Course: Introduction to Ancient Greek History with Donald Kagan Dnatube

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Lec 1 - Introduction - Introduction to A ...

"Lec 1 - Introduction" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) Professor Donald Kagan explains why people should study the ancient Greeks. He argues that the Greeks are worthy of our study not only because of their vast achievements and contributions to Western civilization (such as in the fields of science, law, and politics) but also because they offer a unique perspective on...
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Lec 2 - The Dark Ages

"Lec 2 - The Dark Ages" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Donald Kagan explores the earliest history of Greek civilization. He demonstrates how small agricultural enclaves eventually turned into great cities of power and wealth in the Bronze Age, taking as his examples first Minoan Crete and then Mycenaean Greece. He also argues that these...
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Lec 3 - The Dark Ages (cont.)

"Lec 3 - The Dark Ages (cont.)" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) 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,...
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Lec 4 - The Rise of the Polis

"Lec 4 - The Rise of the Polis" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Donald Kagan offers a sketch of the Greek heroic code of ethics. He shows that in this community, arête (manly virtue) and honor are extremely important and even worth dying for, as the case of Achilles makes clear. In addition, Professor Kagan shows how this society eventually...
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Lec 5 - The Rise of the Polis (cont.)

"Lec 5 - The Rise of the Polis (cont.)" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Donald Kagan tells the story of the emergence of the polis from the Dark Ages. He shows that by the time of the poet Hesiod, there is already a polis in place. He describes the importance of the polis in the Greek world and explains that it was much more than a mere place of...
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Lec 6 - The Greek

"Lec 6 - The Greek " Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Donald Kagan discusses the emergence of a new style of warfare among the Greeks, the hoplite phalanx. After discussing the panoply of the hoplite solider and the method of fighting, he argues that this style of fighting came about early in the life of the polis. In addition, he shows that the...
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Lec 7 - The Greek

"Lec 7 - The Greek " Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Donald Kagan explores the rise of Greek colonies. He argues that the rise of new colonies was primarily due to the need for new farmland, although he acknowledges several other important reasons. He also shows where the Greeks colonized and explains that the process of founding a new colony...
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Lec 8 - Sparta

"Lec 8 - Sparta" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Donald Kagan explores the rise, fall, and significance of tyrannies in the Greek polis. He argues that the various tyrannies in the Greek world had both negative and positive aspects, which need to be appreciated. For instance, on the one hand, tyrannies promoted economic, commercial and artistic...
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Lec 9 - Sparta (cont.)

"Lec 9 - Sparta (cont.)" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Donald Kagan explores the development and character of Sparta. He points out that in Sparta, the ethos of the polis was present to an extraordinary degree. Then he describes how this came about. In short, Professor Kagan argues that the Spartans were able to create a distinct military culture...
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Lec 10 - The Rise of Athens

"Lec 10 - The Rise of Athens" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan finishes up his description of the Spartan constitution. He argues that Sparta had a mixed constitution and gained great power due to alliances that the Spartans made with their neighbors. After the discussion of Sparta, Professor Kagan examines Athens and the development of the...
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Lec 11 - The Rise of Athens (cont.)

"Lec 11 - The Rise of Athens (cont.)" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan traces the development of Athens. He argues that Athens, like other poleis, undergoes political and social turmoil due to the rise of the hoplite farmer. This unrest is first seen in the attempted coup d'état of Cylon and the Law of Draco. Professor Kagan also points out...
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Lec 12 - The Persian Wars

"Lec 12 - The Persian Wars" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan examines in detail the development, growing pains, and emergence of Athenian democracy. He argues that the tyranny under the Peisistratids led to the development of the idea of self-government among the Athenians, which Cleisthenes used to develop Athens in a more democratic...
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Lec 13 - The Athenian Empire

"Lec 13 - The Athenian Empire" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan traces the development and the power of the Persian empire. He also shows how the Persian empire and the Greek world eventually came into conflict through a few incidents concerning Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor, which eventually turned into the Persian Wars. Professor Kagan ends...
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Lec 14 - The Athenian Empire (cont.)

"Lec 14 - The Athenian Empire (cont.)" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Donald Kagan examines the developments that took place after the Greek victory over the Persians in 479 BC. He argues that even after the Greek victories, there was great fear amongst the Greeks that the Persians would return to seek revenge. For this reason, many of the Greek...
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Lec 15 - Athenian Democracy

"Lec 15 - Athenian Democracy" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan describes the mechanics of the Delian League and its transformation into the Athenian empire. This transformation caused Athens to rival Sparta as an equal in power and prestige. He also argues that this process took place rather smoothly due to the good relations between Sparta...
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Lec 16 - Athenian Democracy (cont.)

"Lec 16 - Athenian Democracy (cont.)" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan continues to discuss the constitution of Athens. In particular, he explores the judicial workings of Athens. He describes in detail the effort of the Athenians to create a system of justice that would not only minimize tampering, in order to insure justice, but also...
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Lec 17 - The Peloponnesian War, Part I

"Lec 17 - The Peloponnesian War, Part I" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan describes the events that lead up the Peloponnesian War. He argues that the rise of Athenian power and the concomitant challenge to Spartan dominance pointed to potential conflict. However, Professor Kagan also points out that there were many people who did not want war...
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Lec 18 - The Peloponnesian War, Part I ( ...

"Lec 18 - The Peloponnesian War, Part I (cont.)" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan describes the aftermath of the Thirty Years Peace. He argues that the Peace had the potential to keep peace between Athens and Sparta due to the arbitration clause. In addition, he argues that during this time, Athens sends various diplomatic messages to the...
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Lec 19 - The Peloponnesian War, Part II

"Lec 19 - The Peloponnesian War, Part II" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan focuses on the causes of the Peloponnesian War and the possible motivations for Thucydides' book, The History of the Peloponnesian War. Concerning the first point, Professor Kagan parts ways with Thucydides and argues that the war was not inevitable and that the...
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Lec 20 - The Peloponnesian War, Part II ...

"Lec 20 - The Peloponnesian War, Part II (cont.)" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan examines Pericles as a general. First, he describes Pericles' strategy of war and then he evaluates this strategy. According to Professor Kagan, Pericles' strategy was characterized by being both defensive and rational. It was defensive, because the Athenians...
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Lec 21 - The Struggle for Hegemony in Fo ...

"Lec 21 - The Struggle for Hegemony in Fourth-Century Greece" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan describes the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War and how the Spartans began to dominate other Greek poleis, instead of liberating them. The Spartan general Lysander at this point not only grows in influence and power, but also follows an aggressive...
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Lec 22 - The Struggle for Hegemony in Fo ...

"Lec 22 - The Struggle for Hegemony in Fourth-Century Greece (cont.)" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan examines the continuation of Spartan tyranny over the Greek poleis and the response of the Greek world. According to Professor Kagan, it became clear that the Greek poleis needed to do something to check the power of Sparta. So, Thebes,...
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Lec 23 - Twilight of the Polis

"Lec 23 - Twilight of the Polis" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan describes the growth of a new power: Thebes. Under the leadership of Epaminondas and Pelopidas, Thebes grows into a major power among the Greek cities. In fact, the Thebans even rout the Spartans in a standard hoplite battle in the battle of Leuctra. Finally, Professor Kagan...
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Lec 24 - Twilight of the Polis (cont.) a ...

"Lec 24 - Twilight of the Polis (cont.) and Conclusion" Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205) In this lecture, Professor Kagan tells the story of the rise of Philip and describes his early actions: unifying Macedon, defeating barbarian armies, and creating a new, professional, national army. According to Professor Kagan, through these actions, Philip was able to make inroads into...

Introduction to Ancient Greek History with Donald Kagan


Source of these courses is Yale 
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.
Yale  Website: http://www.dnatube.com/school/yale

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COURSE NAME: Introduction to Ancient Greek History with Donald Kagan

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