
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


In an earlier lecture, I emphasized the role of geography in the Ancient Mediterranean in general. In this lecture, I want to zoom in on Ancient Greece and study its geography. As we will see throughout this lecture, geography and proximity to water defined how certain civilizations developed in Ancient Greece. I also want to expose you to the names of Ancient Greek locations, i.e. the Peloponnese, Attica, etc. These will be vital for future lectures, so as we go through this lecture make sure to take time and familiarize yourself with these terms. In addition to this, I want to also discuss the general way in which Ancient Greek militaries organized themselves. In the previous lecture, I spoke of how the polis organized the military and declared war. In this lecture, I am more interested in what battle formations looked like and how the militaries of various poleis were generally structured. As will become clear in future lectures, the way in which the Ancient Greek poleis organized themselves militarily was both a strength and a weakness, so great a weakness, in fact, that it would ultimately lead to their downfall when Macedonia, a kingdom in the north moves southward to conquer them.
By W.J.B. Mattingly4.5
6363 ratings
In an earlier lecture, I emphasized the role of geography in the Ancient Mediterranean in general. In this lecture, I want to zoom in on Ancient Greece and study its geography. As we will see throughout this lecture, geography and proximity to water defined how certain civilizations developed in Ancient Greece. I also want to expose you to the names of Ancient Greek locations, i.e. the Peloponnese, Attica, etc. These will be vital for future lectures, so as we go through this lecture make sure to take time and familiarize yourself with these terms. In addition to this, I want to also discuss the general way in which Ancient Greek militaries organized themselves. In the previous lecture, I spoke of how the polis organized the military and declared war. In this lecture, I am more interested in what battle formations looked like and how the militaries of various poleis were generally structured. As will become clear in future lectures, the way in which the Ancient Greek poleis organized themselves militarily was both a strength and a weakness, so great a weakness, in fact, that it would ultimately lead to their downfall when Macedonia, a kingdom in the north moves southward to conquer them.

11,995 Listeners

3,218 Listeners

13,507 Listeners

1,856 Listeners

1,546 Listeners

4,789 Listeners

915 Listeners

733 Listeners

5,213 Listeners

3,300 Listeners

15,616 Listeners

1,874 Listeners

2,064 Listeners

1,561 Listeners

1,730 Listeners