The Great Courses - Unsung Heroes of the Ancient World - Gregory S. Aldrete

The Great Courses – Unsung Heroes of the Ancient World – Gregory S. Aldrete – TTC
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Aristotle. Alexander. Cicero. Cleopatra. These are names we have heard a hundred times before. They are dominant historical figures whose life stories have been the focus of poetry, fine art, song, film, and literature for centuries. When we think of antiquity’s highest highs and lowest lows-of its greatest battles, grandest speeches, and most controversial scandals-we think primarily of them.

But what about the ancient world’s equally extraordinary but more obscure names? What can we say about the men and women who, despite their outsized impact on human history and civilization, have not been duly recognized?

The 24 lectures of Unsung Heroes of the Ancient World focus on antiquity’s underappreciated overachievers. Meet the brilliant engineers, dynamic rebels, accomplished athletes, awe-inspiring military commanders, eloquent orators, meticulous travel writers, and cunning tricksters who have long remained in the shadows with limited mainstream recognition. These colorful men and women philosophized about ethics and the natural world, engineered aqueducts, crafted automated puppet shows, defrauded religious fanatics, and cheated loan lenders.

Get an updated and more complete view of history with Professor Gregory Aldrete, Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, as your expert guide. Professor Aldrete is a prolific scholar of the ancient Roman world and a beloved Great Courses presenter. Throughout these lectures, you will join him in reading between the lines and against the grain of historical sources to reconstruct life and culture in the ancient world. There are few better equipped to unspool the inspiring and, in some cases, shocking life stories of some of the most consequential men and women in antiquity.

With Professor Aldrete in the front seat, you will:

Get to know impressive battlefield generals like Cimon, Epaminondas, and Agrippa;
Dig into schemes engineered by con men like Alexander Abonoteichus and Zenothemis;
Explore the thinking behind Vitruvius’s architectural projects and Pausanias’s travel manuals; and
Learn about the women-like Clodia Metelli, Mousa, Plancia Magna, and Turia-who stood out from their peers, whether as warriors, in the community, or on the witness stand.

From Unsung Heroes to Unsung History

The most famous names in antiquity revolutionized politics, culture, and society, but their lives tell just a small part of the story. Classical civilization was a diverse and complicated place, full of bandits, mutineers, egotistical doctors, and cult leaders. It stretched from Athens to Asia Minor, from Alexandria to Rome. And no battle victory nor political takeover was as inevitable as it would seem in hindsight.

Unsung Heroes of the Ancient World presents a series of fascinating biographical sketches that tell a detailed and more comprehensive history of the ancient world through the little-known men and women who shaped it. Through the lives of con men, you’ll learn about maritime insurance, cult worship, and piracy. Through campaigns waged by generals who violently-and in some cases, successfully-challenged Roman expansion, you’ll see Ancient Rome from a markedly different perspective. Through the trials and tribulations of warrior queens, devoted wives, and scandalous socialites, you’ll unpack how women exercised power in the classical world. While personal narratives structure every lecture, they are as much about ancient society, politics, and culture as they are about ancient people.

Portraits of the Past

Unsung Heroes of the Ancient World spotlights over two dozen personalities who represent a broad range of social classes in ancient cultures. Of the many men and women featured, they hail from the upper crust of ancient society. Others represent skilled professions such as the engineers, geographers, philosophers, and doctors whose intellectual contributions transformed their respective fields for the better-and sometimes for worse. And some even come from humble backgrounds, including agrarian workers and slaves who affected history through diligent production and bloody rebellion. Over the course of these revealing lectures, you will carefully reconstruct the lives of antiquity’s lesser-known figures, such as:

Athletes. Get to know some of the boxers, sprinters, and long jumpers who participated in ancient Greek sporting events, Olympics included. See what popular sports like MMA, boxing, track and field, and wrestling looked like thousands of years ago. And examine the power held and exercised by ancient athletes beyond the sandpits and wrestling rings they dominated.
Intellectuals and Professionals. Become acquainted with the Alexandrian philosopher Hypatia and the always inquisitive naturalist Pliny the Elder. Dive into the complex theories that underpinned ancient mapmaking, travel writing, architecture, and medicine. And parse out how Roman elites beyond the famed Cicero thought about and taught oratory.
Inventors, Engineers, and Patrons. Meet a few of the talents and personalities behind aqueducts, automated puppet shows, ships, water pipe organs, sewers, and catapults. Investigate how even the quirkiest ancient inventions have shaped the material world around us. And explore the unique role played by women patrons in commissioning and financing major civic projects.
Military Leaders and Politicians. Piece together Polycrates’ rise to power in Samos, starting with the battles he waged on the high seas. Accompany Sextus Pompey and Agrippa on a series of military campaigns as they vied for control of Rome. And learn about Epaminondas of Thebes’s impressive effort to inspire and liberate Sparta’s slaves.
Rebels and Revolutionaries. Track Jugurtha’s impressive political rise in Numidia and his subsequent military campaign against Rome. Investigate the origins of the Sassanian empire, an incredible world power born in the throes of rebellion and resistance. And follow two warrior queens in pursuit of territorial expansion and political greatness.
Tricksters and Criminals. Unpack the widespread appeal of Bulla, a roadside brigand who conducted raids reminiscent of Robin Hood. Track Alexander Abonoteichus’s rise to religious stardom-puppets and trickery included. And join Percennius on his journey from manipulator of theater audiences to army mutineer.

The men and women featured in Unsung Heroes of the Ancient World represent a kaleidoscope of ancient civilization. They are heroes, vigilantes, and villains. Some have faced violence and oppression, while others have themselves spilled blood and waged war. Representing all facets of ancient civilization, their political, technological, cultural, and military accomplishments still reverberate to this day. As you will discover, a deep study of their lives-successes and failures alike-can tell us as much about our world as it can about their own.

Lectures:

01. Cimon of Athens: From Glory to Disgrace
02. Polycrates of Samos: The Tale of a Tyrant
03. Epaminondas of Thebes: Slayer of Spartans
04. Ctesibius and Hero: Alexandrian Inventors
05. Olympians: Ancient Athletic Champions
06. Jugurtha of Numidia: African Freedom Fighter
07. Mithridates of Pontus: Rome’s Implacable Foe
08. Strabo and Pausanias: Describers of the World
09. Clodia Metelli: Scandalous Woman of Rome?
10. Sextus Pompey: He Could Have Been Emperor
11. Marcus Agrippa: Augustus’s Right‑Hand Man
12. Turia: A Devoted Wife in Times of Crises
13. Vitruvius and Frontinus: Master Engineers
14. Mousa, Eumachia, and Plancia: Enterprising Women
15. Pliny the Elder: 20,000 Things Worth Knowing
16. Quintilian: The Eloquent Professor
17. Galen the Physician: Medical Pioneer
18. Eunus and Bulla: Rebels and Outlaws
19. Ardashir and Shapur: Stupendous Sassanians
20. Zenobia and Artemisia: Warrior Queens
21. Hypatia and Sosipatra: Female Philosophers
22. Percennius and Zenothemis: Ancient Con Men
23. Alexander of Abonoteichus: The False Prophet
24. Farmers: Antiquity’s Greatest Unsung Heroes

Professor Gregory S. Aldrete, Ph.D.

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“As an ancient historian, my goals are to share the enthusiasm for and fascination with antiquity that I feel, and to show some of the connections between that world and our own.”

Gregory S. Aldrete is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He earned his PhD in Ancient History from the University of Michigan. He has been honored with numerous awards for his research and teaching and has received five fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is also a prolific scholar whose books include Gestures and Acclamations in Ancient Rome, Daily Life in the Roman City, and The Long Shadow of Antiquity: What Have the Greeks and Romans Done for Us?

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