
The Modern Scholar: Greek Drama: Tragedy and Comedy
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Peter Meineck
-
By:
-
Peter Meineck
About this listen
The plays of one ancient city 2,500 years ago by just four playwrights have had a profound effect on the development of all subsequent Western drama, not only on the theatrical stage, but on opera, film, television, stand-up comedy, and dance - in fact, most, if not all, of the live arts owe a debt to the theatre of ancient Greece and the city of Athens. This course will examine the social, historical, and political context of ancient Greek drama and equip listeners with a set of critical analytical tools for developing their own appreciation of this vitally important genre. The course will focus on the four extant playwrights, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes, and examine each of their plays closely.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2005 Peter Meineck (P)2005 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
Homer Box Set: Iliad & Odyssey
- By: Homer, W. H. D. Rouse - translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.
-
-
Oddball Translation
- By Joel Jenkins on 05-11-17
By: Homer, and others
-
Classical Mythology: The Greeks
- The Modern Scholar
- By: Professor Peter Meineck
- Narrated by: Peter Meineck
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Through the study of these time-honored myths, the Greek heroes and gods - including Heracles, Zeus, Achilles, Athena, Aphrodite, and others - leap from the page in all their glorious splendor. The following lectures are not only an entertaining guide to Greek mythology, but a fascinating look into the culture and time that produced these eternal tales.
-
-
Inappropriate Title.
- By Maureen on 10-19-10
-
The Modern Scholar: Odyssey of the West I: A Classic Education through the Great Books: Hebrews and Greeks
- By: Prof. Timothy Shutt, Prof. Eric H. Cline, Prof. Kim J. Hartswick, and others
- Narrated by: Professor Timothy B. Shutt, Professor Eric H. Cline, Professor Kim J. Hartswick, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The lectures address-in chronological sequence-a series of major works that have shaped the ongoing development of Western thought both in their own right and in cultural dialogue with other traditions. In the process, the course engages many of the most perennial and far-reaching questions that we face in our daily lives.
-
-
Chapter Divisions ARE Present
- By Rand on 09-01-10
By: Prof. Timothy Shutt, and others
-
The Oresteia
- Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Furies
- By: Aeschylus
- Narrated by: Lesley Sharp, Hugo Speer, Will Howard, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The classic trilogy about murder, revenge and justice, as heard on BBC Radio 3 – plus a bonus documentary exploring Aeschylus's seminal Greek tragedy. A chilling tale of homecoming, violent death and bloody vengeance, The Oresteia dates back to the fifth century BC, but its themes still resonate today. At once a family saga, morality tale and courtroom drama, it recounts how two generations of the cursed House of Atreus become locked into a deadly cycle of atrocities....
-
-
Three adaptations, three writers
- By purplecrayon88 on 03-12-21
By: Aeschylus
-
Metamorphoses
- By: Ovid
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Metamorphoses by Publius Ovidius Naso (43 B.C. - A.D. 17) has, over the centuries, been the most popular and influential work from our classical tradition. This extraordinary collection of some 250 Greek and Roman myths and folk tales has always been a popular favorite, and has decisively shaped western art and literature from the moment it was completed in A.D. 8. The stories are particularly vivid when read by David Horovitch, in this new lively verse translation by Ian Johnston.
-
-
Fantastic!
- By Tad Davis on 10-31-12
By: Ovid
-
The Eating of the Gods
- An Interpretation of Greek Tragedy
- By: Jan Kott
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Eating of the Gods, the distinguished Polish critic Jan Kott reexamines Greek tragedy from the modern perspective. As in his earlier acclaimed Shakespeare, Our Contemporary, Kott provides startling insights and intuitive leaps which link our world to that of the ancient Greeks. The title refers to the Bacchae of Euripides, that tragedy of lust, revenge, murder, and "the joy of eating raw flesh" which Kott finds paradigmatic in its violence and bloodshed.
-
-
Great introduction to Greek theatre
- By Aidan O'Reilly on 01-24-20
By: Jan Kott
-
Homer Box Set: Iliad & Odyssey
- By: Homer, W. H. D. Rouse - translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.
-
-
Oddball Translation
- By Joel Jenkins on 05-11-17
By: Homer, and others
-
Classical Mythology: The Greeks
- The Modern Scholar
- By: Professor Peter Meineck
- Narrated by: Peter Meineck
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Through the study of these time-honored myths, the Greek heroes and gods - including Heracles, Zeus, Achilles, Athena, Aphrodite, and others - leap from the page in all their glorious splendor. The following lectures are not only an entertaining guide to Greek mythology, but a fascinating look into the culture and time that produced these eternal tales.
-
-
Inappropriate Title.
- By Maureen on 10-19-10
-
The Modern Scholar: Odyssey of the West I: A Classic Education through the Great Books: Hebrews and Greeks
- By: Prof. Timothy Shutt, Prof. Eric H. Cline, Prof. Kim J. Hartswick, and others
- Narrated by: Professor Timothy B. Shutt, Professor Eric H. Cline, Professor Kim J. Hartswick, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The lectures address-in chronological sequence-a series of major works that have shaped the ongoing development of Western thought both in their own right and in cultural dialogue with other traditions. In the process, the course engages many of the most perennial and far-reaching questions that we face in our daily lives.
-
-
Chapter Divisions ARE Present
- By Rand on 09-01-10
By: Prof. Timothy Shutt, and others
-
The Oresteia
- Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Furies
- By: Aeschylus
- Narrated by: Lesley Sharp, Hugo Speer, Will Howard, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The classic trilogy about murder, revenge and justice, as heard on BBC Radio 3 – plus a bonus documentary exploring Aeschylus's seminal Greek tragedy. A chilling tale of homecoming, violent death and bloody vengeance, The Oresteia dates back to the fifth century BC, but its themes still resonate today. At once a family saga, morality tale and courtroom drama, it recounts how two generations of the cursed House of Atreus become locked into a deadly cycle of atrocities....
-
-
Three adaptations, three writers
- By purplecrayon88 on 03-12-21
By: Aeschylus
-
Metamorphoses
- By: Ovid
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Metamorphoses by Publius Ovidius Naso (43 B.C. - A.D. 17) has, over the centuries, been the most popular and influential work from our classical tradition. This extraordinary collection of some 250 Greek and Roman myths and folk tales has always been a popular favorite, and has decisively shaped western art and literature from the moment it was completed in A.D. 8. The stories are particularly vivid when read by David Horovitch, in this new lively verse translation by Ian Johnston.
-
-
Fantastic!
- By Tad Davis on 10-31-12
By: Ovid
-
The Eating of the Gods
- An Interpretation of Greek Tragedy
- By: Jan Kott
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Eating of the Gods, the distinguished Polish critic Jan Kott reexamines Greek tragedy from the modern perspective. As in his earlier acclaimed Shakespeare, Our Contemporary, Kott provides startling insights and intuitive leaps which link our world to that of the ancient Greeks. The title refers to the Bacchae of Euripides, that tragedy of lust, revenge, murder, and "the joy of eating raw flesh" which Kott finds paradigmatic in its violence and bloodshed.
-
-
Great introduction to Greek theatre
- By Aidan O'Reilly on 01-24-20
By: Jan Kott
-
The Iliad of Homer
- By: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
-
-
Vandiver never disappoints
- By Machteacher on 07-23-13
By: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
-
A Distant Mirror
- The Calamitous Fourteenth Century
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 28 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 14th century reflects two contradictory images: on the one hand, a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and the exquisitely decorated Books of Hours; and on the other, a time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world of chaos and the plague.
-
-
And you thought the twentieth century was rough...
- By Rob on 03-23-06
-
Pax
- War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Tom Holland
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Pax Romana has long been shorthand for the empire’s golden age. Stretching from Caledonia to Arabia, Rome ruled over a quarter of the world’s population. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state in the history of humankind. Pax is a captivating narrative history of Rome at the height of its power. From the gilded capital to realms beyond the frontier, historian Tom Holland shows ancient Rome in all its glory
-
-
Great book!
- By Mic on 09-27-23
By: Tom Holland
-
The Greek World
- A Study of History and Culture
- By: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Robert Garland
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ancient Greeks, more than any other early culture, have given us the template for Western civilization, as seen in their superlative achievements in the fields of architecture, political theory, philosophy, science, and art - not the least of which are their inventions of democracy and drama. In these 24 compelling lectures, Professor Garland guides you in a richly illuminating exploration of what the ancient Greeks have given us, and why they’re still important to us today.
-
-
Political correct digressions every five minutes
- By Sofia on 11-11-20
By: Robert Garland, and others
-
Botticelli's Secret
- The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance
- By: Joseph Luzzi
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some 500 years ago, Sandro Botticelli, a painter of humble origin, created work of unearthly beauty. An intimate associate of Florence’s unofficial rulers, the Medici, he was commissioned by a member of their family to execute a near-impossible project: to illustrate all 100 cantos of The Divine Comedy by the city’s greatest poet, Dante Alighieri. A powerful encounter between poet and artist, sacred and secular, earthly and evanescent, these drawings produced a wealth of stunning images but were never finished.
-
-
Great story
- By Chris M on 12-09-22
By: Joseph Luzzi
-
Our Oriental Heritage
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 1
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 50 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Michael on 11-30-13
By: Will Durant
-
The Master and Margarita
- By: Mikhail Bulgakov
- Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Devil comes to Moscow, but he isn't all bad; Pontius Pilate sentences a charismatic leader to his death, but yearns for redemption; and a writer tries to destroy his greatest tale, but discovers that manuscripts don't burn. Multi-layered and entrancing, blending sharp satire with glorious fantasy, The Master and Margarita is ceaselessly inventive and profoundly moving. In its imaginative freedom and raising of eternal human concerns, it is one of the world's great novels.
-
-
Satisfying Satanic Satire
- By Jacob on 12-06-11
By: Mikhail Bulgakov
-
Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans
- By: Plutarch
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 83 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Plutarch (c. AD 46-AD 120) was born to a prominent family in the small Greek town of Chaeronea, about 20 miles east of Delphi in the region known as Boeotia. His best known work is the Parallel Lives, a series of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues and vices. The surviving lives contain 23 pairs, each with one Greek life and one Roman life as well as four unpaired single lives.
-
-
For the Very Dedicated
- By John Pinkerton on 03-13-18
By: Plutarch
-
No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life
- By: Robert C. Solomon, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert C. Solomon
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is life? What is my place in it? What choices do these questions obligate me to make? More than a half-century after it burst upon the intellectual scene - with roots that extend to the mid-19th century - Existentialism's quest to answer these most fundamental questions of individual responsibility, morality, and personal freedom, life has continued to exert a profound attraction.
-
-
Good for even a non-existentialist
- By Gary on 07-24-15
By: Robert C. Solomon, and others
-
A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Amanda Root, David Harewood, Roy Hudd
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Oberon, King of the Fairies, uses his magic upon four runaway lovers in a midsummer wood outside Athens, chaos ensues. Who really loves whom? Meanwhile, a band of well-meaning but bungling local actors have their rehearsal sabotaged by the mischievous Puck, who bewitches their leader, Bottom, and Titania, the Fairy Queen. The result is a lively and anarchic comedy that can only be resolved by an elaborate disentangling of spells.
-
-
Shakespeare is rolling in his grave.
- By Zombie Gil 007 on 02-14-15
-
1066: The Year That Changed Everything
- By: Jennifer Paxton, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Jennifer Paxton
- Length: 3 hrs
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With this exciting and historically rich six-lecture course, experience for yourself the drama of this dynamic year in medieval history, centered on the landmark Norman Conquest. Taking you from the shores of Scandinavia and France to the battlefields of the English countryside, these lectures will plunge you into a world of fierce Viking warriors, powerful noble families, politically charged marriages, tense succession crises, epic military invasions, and much more.
-
-
History brought to life
- By Joshua on 07-10-13
By: Jennifer Paxton, and others
-
Swann's Way
- By: Marcel Proust
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 17 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Swann's Way is the first novel of Marcel Proust's seven-volume magnum opus In Search of Lost Time. After elaborate reminiscences about his childhood with relatives in rural Combray and in urban Paris, Proust's narrator recalls a story regarding Charles Swann, a major figure in his Combray childhood....
-
-
Not the newer, far better translation
- By Samuel Murray on 05-02-11
By: Marcel Proust
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Modern Scholar: Greek Legacy
- Understanding the Overwhelming Contributions of the Ancient Greeks
- By: Professor Timothy Shutt
- Narrated by: Professor Timothy Shutt
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Named one of the Best 300 Professors by the Princeton Review, Timothy B. Shutt has been repeatedly honored for his exceptional skills as a lecturer. In Greek Legacy, Professor Shutt explores the qualities that set the ancient Greeks apart from other ancient civilizations. The Greeks, more than any other culture, contributed to the formation of our own cultural system. These lectures show how that society developed, what it consisted of, and how it continues to impact the modern world.
-
-
Masterful overview of Greek contributions
- By EmilyK on 11-19-23
-
The Modern Scholar: Giants of French Literature
- Balzac, Flaubert, Proust, and Camus
- By: Prof. Katherine Elkins
- Narrated by: Katherine Elkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this series of lectures, Professor Katherine Elkins details the lives and works of the premier French writers of the last two centuries. With keen insight into her subject material, Professor Elkins discusses the attributes that made classics of such works as Balzac's Human Comedy, Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Proust's In Search of Lost Time, and Camus' The Stranger.
-
-
The Modern Scholar: Giants of French Literature
- By Dudley H. Williams on 11-29-11
-
The Modern Scholar: The Dawn of Political History
- Thucydides and the Peloponnesian Wars
- By: Fred Baumann
- Narrated by: Fred Baumann
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this fascinating course of lectures, Professor Fred Baumann, leads us on an engaging exploration of this penetrating work. Taking in each of the eight books, we examine the complex juxtaposition of events Thucydides demonstrates without much comment of his own. We see how democrats and oligarchs, Athenians and Spartans, understand the world and misunderstand each other. We explore how Thucydides contrasts Sparta - so deliberately narrow, provincial, overtly moral, and covertly cynical - with Athens....
-
-
Best lecture made so far (I almost said ever)
- By David Merahn on 12-18-17
By: Fred Baumann
-
The Modern Scholar: The Iliad and The Odyssey of Homer
- By: Professor Timothy B. Shutt
- Narrated by: Timothy B. Shutt
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the Modern Scholar’s most popular professors, Timothy B. Shutt, brings his literary acumen and trademark enthusiasm to the study of the epic poems that sit at the very wellspring of Western culture. The earliest surviving works of Greek literature, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey exert a continuing influence on modern culture, even today shaping people’s values and conduct. In the tales of Achilles and Hector, of Odysseus and Penelope, Homer explored the notion of arête, which translates as "excellence" or "virtue".
-
-
wonderful introduction to fundamental texts
- By EmilyK on 05-05-24
-
The Modern Scholar
- The Russian Revolution: From Tsarism to Bolshevism
- By: Prof. Jonathan D. Smele
- Narrated by: Prof. Jonathan D. Smele
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a key turning point in the history of modern Europe and the world. For much of the 20th century, politics were defined by attitudes to what had taken place in Russia in 1917. To understand the Russian Revolution, then, is to understand a key building block of modern history and the contemporary world.
-
-
Important story badly recorded
- By John on 01-30-13
-
The Modern Scholar: The Second Oldest Profession, Part 1
- A World History of Espionage
- By: Prof. Jeffrey Burds
- Narrated by: Prof. Jeffrey Burds
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Professor Jeffrey Burds of Northeastern University delves into the history of espionage in this eye-opening lecture series. The course opens with espionage activity in the ancient world and the Roman Empire and continues with the American Revolution, Age of Napoleon, and American Civil War. Throughout this compelling discussion it becomes evident that spying is not only a never-ending source of fascination but also a major contributor to world history and the development of nations.
-
-
Excellent
- By Jesse J Frey on 12-18-12
-
The Modern Scholar: Greek Legacy
- Understanding the Overwhelming Contributions of the Ancient Greeks
- By: Professor Timothy Shutt
- Narrated by: Professor Timothy Shutt
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Named one of the Best 300 Professors by the Princeton Review, Timothy B. Shutt has been repeatedly honored for his exceptional skills as a lecturer. In Greek Legacy, Professor Shutt explores the qualities that set the ancient Greeks apart from other ancient civilizations. The Greeks, more than any other culture, contributed to the formation of our own cultural system. These lectures show how that society developed, what it consisted of, and how it continues to impact the modern world.
-
-
Masterful overview of Greek contributions
- By EmilyK on 11-19-23
-
The Modern Scholar: Giants of French Literature
- Balzac, Flaubert, Proust, and Camus
- By: Prof. Katherine Elkins
- Narrated by: Katherine Elkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this series of lectures, Professor Katherine Elkins details the lives and works of the premier French writers of the last two centuries. With keen insight into her subject material, Professor Elkins discusses the attributes that made classics of such works as Balzac's Human Comedy, Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Proust's In Search of Lost Time, and Camus' The Stranger.
-
-
The Modern Scholar: Giants of French Literature
- By Dudley H. Williams on 11-29-11
-
The Modern Scholar: The Dawn of Political History
- Thucydides and the Peloponnesian Wars
- By: Fred Baumann
- Narrated by: Fred Baumann
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this fascinating course of lectures, Professor Fred Baumann, leads us on an engaging exploration of this penetrating work. Taking in each of the eight books, we examine the complex juxtaposition of events Thucydides demonstrates without much comment of his own. We see how democrats and oligarchs, Athenians and Spartans, understand the world and misunderstand each other. We explore how Thucydides contrasts Sparta - so deliberately narrow, provincial, overtly moral, and covertly cynical - with Athens....
-
-
Best lecture made so far (I almost said ever)
- By David Merahn on 12-18-17
By: Fred Baumann
-
The Modern Scholar: The Iliad and The Odyssey of Homer
- By: Professor Timothy B. Shutt
- Narrated by: Timothy B. Shutt
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the Modern Scholar’s most popular professors, Timothy B. Shutt, brings his literary acumen and trademark enthusiasm to the study of the epic poems that sit at the very wellspring of Western culture. The earliest surviving works of Greek literature, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey exert a continuing influence on modern culture, even today shaping people’s values and conduct. In the tales of Achilles and Hector, of Odysseus and Penelope, Homer explored the notion of arête, which translates as "excellence" or "virtue".
-
-
wonderful introduction to fundamental texts
- By EmilyK on 05-05-24
-
The Modern Scholar
- The Russian Revolution: From Tsarism to Bolshevism
- By: Prof. Jonathan D. Smele
- Narrated by: Prof. Jonathan D. Smele
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a key turning point in the history of modern Europe and the world. For much of the 20th century, politics were defined by attitudes to what had taken place in Russia in 1917. To understand the Russian Revolution, then, is to understand a key building block of modern history and the contemporary world.
-
-
Important story badly recorded
- By John on 01-30-13
-
The Modern Scholar: The Second Oldest Profession, Part 1
- A World History of Espionage
- By: Prof. Jeffrey Burds
- Narrated by: Prof. Jeffrey Burds
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Professor Jeffrey Burds of Northeastern University delves into the history of espionage in this eye-opening lecture series. The course opens with espionage activity in the ancient world and the Roman Empire and continues with the American Revolution, Age of Napoleon, and American Civil War. Throughout this compelling discussion it becomes evident that spying is not only a never-ending source of fascination but also a major contributor to world history and the development of nations.
-
-
Excellent
- By Jesse J Frey on 12-18-12
-
Prometheus Bound
- By: Aeschylus
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 1 hr and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a jealous Zeus discovers that the compassionate Titan, Prometheus, has introduced the gift of fire to liberate mere mortals from oppression and servitude, he has Prometheus bound to a rocky prison in the Scythian desert, where the god discloses the reason for his punishment.
-
-
A one-man show
- By Tad on 12-20-10
By: Aeschylus
-
The Modern Scholar: Christianity At the Crossroads: The Reformations of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
- By: Thomas F. Madden
- Narrated by: Thomas F. Madden
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Esteemed history professor Thomas F. Madden explores the reformations that swept across Christendom in the 16th and 17th centuries. The impact of these reforms affected government, popes, and kings as well as commoners, for at this time the Church was an omnipresent part of European identity-and the import of Church reforms on every level of life at this time simply cannot be underestimated.
-
-
Clarity!!
- By Chi-Hung on 06-11-09
By: Thomas F. Madden
-
The Modern Scholar
- World's First Superpower: From Empire to Commonwealth, 1901-Present
- By: Professor Denis Judd
- Narrated by: Denis Judd
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This course will examine the development of the British Empire from the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, via its greatest territorial extent in 1919 to its eventual decline and end in the years after World War II, and its final transformation into the Commonwealth of independent nations.
-
-
Despite his stylish shortcomings
- By Chi-Hung on 03-06-10
-
The Modern Scholar: Giants of the British Novel, Part I
- By: Professor Timothy Baker Shutt
- Narrated by: Professor Timothy Baker Shutt
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Professor Shutt begins by exploring exactly what a novel is - and what it isn't - and what defines this unique literary expression. He explores both its antecedents and precursors and where exactly its place in the literary landscape can be found. He then moves on to Defoe's great work Robinson Crusoe which arguably marks the birth of the novel. Subsequent lectures explore works by powerful literary forces such as Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, and Sir Walter Scott.
-
-
As good as I'd hoped it would be
- By Steve and/or Jodene on 11-13-15
-
The Modern Scholar
- Law of the Land: A History of the Supreme Court
- By: Professor Kermit Hall
- Narrated by: Kermit Hall
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This course explores the court as a living, breathing institution - one subject to the press of public opinion yet removed from its direct impact - one whose members have as often as not been vilified or praised. Listeners will come to know the court through a thorough study of its most significant decisions. The individual lectures explore both the personalities and legal reasoning behind, as well as the political impact of, these landmark cases.
-
-
Myopic but Fun; Mislabeled
- By Logan Kedzie on 10-12-10
-
The Modern Scholar: Europe's Dark Journey
- The Rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany
- By: Professor Beth A. Griech-Polelle
- Narrated by: Professor Beth A. Griech-Polelle
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Europe’s Dark Journey, Beth A. Griech-Polelle examines the factors that led to the ascendance of Adolf Hitler during the rebuilding of post-WWI Germany. Moving from the birth of modern Germany through the First World War, Polelle then focuses on Hitler’s early years and the creation of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party.
-
-
Valuable view of historical background
- By R.S. on 05-11-23
-
The Modern Scholar
- Monsters, Gods, and Heroes: Approaching the Epic in Literature
- By: Prof. Timothy Shutt
- Narrated by: Timothy Shutt
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the time of Homer himself in about 750 BCE - the epic has been the most highly regarded of literary genres. It is rivaled only by tragedy, which arose a bit more than two centuries later, as the most respected, the most influential, and, from a slightly different vantage point, the most prestigious mode of addressing the human condition in literary terms. The major epics are the big boys, the works that, from the very outset, everyone had heard of and everyone knew, at least by reputation.
-
-
Insightful even if you've read the books
- By amar on 06-15-12
-
Classical Mythology: The Greeks
- The Modern Scholar
- By: Professor Peter Meineck
- Narrated by: Peter Meineck
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Through the study of these time-honored myths, the Greek heroes and gods - including Heracles, Zeus, Achilles, Athena, Aphrodite, and others - leap from the page in all their glorious splendor. The following lectures are not only an entertaining guide to Greek mythology, but a fascinating look into the culture and time that produced these eternal tales.
-
-
Inappropriate Title.
- By Maureen on 10-19-10
-
The Modern Scholar: All the World a Stage
- The Theater in History
- By: Professor Megan Lewis
- Narrated by: Professor Megan Lewis
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this engaging series of lectures, theatre historian, Megan Lewis takes listeners on a journey from the ancient world of the Greeks and Romans to the modern era as she explores how theatre - a live event that synthesizes many other art forms and disciples in a collaborative process of storytelling - entertains, educates, and inspires us, as well as helps build community and reflect society.
-
-
- nice brief history of theater up to 19C.
- By booklover on 03-10-24
-
The Modern Scholar: Cold War: On the Brink of Apocalypse
- By: David Painter
- Narrated by: David Painter
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The devastating US atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki not only brought World War II to an end, but effectively gave birth to the Cold War. The postwar world would thereafter be marked by the fragile relationship of two superpowers with opposing ideologies: the United States and the Soviet Union.
-
-
Decent history until the 80's
- By Stephen on 03-05-09
By: David Painter
-
The Modern Scholar: The Medieval World I: Kingdoms, Empires, and War
- By: Prof. Thomas F. Madden
- Narrated by: Thomas F. Madden
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This all-encompassing investigation of a highly influential time period includes the major events of the era and informative discussion of empire, papacy, the Crusades, and the fall of Constantinople. During the course of these lectures, Professor Madden also addresses the rise of Islam, reform movements, and schisms in the church. In so doing, Professor Madden underscores the significance and grand scale of an age that continues to hold an undeniable fascination for people today.
-
-
Another good course from a master
- By Chi-Hung on 11-01-09
-
The Iliad of Homer
- By: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
-
-
Vandiver never disappoints
- By Machteacher on 07-23-13
By: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
Wonderful
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What did you love best about The Modern Scholar?
Prof Meineck's knowledge and obvious enthusiasm about the subject.(Though it is strange how the feedback question here seems to be on The Modern Scholar series and not this title in particular).
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Modern Scholar?
There were two: when he was describing the Oresteia (which isn't really a moment...); and when he gave (periodically) different translations of the same Greek text and examined the etymology of words.Which scene was your favorite?
Guess it would be the Clytemnestra-Orestes scene, with all its complexities and nuances.If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
I wouldn't make a film of this lecture.Great Survey of Greek Plays
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Magnificent
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Brilliant Course
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
For an example, lecture seven discusses Agamemnon. Here we are helped to imagine the sacrifice of Iphigenia, and a parallel is drawn to a perversion of the Greek wedding ceremony. Very interesting information is provided on the translation of Clytemnestra's assertion of fidelity, which is on the surface a bald-faced lie. Meineck returns to the original Greek to help us see that she has very carefully chosen her words. He discusses female power images in the beacon fires, and points out that Aeschylus has altered the myth to have Clytemnestra herself murder Agamemnon, rather than her lover. We are treated to a superb examination of Agamemnon's return, in which he is met by Clytemnestra's carefully staged welcome-trap. As she lays out a tapestry for the conquering hero to walk on, we see the murder of Iphigenia replayed. While preventing him from stepping on the soil of his homeland, she compels Agamemnon to wade through metaphorical blood, trampling the wealth of his own household, on his willing way to his own ritual sacrifice. Good stuff, as is the rest of this course. Highly recommended.
Outstanding.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.