The Great Tours: Greece and Turkey, from Athens to Istanbul

Overview

Course No. 3231 — A 24-lecture on-location tour of Greece and Turkey led by archaeologist Professor John R. Hale, exploring ancient and medieval sites from the Acropolis and the Aegean islands to Anatolia and Istanbul.

Course Description

Travel the Aegean and Anatolian worlds to visit the major Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman sites that shaped Western and Near Eastern history. Each lecture focuses on a specific site or region—its archaeology, history, architecture, and cultural significance—offering both a practical travel guide and a deep scholarly interpretation useful for visitors and armchair travelers alike.

Instructor

Professor John R. Hale — University of Louisville

Lecture List

1. Touring the Cradle of Western Civilization

• Description: Course introduction and overview of the Aegean and Anatolian civilizations you will encounter.

• Duration: 34 min

2. Athens — Around the Acropolis and Parthenon

• Description: Walk the Acropolis: Parthenon, Propylaea, Erechtheion; architecture, ritual, and Athena’s cult.

• Duration: 33 min

• In the Footsteps of Socrates — Historic Athens

• Description: Theater of Dionysos, Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Pnyx, and the Agora — civic life and Socratic Athens.

• Duration: 33 min

4. Around Attica — Temples and Mysteries

• Description: Sacred sites of Attica: Amphiareion, shrines to Artemis and Poseidon, and Eleusis and its mysteries.

• Duration: 33 min

5. Seeking the Good Life — Corinth to Epidauros

• Description: Corinth’s sanctuaries and agora, Poseidon’s shrines, and the best-preserved classical theater at Epidauros.

• Duration: 30 min

6. Mycenae — Where Kings Planned the Trojan War

• Description: Mycenaean citadel: Lion Gate, shaft graves, Megaron, and the tomb of Atreus — Homeric connections.

• Duration: 31 min

7. Around Nafplio — Greek History at a Glance

• Description: Tiryns, the Heraion, Roman villa of Herodes Atticus, and Nafplio’s Venetian, Byzantine, and Ottoman traces.

• Duration: 32 min

8. Ancient Olympia — Gods, Games, and Temples

• Description: Olympic sanctuary: palaestra, stadium, Temple of Hera; athletic practice as religious worship.

• Duration: 32 min

9. Quest for Wisdom at Apollo’s Oracle — Delphi

• Description: Rituals and sequence of pilgrimage to Delphi; the Pythia and the oracle’s sacred setting.

• Duration: 30 min

10. Byzantine Outposts — Monemvasia and Mistra

• Description: Byzantine urbanism, monastery and palace complexes, and Byzantine religious architecture in the Peloponnese.

• Duration: 32 min

11. Cruising the Islands — Mykonos and Delos

• Description: Island life: modern Mykonos and sacred Delos, birthplace of Apollo and its monumental remains.

• Duration: 32 min

12. Aegean Ring of Fire — Milos and Santorini

• Description: Volcanic landscapes, Milos archaeology and catacombs, and the buried Minoan town of Akrotiri on Santorini.

• Duration: 29 min

13. Exploring Crete — Realm of Ancient Minoans

• Description: Minoan Malia, Gortyn’s law code and Roman heritage, and Crete’s natural and historical highlights.

• Duration: 31 min

14. Lure of the Labyrinth — Palace at Knossos

• Description: Knossos palace: court rituals, bull-dance imagery, frescoes, and administrative tablets.

• Duration: 30 min

15. The Dodecanese — Kos, Patmos, and Rhodes

• Description: Kos and Hippocratic sanctuary, Patmos and Revelation, Rhodes’s Colossus legacy and medieval fortifications.

• Duration: 29 min

16. Welcome to Turkey — The Turquoise Coast

• Description: Bodrum/Helicarnassus, Lycian culture, submerged cities, cliff tombs, and coastal archaeological sites.

• Duration: 31 min

17. Central Turkey — Ankara, Konya, Cappadocia

• Description: Çatalhöyük and Anatolian prehistory, Konya’s Rumi tradition, and Cappadocia’s cave dwellings and underground cities.

• Duration: 31 min

18. Up the Meander River — Priene to Pamukkale

• Description: Priene’s council hall and theater, Aphrodisias’ sarcophagi and baths, and Pamukkale’s terraces and mausolea.

• Duration: 32 min

• A Wonder of the World — Ephesus

• Description: Ephesus: terrace houses, Library of Celsus, theater, and the city’s civic and religious life.

• Duration: 32 min

20. Royal Cities of Asia — Pergamon and Sardis

• Description: Sardis’s Lydian wealth and synagogue, Pergamon’s sanctuaries, hydraulic works, and legendary library.

• Duration: 32 min

21. Troy — Beyond Homer and the Trojan Horse

• Description: Multi-layered archaeological phases of Troy from third millennium BCE through the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

• Duration: 31 min

22. Istanbul — Capital of the Byzantine Emperors

• Description: Byzantium/Constantinople: Theodosian Walls, Hippodrome, cisterns — civic and ceremonial Byzantine life.

• Duration: 31 min

23. The Pearl of Constantinople — Hagia Sophia

• Description: Justinian’s architectural masterpiece: dome engineering, mosaics, imperial symbolism, and spiritual setting.

• Duration: 28 min

24. Ottoman Istanbul — Mosques, Palaces, Bazaars

• Description: Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, hammams, and the Grand Bazaar — the Ottoman city’s ceremonial and daily spaces.

• Duration: 31 min

Learning Objectives

• Recognize major archaeological and historical sites across Greece and Turkey and understand their cultural contexts.

• Interpret architectural, sculptural, and urban evidence to reconstruct ancient civic, religious, and domestic life.

• Connect classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman layers of history in specific places.

• Prepare for informed travel by learning the significance and narratives attached to each site.

Target Audience

Travelers to Greece and Turkey, students of classical and Byzantine archaeology, general learners interested in Mediterranean history and archaeology.