The many lands of the ancient Greeks. Mystery religions, Greek sexuality and the hoplite warrior.

From Theseus to Solon and Pisistratus, the complex, chaotic history of Athens unfolds. Prelude to the Persian War.

Plutarch’s essay on Lycurgus. Laconia and Lacedaemon. The Spartans, their government, their lives, their army. Leonidas, Gorgo and Thermopylae.

The Greek polis or city-state. The city of Thebes and the tragedy of Oedipus. The value of the state and the importance of politics in classical Greece.

Life in Greece after the Bronze Age Collapse. Homer and Hesiod. The mystery religions.

Homer’s second great epic poem about the long-delayed return of Odysseus from the Trojan War.

Homer’s great epic poem about the rage of Achilles outside the walls of Troy.

A wedding attended by gods leads to disastrous war among men. The Trojan War is a fundamental event for all ancient Greeks.

More Greek myths. The sexual conquests of Zeus, tales from Crete and the stories of heroes such as Heracles and Perseus.

The first episode on Greek Mythology, beginning with the creation of the world out of chaos and ending with the advent of the twelve Olympian gods.