Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Age of Pericles
- Narrated by: Jeremy McInerney
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
The Age of Pericles
Buy Now for £25.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Summary
The career of Pericles, the leading Athenian politician and general from c. 450 to 429 B.C., is a prism through which to view the "Golden Age" of Greece, a brief but remarkable era when Athens experienced a cultural flowering of extraordinary power and importance for Western culture.
In the generation that followed Pericles' appearance on the public stage shortly after the Persian wars, Athens rapidly transformed the alliance of Greek states - an alliance first created as a defense against the Persians - into a true Aegean empire, dominated by the Athenians and their mighty navy. But this dramatic increase in military power, cultural influence, and prestige was also accompanied by something unique: the growth of full participatory democracy. But in examining the lives of Athenian men and women, one has to ask what freedom and autonomy really meant to a society that relied on slaves and was ruthless in its treatment of its subjects.
These 24 stimulating lectures present a well-rounded portrait of almost every aspect of Athenian life during the Golden Age, including. the different ways Athens and Sparta raised their children; the fate of Athenian girls as mothers and managers of the household; young Pericles' role in bringing Aeschylus's masterpiece, The Persians; why the Spartans rejected the aid of Athens in putting down a slave revolt; and Thucydides' terrifying description of the plague's physical and social impact on Athens - including the death of Pericles - and its possible role in the ultimate defeat of Athens by Sparta.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
Listeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about The Age of Pericles
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- EmilyK
- 02-09-19
Fascinating lectures from a fave prof
Professor McInerney is one of my favorites of the Great Courses lecturers. If you (or if homeschooling, your student) have little or no background in Ancient Greece, I would start with his course on "Ancient Greek Civilization" - equally well planned and delivered, but more at an introductory / overview level.
This course is a deep dive into the Greece's Golden Age. One aspect I particularly appreciate is his attention to cultural and social history. So much of what made this time special is the cultural flowering that occurred. At the same time, the family and social system was terribly different than ours, to the extent that certain norms are hard to fathom. Prof. McInerney does a great job of constructing the 30 minute lecture as well. His passion for the subject and wit shine through.
Finally, I appreciated how he tied this long ago time with its deep relevance to today's world. This is one I plan to listen to again.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mikael
- 07-01-22
Excellent narrator
One of the best audio books I have ever heard. The narrator is excellent and very knowledgeable and its a blast to listen to. I love the split into different chapters, makes it very easy to follow. I recommend this book to all.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nikola
- 15-04-22
Great course
Excellent content, well spoken professor. Highly recommended for listeners with some basic knowledge of ancient Greek history.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alasdair Macintyre
- 20-07-15
An excellent overall overview of Ancient Athens
This was an excellent introduction to Ancient Athens, with lectures covering pretty much every aspect of society. As the name suggests, it focuses roughly on the period around Pericles' lifetime (495-429BC), between the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars (although it goes a bit before and after for context), during which Athens was a world power .
It IS worth having a map of Ancient Greece handy while listening, along possibly with one of Athens itself - there are plenty downloadable on the internet.
The narrator is a very clear speaker, perfectly intelligible at 1.25x speed (which makes the lectures around 24 minutes long). The lectures are pretty easy to understand and often are a good introduction if you want to study an area in more depth. The course overall gives a very good overview, especially with getting into the mindset of WHY people thought particular things, without going into excessive confusing detail. While you can easily spot connections between the lectures, they're mostly self contained enough that you COULD pick and choose which to listen to without getting horribly confused (though it's a good enough course you probably won't feel the need to).
Lectures (if you go to the course page on The Great Courses website there's individual lecture summaries):
1) The Agora (essentially overview of the city center)
2) The Persian Wars (which were the precursor to:)
3) The Athenian Empire (how, why, etc)
4) The Career of Pericles
5) Aspasia (Pericles' mistress - includes legalities + role of women)
6) Parthenon and Acropolis (this is a mixture of religion and architecture)
7) Panathenaea - The Festivals of Athens
8) Paideia - Education in Ancient Athens
9) Marriage in Pericles' Athens
10) Family and Property
11) Coins Trade and Business
12) Death and Burial
13) Aeschylus and Early Tragedy (first of 4 lectures on greek theatre)
14) Sophoclean Tragedy (second major Athenian tragedian)
15) Euripides (third major tragedian)
16) Comedy in the Age of Aristophanes (
17) Athenian Courts and Justice
18) Democracy and Government
19) The Age of Moderation
20) Freedom, Equality and the Rights of Man
21) Athens after Pericles
22) Socrates and the Sophists (this and the next are overview of philosophy)
23) Plato
24) An Elegy to Athens
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Saralexis
- 29-06-23
Fascinating
Well delivered and well structured. Having listened to a few courses covering Ancient Greece in a general way it was nice to zoom in on this period.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- DS
- 04-09-24
Decent historian but …
He just frequently comes across as conservative. He’s not overtly political but when it comes to women, slavery, freedom something just feels off. I guess Classics is not a famously liberal area.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!