Ancient Greek Civilization

Some time ago I posted about a bargain sale of ”Great Courses” tapes from The Teacher’s Store. I got the series of 24 lectures in Ancient Greek Civilization delivered by Professor Jeremy McInerney at The University of Pennsylvania and enjoyed watching the CDs. It is quite nice to be able to purchase an entire semester of lectures and watch them at your leisure. CD form allows you to go back and repeat sections which might not have been clear to you the first time and you can watch them with a drink in one hand and some munchies in the other (a big improvement over the lecture hall).

Professor McInerney is a best, a competent lecturer. The form is a bit stiff and formal. The first thing I do in a lecture hall is ditch the lectern and start moving about the stage; it holds the attention a lot better. Talking heads, no matter how well they talk, tend to make me nod off.

He demonstrates an enthusiasm for his subject which is the number one requirement for a good teacher and his overall comprehension of his subject is admirable. Over all I would highly recommend this series. If you don’t want to enroll in a university for one course, buy the CDs.

There is a hard copy course book with a good bibliography as well as a printed synopsis which is useful. It would be quite possible with diligence and self motivation to benefit as much from a course in this form as from actually attending the class.

There is a curious error in his his comments about Alexander. I do not understand how it was allowed both in the lecture and in the hard copy. It is such a glaring mistake. Professor McInerney clearly states that Alexander was 16 at the time of The Battle Of Chaeronea. He says that in the lecture and it is printed in the hard copy. Alexander was born in 356, The Battle Of Chaeronea was in 338. The math couldn’t be simpler, he was 18. As he was born on either July the 20th or 26th, he would have just turned 18 before the battle which occurred on August the 2nd. Perhaps Professor McInerney confuses two events. Alexander was 16 when he assumed the regency of Macedon in his father’s absence and invaded the Maedi and founded Alexanderopolis.

I always tell my students never to take my word for anything; always check the facts yourself, same here.

This is a valuable and worthwhile resource and I am happy to see it made available at a reasonable price.