Introduction to ancient greek history

by Donald Kagan

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.

Audiobook

About the author

Donald Kagan (May 1, 1932 – August 6, 2021) was a Lithuanian-born American historian and classicist at Yale University specializing in ancient Greece. He formerly taught in the Department of History at Cornell University. Kagan was considered among the foremost American scholars of Greek history and is notable for his four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War.

Reviews

[Christopher Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This last month I have been in shipyard, doing mindless work. I knew I would have about 10 hours of good listening per day, so I decided to spend the entire 4 weeks studying the history, culture, mythology, philosophy, art and archeology of Ancient Greece. So I have put in over 300 hours these 4 weeks as I have also been watching and reading art, archeology and history courses and documentaries online in the evenings.

To get to my point… I have listened to a number of the top professors on the subject, and immediately I could tell that Professor Kagan was elite even among the best. This lecture series he did back in 2012 is freely available for download on the Yale website, as well as on YouTube.

I just finished my 4 weeks on the ship, and am going home in the morning. I have a much greater knowledge, understanding and appreciation for our Greek forefathers, and will easily be able to have conversations about the subject of ancient Greece. I have Kagan and Harl (another excellent lecturer, who was mentored by Kagan), as well as the ancient Greek authors I have been going through, to thank for that. I will be spending the next few months on this, and enter in to Roman, Persian, Egyptian and other ancient civilizations that shaped Western Civilization. So fun!

[Ishan Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Introduction to Peloponnesian wars, which have a huge significance for Contemporary politics. Ancient Greeks invented almost all the important concepts such as:

1. Democracy.
2. Confederacy.
3. Alliance.
4. Balance of Power.
5. Containment

Anyone who wants to get a historical perspective regarding how states behave should go through this.