The Long Shadow of the Ancient Greek World

by Ian Worthington

Immerse yourself in this comprehensive survey of ancient Greece from 750 to 323 B.C. - from the emergence of Greece at the end of the Dark Ages to the final disintegration of Greek autonomy through the Macedonian kings Philip II and Alexander the Great.

These 48 riveting lectures tell the story of ancient Greek institutions and the people who molded them during the Archaic and Classical periods.

Concentrating on the city-states of mainland Greece, with a special focus on Athens, Professor Worthington guides through some of history's most hard-fought struggles - from armed conflicts (such as the Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian War, and the campaigns of Alexander the Great) to political and social struggles (including the late 6th-century civil war in Athens that pitted nobles against the lower classes and eventually produced the first stirrings of democracy).

As you explore innovative Athenian approaches to democracy, law, and empire, you discover how these approaches served as the bedrock for ideas and practices that you live with every day. You also encounter a wealth of intriguing links to many of our own contemporary institutions and attitudes about democracy, law, and empire.

By the end of Professor Worthington's final captivating lecture, you discover that there was nothing inevitable about democracy, the Western concept of justice, or any of the other traditions and institutions that now play such central roles in the politics of the modern Western world. The story of how this tentative structure transformed into the firm foundation of our contemporary world is gripping, enlightening, and immensely rewarding.

Audible Audio

Published July 8, 2013

About the author

Ian Worthington has been Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University since 2017. Before then, he held an endowed chair as Curators' Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Missouri, USA. He hails from northern England, taking his B.A. at Hull and M.A. at Durham, before moving to Monash University to do his Ph.D.

Worthington specializes in Greek history and oratory. To date, he has written 9 sole-authored books, 1 co-authored book, edited 9 books, translated 2 volumes of the Greek orators (in the University of Texas Oratory of Classical Greece series), and written over 100 articles and essays on Greek history, oratory, epigraphy, and literature.

Reviews

[William Adam Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 48 lecture course is a long, detailed overview of Ancient Greek history. It is a very well done lecture series, which I enjoyed listening to. Professor Worthington is an engaging speaker without any distracting mannerisms. He has a good sense of humor and knows his history in depth. I like these longer Great Courses series because the presenter can go quite in depth and really parse out the material without feeling rushed. However, as much as I love history, there was a stretch between lectures 32 to 37 when I felt the course starting to lag a bit. Perhaps the 36 lecture series is the ideal length after all. Lectures 32-37 covered the time period in Greek history after the Peloponnesian War ended and before the lectures on Philip II, where Worthington goes into social history about everyday life in the polis, how law worked in Athens, and how a jury trial was conducted. Which may be exactly what lots of people would be most interested in. For me, after so much earlier Greek history, it drug for some reason.

Overall, this is an excellent course. You get to hear a lot about figures such as Dracon and Cleisthenes who often get overlooked in shorter Greek history courses. Worthington is opinionated, he likes Philip II a great deal, but feels Alexander the Great is quite overrated. He defends his positions with historical accuracy. An engaging and educational journey I'm glad I took the time for.

[eHead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series of lectures. Not sure when this was published, but the professor did a great job presenting this. Unlike more recent great courses the delivery came across natural and conversational as opposed to sounding like somebody was reading to you.

Would definitely recommend this if the subject interests you.

[DrBabić · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the course. I like the focus on Democracy, Law and Imperialism. I learned a lot.