Lecture Description
In this lecture, Professor Kagan addresses what scholars call the Homeric question. He asks: what society do Homer's poems describe? He argues that in view of the long oral transmission of the poems, the poems of Homer probably reflect various ages from the Mycenaean world to the Dark Ages. More importantly, close scrutiny of the poems will yield historical information for the historian. In this way, one is able to reconstruct through the poems, to a certain extent, the post-Mycenaean world. Finally, Professor Kagan says a few words on the heroic ethic of the Greek world.
Course Index
- Introduction
- The Dark Ages
- The Dark Ages (cont.)
- The Rise of the Polis
- The Rise of the Polis (cont.)
- The Greek "Renaissance" - Colonization and Tyranny
- The Greek "Renaissance" - Colonization and Tyranny (cont.)
- Sparta
- Sparta (cont.)
- The Rise of Athens
- The Rise of Athens (cont.)
- The Persian Wars
- The Athenian Empire
- The Athenian Empire (cont.)
- Athenian Democracy
- Athenian Democracy (cont.)
- The Peloponnesian War, Part I
- The Peloponnesian War, Part I (cont.)
- The Peloponnesian War, Part II
- The Peloponnesian War, Part II (cont.)
- The Struggle for Hegemony in Fourth-Century Greece
- The Struggle for Hegemony in Fourth-Century Greece (cont.)
- Twilight of the Polis
- Twilight of the Polis (cont.) and Conclusion
Course Description
This is an introductory course in Greek history tracing the development of Greek civilization as manifested in political, intellectual, and creative achievements from the Bronze Age to the end of the classical period. Students read original sources in translation as well as the works of modern scholars.