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Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean World
Four volumes.
Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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November 5, 2023
At times it was hard to get through since many areas of discussion were not known by me.
May 9, 2018
Part 1:
It is a bit too early in the course of this sprawling and epic four-part course to determine what I think about the series as a whole. So far, at least, my impressions are mixed. On the positive side, the professor shows an obvious interest in aspects of wisdom literature and issues of Creation that I find intriguing [1]. On the negative side, the instructor appears to share a common view of the scholar as a critic of religion rather than a student of it, has an evolutionary view of religious development, and has an unfortunate interest in the sacred feminine that bodes ill for future lectures. So, this seems like a mixed sort of presentation that nonetheless does provide at least some interesting discussion about the religions of the ancient near east, a subject I find of considerable interest. Whether or not listening to these 24 hours will be time well spent is something I will have to discover through the course of the various lectures, as it appears finely balanced on the scales as weighed against a feather, I suppose.
The twelve lectures, at a half hour apiece, are largely devoted in this part of the course to the history of Egyptian religion. The author begins by discussing ancient religious cultures and their traits (1) and also attempts a somewhat rambling definition of religion (2) before moving into a discussion of early prehistoric religion (3) and the religion of the neolithic area (4). This discussion is marked by some speculations and questions about the importance of material culture in the absence of textual evidence. After this the author moves to Egypt as a unique religious culture (5), discusses the creation stories of Egypt and their meaning (6), and moves to a complex look at the Egyptian pantheon (7) and the Egyptian myths of kingship that separated a view of kingship as eternal and lasting while recognizing the frailty and mortal aspect of individual Pharaohs (8). The course then closes with a look at Egyptian myths of the underworld (9), a look at the power and role of goddesses and the sacred feminine in Egyptian religion (10), as well as the thorny issue of Egyptian popular religion (11) and the intriguing beginnings of wisdom literature as elite and scribal views of prudential wisdom (12). With this the professor's discussion of Egyptian religion appears to be at its end.
What does one get out of these lectures? For one, it is easy to see that Egyptian mythology is particularly difficult to disentangle for several reasons. For one, there is a great deal of regionalism in Egyptian religion where different areas had different myths that were only imperfectly brought together. For another, there was a strong lack of coherence between the worldview of Egyptian religion over time and some rather serious divides between popular and official religion that makes it difficult to understand the fullness of Egyptian religion even if one wants to. Likewise, from this course one can gain at least a few insights into why Egyptian religion is considered to be so important, namely the way that contemporary religious scholars are interested in questions of popular devotion as well as appreciation of feminine aspects of religion and the way that polytheistic religion offers a great opportunity for people to insert themselves as authorities in the area of religion without having to accept the authority of the religious tradition that they are studying. Overall, I have to say that Egyptian religion itself is not an area of particular interest except insofar as it influenced other cultures in which I have greater personal interest.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
Part 2:
Sometimes one can gain a great deal of insight about a subject in ways that the instructor does not intend. It should be stated at the outset that I come to this course with very different understandings of the Bible and the religion of the ancient Mediterranean as a whole than this author does. The author probably thinks that he is a fair-minded and balanced scholar of the Bible when he comments in ignorance about evolutionary religious beliefs and Zadok and David as Jebusites rather than Israelites, but most of what he says about the Bible, like that of many other people who fancy themselves as scholars of religion [1], is pretty worthless. Where this course is worthwhile is in seeking to present why certain (mis-)understandings of the Bible and history are so popular, and that is something that the professor can do without having to deliver accurate knowledge about history or scripture. The author is clearly perfectly content with a polytheistic/pluralist worldview because such a worldview makes no idealistic demands on him and allows him room to maneuver without having to face ultimate judgment and ultimate authority, and that worldview greatly colors the materials here.
Like most of the great courses series, this particular part of the course had twelve lectures of half an hour each on six cds. The instructor begins these lectures with a discussion of Mesopotamia as the land between the rivers (13) before looking at various myths of creation (14) that came from the complex mix of cultures and language. Following this there are myths about Inanna/Ishtar (15), Gilgamesh as a king (16), the search for eternal life (17), and the great flood (18), where the professor contrasts a couple of Mesopotamian myths with the biblical history. After this the author looks at ancient concepts of the divine, discussing polytheism, henotheism, and monotheism (19) before discussing the heathen gods of Syria-Palestine (20). From this point the author moves into a discussion of Israel's ancestral history, which the author manages to mangle in a somewhat predictable fashion (21), and the professor similarly bungles his discussion of Israel's national history (22), a discussion of prophecy in the ancient Near East (23) and early prophecy in Israel (24). It is likely, moreover, that this bungling will continue in future lectures because the instructor really does not take the Bible nearly seriously enough.
Basically, the most obvious gain one gets out of lectures like this is entertainment. A great deal of this course is based on speculation, whether that is speculation about biblical history or that of Israel's neighbors, and much of the insight a listener would gain depends on the credibility of the instructor. Unfortunately, that credibility is not particularly great given the professor's passing along of mistaken information about Israel which makes it hard to take what he says particularly seriously. Since this instructor falls below the Kitchen line as well as the Longman line, there is little here to offer on the level of insight about the Bible. What this instructor offers is the secular view of scripture, and the way that it varies so widely from the facts of the matter demonstrates the gulf that must be bridged in the understanding of the Bible as well as in its continuing cultural and moral authority. So long as people like this professor are considered to be acceptable scholars of biblical religion, it is likely that the lies they pass along will continue to be viewed as historical fact. Consider this instructor to be one more of many who does not deserve to be viewed as an expert on biblical history.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
Part 3:
Fortunately, most of this section of lectures focuses on something where the professor and I have a good deal of agreement, and that is the religion of Greece. Although in general I am not fond of the evolutionary perspective of religion that many people have--largely because it fails in those cases (like the Bible) where it is most commonly used, I find it is easier to appreciate people who take an ancient religion as seriously as I do, as a way of gaining knowledge about history and context without any sort of belief getting in the way, and that is true for my perspective on Greek heathen religion (and generally Greek thinking as a whole [1]). Be that as it may, this book was a relatively pleasant surprise after the general displeasure I had with the previous section of the book, although it must be admitted that the professor does begin this part of his lectures by discussing various aspects of Israel's religious history, which makes for an odd break between parts 2 and 3, and one that does not seem natural at all.
Like the rest of this series and the majority of other lectures from the Great Courses series, this part contains twelve lectures of half an hour each on six cds. The first three lectures deal with Israelite religion, the classical Israelite writing prophets, about which the author has some misinformation about imaginary second Isaiahs and the like (25), the great crisis of exile and how it supposedly changed Israelite religion (26), and the problem of evil as a supposed origin for apocalypticism and thoughts of the afterlife (27). After these rubbish lectures are done, though, the professor happily moves on to Greek religion where he is less off-base. A discussion of ancient Aegean civilizations, namely the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations (28) gives way to a discussion of religious culture in the Iliad and Odyssey (29) as well as the writings of the Archaic Greek period (30). After this the author looks at Greek myths of creation (31) as well as his frequent obsession with the sacred feminine (32). The rest of the lectures find the author examining the classical era (33), the troubled attempts of philosophers to rationalize religion (34), the syncretistic nature of religion in the Hellenistic period (35), and some aspects of the mystery religions during that same period (36).
In listening to these lectures, although I enjoyed them for the most part, I got the feeling the professor and I were definitely on opposite sides. For one, it appears that the author himself was in favor of the rationalizing tendency of Greek philosophy even though it was not factually true and that it was genuinely corrosive to the cultural fabric of Greece and every other society where a rationalistic approach to religion has been undertaken by corrupt elites. Similarly, it appears from these lectures that the author is generally in favor of syncretism and the blending of religious traditions as evidence that faith is somehow mutable and not something to be taken particularly seriously. One wonders if the professor has reflected long and hard on the intolerant nature of Hellenistic elites when cultures wished (for good reason) to maintain their religion in the face of the universalizing tendencies of the Hellenists, as happened in Judea. At any rate, though, it is striking that both early Christians and Greek philosophers were considered to be atheists in the ancient world because their beliefs were out of step with the heathen religious thought of the masses. Sometimes life is full of rich irony.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2010...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
Part 4:
My library didn't have this part, so no review :(
It is a bit too early in the course of this sprawling and epic four-part course to determine what I think about the series as a whole. So far, at least, my impressions are mixed. On the positive side, the professor shows an obvious interest in aspects of wisdom literature and issues of Creation that I find intriguing [1]. On the negative side, the instructor appears to share a common view of the scholar as a critic of religion rather than a student of it, has an evolutionary view of religious development, and has an unfortunate interest in the sacred feminine that bodes ill for future lectures. So, this seems like a mixed sort of presentation that nonetheless does provide at least some interesting discussion about the religions of the ancient near east, a subject I find of considerable interest. Whether or not listening to these 24 hours will be time well spent is something I will have to discover through the course of the various lectures, as it appears finely balanced on the scales as weighed against a feather, I suppose.
The twelve lectures, at a half hour apiece, are largely devoted in this part of the course to the history of Egyptian religion. The author begins by discussing ancient religious cultures and their traits (1) and also attempts a somewhat rambling definition of religion (2) before moving into a discussion of early prehistoric religion (3) and the religion of the neolithic area (4). This discussion is marked by some speculations and questions about the importance of material culture in the absence of textual evidence. After this the author moves to Egypt as a unique religious culture (5), discusses the creation stories of Egypt and their meaning (6), and moves to a complex look at the Egyptian pantheon (7) and the Egyptian myths of kingship that separated a view of kingship as eternal and lasting while recognizing the frailty and mortal aspect of individual Pharaohs (8). The course then closes with a look at Egyptian myths of the underworld (9), a look at the power and role of goddesses and the sacred feminine in Egyptian religion (10), as well as the thorny issue of Egyptian popular religion (11) and the intriguing beginnings of wisdom literature as elite and scribal views of prudential wisdom (12). With this the professor's discussion of Egyptian religion appears to be at its end.
What does one get out of these lectures? For one, it is easy to see that Egyptian mythology is particularly difficult to disentangle for several reasons. For one, there is a great deal of regionalism in Egyptian religion where different areas had different myths that were only imperfectly brought together. For another, there was a strong lack of coherence between the worldview of Egyptian religion over time and some rather serious divides between popular and official religion that makes it difficult to understand the fullness of Egyptian religion even if one wants to. Likewise, from this course one can gain at least a few insights into why Egyptian religion is considered to be so important, namely the way that contemporary religious scholars are interested in questions of popular devotion as well as appreciation of feminine aspects of religion and the way that polytheistic religion offers a great opportunity for people to insert themselves as authorities in the area of religion without having to accept the authority of the religious tradition that they are studying. Overall, I have to say that Egyptian religion itself is not an area of particular interest except insofar as it influenced other cultures in which I have greater personal interest.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
Part 2:
Sometimes one can gain a great deal of insight about a subject in ways that the instructor does not intend. It should be stated at the outset that I come to this course with very different understandings of the Bible and the religion of the ancient Mediterranean as a whole than this author does. The author probably thinks that he is a fair-minded and balanced scholar of the Bible when he comments in ignorance about evolutionary religious beliefs and Zadok and David as Jebusites rather than Israelites, but most of what he says about the Bible, like that of many other people who fancy themselves as scholars of religion [1], is pretty worthless. Where this course is worthwhile is in seeking to present why certain (mis-)understandings of the Bible and history are so popular, and that is something that the professor can do without having to deliver accurate knowledge about history or scripture. The author is clearly perfectly content with a polytheistic/pluralist worldview because such a worldview makes no idealistic demands on him and allows him room to maneuver without having to face ultimate judgment and ultimate authority, and that worldview greatly colors the materials here.
Like most of the great courses series, this particular part of the course had twelve lectures of half an hour each on six cds. The instructor begins these lectures with a discussion of Mesopotamia as the land between the rivers (13) before looking at various myths of creation (14) that came from the complex mix of cultures and language. Following this there are myths about Inanna/Ishtar (15), Gilgamesh as a king (16), the search for eternal life (17), and the great flood (18), where the professor contrasts a couple of Mesopotamian myths with the biblical history. After this the author looks at ancient concepts of the divine, discussing polytheism, henotheism, and monotheism (19) before discussing the heathen gods of Syria-Palestine (20). From this point the author moves into a discussion of Israel's ancestral history, which the author manages to mangle in a somewhat predictable fashion (21), and the professor similarly bungles his discussion of Israel's national history (22), a discussion of prophecy in the ancient Near East (23) and early prophecy in Israel (24). It is likely, moreover, that this bungling will continue in future lectures because the instructor really does not take the Bible nearly seriously enough.
Basically, the most obvious gain one gets out of lectures like this is entertainment. A great deal of this course is based on speculation, whether that is speculation about biblical history or that of Israel's neighbors, and much of the insight a listener would gain depends on the credibility of the instructor. Unfortunately, that credibility is not particularly great given the professor's passing along of mistaken information about Israel which makes it hard to take what he says particularly seriously. Since this instructor falls below the Kitchen line as well as the Longman line, there is little here to offer on the level of insight about the Bible. What this instructor offers is the secular view of scripture, and the way that it varies so widely from the facts of the matter demonstrates the gulf that must be bridged in the understanding of the Bible as well as in its continuing cultural and moral authority. So long as people like this professor are considered to be acceptable scholars of biblical religion, it is likely that the lies they pass along will continue to be viewed as historical fact. Consider this instructor to be one more of many who does not deserve to be viewed as an expert on biblical history.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
Part 3:
Fortunately, most of this section of lectures focuses on something where the professor and I have a good deal of agreement, and that is the religion of Greece. Although in general I am not fond of the evolutionary perspective of religion that many people have--largely because it fails in those cases (like the Bible) where it is most commonly used, I find it is easier to appreciate people who take an ancient religion as seriously as I do, as a way of gaining knowledge about history and context without any sort of belief getting in the way, and that is true for my perspective on Greek heathen religion (and generally Greek thinking as a whole [1]). Be that as it may, this book was a relatively pleasant surprise after the general displeasure I had with the previous section of the book, although it must be admitted that the professor does begin this part of his lectures by discussing various aspects of Israel's religious history, which makes for an odd break between parts 2 and 3, and one that does not seem natural at all.
Like the rest of this series and the majority of other lectures from the Great Courses series, this part contains twelve lectures of half an hour each on six cds. The first three lectures deal with Israelite religion, the classical Israelite writing prophets, about which the author has some misinformation about imaginary second Isaiahs and the like (25), the great crisis of exile and how it supposedly changed Israelite religion (26), and the problem of evil as a supposed origin for apocalypticism and thoughts of the afterlife (27). After these rubbish lectures are done, though, the professor happily moves on to Greek religion where he is less off-base. A discussion of ancient Aegean civilizations, namely the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations (28) gives way to a discussion of religious culture in the Iliad and Odyssey (29) as well as the writings of the Archaic Greek period (30). After this the author looks at Greek myths of creation (31) as well as his frequent obsession with the sacred feminine (32). The rest of the lectures find the author examining the classical era (33), the troubled attempts of philosophers to rationalize religion (34), the syncretistic nature of religion in the Hellenistic period (35), and some aspects of the mystery religions during that same period (36).
In listening to these lectures, although I enjoyed them for the most part, I got the feeling the professor and I were definitely on opposite sides. For one, it appears that the author himself was in favor of the rationalizing tendency of Greek philosophy even though it was not factually true and that it was genuinely corrosive to the cultural fabric of Greece and every other society where a rationalistic approach to religion has been undertaken by corrupt elites. Similarly, it appears from these lectures that the author is generally in favor of syncretism and the blending of religious traditions as evidence that faith is somehow mutable and not something to be taken particularly seriously. One wonders if the professor has reflected long and hard on the intolerant nature of Hellenistic elites when cultures wished (for good reason) to maintain their religion in the face of the universalizing tendencies of the Hellenists, as happened in Judea. At any rate, though, it is striking that both early Christians and Greek philosophers were considered to be atheists in the ancient world because their beliefs were out of step with the heathen religious thought of the masses. Sometimes life is full of rich irony.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2010...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
Part 4:
My library didn't have this part, so no review :(
May 4, 2016
2.5/5
The presenter is bit boring and i feel he's not very we knowledgeable in the subject
The presenter is bit boring and i feel he's not very we knowledgeable in the subject
August 8, 2014
Though somewhat dry at times, this was generally excellent and well worth the time. Dr. Holland has an interesting dry humor; I wish he'd used more of it.
For such a short series, there was a tremendously large amount of material within the lectures.
For such a short series, there was a tremendously large amount of material within the lectures.
December 6, 2020
While the first few lectures are a just okay, this course as a whole is really interesting. It covers pretty much all of the ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian religious traditions. Super interesting series.
November 16, 2021
For reference, I am a 29 year old white guy who was raised in the United States in a fairly religious Protestant, Christian family but who has identified as an agnostic/atheist since I was 16. I went to college for a degree in science but I'm not an exceedingly "academic" person.
While I have always been interested in learning almost anything, I have never had interest in religion because it seemed, to me, like metaphorically memorizing an arbitrary series of numbers. In my opinion, it's all meaningless, so why waste time learning about it??
Recently, however, I've decided to start working on a podcast about beliefs surrounding the afterlife and what I have learned has quickly made me have a rapid turn around in my understanding of religion. I've always loved world history and I really love the way that you can see how religion intertwines with everything.
This is not the first resource I've looked at for research (I've also listened to Great Courses by Bart Erhman and Mark Berkson - which I loved) but I figured this would be a good resource since none of the sources I've looked into this far have discussed ancient Babylonian, Sumerian or Egyptian beliefs. Plus it is 24 hours long!? Wow!
I really don't see why people are saying this is BORING or, somewhat contradictorily , that the instructor "doesn't know" what he's talking about? What the heck?? I mean... in some areas in history or prehistory (as he clearly acknowledges on many occasions) we don't know for sure the way things truly were, but we can speculate based on evidence... I was amazed at the breadth and depth of content covered. Maybe if you are already an expert in this subject (or even one specific area) you won't find the coverage sufficient, but this is intended to be an OVERVIEW. Imagine if it was a deep dive into the entire Mediterranean area, over the entire history!! You'd get even more complaints about the length!! Gosh, people.
Even with the great boon of material, I thought it was so entertaining and FUNNY. Again, I'm NOT a PhD in history or religion, I'm not over here reading Shakespeare in my free time, and I'm "a young person" with a short attention span. You can tell by my review, I'm not exceedingly articulate or wordy. But still, I thought everything was presented in a great way for the average introductory, Western Raised person (I say "Western" because of implications about embedded cultural religious narratives, like Noah's Arc) and it moved artfully between topics and locations, keeping the narrative moving and the lesson dynamic.
The way the recordings are set up for the Great Courses makes it difficult to deliver jokes (from what I've heard) but I still think Dr. Holland's (I don't know if that's the proper term of address, I apologize) humor shows through, and I personally laughed out loud while listening to this... and I don't even laugh out loud while watching comedy movies! Whatever, I'm clearly a nerd but... This is good stuff.
So whatever it's worth, I loved this course. I'll probably listen to it again. And if I ever get around to finishing my podcast, I'm definitely gonna speak highly of this course as a resource!
While I have always been interested in learning almost anything, I have never had interest in religion because it seemed, to me, like metaphorically memorizing an arbitrary series of numbers. In my opinion, it's all meaningless, so why waste time learning about it??
Recently, however, I've decided to start working on a podcast about beliefs surrounding the afterlife and what I have learned has quickly made me have a rapid turn around in my understanding of religion. I've always loved world history and I really love the way that you can see how religion intertwines with everything.
This is not the first resource I've looked at for research (I've also listened to Great Courses by Bart Erhman and Mark Berkson - which I loved) but I figured this would be a good resource since none of the sources I've looked into this far have discussed ancient Babylonian, Sumerian or Egyptian beliefs. Plus it is 24 hours long!? Wow!
I really don't see why people are saying this is BORING or, somewhat contradictorily , that the instructor "doesn't know" what he's talking about? What the heck?? I mean... in some areas in history or prehistory (as he clearly acknowledges on many occasions) we don't know for sure the way things truly were, but we can speculate based on evidence... I was amazed at the breadth and depth of content covered. Maybe if you are already an expert in this subject (or even one specific area) you won't find the coverage sufficient, but this is intended to be an OVERVIEW. Imagine if it was a deep dive into the entire Mediterranean area, over the entire history!! You'd get even more complaints about the length!! Gosh, people.
Even with the great boon of material, I thought it was so entertaining and FUNNY. Again, I'm NOT a PhD in history or religion, I'm not over here reading Shakespeare in my free time, and I'm "a young person" with a short attention span. You can tell by my review, I'm not exceedingly articulate or wordy. But still, I thought everything was presented in a great way for the average introductory, Western Raised person (I say "Western" because of implications about embedded cultural religious narratives, like Noah's Arc) and it moved artfully between topics and locations, keeping the narrative moving and the lesson dynamic.
The way the recordings are set up for the Great Courses makes it difficult to deliver jokes (from what I've heard) but I still think Dr. Holland's (I don't know if that's the proper term of address, I apologize) humor shows through, and I personally laughed out loud while listening to this... and I don't even laugh out loud while watching comedy movies! Whatever, I'm clearly a nerd but... This is good stuff.
So whatever it's worth, I loved this course. I'll probably listen to it again. And if I ever get around to finishing my podcast, I'm definitely gonna speak highly of this course as a resource!
June 2, 2023
In 2005 The Teaching Company released a 294 page guidebook of Professor Glenn S. Holland’s 48 lecture course “Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean World.” The course is divided into six parts beginning with early prehistoric religions. He then has 8 lectures on the religious history of Egypt, and six lectures on Mesopotamia religious traditions from 2900 to 539 BCE. Following these lectures, Glenn has 11 lectures about Israel and Syria-Palestine religions. These lectures discuss religious prophesies, notions of evil, and ancestral histories of believers. Next there are 7 lectures that feature Greek and Hellenistic traditions of the classical era, philosophical foundations of religious beliefs, and the role of goddesses and culture influence human-god relationships. He closes the course with lectures about Roman polytheism, divination, and early foundations of Christianity. These closing lectures also feature the role of women in the early Roman Empire and the interrelations of mystery religions in the Greco-Roman world. His concluding lectures on death and rebirth of the “Old Gods” and course summaries are very insightful. The guidebook has timelines from early Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic (Stone Age) BCE eras to 324 C.E. The guidebook also has an excellent glossary of terms and bibliographical notes. The notes are annotated and the suggested readings are also annotated. (P)
July 16, 2023
This is sweeping overview of the various religious traditions and ideas of the ancient Mediterranean. Holland covers Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Israelite, Greek and Roman religions, and then early Christianity. For each area, Holland sets up the various historical, archeological, and political contexts. Holland also finds ways to connect each of these periods/areas to each other, but without overdoing it either (he doesn't try to create some grand narrative, he's more or less pointing out similarities and differences and possible points of influence).
The course is quite useful as a general survey. Anyone looking for in-depth analysis, dissection, or critical analysis will be disappointed. But this is generally the case with Teaching Company courses. They are great surveys, giving you the context of knowledge to then dive deeper on your own. This course is the same: Holland's course provides the basis for one to pursue further research in any of these areas. But it is also good for someone who is just looking for the 10000 foot view.
The course is quite useful as a general survey. Anyone looking for in-depth analysis, dissection, or critical analysis will be disappointed. But this is generally the case with Teaching Company courses. They are great surveys, giving you the context of knowledge to then dive deeper on your own. This course is the same: Holland's course provides the basis for one to pursue further research in any of these areas. But it is also good for someone who is just looking for the 10000 foot view.
January 5, 2026
Say "Jesus movement" one more time, I dare you...
The chunks on ancient Israel and ancient Rome were exceptionally interesting, even if this commie asserts things like "The Roman Republic fell because of class warfare", while providing zero evidence for the claim like it need not be argued, from time to time.
The chunks on ancient Israel and ancient Rome were exceptionally interesting, even if this commie asserts things like "The Roman Republic fell because of class warfare", while providing zero evidence for the claim like it need not be argued, from time to time.
July 17, 2019
只能听个大概吧，讲得不是很有趣，念稿的成分很高，语速也慢
September 11, 2021
CD course. A very good course on religion in the ancient Mediterranean world. But the ancient world was a harsh place, and their religions matched that.
April 14, 2022
It was fine, but my copy skipped a lot, which took something away from it.
July 8, 2022
Quite challenging, but worth it!
July 22, 2023
Very good, very comprehensive, very listenable (I read the audio version)
March 21, 2016
Ticked all the boxes I was hoping for. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews