The Modern Scholar: Archaeology and the Iliad: The Trojan War in Homer and History

The Modern Scholar: The History of Ancient Israel: From the Patriarchs Through the Romans

• UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 41 mins)
• By Eric H. Cline
• Narrated By Eric H. Cline

Israel conjures up myriad associations for peoples of all cultures and religious backgrounds. Inextricably associated with the world's three most prominent religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), Israel is steeped in history and conflict, much of which is known through the tales of biblical figures such as Moses, David, Solomon, and, of course, Jesus Christ.But how much of the Bible can be relied upon as accurate history? And how much of the biblical record can be verified through archaeology?

The Modern Scholar: History of Ancient Greece

• UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 13 mins)
• By Eric H. Cline
• Narrated By Eric H. Cline

In this series of lectures, professor Eric H. Cline delves into the history of ancient Greece, frequently considered to be the founding nation of democracy in Western civilization. Ancient Greece lives on in modern culture, evidenced by an ever-present fascination with the tales of Homer, Greek drama, and the stories associated with Greek mythology. In the rise of Sparta and Athens, people today find a wealth of material for understanding not only ancient Greece, but the modern world.

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed

• UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 3 mins)
• By Eric H. Cline
• Narrated By Andy Caploe
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

In 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the "Sea Peoples" invaded Egypt. The pharaoh’s army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations. After centuries of brilliance, the civilized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. No more Minoans or Mycenaeans. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians.

The Iliad of Homer

• ORIGINAL (6 hrs and 4 mins)
• By The Great Courses
• Narrated By Professor Elizabeth Vandiver

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.

The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World

• ORIGINAL (24 hrs and 28 mins)
• By The Great Courses, Robert Garland
• Narrated By Professor Robert Garland

Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.

Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction

• UNABRIDGED (4 hrs and 1 min)
• By Eric H. Cline
• Narrated By Craig Jessen
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

Public interest in biblical archaeology is at an all-time high, as television documentaries pull in millions of viewers to watch shows on the Exodus, the Ark of the Covenant, and the so-called Lost Tomb of Jesus. Important discoveries with relevance to the Bible are made virtually every year - during 2007 and 2008 alone researchers announced at least seven major discoveries in Israel, five of them in or near Jerusalem.

The Modern Scholar: The Hebrew Bible

• UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 35 mins)
• By Lawrence H. Schiffman
• Narrated By Lawrence H. Schiffman

In this course, objectively delivered by Professor Lawrence H. Schiffman, listeners will engage in a discussion on how that collection came into being and how it was passed down and interpreted throughout the ages. You will sample approaches both traditional and modern, making use of the works of a broad sampling of scholars - ancient, medieval, and modern - to understand the message of the Hebrew Scriptures and the stories they told

The American Civil War

• ORIGINAL (24 hrs and 36 mins)
• By The Great Courses, Gary W. Gallagher
• Narrated By Professor Gary W. Gallagher

Between 1861 and 1865, the clash of the greatest armies the Western hemisphere had ever seen turned small towns, little-known streams, and obscure meadows in the American countryside into names we will always remember. In those great battles, those streams ran red with blood-and the United States was truly born.

The Modern Scholar: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

• ORIGINAL (7 hrs and 41 mins)
• By Jennifer Tobin

Esteemed professor Jennifer Tobin leads a compelling series of lectures on the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Examining the historical and social context of each wonder, Tobin answers such questions as "Why was it built?" and "What can it tell us about the people who built it?" From the Great Pyramid at Giza to the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos of Alexandria, the course provides a 360-degree view of these enduring marvels of human achievement.

The Foundations of Western Civilization

• ORIGINAL (24 hrs and 54 mins)
• By The Great Courses
• Narrated By Professor Thomas F. X. Noble

What is Western Civilization? According to Professor Noble, it is "much more than human and political geography," encompassing myriad forms of political and institutional structures - from monarchies to participatory republics - and its own traditions of political discourse. It involves choices about who gets to participate in any given society and the ways in which societies have resolved the tension between individual self-interest and the common good.

The Modern Scholar: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic: A History of the Church in the Middle Ages

• ORIGINAL (8 hrs and 14 mins)
• By Thomas Madden

Renowned professor Thomas F. Madden turns his scholarly eye on the intrigue and politics swirling about the Medieval Church. Professor Madden explores the compelling events that shaped the culture and forever altered history, from the Monophysite Controversy to reform movements to the Inquisition, Black Death, and Great Schism.

Classical Mythology: The Greeks: The Modern Scholar

• ORIGINAL (8 hrs and 9 mins)
• By Professor Peter Meineck
• Narrated By Peter Meineck

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.

The Modern Scholar: The Bible and the Roots of Western Literature

• UNABRIDGED (6 hrs and 51 mins)
• By Adam Potkay, Monica Brezinski Potkay
• Narrated By Adam Potkay

The goal of this audio course is to provide listeners with a literary and historical overview of the Bible, from its opening in Genesis to its ending in the Book of Revelation, and also with a sense of some of the ways in which the Bible has influenced the literary traditions of the West. We'll be exploring key scenes, stories, forms, and books of the Bible through the methods of literary and cultural analysis.

The New Testament

• ORIGINAL (12 hrs and 26 mins)
• By The Great Courses, Bart D. Ehrman
• Narrated By Professor Bart D. Ehrman

Whether taken as a book of faith or a cultural artifact, the New Testament is among the most significant writings the world has ever known, its web of meaning relied upon by virtually every major writer in the last 2,000 years. Yet the New Testament is not only one of Western civilization’s most believed books, but also one of its most widely disputed, often maligned, and least clearly understood, with a vast number of people unaware of how it was written and transmitted.

The Modern Scholar: The Iliad and The Odyssey of Homer

• ORIGINAL (4 hrs and 40 mins)
• By Professor Timothy B. Shutt
• Narrated By Timothy B. Shutt

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".

The Modern Scholar: Upon This Rock: A History of the Papacy from Peter to John Paul II

• UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 9 mins)
• By Thomas F. Madden
• Narrated By Thomas F. Madden

In this compelling series of lectures, widely esteemed author and professor Thomas F. Madden illustrates how the papacy, the world's oldest institution, gave birth to the West. Since Jesus Christ instructed the foremost of his Apostles, Peter, that he would be the rock upon which Christ would build his church, the papacy has survived the rise and fall of empires while continuing to assert an undeniable influence on world events.

Introducing the Ancient Greeks: From Bronze Age Seafarers to Navigators of the Western Mind

• UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 24 mins)
• By Edith Hall
• Narrated By Sian Thomas
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

Acclaimed classics scholar Edith Hall's Introducing the Ancient Greeks is the first book to offer a synthesis of the entire ancient Greek experience, from the rise of the Mycenaean kingdoms of the sixteenth century BC to the final victory of Christianity over paganism in AD 391. Each of the ten chapters visits a different Greek community at a different moment during the twenty centuries of ancient Greek history.

Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization

• UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 9 mins)
• By Richard Miles
• Narrated By Grover Gardner
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

An epic history of a doomed civilization and a lost empire. The devastating struggle to the death between the Carthaginians and the Romans was one of the defining dramas of the ancient world. In an epic series of land and sea battles, both sides came close to victory before the Carthaginians finally succumbed and their capital city, history, and culture were almost utterly erased.

The Modern Scholar: A History of Ancient Rome

• UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 39 mins)
• By Professor Frances B. Titchener
• Narrated By Professor Frances B. Titchener

Of all the civilizations that have ever existed, none have inspired as much wonder and awe as Ancient Rome. No society has replicated the achievements nor enjoyed the longevity that the Roman Empire did. This course explores the world of Ancient Rome as students investigate important events and key figures of the epoch. At the end of this course, students will possess a thorough understanding of Ancient Rome's legacy to the modern world.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

• ORIGINAL (12 hrs and 21 mins)
• By The Great Courses
• Narrated By Professor Gary A. Rendsburg

Whether complete or only fragmentary, the 930 extant Dead Sea Scrolls irrevocably altered how we look at and understand the foundations of faith and religious practice. Now you can get a comprehensive introduction to this unique series of archaeological documents, and to scholars' evolving understanding of their authorship and significance, with these 24 lectures. Learn what the scrolls are, what they contain, and how the insights they offered into religious and ancient history came into focus.

The Modern Scholar: Behold the Mighty Dinosaur

• UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 19 mins)
• By John Kricher
• Narrated By John Kricher

Before their extinction, dinosaurs dominated Earth's terrestrial habitats for about 160 million years. They present the ultimate puzzle in forensic science, but we have learned a great deal about them in the last 50 years. This lecture series will explain the evolutionary and ecological relationships among dinosaurs, what it might have been like to be present in their time, and the question of what ultimately brought about the total extinction of dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous Period.

Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar

• UNABRIDGED (16 hrs and 4 mins)
• By Tom Holland
• Narrated By Derek Perkins

Author and historian Tom Holland returns to his roots in Roman history and the audience he cultivated with Rubicon - his masterful, witty, brilliantly researched popular history of the fall of the Roman republic - with Dynasty, a luridly fascinating history of the reign of the first five Roman emperors.

The Modern Scholar: From Troy to Constantinople: The Cities and Societies of Ancient Turkey

• ORIGINAL (7 hrs and 17 mins)
• By Jennifer Tobin
• Narrated By Jennifer Tobin

From time immemorial, the region of modern-day Turkey has served as a crossroads between east and west. In this illuminating course, Professor Jennifer Tobin leads a compelling discussion of "Anatolia" from early archaeological sites and the Trojan War up through the Greeks, Persians, Alexander the Great, and the Romans. A land of immense cultural significance, Ancient Turkey has housed an amazing array of peoples - the study of whom shines light on the modern world.

The War That Killed Achilles: The True Story of Homer's Iliad and the Trojan War

• UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 59 mins)
• By Caroline Alexander
• Narrated By Michael Page
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

Few warriors, in life or literature, have challenged their commanding officer and the rationale of the war they fought as fiercely as did Homer's hero Achilles. Today, the Iliad is celebrated as one of the greatest works in literature, the epic of all epics; many have forgotten that the subject of this ancient poem was war - not merely the poetical romance of the war at Troy, but War, in all its enduring devastation.