#362 overall
Ancient Greek History (Donald Kagan)
Yale University
2 recommenders · 2 threads · recommended in 1 year, 2021 · score 1.4
A Yale University lecture course on ancient Greek history taught by Donald Kagan, covering Greek civilization and its major events, including the Peloponnesian War. Delivered as recorded lectures through Open Yale Courses.
Commenters describe it as useful background for reading Thucydides and Homer, and one calls the lectures fascinating.
Humanities & Social Scienceintermediatefreevideo lectures#ancient greece#peloponnesian war#thucydides#yale#kagan
Recommendations by year
20062026
Start with the Iliad and I recommend the Lattimore translation although Fagles is good too. You may want to read the first book (chapter) a few times to get the flow. You may also want the backstory, the Judgment of Paris and the Golden Apple. This kind of explains why the Achaeans are there at Troy.
BTW, watch Troy with Brad Pitt. It's got its points but it really deemphasizes the gods. It takes liberties but it's fun.
Then read the Odyssey. The Odyssey is a little stranger because it's kind of told backwards.
Then Virgil's Aeneid. Virgil is 'plagiarizing' Homer and steals a minor character Aeneas; so it helps to know the Iliad+Odyssey to get the homage. There is a really good course/podcast on the Aeneid by Susanna Braund from Stanford.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/virgils-aeneid/id38423...
There is also the Harvard class, the Ancient Greek Hero, which may help.
https://online-learning.harvard.edu/course/ancient-greek-her...
Thucydides The Peloponnesian War has great parallels and lessons. In the middle of the war, some idiots ( Alcibiades) decide to attack Sicily because it was going to be easy and the war will pay for itself; they get their asses kicked. You can read this as an allegory for Iraq, an expensive pointless distraction led by idiots. There's also the Siege of Melos.
Yale has a good course by Donald Kagan (Project for a New American Century Donald Kagan) that has background for all this.
https://oyc.yale.edu/classics/clcv-205
Not quite the same as the now usual coursera and edx(short videos quizzes and exams), but Open Yale Courses are fascinating (lecture based). I've finished and I recommend early middle ages. And these days I'm watching ancient Greek civilization also recommend. https://oyc.yale.edu/courses