Ancient Greece: Myth, Art, War
By Professor Chris Mackie and Dr Gillian Shepherd
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Description
In this subject students are introduced to the diversity of the ancient Greek achievement, which has exercised a fundamental and continuing influence upon later European literature and culture. The subject commences with a detailed treatment of Homer's Iliad and the myth of the Trojan war. This is one of the dominant myths in the Greek tradition and is narrated in some detail in epic poetry, in drama, and in art and architecture. We explore how myths are 'read' in their historical context, especially in the contexts of the Persian and Peloponnesian wars of the 5th Century BC. A variety of sources are treated to enable students to build up a picture of Greek society as a whole.
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1 |
The Acropolis Programme | After a curious gap of over 30 years, the Athenians finally started to rebuild on the Acropolis following the Persian sack of 480 BC. | 10 6 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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2 |
The Acropolis Programme (handout) | After a curious gap of over 30 years, the Athenians finally started to rebuild on the Acropolis following the Persian sack of 480 BC. | 10 6 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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3 |
Art, Myth and Marathon | The Battle of Marathon in 490 BC – when against all odds the Athenians (with a bit of help from the Plataeans) defeated the Persians was too good a PR opportunity for the Athenians to ignore and they made the most of it. | 30 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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4 |
Art, Myth and Marathon (handout) | The Battle of Marathon in 490 BC – when against all odds the Athenians (with a bit of help from the Plataeans) defeated the Persians was too good a PR opportunity for the Athenians to ignore and they made the most of it. | 30 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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5 |
Myth, Art, War and Greek Sanctuaries | Sanctuaries were the context for many of the most impressive buildings and sculptures produced by the ancient Greeks. | 30 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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6 |
Myth, Art, War and Greek Sanctuaries (handout) | Sanctuaries were the context for many of the most impressive buildings and sculptures produced by the ancient Greeks. | 30 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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7 |
The Trojan War in Greek Art | Mythological scenes are common in Greek art. The Trojan War was a very popular subject for Greek artists, especially vase painters of the 6th and 5th centuries BC. | 30 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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8 |
The Trojan War in Greek Art (handout) | Mythological scenes are common in Greek art. The Trojan War was a very popular subject for Greek artists, especially vase painters of the 6th and 5th centuries BC. | 30 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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9 |
Vase Painting in Classical Athens | Pottery is the single biggest category of evidence we have from the classical world – there is nothing we have more of. Much of it is fragmentary coarseware, but other vases were decorated. | 30 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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10 |
Vase Painting in Classical Athens (handout) | Pottery is the single biggest category of evidence we have from the classical world – there is nothing we have more of. Much of it is fragmentary coarseware, but other vases were decorated. | 30 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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11 |
Euripides’ Trojan Women | Set in the aftermath of the Trojan War, Euripides’ Trojan Women is a lament for the fallen city and the fate of its women, destined for slavery. | 17 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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12 |
Euripides’ Trojan Women (handout) | Set in the aftermath of the Trojan War, Euripides’ Trojan Women is a lament for the fallen city and the fate of its women, destined for slavery. | 17 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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13 |
Aristophanes’ Lysistrata | Staged not long after the disastrous defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War, the seriousness of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata would not have been lost on its audience, despite it being a comedy laden with sexual humour. | 16 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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14 |
Aristophanes’ Lysistrata (handout) | Staged not long after the disastrous defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War, the seriousness of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata would not have been lost on its audience, despite it being a comedy laden with sexual humour. | 16 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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15 |
Sophocles’ Ajax | Sophocles’ Ajax is one of our earliest surviving Greek plays, produced in c. 440 BC. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo examines Sophocles’ treatment of the theme of a changing world which posed new challenges and required new skills for coping. | 15 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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16 |
Sophocles’ Ajax (handout) | Sophocles’ Ajax is one of our earliest surviving Greek plays, produced in c. 440 BC. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo examines Sophocles’ treatment of the theme of a changing world which posed new challenges and required new skills for coping. | 15 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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17 |
Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis | Performed in Athens in the last years of the Peloponnesian War and when Athens had a democracy, Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis is appropriately a play about decision-making. | 15 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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18 |
Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis (handout) | Performed in Athens in the last years of the Peloponnesian War and when Athens had a democracy, Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis is appropriately a play about decision-making. | 15 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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19 |
Drama and Society | This lecture examines the role and status of Athenian drama in Athenian society. Dr Gillian Shepherd looks at the finale of the Sicilian Expedition, and the event that preceded it: the Melian Dialogue. | 7 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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20 |
Drama and Society (handout) | This lecture examines the role and status of Athenian drama in Athenian society. Dr Gillian Shepherd looks at the finale of the Sicilian Expedition, and the event that preceded it: the Melian Dialogue. | 7 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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21 |
The Peloponnesian War | Between 431 and 404 BC a bitter war known as the Peloponnesian War was fought between the two major powers of ancient Greece – Athens and Sparta – and their respective allies. | 6 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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22 |
The Peloponnesian War (handout) | Between 431 and 404 BC a bitter war known as the Peloponnesian War was fought between the two major powers of ancient Greece – Athens and Sparta – and their respective allies. | 6 5 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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23 |
Athens in the 5th Century BC | Following the fall of the Peisistratid tyranny in Athens, the Athenians instituted a revolutionary new form of government: democracy. | 28 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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24 |
Athens in the 5th Century BC (handout) | Following the fall of the Peisistratid tyranny in Athens, the Athenians instituted a revolutionary new form of government: democracy. | 28 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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25 |
Greece at War: The Persian Wars | Peisistratos, tyrant of Athens, seems to have ruled benevolently and Athens prospered under his regime. In the course of the 6th century BC, important public buildings were erected in both the Agora (town square) of Athens and on the Acropolis. | 18 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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26 |
Greece at War: The Persian Wars (handout) | Peisistratos, tyrant of Athens, seems to have ruled benevolently and Athens prospered under his regime. In the course of the 6th century BC, important public buildings were erected in both the Agora (town square) of Athens and on the Acropolis. | 18 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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27 |
Solon to Peisistratos: Athens in the 6th Century BC | Athens in the 7th century BC seems to have been a place of social and political tensions between rich and poor. At the beginning of the 6th century, Solon emerged as an enlightened reformer and recorded his efforts in poetry. | 18 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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28 |
Solon to Peisistratos: Athens in the 6th Century BC (handout) | Athens in the 7th century BC seems to have been a place of social and political tensions between rich and poor. At the beginning of the 6th century, Solon emerged as an enlightened reformer and recorded his efforts in poetry. | 18 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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29 |
Homer's World: Dark Age Greece | For reasons that are still unclear to us, the Mycenaean civilisation fell around 1200 BC. After that, life was relatively grim in Greece – a lot of important skills were lost and Greece seems to have had less contact with the outside world. | 11 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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30 |
Homer's World: Dark Age Greece (handout) | For reasons that are still unclear to us, the Mycenaean civilisation fell around 1200 BC. After that, life was relatively grim in Greece – a lot of important skills were lost and Greece seems to have had less contact with the outside world. | 11 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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31 |
Bronze Age Greece and Troy | Did the Trojan War actually happen? What evidence do we have on – or rather in – the ground for Troy and the world of heroes, magnificent cities and rich objects which Homer describes? | 11 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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32 |
Bronze Age Greece and Troy (handout) | Did the Trojan War actually happen? What evidence do we have on – or rather in – the ground for Troy and the world of heroes, magnificent cities and rich objects which Homer describes? | 11 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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33 |
A King's Ransom: Priam and Achilles | In the final book of the Iliad, the elderly Trojan king confronts the monstrous killer Achilles. | 4 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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34 |
A King's Ransom: Priam and Achilles (handout) | In the final book of the Iliad, the elderly Trojan king confronts the monstrous killer Achilles. | 4 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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35 |
Iliad 22: The Quest of Hector | In this lecture Professor Christopher Mackie recaps the culminating events of the Iliad and looks more closely at the character of Hector, his fate and death, and the role of the goddess Athena. | 4 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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36 |
Iliad 22: The Quest of Hector (handout) | In this lecture Professor Christopher Mackie recaps the culminating events of the Iliad and looks more closely at the character of Hector, his fate and death, and the role of the goddess Athena. | 4 4 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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37 |
Rage and Resolution: The Quest of Hector | In his final moments, the Trojan defender Hector must choose to face Achilles in heroic battle or to be hunted like an animal. Professor Chris Mackie discusses sub-human or monstrous aspects of Achilles' rage, and Hector's doomed quest to save Troy. | 26 3 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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38 |
Rage and Resolution: The Quest of Hector (handout) | In his final moments, the Trojan defender Hector must choose to face Achilles in heroic battle or to be hunted like an animal. Professor Chris Mackie discusses sub-human or monstrous aspects of Achilles' rage, and Hector's doomed quest to save Troy. | 26 3 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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39 |
Athena, Women and War | The warrior goddess Athena ranges the battlefield in Homer's Iliad, but her role differs greatly from those of mortal women in the epic. Professor Chris Mackie compares and contrasts the goddess of cunning intelligence with the mortal women of the epic. | 20 3 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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40 |
Athena, Women and War (handout) | The warrior goddess Athena ranges the battlefield in Homer's Iliad, but her role differs greatly from those of mortal women in the epic. Professor Chris Mackie compares and contrasts the goddess of cunning intelligence with the mortal women of the epic. | 20 3 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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41 |
The Iliad and Achilles | Martial, monstrous and on the boundaries of mortal and immortal, Achilles in the greatest warrior in Greek myth. | 14 3 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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42 |
The Iliad and Achilles (handout) | Martial, monstrous and on the boundaries of mortal and immortal, Achilles in the greatest warrior in Greek myth. | 14 3 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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43 |
Homer and the Trojan War | This lecture outlines key aspects of the Trojan War myth, including the historical and mythological background to the war, the Judgement of Paris, the expedition to Troy and the fall of the city. | 14 3 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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44 |
Homer and the Trojan War (handout) | This lecture outlines key aspects of the Trojan War myth, including the historical and mythological background to the war, the Judgement of Paris, the expedition to Troy and the fall of the city. | 14 3 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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45 |
The Early Greek World and Greek Myths | This lecture introduces aspects of Classical myth, and examines the social and historical context of the 8th century BCE from which the Homeric epics emerge. It considers Homer’s poetic agenda and his creative use of the Trojan war myth. | 10 3 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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46 |
The Early Greek World and Greek Myths (handout) | This lecture introduces aspects of Classical myth, and examines the social and historical context of the 8th century BCE from which the Homeric epics emerge. It considers Homer’s poetic agenda and his creative use of the Trojan war myth. | 10 3 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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47 |
Introduction to Ancient Greece | This lecture provides a general introduction to this subject by providing a chronological framework and basic geography of the ancient Greek world. | 10 3 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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48 |
Introduction to Ancient Greece (handout) | This lecture provides a general introduction to this subject by providing a chronological framework and basic geography of the ancient Greek world. | 10 3 2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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49 |
The Position of Attic Women in Democratic Athens II | Dr David Pritchard (University of Queensland) looks at some contrasting roles of women and attitudes to them. | 13 5 2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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50 |
The Position of Attic Women in Democratic Athens I | Dr David Pritchard (University of Queensland) delves into the knotty issue of the study of women in classical Athens. | 13 5 2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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Customer Reviews
In one ear..
Recorded through one channel which makes it very difficult to listen to. Ugh.
