Famous Greeks

Overview

Examine a gallery of historical characters who shaped the story of Greece from the Trojan War through the rise of Rome in this course taught by a renowned classicist. “Famous Greeks” offers a compelling exploration of significant figures, focusing on their lives, achievements, and the impact they had on Greek history. In these 24 lectures led by Professor Fears, you’ll discover virtues and vices, wisdom and folly, through the biographies of influential Greeks.

By studying these characters, you will understand broader historical currents while reflecting on the human dimensions of their triumphs and mistakes.

Course Structure

1. Theseus (32 min)
   • Discover the legendary founder of Athens and his significant deeds.

• Achilles and Agamemnon (31 min)
  • Analyze the conflict between these two heroes before the walls of Troy.

3. Hector (31 min)
   • Explore Hector’s role as the noblest hero in The Iliad.

• Odysseus (31 min)
  • Learn about the cunning survivor who endured a ten-year odyssey after Troy.

• Lycurgus (30 min)
  • Investigate the Spartan lawgiver who established the institutions of Sparta.

• Solon (31 min)
  • Discover the wise Athenian statesman whose reforms influenced democracy.

7. Croesus (31 min)
   • Reflect on the moral lessons derived from the rise and fall of this wealthy king.

• Xerxes (31 min)
  • Understand the role of Persia’s King Xerxes in the fall of his own empire.

• Leonidas (30 min)
  • Examine the legendary stand of King Leonidas at Thermopylae.

10. Themistocles (31 min)
    • Learn about the Athenian leader who rallied his city during critical times.

• Pausanias (30 min)
  • Explore the accomplishments of this Spartan general at Plataea.

• Pericles (30 min)
  • Delve into the Athenian statesman’s life and his influence on democracy.

• Anaxagoras, Phidias, and Aspasia (30 min)
  • Discover the key figures of intellectual and cultural significance in Athens.

• Sophocles (30 min)
  • Analyze the contributions and works of this supreme tragedian.

• Thucydides (31 min)
  • Examine the foundational ideas of history as explored in Thucydides’s work.

• Alcibiades (31 min)
  • Learn about the complex and controversial life of this Athenian leader.

• Nicias (31 min)
  • Investigate the challenges faced by this conservative leader during the war.

• Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War (30 min)
  • Explore his return to Athenian leadership and the implications for Athens.

• Lysander and Socrates (30 min)
  • Study the contrasting figures of military prowess and philosophical inquiry.

• The Trial of Socrates (30 min)
  • Reflect on the fate of Socrates in the context of Athenian democracy.

21. Xenophon, Plato, and Philip (31 min)
    • Analyze the changing focus from Athens to rising Macedonia under Philip II.

• Alexander the Great (31 min)
  • Discover the life and achievements that shaped the world through Alexander.

• Pyrrhus (31 min)
  • Learn about Pyrrhus’s costly victories and lessons in leadership.

• Cleopatra (32 min)
  • Delve into the life of the last Hellenistic queen and her vision for an empire.