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Cycladic Art.

 

Channel: Ancient Light
Duration: 18:50
Description: The ancient Cycladic culture flourished in the islands of the Aegean Sea from c. 3300 to 1100 BCE. Along with the Minoan civilization and Mycenaean Greece, the Cycladic people are counted among the three major Aegean cultures. Cycladic art therefore comprises one of the three main branches of Aegean art.
Stepping stones across the Aegean, the Cycladic islands were early settlement sites for migrants. The islanders developed a significant culture centuries before the emergence of the great Bronze Age civilizations of Crete and the Greek mainland. The distinctive marble figurines produced on various islands represent some of the most beautiful artifacts of the period, even as their original significance remains a mystery.
The Cyclades lie in the southwestern Aegean, east and southeast of Attica, and north of Crete. The name is derived from their apparent arrangement in a circle around the sacred island of Delos. Marble is the dominant feature of the islands; most are part of a submerged, mountainous land mass made of metamorphic rock. A few volcanic islands (e.g., Thera and Melos) represent exceptions. The islands are not rich in natural resources, nor are they very fertile. The development of olive cultivation made them more productive.
The island system ranges from Thera in the south to Andros in the north. Delos and Paros are among the central islands. Naxos, Paros, and Andros are among the largest, but the islands are generally small. Early Cycladic settlements probably included about a few dozen people; no island could support more than a couple of thousand inhabitants. The meager size meant that eventually the Cyclades would be unable to compete with growing cultures on Crete and mainland Greece.
Published: September 20, 2017 7:35 pm

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An Introduction to the Ancient Greek Philosophical Schools

 

Channel: Historical Endeavours
Duration:4:43
Description: This series details the different philosophical schools of ancient Greece – giving an outline of the schools core teachings, a brief overview of the schools members and their beliefs, and an overview of the school’s rise and fall. It is an introduction to the different philosophical schools of ancient Greece.
Published: December 10, 2011 9:39 pm

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The Ancient Greeks: Crucible of Civilization – Empire of the Mind

 

Channel:AgeOfAntiquity
Duration:55:2
Description: The Ancient Greeks: Crucible of Civilization – Empire of the Mind  It was perhaps the most spectacular flourishing of imagination and achievement in recorded history. In the Fourth and Fifth Centuries BC, the Greeks built an empire that stretched across the Mediterranean from Asia to Spain. They laid the foundations of modern science, politics, warfare and philosophy, and produced some of the most breathtaking art and architecture the world has ever seen. This series, narrated by Liam Neeson, recounts the rise, glory, demise and legacy of the empire that marked the dawn of Western civilization. The story of this astonishing civilization is told through the lives of heroes of ancient Greece. The latest advances in computer and television technology rebuild the Acropolis, recreate the Battle of Marathon and restore the grandeur of the Academy, where Socrates, Plato and Aristotle forged the foundation of Western though. The series combines dramatic storytelling, stunning imagery, new research and distinguished scholarship to render classical Greece gloriously alive. EMPIRE OF THE MIND.
The final segment describes how Athens, at the height of her glory, engaged in a suicidal conflict with her greatest rival, Sparta. Through the eyes of Socrates, Athens’ first philosopher, viewers see the tragic descent of Athenian democracy into mob rule.The episode opens in 399 B.C., after the great philosopher Socrates has been sentenced to death and Athens lies in ruins after a war with Sparta. This episode goes back to 431 B.C., to an Athens at the height of its cultural, political, and economic power. Having taken great leaps forward in every field of learning, and with a strong economy that dominates Mediterranean trade, Athens and its 150,000 residents are the envy of their neighbors, in particular, bellicose Sparta. Jealous of Athenian success, the Spartans yearn to spill Athenian blood and dominate the region. Of course, Pericles knows what is coming, and he orders the citizens to abandon open areas and take refuge inside the walls of Athens. The mighty Athenian fleet will provide supplies for the citizens through the port of Piraeus and a walled corridor between that city and Athens. Over time, the navy will prevail, as it had against the Persians, and win yet another victory. Much is at stake — democracy, freedom, the whole Athenian way of life. As expected, the Spartans invade and burn the open areas around the city. But it is the unexpected that deals the most devastating blow to Athens. Incoming ships with supplies for the walled-in Greeks carry plague-bearing rats feeding on grain. The disease ravages the Athenians, inflicting agony on them and killing one out of every three. The Spartans are of little concern; what matters is surviving until tomorrow. Pericles’ esteem plummets even as he himself contracts the plague and eventually dies. Finally in 404 B.C., Athens surrenders. The Athenians, shattered and stripped of their empire, take revenge on their most vocal critic and condemn Socrates to death before a people’s court.
Published: February 15, 2014 8:49 pm

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Ancient Greece : The GREAT Greek Empire

 

Channel:
NWO Documentary CHANNEL
Duration: 2:45:1
Description: Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization, being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, and Western drama. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Philip of Macedon united most of the Greek mainland in the fourth century BC, with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world, spreading Greek culture and science from the eastern Mediterranean to the Indus River. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, wherein the Greek language and culture were dominant. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World. Falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greece’s rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe and the world.
Published: July 2, 2017 5:36 pm