The Peloponnesian War
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The Peloponnesian War
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Narrated by:
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Kenneth W. Harl
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Written by:
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Kenneth W. Harl
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The Great Courses
About this listen
The Peloponnesian War pitted Athens and its allies against a league of city-states headed by Sparta. The ancient Greek historian Thucydides captured this drama with matchless insight in his classic eyewitness account of what was arguably the greatest war in the history of the world up to that time.
These 36 half-hour lectures draw on Thucydides' classic account as well as other ancient sources to give you a full picture of the Greek world in uneasy peace and then all-out war in the late 5th century B.C. Professor Harl plunges you into the thick of politics, military strategy, economics, and technology.
You will feel the ancient Greek world come alive as you explore the war debates at Athens and Sparta, the devastating plagues that swept through Athens, the Revolt of Mytilene, the Battle of Pylos, the disastrous Athenian and Spartan expedition to Sicily against Spartan allies. You'll experience the thick of action and consider lively scholarly debates that continue to this day.
Unlike earlier great wars, the Peloponnesian War was not a conflict between kings, but between citizens from different city-states who shared the same language, gods, and festivals. Citizen assemblies decided questions of war - voting on their own fates, since they were the ones who had to do the fighting.
One of the most remarkable aspects of this era is that culture flourished side-by-side with the politics of war - that, even as Athenian citizens were honoring Aristophanes' mocking antiwar play, The Acharnians, by giving it first prize in a drama competition, they were debating with equal ardor whether to continue the war, and deciding overwhelmingly to do so.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2007 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2007 The Great CoursesWhat listeners say about The Peloponnesian War
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris Driscoll
- 2018-09-14
A well structured and insightful course.
This course is very well structured. It provides a good mix of: context, narrative of the history of the war and perspective on Thucydides and his book.
It flows very well and the author/speaker keeps you engaged and interested.
In particular, he ties many threads together to make a very complex story that takes place across many decades and locations into a coherent narrative.
Highly recommended. A very enjoyable course. #Audible1
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert
- 2024-09-04
Kenneth W Harl is a gem!
can't recommend all of Professor Harl's courses on audible enough, he achieves such a remarkable balance of entertaining and informative throughout every one of them. It is going to be hard to go back to other lecturers!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Giovanni
- 2021-03-31
Love it
I’ve been a fan of ancient history, more specifically Ancient Greece and Rome. This was a superb lecture on the Peloponnesian war.
I do recommend this course to anybody who loves history.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Langer MD
- 2022-02-02
Intellectually Honest Discussion. Excellent.
This series of lectures really does give the impression that the listener is sitting in a classroom.. furiously scribbling notes. Tulane University Professor Kenneth W. Harl contributes to that didactic feel by delivering the information in an admirable "off-the-cuff" manner. He doesn't adhere fastidiously to notes - choosing rather to *teach* the material than to read it.
The course is organized logically, taught clearly & authoritatively, and strengthened with impressive admissions where there is controversy, a lack of information, or opinions specific to Dr. Harl. The information feels uncommonly reliable.
Harl likewise does a very good job "narrating" the course. He "Hem"s and "Haw"s at times, but his diction, cadence, and timbre are generally exemplary (although I must admit that it's annoying how Harl persistently pronounces the word "AAH-lies" as "uh-LIES"). The team at Great Courses do a fantastic job recording the course (modulating volume, etc.), add applause to enhance the lecture-hall sensation, and include a very useful PDF Appendix.
Altogether, the subject matter is at risk of falling into a recitation of names & dates, but Harl and the producers do an excellent job making the material feel interesting and fresh. This quality product rates 9.5 stars out of 10. I bought the audiobook on sale (and it's definitely worth the $5.20 CDN I paid for it), but if you're interested in the topic, it actually merits a Credit.
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