney's webpage is here.

Prof. Elizabeth Vandiver's Wikipedia page is here.

Here's a link to Prof. David Roochnik's webpage.

Enjoy!!!