The Ancient Greeks

This course explores ancient Greek history from the Bronze Age to the death of Socrates in 399 BCE. It is offered by Wesleyan University through Coursera, an online education platform.

The course includes discussions on broader issues such as methods of historical interpretation, political developments and cultural values prevalent at the time. The course begins with the physical and geographical setting of the ‘Greek World,’ in which the two Bronze Age civilizations: Minoan on the island of Crete, and Mycenaean on the mainland, are discussed. It then illustrates the creative Archaic Age, during which the Greeks acquired a distinct cultural identity. It concludes with the discussion on the crucial decade at the end of the 6th century BCE, when the Athenians instituted full democracy.

 Some of the course contents are:

• Prehistory to Homer
• The Archaic Age (ca. 800-500 BCE)
• Two City-States: Sparta and Athens