Book and Lecture Reviews of Ancient Greek History and Philosophy

Many of our videos are, in essence, book reviews, since we prefer to quote the
classical and modern authors to encourage studying and reflecting these classics.
Since we seek to draw moral lessons from history, we favor the Lives of Great
Greeks and Romans by Plutarch.
ANCIENT GREEK HISTORIANS
In his histories, Herodotus wants to remember the mighty deeds performed by both
Greeks and Persians in the Greco-Persian Wars. He was inspired by Homer, his
stories about the ancient history of Greece include many stories about the gods,
although he also was a somewhat careful historian in his own unique way.
Thucydides, who derided the many fanciful stories of Herodotus, is considered to be
the first modern historian who seeks accuracy rather than entertainment. Their
lifespans were only separated by about two decades, they were contemporaries,
although history does not mention that they ever met.

Thucydides and Xenophon were both generals. Thucydides ended
his history of the Peloponnesian Wars mid-chapter, mid
paragraph, and mid-sentence, and Xenophon’s history of the war
started at that point. The works written by Xenophon of Athens
were favorites of both ancient and medieval scholars, but
modern scholars tend to deprecate him. Plutarch is a Roman
writer and stoic philosopher who wrote is Lives of Greeks and
Romans about 450 years later, and used these Greek authors as
important sources, plus other sources that are lost to modern
scholars.

Understanding the wars is key to understanding Greek history.
• The Trojan War, when gods still mingled with humans were about eight centuries
prior to the Greco-Persian Wars. The Trojan War likely was fought in 1100 BC. It
may have been a mythical war, although most historians speculate the myths
were a remembrance of an actual struggle.
• In the Greco Persian Wars, fought between 499 and 479 BC, the Greeks
unexpectedly defeated the Persians through a combination of luck, fortune, bold
leadership, bold military attacks, and superior naval and hoplite battle tactics.
• Just fifty years later the Athenians and Spartans fought the Peloponnesian Wars,
these wars have been compared to the great World Wars I and II, these wars
were fought for close to three decades by two generations of Greek soldiers.
• The consequences of these wars, and the unending conflicts following these
wars, made the Greek city-states vulnerable for domination by Alexander the
Great in the next century.

.
479 BC: Xerxes
retreats to Persia

BOOK AND LECTURE REVIEWS, PELOPONNESIAN WARS
(REPEAT) Thucydides is a wonderful writer; he was a general in the
Athenian army who was exiled when he was blamed when he was unable
to prevent the capture of Amphipolis with its important silver mines. His
histories record both the sparks that ignited the Peloponnesian Wars, and
also explored the true causes of the wars, and the hidden resentments
and motivations for all the actors in each phase of the war, both through
observations and the many speeches, based on the memory of what the
speakers said and what Thucydides reasoned they should have said.
Xenophon continues his history of the Peloponnesian Wars from where
Thucydides left off, though with fewer speeches. His history is more
straight history than the history of Thucydides.

(REPEAT) Will Durant in the Life of Greece is speaking from the moral
point of view of an Englishman in the early 20th century, and he compares
the Athenian Empire to the British Empire. Like the classical historians, he
seeks out the moral lessons of history, and he is just as quotable.
We look forward to reflecting on the Platonic dialogue, Alcibiades 1.
Modern scholars deprecate this dialogue, they doubt that Plato was the
author, but both ancient and medieval scholars value it as a prime
example of the Platonic dialogue, so of course we look forward to
studying this work.

Thucydides is a wonderful writer; he
was a general in the Athenian army
who was exiled when he was blamed
when he was unable to prevent the
capture of Amphipolis with its
important silver mines. His histories
record both the sparks that ignited the
Peloponnesian Wars, and also explored
the true causes of the wars, and the
hidden resentments and motivations
behind each phase of the war, both
through observations and the many
speeches, based on the memory of the
listeners and what Thucydides
reasoned they should have said.
Xenophon continues his history of the
Peloponnesian Wars from where
Thucydides left off, though with fewer
speeches. His history is more straight
history than the history of Thucydides.
Will Durant in the Life of
Greece is speaking from the
moral point of view of an
Englishman in the early 20th
century, and he compares the
Athenian Empire to the British
Empire. Like the classical
historians, he seeks out the
moral lessons of history, and
he is just as quotable.
We look forward to reflecting
on the Platonic dialogue,
Alcibiades 1. Modern scholars
deprecate this dialogue, they
doubt that Plato was the
author, but both ancient and
medieval scholars value it as a
prime example of the Platonic
dialogue, so of course we look
forward to studying this work.
https://amzn.to/3FF1w3T
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The Life of
Greece, by
Will Durant
https://amzn.to/39YF629

In our videos on the Peloponnesian Wars, we used
Thucydides and Plutarch as our main sources. Since we
are interested in the moral lessons in the lives of the main
characters, we favor Plutarch’s Lives of Noble Greeks and
Romans. Plutarch wrote twenty-four paired lives of Greeks
and Romans whom he thought common moral qualities.
Plutarch wrote his Lives in the beginning of the second
century AD, about 450 years after the Age of Pericles,
using Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, and many lost
works as his sources.
We find the translation by Robin Waterfield quotable and
readable, but the Oxford World Classics only include nine
prominent Greek Lives. The two-volume of all Plutarch’s
Lives with the Dryden translation, unfortunately, is less
quotable, with many awkward wordy constructions we are
forced to recast and condense so they are as quotable as
the original.
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Vol 2

(REPEAT) Our videos on Plutarch’s Greek Lives reflect on:
• Theseus, the mythical first king of a united Attica.
• The Athenian lawgiver Solon.
• The Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus.
• The Athenian leader Themistocles, who led Greece to
victory in the Battle of Salamis in the Greco-Persian Wars.
• The orator Demosthenes, who later warned the
Athenians and the Greeks about the motives of King
Philip and Alexander the Great of Macedon.

(REPEAT) For the Peloponnesian Wars, we reflect on:
• The radical Athenian democrat Pericles.
• Aristides the Just of Athens.
• The peacemaker Athenian general Cimon.
• The failed Athenian general Nicias.
• The outrageous patriot and traitor, Alcibiades of
Athens.
• The Spartan commander Lysander, who showed
mercy on Athens when she lost the war.

Our videos on Plutarch’s Greek Lives reflect on:
• Theseus, the mythical first king of a united Attica.
• The Athenian lawgiver Solon.
• The Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus.
• The Athenian leader Themistocles, who led Greece to
victory in the Battle of Salamis in the Greco-Persian Wars.
• The orator Demosthenes, who later warned the
Athenians and the Greeks about the motives of King
Philip and Alexander the Great of Macedonia.
For the Peloponnesian Wars, we reflect on:
• The radical Athenian democrat Pericles.
• Aristides the Just of Athens.
• The peacemaker Athenian general Cimon.
• The failed Athenian general Nicias.
• The outrageous patriot and traitor, Alcibiades of Athens.
• The Spartan commander Lysander, who showed mercy
on Athens when she lost the war.
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Vol 2

We have a series of videos reflecting on the
Peloponnesian Wars, in the first video we also
examine the history behind these ancient historians.
Our first set of videos reflects on the fifty-year
tension-filled period between the Greco-Persian
Wars and the Peloponnesian Wars, and the
establishment of the radical democracy and the first
years of the war under Pericles, up until his death by
the plague.

In the final set of videos on the Peloponnesian Wars
we examine both history and Plutarch’s moral
biographies of the key Athenian and Spartan leaders
during and ending this first great war of history.
Alcibiades was a leading character both in these wars
and in the Platonic dialogues, including the
Symposium and Alcibiades I.

One of my favorite professors with the Teaching Company,
now Wondrium, is Kenneth Harl, he is an excellent and
enthusiastic lecturer who knows his material cold, and
discusses his personal original scholarship occasionally, his
favorite phrase is, “This view may be overdrawn.” This is a
thirty-six lecture set, he devotes entire lectures to some
important topics that I linger on for only a sentence or a
paragraph or two, such as Corcyra, Megara, Corinth,
Potidaea, the Delian League, and the thirty-year-peace.

Professor Harl says that an important ancient source
for the Peloponnesian Wars is the ancient first
century Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, which we
may consult for future lectures.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diodorus_Siculus
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The Teaching Company/ Wondrium professor, Jeremy
McInerney, provides another perspective in his
lectures on the Age of Pericles. He has many lectures
on the culture and theater, and the building program,
including the Parthenon and fleets of triremes. These
two professors have many lecture series, Professor
Harl has more lectures covering the succeeding
centuries.

These professors have other videos on ancient Greek
history. The middle two lectures are additional
lectures by Professor McInerney, the others are by
Professor Harl, and he has other excellent lectures
set in later eras. They both have lectures on
Alexander the Great, and Professor Harl’s lectures on
the Fall of the Pagans is one of my favorites.

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Harl Harl
McInerney

Rufus Fears is another one of my favorite and entertaining
professors with the Teaching Company, now Wondrium, he has a
series of lectures on Greek Lives, and also Roman Lives. Rufus
Fears personifies the strengths and weaknesses of oral tradition,
if he had been alive in the times of the ancient Greeks, he would
have been a traveling bard. Rufus Fears always grasps the most
salient summaries of these Greek Lives, he loves to point out
which historical figure live by a moral compass, but his weakness
is sometimes small inaccuracies slip into his lectures.

BOOK AND LECTURE REVIEWS, BEYOND THE PELOPONNESIAN WARS
(REPEAT) Xenophon’s history of the Persian Expedition this was famous in
both ancient times and the Middle Ages, it is a gripping and entertaining
account of his trials and adventures in Persia. Xenophon signed up with
many other Greek mercenaries in the Persian army of Cyrus, descendant
of Cyrus the Great, who was contesting the throne of Persia. The Greeks
were victorious in battle, and to clinch his victory, Cyrus and his forces, in
a tactic Alexander the Great would later repeat, charged the forces
surrounding King Artaxerxes II, but was killed instantly when an unlucky
spear went through his head, killing him instantly.

(REPEAT) These Greeks were now stuck in the middle of Persia with no friends. Their
leadership was wiped out in a peace banquet, so the Greeks, being Greeks, just
elected new leaders, including the newly promoted general Xenophon. He helped
lead the Greeks out of the depths of Persia, beating back constant ambushes, on a
two-year march up the Tigris River, through mountain ranges, finally reaching the
safety of the Greek colonies on the shores of the Black Sea. This saga suggested to
King Phillip and his son Alexander the Great of Macedon how the weak Persian
Empire was ripe for the taking.
The ancient author Arian has more adventure stories told about the amazing
campaigns of Alexander the Great, who never lost a battle, and who brought Greek
culture to much of Asia. These two books provide moral lessons on the value of
persistence and courageous enterprise, but they’re mainly just fun stories to read.

(REPEAT) We found this collection of lectures by Professor JB
Bury from the early twentieth century on the ancient historians
of Greece, including Homer, Herodotus and Thucydides.
The Athenian constitution was written not by Aristotle, but by a
student of Aristotle. The Athenian constitution tells us much of
what we know about the details of how the Athenian courts,
juries, and democracy functioned. It was deemed lost until
scholars found papyrus copies of this work in the trash dumps of
ancient Egypt in the late nineteenth century. A detailed
discussion of this book is included in our video on Ordinary Life
and Justice in Ancient Greece.

Xenophon’s history of the Persian
Expedition is a gripping and entertaining
account of his trials and adventures in
Persia. Xenophon and other Greeks
were mercenaries for Cyrus, who was
contesting the throne of Persia. The
Greeks were victorious in battle, but
Cyrus was killed by a spear. These
Greeks were now stuck in the middle of
Persia with no friends. This is the tale of
how the newly elected general
Xenophon helped lead the Greeks on a
two-year march through enemy
territory to the Greek colonies on the
shore of the Black Sea.
The ancient author Arian has more
adventure stories told about the
amazing campaigns of Alexander the
Great, who never lost a battle, and who
brought Greek culture to much of Asia.
We found this collection of
lectures by Professor JB Bury from
the early twentieth century on the
ancient historians of Greece,
including Homer, Herodotus and
Thucydides.
The Athenian constitution was
written not by Aristotle, but by a
student of Aristotle. The Athenian
constitution tells us much of what
we know about the details of how
the Athenian courts, juries, and
democracy functioned. It was
deemed lost until scholars found
papyrus copies of this work in the
trash dumps of ancient Egypt in
the late nineteenth century. A
detailed discussion of this book is
included in our video on Ordinary
Life and Justice in Ancient Greece.
https://amzn.to/2Z18ZcO
JB Bury
https://amzn.to/3FF74LL
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Professor Robert Garland gave the lectures on the Other Side of
History, Daily Life in the Ancient World, surveying conditions in
Egypt, Greece, and Rome. His lectures on Athenian Democracy
includes some lectures on what justice, juries, and courts was like
for ordinary Greeks. The Long Shadow of the Ancient Greek
World by Professor Ian Worthington goes further back to the end
of the Greek Dark Ages at around 700 BC in its history. The
Athenian Democracy and the Long Shadow lectures are indebted
to the Athenian Constitution for the details they provide. These
three lecture series were sources for our video on Ordinary Life
and Justice in Ancient Greece.

YouTube: Ordinary Life and Justice in Ancient Greece and Israel
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BOOK AND LECTURE REVIEWS, HERODOTUS AND GRECO-PERSIAN WARS
(REPEAT) Herodotus’ Histories are an absolute joy to read, he seeks to have his
Histories recited to Greeks who attend the festivals, so they need to be entertaining.
Herodotus’ curiosity and gullibility leads to many captivating and hard-to-believe
yarns about the culture and myths of the various lands in Persia, Egypt, Greece, and
surrounding lands. He is also called the first ethnographer, and his Histories are also
one of the first Travelogues of the ancient world. But, over the years, archaeologists
and historians have found proof for many outlandish-sounding tall tales that
Herodotus told.
Xenophon was a great fan of the original Cyrus the Great who conquered much of
the Babylonian Empire, and also brought the Greek colonies of Asia Minor into his
empire. Xenophon wrote The Expedition of Cyrus which was highly acclaimed in
both the ancient and medieval world, perhaps we will reflect on this work in a
future video.

(REPEAT) Another work that is quoted often by ancient authors is the Works and
Days of Hesiod, this contains many stoic sayings that reflect on the strengths of the
Greek warrior culture. The translator speculates that the Theogony was written by
someone other than Hesiod, since the style of these two works differ radically.
The Britannica salesmen sold many copies of their series, the Great Books of the
Western World, a bookcase full of books which many proud owners eager to show
off their educated values exhibited next to their silent pianos, both excellent pieces
of passive furniture. There are so unread and unmarked copies out there that you
can cherry-pick individual used copies of selected volumes of this series, including
this volume that includes all the Greek plays that survived from antiquity, for a very
reasonable price. They have no footnotes, but we can instead rely on Dr Wikipedia
for background information.

Herodotus’ curiosity and gullibility
leads to many captivating and hard-to-
believe yarns about the culture and
myths of the various lands in Persia,
Egypt, and Greece. He is also called the
first ethnographer, and his Histories
are also one of the first Travelogues of
the ancient world. But, over the years,
archaeologists and historians have
found proof for many outlandish-
sounding tall tales that Herodotus told.
Xenophon was a great fan of the
original Cyrus the Great who
conquered much of the Babylonian
Empire, and also brought the Greek
colonies of Asia Minor into his empire.
Xenophon wrote The Expedition of
Cyrus which was highly acclaimed in
both the ancient and medieval world.
Another work that is quoted
often by ancient authors is the
Works and Days of Hesiod, this
contains many stoic sayings that
reflect on the strengths of the
Greek warrior culture. The
translator speculates that the
Theogony was written by
someone other than Hesiod,
since the style of these two
works differ radically.
Volume 5 of the Britannica series,
the Great Books of the Western
World, which you can pick up
used for a reasonable price,
includes all of the Greek plays
that have survived from antiquity.
They have no footnotes, but we
can instead rely on Dr Wikipedia
for background information.
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Great Books of The
Western World:
Volume 5
Aeschylus/ Sophocles/
Euripides/
Aristophanes, by
Encylopaedia
Britannica, used copies
inexpensive
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The first of our series of videos on the Greco-Persian
Wars includes a discussion on Herodotus, including
comments by Professor JB Bury. Another video
includes a play by Aeschylus, which is an eyewitness
account of the Battle of Salamis, written from the
point of view of the Persians, who were outwitted by
the Athenian leader Themistocles.

https://youtu.be/YwUojwMIQEw https://youtu.be/JjNcyLo54ko
https://youtu.be/cabAkQwHnlk
https://youtu.be/bUW4ZT9zpt8

We also highly recommend the Great Courses/
Wondrium lectures by Professor Elizabeth Vandiver.
The first half dozen lectures provide excellent
background on ancient Greek history up to the time
of Herodotus. Most of her lectures are a consensus
of scholarly opinion, as we see the themes in her
lectures repeated in many other lectures on ancient
Greece.

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The Great Courses on the Greek-Persian Wars by
Professor Hale also provided interesting
archaeological evidence used by modern historians
to add to and correct the classical literary evidence
that is our primary sources.

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BOOK AND LECTURE REVIEWS, ILIAD AND ODYSSEY, AND LEGENDS
(REPEAT) The style of the Iliad and the Odyssey differs so much that some scholars speculate that
there were two Homers. The Iliad is an epic poem, while the Odyssey reads more like a modern
novel, complete with multiple flashbacks. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey show how the ancient Greek
culture, and all ancient cultures, were warrior cultures. All ancient cultures were warrior cultures
by necessity, because if a city-state was defeated by a hostile power, often the men were
slaughtered, and the women and children were forced into slavery.
The first word in the Iliad is RAGE, the rage of Achilles, not against the Trojans, but against King
Agamemnon, who has snatched his concubine Briseis. The Iliad is also a character study of our
flawed hero Achilles, as he ponders the meaning of war, the meaning of life, the empathy of
suffering.
The Odyssey tells us the decade-long journey of Odysseus, and how he, with his son, a few slaves,
and the disguised goddess Athena, are compelled to fight the hundred suitors seeking to marry his
abandoned wife Penelope. The Odyssey stresses Xenia, or hospitality towards strangers, and
Odysseus meets many monsters and sorceresses and princesses, some who are good hosts, some
who are bad hosts.

BOOK AND LECTURE REVIEWS, ILIAD AND ODYSSEY, AND
LEGENDS
(REPEAT) We include here the Tales of the Northwest, one of the
best depictions of the warrior culture of the American Indians.
We compare these tales to those in the Iliad, there are many
similarities in these two stoic cultures.
Another work of myth and legend is the voyage of Argo by
Apollonius of Rhodes, including the tale of Jason and the
Argonauts, and their quest for the Golden Fleece, and his horrible
sorceress wife, Medea, who murders her own sons in the Greek
play Medea by Euripides.

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey show how
the ancient Greek culture, and all
ancient cultures, were warrior
cultures.
The first word in the Iliad is RAGE, the
rage of Achilles, not against the
Trojans, but against King Agamemnon,
who has snatched his concubine
Briseis. The Iliad is also a character
study of our flawed hero Achilles, as
he ponders the meaning of war, the
meaning of life, the empathy of
suffering.
The Odyssey stresses Xenia, or
hospitality towards strangers, and
Odysseus meets many monsters and
sorceresses and princesses, some who
are good hosts, some who are bad
hosts.
We include here the Tales of
the Northwest, one of the
best depictions of the
warrior culture of the
American Indians. We
compare these tales to those
in the Iliad, there are many
similarities in these two stoic
cultures.
Another work of myth and
legend is the Voyage of Argo
by Apollonius of Rhodes,
including the tale of Jason
and the Argonauts, and their
quest for the Golden Fleece,
and his horrible sorceress
wife, Medea, who murders
her own sons in the Greek
play Medea by Euripides.
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Our first video in this series examines the Iliad and Greek culture, and
reflects on the scholarly debates on whether Homer existed, whether
there were several Homers, and on oral history as recited by the bards of
old. We have videos reflecting on what the Iliad reveals to us about the
ancient Greek warrior culture, comparing it to the American Indian
warrior culture, and also comparing the Greek practice of capturing
concubines in war to the laws in the Torah, or the Old Testament,
exhorting that captured concubines must be treated with the respect due
to Jewish wives. Finally, we explore the tensions in the Iliad’s depictions
of the glory and honor of war versus the madness and futility of war.

https://youtu.be/DpmuhZJUJn0
https://youtu.be/7lI2ZQ50wRc
https://youtu.be/bGHHD7XTvr0
https://youtu.be/ynIx-AVI2f8

Some additional material included in Professor Elizabeth
Vandiver’s lectures on the Iliad is a poem by a World War I
soldier that imagined the fiery visage of Achilles, lit by
Aphrodite at dusk, above the trenches near the beaches where
the Greek ships were moored, and how this frightened the
enemy. She also discusses in greater depth the embassy of the
three Greek soldiers to coax Achilles into battle, and the moral
lessons we can draw from this camp meeting that went badly,
and the funeral games, among others.

Professor Elizabeth Vandiver also recorded lectures on
the Odyssey by Homer, and its theme of Xenia, or
hospitality to strangers. Some monsters, like the Cyclops,
rather than offering hospitality and a hot meal to
strangers, instead eat them for dinner. Sometimes a
sorceress will turn travelers into swine, but offer xenia
when Odysseus outwits them, with the help of the gods.
Sometimes beautiful princesses pose a danger of a
different sort, when they seek to make their prince
Odysseus, but our hero longs to return to his Penelope.

Professor David Schenker also has lectures on Masterpieces of
Greek Literature, where he discusses the Iliad and the Odyssey.

BOOK AND LECTURE REVIEWS, GREEK PHILOSOPHY
(REPEAT) The Penguin Classics have many of the dialogues of Plato, the Penguin
classics series have both good introductions and good translations. This collection
of the Last Days of Socrates includes several Platonic dialogues. Stay away from
the paperback, The Complete Dialogues of Plato on Amazon, the typeface is so
tiny it is impossible to read. Barnes and Nobles has a good collection of the main
dialogues of Plato.
We cut some videos using Xenophon’s Conversations of Socrates as a main
source, his Socrates is more of a stoic moral teacher than the more mystical
Socrates of Plato’s dialogues. Just as the Jesus in the synoptic gospels differ from
the Jesus of the Apostle John, so the Plato of the so the Socrates of Plato is very
different from the Socrates of Xenophon.

(REPEAT) So many scholars quote from the Lives of the Eminent
Philosophers, written by Diogenes of Laertius, that I purchased this
history myself, half the book is scholarly essays in the Appendix on both
Diogenes and these early philosophers. His essays on the best-known
philosophers, including Plato, do not tell us more than the other ancient
sources, bur this is the only or predominant source for early and minor
Greek philosophers. If any of these essays were submitted as a college
term paper today, it might qualify for a solid “C.” Scholars suspect
Diogenes was an Epicurean, since his last chapter on Epicurus is more
complete than the other chapters and is the only chapter that includes
major excerpts from the philosopher’s writings. For all the other
philosophers, Diogenes repeats anecdotes and illustrative incidents from
their lives.

(REPEAT) The Early Greek Philosophy book is a
collection of snippets from the presocratic
philosophers. The teachings of Socrates, and the
philosophical works of Plato and Xenophon, were so
influential that there was little enthusiasm for
copying the works of the early Greek philosophers,
some are only mentioned in Diogenes, or snippets
quoted by Aristotle or other ancient Greek writers.

The Penguin Classics have
many of the dialogues of
Plato, the Penguin classics
series have both good
introductions and good
translations.
We cut some videos using
Xenophon’s Conversations
of Socrates as a main
source, his Socrates is
more of a stoic moral
teacher than the more
mystical Socrates of
Plato’s dialogues.
Diogenes of Laertius’ essays on
the best-known philosophers,
including Plato, do not tell us
more than the other ancient
sources, bur this is the only or
predominant source for early and
minor Greek philosophers.
Scholars suspect Diogenes was an
Epicurean, since his last chapter
on Epicurus is more complete
than the other chapters and is
the only chapter that includes
major excerpts from the
philosopher’s writings. For all the
other philosophers, Diogenes
repeats anecdotes and illustrative
incidents from their lives.
The Early Greek Philosophy book
is a collection of snippets from
the presocratic philosophers.
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These three Great Courses lectures were used as
sources in our videos on the Platonic dialogues.
Professor Schenker in Masterpieces of Greek
Literature makes many of the same points as does
Professor Vandiver. Professor Michael Segrue in
Plato, Socrates and the Dialogues is so enthusiastic
about Plato that one wonders if his is a sort of
platonic religion. All three are excellent sets of
lectures.

YouTube Video:
Death of Socrates, Xenophon and Plato
https://youtu.be/Mip1vgRKH1E
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We have two videos on the Plato’s dialogues and
Xenophon’s treatise on the trial and execution of
Socrates, plus a video on the Stoic Socrates of
Xenophon, plus a video on how the slanders of the
comic Aristophanes may have contributed to the
eventual execution of Socrates.

https://youtu.be/Mip1vgRKH1E
https://youtu.be/LWfoHhtNY8I
https://youtu.be/etK0eIpYPPg
https://youtu.be/Pn7wYntimjo

Our videos for Zeno, the first Greek Stoic
Philosopher, the Greek Cynic Philosophers, and
Epicurus, all used the Lives of Eminent Philosophers
by Diogenes of Laertius as their solitary or primary
source.

https://youtu.be/STxpGlkFyvs
https://youtu.be/zAAal5p8AX8
https://youtu.be/49Qv3Be86Jw

Professor Arthur Holmes of Wheaton College has an
excellent series of lectures on “A History of
Philosophy.” As you can see, he has a lecture on a
neglected topic, the Sophist Philosopher, neglected
because Socrates was tried and executed partially on
the slander that he was an amoral sophist, so Plato,
in his dialogues, continually deprecated the sophists.
My only complaint is Dr Holmes, like many modern
scholars, deprecates the Stoic Philosophers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yat0ZKduW18&list=PL9GwT4_YRZdBf9nIUHs0zjrnUVl-KBNSM

(REPEAT) We purchased several series of anthologies and essays on
philosophers, it is cost beneficial to purchase them individually used on
Amazon. The anthologies on the Philosophic Classics begin with the
volume on Ancient Philosophy. Walter Kaufmann selected excerpts of
from the works of many ancient authors with excellent introductions.
This anthology is the recommended text for Dr Holmes lectures on
philosophy.
Frederick Copleston wrote an excellent multi-volume History of
Philosophy; the first volume is on the Greek and Roman Philosophers. He
was a Jesuit priest, this series is studied in many Catholic seminaries, it is
a modern classic with remarkable breadth.

(REPEAT) The influential scholar AA Long has penned
these readable essays on Hellenistic Philosophy,
beginning with the Epicureans, followed by an essay
on the Skeptics, then he discusses the Stoics. This
work enriched our video on the Epicureans.
Brad Inwood selects readings on Hellenistic
Philosophy in his work, and his is the fourth book to
even out this page.

We purchased several series of anthologies
and essays on philosophers, it is cost
beneficial to purchase them individually
used on Amazon. The anthologies on the
Philosophic Classics begin with the volume
on Ancient Philosophy. Walter Kaufmann
selected excerpts of from the works of
many ancient authors with excellent
introductions. This anthology is the
recommended text for Dr Holmes lectures
on philosophy.
Frederick Copleston wrote an excellent
multi-volume History of Philosophy; the
first volume is on the Greek and Roman
Philosophers. He was a Jesuit priest, this
series is studied in many Catholic
seminaries, it is a modern classic with
remarkable breadth.
The influential scholar
AA Long has penned
these readable essays
on Hellenistic
Philosophy, beginning
with the Epicureans,
followed by an essay on
the Skeptics, then he
discusses the Stoics.
This work enriched our
video on the Epicureans.
Brad Inwood selects
readings on Hellenistic
Philosophy in his work,
and his is the fourth
book to even out this
page.
https://amzn.to/3sw7DCe
https://amzn.to/2WwIDhd
https://amzn.to/3swTXHk https://amzn.to/3w8xx1d

Our introductory video on our channel discusses how
Stoic philosophy shows us how to live a godly life,
plus the realization that ancient cultures were
warrior cultures, affects how we view the ancient
world, and our inheritance from the ancient world,
including how we interpret the Scriptures.

https://youtu.be/Si0TsO5bNr0
https://youtu.be/Si0TsO5bNr0

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqDkfFbWhXOnzdjp__YZtg/

Book and Lecture Reviews of Ancient Greek History and Philosophy

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