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The Greeks: The Complete Course
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$483.00$434.70
Greeks: The Epicscovers the two great poems of Homer: The Iliad and the Odyssey. Join Wesley Callihan, a veteran teacher of the classics, as he guides the student through the world of Homer. In story-like fashion, he steers the reader through the plot, poetic devices, background, philosophy, history, and beauty of the poems, as well as how we should approach these monuments of Western culture from a Christian perspective.
The Greeks: Drama and Lyric covers the beginning of drama and some of the earliest comedies and tragedies known to the Western world. This course includes lectures on the three primary tragedians from the Ancient Greek world by Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides and also one of the most famous writers of Greek comedy, Aristophanes. The course also offers an introduction to Greek lyric poetry from the same era, including passages by Pindar, Sappho, and Quintus of Smyrna. A lecture on the minor epic poetry of Hesiod is also included as a complement to part Greeks: The Epics.
Greeks: The Histories introduces students to three of history’s most influential early historians. Students will learn about Herodotus, the “Father of History”, as they read his masterpiece, The Histories, and its inquiries into the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars. They will read and learn about Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War and its forays into the earliest expressions of political philosophy. And last they will read Xenophon’s Anabasis, the famous account which reads like a novel as it chronicles the march of ten thousand Greeks soldiers on their treacherous journey home through enemy territory. Join Wesley and experience his contagious enthusiasm for learning as he draws from decades of teaching experience by summarizing, expositing, and drawing connections from the texts.
Greeks: The Philosophers covers the most important works of Plato and Aristotle and introduces students to the ideas that have been wrestled with by Western Civilization for over two thousand years. The texts covered in this unit include Plato’s Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Phaedrus, and Republic; and Aristotle’s Metaphysics, Ethics, and Poetics. Wesley Callihan draws from decades of teaching experience as he unpacks the concepts, dispels common misconceptions, and explains how the Christian church and society at large have been influenced by the ideas of these men—both for good and for ill.
This course doubles as a museum field trip! Throughout the history of western culture, the classics have always been the subject matter of artistic inspiration. As you study the epics of Homer, you will have the opportunity to see over a hundred exhibits, ranging from historical artifacts to famous renditions of Homeric scenes in classical painting. The student workbook contains study questions for each lesson, discussion questions, a roadmap to additional resources, a final exam, as well as an answer key.
Lecture 1 – Introduction to Old Western Culture
Lecture 2 – The Backdrop to the Iliad.
Lecture 3 – The Anger of Achilleus. (Iliad I-IV)
Lecture 4 – The First Critical Turning Point. (Iliad V-IX)
Lecture 5 – The Deception of Zeus. (Iliad X-XV)
Lecture 6 – The Second Critical Turning Point. (Iliad XVI-XXI)
Lecture 7 – The Death of Hektor. (Iliad XXII-XXIV)
Lecture 8 – The Telemachy. (Odyssey I-IV)
Lecture 9 – The Court of Alkinoös. (Odyssey V-VIII)
Lecture 10 – Odysseus Tells of his Wanderings. (Odyssey IX-XII)
Lecture 11 – The Homescoming of Odysseus & The Judgement of the Suitors. (Odyssey XIII-XXIV)
Lecture 12 – he Legacy of Homer in Western Civilization.
Drama and Lyrics
Lecture 1 – Background of Greek Drama: Development of Theater
Lecture 2 – Background of Greek Drama: The Period, the Poets, and the Presentation
Lecture 3 – Aeschylus’ Oresteia: The Agamemnon
Lecture 4 – Aeschylus’ Oresteia: The Libation-bearers and The Eumenides
Lecture 5 – Sophocles’ Oedipus the King
Lecture 6 – Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus
Lecture 7 – Euripides’ Medea and Trojan Women
Lecture 8 – Aristophanes’ The Frogs and The Clouds
Lecture 9 – Lyric Poetry: Sappho and Pindar, and Theocritus
Lecture 10 – Lyric Poetry: Hesiod
Lecture 11 – Lesser Epics: Quintus of Smyrna, The Fall of Troy
Lecture 12 – Lesser Epics: Apollonius of Rhodes, The Argonautica
The Histories
Lecture 1 – Overview of Greek History
Lecture 2 – Herodotus 1: Introduction and Croesus
Lecture 3 – Herodotus 2: Stories of Egypt and the other nations
Lecture 4 – Herodotus 3: The Beginning of the Persian Wars and the Battle of Marathon
Lecture 5 – Herodotus 4: The Battle of Thermopylae
Lecture 6 – Herodotus 5: The Battle of Salamis, and the End of the Persian Wars
Lecture 7 – Thucydides 1: Introduction, Thucydides’ Philosophy of History, and the Beginning of the Peloponnesian War
Lecture 8 – Thucydides 2: The Early Years, Pericles, and the Great Plague
Lecture 9 – Thucydides 3: Mytiline, Exile, Revolution, and Melos
Lecture 10 – Thucydides 4: The Sicilian Campaign, and the Downfall of Athens
Lecture 11 – Xenophon: The March of the Ten Thousand
Lecture 12 – The Lessons of Greek History
The Philosophers
Lecture 1 – Overview of Greek philosophy, introduction to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
Lecture 2 – Plato: The Apology: Socrates, St. Paul, and The Doctrine of Wisdom
Lecture 3 – Plato: The Crito and Phaedo: Socrates, Christianity, and the doctrine of body and soul
Lecture 4 – Plato: The Phaedrus: Socrates, Augustine, Dante, C. S. Lewis, and the Dialectic of Desire; True teaching
Lecture 5 – Plato: The Republic: understanding morality
Lecture 6 – Plato: The Republic: The Forms and the influence on Medieval Christendom
Lecture 7 – Aristotle: The Metaphysics: Aristotle, Aquinas, and the Doctrine of Wisdom
Lecture 8 – Aristotle: The Metaphysics: the Cosmos in Antiquity and the Middle Ages
Lecture 9 – Aristotle: The Ethics: Happiness the Chief End of Man
Lecture 10 – Aristotle: The Ethics: Friendship
Lecture 11 – Aristotle: The Poetics: Stories, Oedipus, and Jane Austen
Lecture 12 – The Lessons of Greek Philosophy
WHAT is “Old Western Culture”?
“Old Western Culture” is a literature curriculum named after a term coined by C.S. Lewis to describe the fabric of ideas that shaped Western Civilization. For centuries, a “Great Books” education lay at the heart of what it meant to be educated. It was the education of the Church Fathers, of the Medieval Church, of the Reformers, and of all the Founding Fathers of the United States.
– It is a CLASSICAL EDUCATION, based on the great books of western civilization.
– It is a CHRISTIAN EDUCATION, which sees the history and literature of the West through the eyes of the Bible and historic Christianity.
– It is an INTEGRATED HUMANITIES CURRICULUM, bringing together literature, history, philosophy, doctrine, geography, and art.
– It is a HOMESCHOOL oriented curriculum, made by homeschoolers with the needs of homeschooled in mind, including flexibility, affordability, and ease-of-use.
We bring a master-teacher into your home and encourage parents to gain an overview of Western Civilization themselves by watching the video lessons with their children.
HOW does Old Western Culture work?
Old Western Culture is a video course. It is built around a master teacher, Wes Callihan. With decades of teaching experience, he guides students through the story of Western civilization. The Epics contains 12 video lessons (approx. 30-40 min each). Each lesson begins with a brief review before jumping into summary, commentary, analysis, and inter-disciplinary connections of the works covered. After each lesson, students complete the assigned readings and answer comprehension questions in the Student Workbook or online workbook.
WHY do people love Wes Callihan?
Wes Callihan is a master storyteller! With a remarkable ability to communicate a passion for history and literature, he makes profound ideas accessible, relevant, and interesting. Also known for his distinctive “rabbit trailers,” forays into funny and obscure historical anecdotes, which have a way of showing up at the dinner table. (After all, rabbit trails are “hooks for the imagination and memory.”) Wes Callihan is a true classical scholar, fluent in both Latin and Greek. He lectures only from the notes in the margins of his worn copies of the Great Books. “Meet him” throughTHIS VIDEO TOUR of his personal library, which doubled as a mini-lecture!
Prerequisites
Old Western Culture is intended for mature and discerning students. We recommend this course for ages 14 and up. The course will deal with mature themes such as paganism, sexual immorality, battle scenes (mostly in actual reading), and classical paintings. Old Western Culture is meant to equip your child with a Biblical lens from which to process these themes. We assume your child has a working knowledge of the Bible and basic Christian doctrine.
Credits
This a robust course academically, and requires a fair bit of reading. Wesley Callihan will coach your student on how to approach the reading in the video. The average daily reading load is 30-40 pages.As an “integrated humanities” course, Old Western Culture will constantly be incorporating history, literature, theology, philosophy, art, and art history, all through the eyes of the Great Books.
