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01: Who Were the Greeks? Who Were the Romans?

Examine the historical origins of the Greeks and Romans, which is still an open question among scholars.

36 min

02: Trade and Travel in the Mediterranean

Trade and travel were widespread throughout the Mediterranean basin from early times onward.

31 min

03: Democratic or Republican

Both Greeks and Romans had democratic tendencies and a predisposition to favor the aristocracy. Community, however, was more broadly defined among Romans, who came to accept the principle of universalism that was alien to the Greeks. Both Greeks and Romans had democratic tendencies and a predisposition to favor the aristocracy.

30 min

04: Law and Order

It was the Greeks of Athens who first established trial by jury and sought to differentiate crime in terms of motive. It was the Romans who established the principle that the law is an organic entity that has to adapt to changing social, economic, and political conditions.

31 min

05: Less than Fully Human

Both the Greeks and Romans denied full human status to those at the bottom of the social ladder.

29 min

06: Close Encounters, 750–272 BCE

From very early in their history, the Romans were subject to Greek influence, both directly from Greek colonists who had settled in southern Italy and indirectly from the Etruscans, Rome's neighbors to the northwest, who were in contact with Greek traders.

32 min

07: The Velvet Glove, 272–190 BCE

After defeating Carthage in the Second Punic War, Rome turned its attention to the Hellenistic world of the eastern Mediterranean.

31 min

08: How the Two Polytheisms (Almost) Merged

Greek religion made a deep impact on the Romans, whose animistic beliefs differed from the anthropomorphic pantheon of the Greeks. The Romans assimilated not only Greek gods, but also deities from many of the other cultures with which they came in contact.

34 min

09: The Iron Fist, 190–146 BCE

In 190 BCE the Romans abandoned their "velvet glove" policy toward the Greeks and adopted a more hard-line attitude, in which self-interest came increasingly to the fore. Over the next 45 years, almost the whole Greek-speaking world came under Roman domination.

29 min

10: The Last Hellenistic Dynasts, 146–31 BCE

We trace the dying embers of Greek independence down to Octavian's defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BCE, which marked the end of the Hellenistic period. Rome was now the undisputed ruler of the entire Mediterranean world.

30 min

11: Why the Greeks Lost, Why the Romans Won

The Greeks lost to the Romans for several reasons: They failed to grasp Rome's determination to bring stability to the region, Rome had a more efficient military machine, and the Greeks' endemic factiousness left them hopelessly divided.

29 min

12: Philhellenism and Hellenophobia

Relations between the Greeks and Romans were highly ambivalent, with elements of both philhellenism and hellenophobia on the part of the Romans. But in general, elite Romans deeply appreciated the achievements of Greek civilization.

31 min

13: The Two Languages

Greek was already a highly sophisticated vehicle of literary expression at a time when Latin was still in its infancy. By the 2nd century BCE, literary Latin was developing rapidly. Because the Greeks were reluctant to learn Latin, it was primarily the Romans who became bilingual.

32 min

14: Leisure and Entertainment

We explore leisure activities among the wealthy, including the gymnasium and symposium for Greeks and the public baths and convivium for Romans.

31 min

15: Sex and Sexuality

Sex and sexuality did not have the same significance in antiquity as they do in modern Western society. One of the most profound differences is that there was an inherent asymmetry to most sexual relations in terms of age and social status. Note: This lecture deals frankly with sexuality and contains graphic material that may not be suitable for all audiences. Parental discretion is advised.

34 min

16: Death and the Afterlife

Death was a ubiquitous presence among the Greeks and Romans. Though both cultures placed great emphasis on continuing ties between the living and the deceased, the Romans incorporated the dead into their lives to a much greater degree than did the Greeks.

30 min

17: From Mystery Religion to Ruler Cult

In the 2nd century BCE, the Romans became less hospitable to foreign gods. For the first time, they banned Greek cult practices, particularly those associated with the god Dionysus. On assuming power, Augustus introduced ruler cult.

32 min

18: Greek Cities under Roman Rule

With the exception of Rome, almost all the greatest cities in the Roman Empire were predominantly populated by Greeks. These adapted well to the loss of political freedom. We look at Alexandria, Antioch, Pergamum, and Ephesus, among others.

32 min

19: Greeks in Rome, Romans in Greece

We examine how Greeks in their capacity as slaves and subjects, and Romans in their capacity as masters and rulers, coexisted somewhat uneasily.

31 min

20: The Hellenism of Augustus

The Augustan Principate marks the advent of a unified Mediterranean culture under Roman rule. At the same time, it was a world that had become deeply influenced by Greek culture.

30 min

21: Art, Looting, and Reproductions

Romans developed a taste for Greek art from the plunder of conquered Greek cities. Thereafter, they began acquiring it by commissioning Greek workshops to produce copies of famous originals. The Roman style of collecting effectively created the notion of a work of art.

31 min

22: Architecture, Sacred and Secular

Although possessing deep stylistic similarities, Greek and Roman architecture employed markedly different building methods and materials, was constructed on different scales, and fulfilled different functions. The Romans were the first to use architecture to serve the masses.

32 min

23: Science and Technology

Greek scientific wizardry is impressive even by the high technological standards of today. While the Romans were less interested in scientific discovery, they were attuned to its practical benefits.

34 min

24: Disease, Medical Care, and Physicians

The invention of rational medicine is one of the most important discoveries of the Greeks - remarkable for its absence of any appeal to magic, religion, or superstition. Although the Romans were initially suspicious of Greek doctors, they came to rely increasingly on them.

32 min

25: The Greek Epic and Its Roman Echo

The epic is an ancient genre that achieved near perfection in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. The Roman poet Virgil drew on Homer and other sources to create the Aeneid, the most sustained and successful fusion of Greek and Roman literary form and style.

33 min

26: Tragedy and Comedy

The Greeks invented Western drama. Early on, two genres evolved "tragedy and comedy" both of which were appropriated and adapted by the Romans.

32 min

27: Love Poetry, Satire, History, the Novel

The Romans did not slavishly imitate their Greek literary precursors; they either adapted a genre to their taste or else they completely transformed it. We look at how the Romans appropriated and developed love poetry, satire, history, and the novel.

34 min

28: Greek Influences on Roman Education

Among Greek approaches to education, Sparta's harsh schooling of boys and Athens's tutoring in rhetoric by sophists are the best known.

29 min

29: Greek Philosophy and Its Roman Advocates

We investigate how Greek philosophy shaped the consciousness of the Roman elite, including generals, politicians, and even emperors. In so doing, it influenced not only how the Romans saw their world, but also how they sought to understand their place within it.

31 min

30: Hellenomania from Nero to Hadrian

The obsession with Greek culture was so great on the part of the emperors Nero and Hadrian that it can be described as "hellenomania," an infatuation shared by many that was based on an idealized view of the Greek world and its values.

30 min

31: Jews, Greeks, and Romans

The inherent conflict between monotheism and polytheism made the position of the Jews particularly uncertain in the Roman Empire. As relations deteriorated, the Jewish Revolt broke out in 66 CE, leading to the destruction of Jerusalem.

32 min

32: Christianity's Debt to Greece and Rome

Greco-Roman resources and its mentality greatly aided the development and spread of early Christianity. Even by making martyrs out of the early Christians, the Romans gave the Jesus movement a visibility that it would not otherwise have achieved.

31 min

33: The Apotheosis of Athens

From the 2nd century BCE, ambitious Romans indulged in lavish building programs in Athens. Shorn of independence, the Athenians continued to involve themselves in politics, although they showed a fatal knack for backing the wrong side.

30 min

34: The Decline of the West

There are competing theories to explain Rome's decline and fall, which might be better termed its upheaval and transformation. We investigate the instability that took hold in the half century from 235 CE onward, which ultimately saw the empire divided between East and West.

33 min

35: The Survival of the East

The eastern half of the empire survived the dissolution of the West by more than 1,000 years. Greeks and Romans went their separate ways, although, ironically, it was the Byzantine Greeks who saw themselves as the true Romans.

32 min

36: The Enduring Duo

What did the Greeks and Romans get out of their relationship? How has the modern West claimed their legacies, and how has each of us been shaped by their influence? Greece and Rome remain two aspects of our collective cultural personality.

32 min

Overview Course No. 3300

Integrated approaches to teaching Greek and Roman history are a rarity in academia. Most scholars are historians of either Greek or Roman history and perform research solely in that specific field, an approach that author and award-winning Professor Robert Garland of Colgate University considers questionable.

In these 36 passionate lectures, he provides an impressive and rare opportunity to understand the two dominant cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world in relation to one another - a relationship that has virtually no parallel in world history. He shows you how these two very different cultures intersected, coincided, and at times, collided.

You'll discover the extraordinary culture that we call Greco-Roman: a unique fusion of civilizations that encompasses statecraft, mythology, language, philosophy, fine arts, architecture, science, and much else. In this unique integrated historical approach, you'll see how Greece and Rome's relationship resembled a marriage: two distinct personalities competing in some areas, sharing in others, and sometimes creating a new synthesis of the two civilizations. And you'll consider their more substantive cultural differences, including religion, their views of foreigners, and their ways of thinking. Finally, you'll come away with an appreciation of how this material affects us today.

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About

Robert Garland

Working for the Great Courses enables me to reach people who prize learning for learning's sake. It's they who inspire me to close the gap between past and present, by demonstrating what it meant then, and what it means now, to be human.

ALMA MATER

University College London

INSTITUTION

Colgate University

Robert Garland is the Roy D. and Margaret B. Wooster Professor of the Classics, Emeritus, in the Department of the Classics at Colgate University. He has a PhD in Ancient History from University College London. A former Fulbright Scholar, he was also a fellow at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington DC and a visiting scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. He has written 19 books, including Greek Mythology: Gods and Heroes Brought to Life and Roman Legends Brought to Life. He has also published extensively in academic and popular journals and served as a consultant for educational film companies.