52 episodes

This subject deals with the cultural history of the ancient Greek world through both textual sources and the material evidence of art and archaeology. The period covered runs from the Iron Age world of Archaic Greece through to the late Classical period (roughly from the 8th century to the 4th century BCE). We will concentrate mainly on Athens and mainland Greece, but we will also focus on the Greek expansion into other parts of the Mediterranean world (Sicily and South Italy) in the process of colonisation. Historical texts will be combined with literary sources and archaeology to explore the physical nature of ancient Greek cities and social issues such as the position of women, ethnicity, sexuality and slavery in the ancient Greek world.

Ancient Greece: City and Society Dr Gillian Shepherd

    • Education

This subject deals with the cultural history of the ancient Greek world through both textual sources and the material evidence of art and archaeology. The period covered runs from the Iron Age world of Archaic Greece through to the late Classical period (roughly from the 8th century to the 4th century BCE). We will concentrate mainly on Athens and mainland Greece, but we will also focus on the Greek expansion into other parts of the Mediterranean world (Sicily and South Italy) in the process of colonisation. Historical texts will be combined with literary sources and archaeology to explore the physical nature of ancient Greek cities and social issues such as the position of women, ethnicity, sexuality and slavery in the ancient Greek world.

    The Classical Legacy

    The Classical Legacy

    Has Greek history had any impact on the modern world? Are the literature, art and architecture of the ancient Greeks still relevant centuries later? In this lecture Sarah Midford examines the enduring appeal of classical Greece and the ways in which its culture has both moulded Western society and also been manipulated by it.

    Copyright 2014 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

    • 50 min
    The Classical Legacy (handout)

    The Classical Legacy (handout)

    Has Greek history had any impact on the modern world? Are the literature, art and architecture of the ancient Greeks still relevant centuries later? In this lecture Sarah Midford examines the enduring appeal of classical Greece and the ways in which its culture has both moulded Western society and also been manipulated by it.

    Copyright 2014 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

    Aristophanes’ Frogs

    Aristophanes’ Frogs

    Dr. Heather Sebo begins by discussing the proposal in the parabasis of Aristophanes Frogs that clemency be extended to citizens exiled for their involvement in the oligarchic coup of 411 BCE. An instance of Aristophanes’ immersion in the issues and debates of his times is the way he alludes to the debasing of the coinage (discussed in a previous lecture), using it as a metaphor for the idea that good citizens are in exile while slaves become citizens. Also revealing of contemporary attitudes is the shift in Dionysos’ initial intention to bring Euripides back from Hades because he finds his poetry thrilling and stimulating to his ultimate decision for Aeschylus as the poet most likely to encourage patriotism and unquestioning self-sacrifice in the current military emergency.

    Copyright 2014 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

    • 29 min
    Aristophanes’ Frogs (handout)

    Aristophanes’ Frogs (handout)

    Dr. Heather Sebo begins by discussing the proposal in the parabasis of Aristophanes Frogs that clemency be extended to citizens exiled for their involvement in the oligarchic coup of 411 BCE. An instance of Aristophanes’ immersion in the issues and debates of his times is the way he alludes to the debasing of the coinage (discussed in a previous lecture), using it as a metaphor for the idea that good citizens are in exile while slaves become citizens. Also revealing of contemporary attitudes is the shift in Dionysos’ initial intention to bring Euripides back from Hades because he finds his poetry thrilling and stimulating to his ultimate decision for Aeschylus as the poet most likely to encourage patriotism and unquestioning self-sacrifice in the current military emergency.

    Copyright 2014 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

    Slaves and Captives in Greek Drama

    Slaves and Captives in Greek Drama

    For the ancients, the consequences of defeat in war were that every man, women and child became the property of the victors, to be disposed of in whatever way they saw fit. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo shows that the anxieties and implications of this terrible possibility were expressed on the Athenian stage, particularly in the Trojan War plays of Euripides.

    Copyright 2014 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

    • 50 min
    Slaves and Captives in Greek Drama (handout)

    Slaves and Captives in Greek Drama (handout)

    For the ancients, the consequences of defeat in war were that every man, women and child became the property of the victors, to be disposed of in whatever way they saw fit. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo shows that the anxieties and implications of this terrible possibility were expressed on the Athenian stage, particularly in the Trojan War plays of Euripides.

    Copyright 2014 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Top Podcasts In Education

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Podcast
Mark Manson
The Mel Robbins Podcast
Mel Robbins
After School Is After School With Sis G.U
Gugulethu Nyatsumba
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
Academy of Ideas
Academy of Ideas
REI SPEAKS
Rei Nkuna

You Might Also Like

More by La Trobe University

Press and Society
Dr Christopher Scanlon
Australian Environmental History
Professor Richard Broome and Professor Katie Holmes
Business Ethics and Diversity
La Trobe University
Ancient Greece: Myth, Art, War
Professor Chris Mackie and Dr Gillian Shepherd
Biography
La Trobe University
Gallipoli and the Great War
La Trobe University