The Miracle of Ancient Greece with Harry Mount

Join Harry Mount, author of the top ten bestseller Amo, Amas, Amat… and All That and Odyssey – Ancient Greece in the Footsteps of Odysseus, for an online course on the miracle of Ancient Greece.

As Harry explains, architecture, tragedy, comedy, philosophy, and democracy all magically clicked into place in fifth century BC in Greece and Athens – but how did it all come about?

The Idler Academy’s The Miracle of Ancient Greece consists of six video lessons plus handy notes and quiz.

Starting with Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Harry moves on to Pericles, the Parthenon and the fifth century BC miracle. He takes you through the Greek orders of architecture, the development of Greek theatre and philosophy and the origins of democracy.

Harry concludes with the story of Greece echoing through the ages – into Roman adulation of the Greeks, the Renaissance reverence for Greek culture and the elements of ancient Greece that still surround us today.

At 6pm on Tuesday 22nd March, you’ll be able to join fellow students at a real time online lesson with Harry who’ll be talking a bit more about the Miracle of Greece and answering your questions.

What you get:

Video: six video lessons

Audio: the option to download and listen to the lessons in podcast form

Downloadable notes: in your printable notes you’ll find useful maps, the Ancient Greek alphabet, details of how to visit the great archeological sites that you’ll learn about in the course, and further resources

Exclusive course forum: here you can chat with fellow students and pose questions to the tutor

Quiz: Test what you have learnt with our fun multiple choice quiz

Certificate: When you pass the quiz you will be issued with an Idler Academy Certificate of Completion

Meet the Tutor: Exclusive online Q&A session with Harry Mount at 5pm on Wednesday 30th March 2022.

Course Outline

Lesson One: Homer and the Iliad. Harry explains the structure of the course and then gives an overview of the history and geography of Ancient Greece. He goes on to discuss who Homer was and when the Iliad was written. We look at the beauty of the language and learn the Ancient Greek alphabet (17 minutes)

Lesson Two: The Odyssey and Greek Literature. Harry discusses the story of the Odyssey and how it has affected both the literature and language of the rest of Western Europe right up to the modern day (19 minutes)

Lesson Three: The Birth of Theatre. We find out about the great writers and thinkers of the 5th century BC and discuss why Greek thought so flourished in these hundred years (18 minutes)

Lesson Four: The Emergence of Democracy. With a history of silver mines and battles Harry shows how Athens gave birth to democracy, why it was such a powerful system and how it became the foundation of Western Civilisation (17 minutes)

Lesson Five: The Parthenon and the Greek Orders of Architecture. We look at the Parthenon, built under Pericles in the 5th century BC. Harry illustrates why it is considered the perfect temple and shows us the three Greek orders of Greek architecture and the five classical orders (16 minutes)

Lesson Six: The Echoes of Greek Culture through Western Civilisation. Even though Greece was eclipsed by Rome in the 2nd century BC the Romans acknowledged that the Greeks were more sophisticated artistically. We look at why Ancient Greece has been revered throughout history up to the present day (13 minutes)

Meet the Tutor: A special chance to meet Harry Mount and ask questions. (5-6pm Wednesday 30th March)

About the tutor

 Harry Mount is the editor of The Oldie magazine.