The Ancient World: Greece
Ancient Greek history from the Bronze Age through the death of Alexander, taught as an MIT OpenCourseWare offering built around primary sources in translation. The course traces the hoplite revolution and the rise of the city-state, Homer and the formation of Greek identity, Herodotus and the invention of history writing, the Peloponnesian War and Thucydidean political thought, Platonic philosophy, and the transition to Hellenism under Macedonia. Social, economic, political, and religious developments are treated together rather than as separate threads, so students see how war, trade, and belief shaped Greek institutions over centuries. Materials include the syllabus, lecture outlines, readings drawn directly from ancient authors, and assignments, all freely downloadable with no enrollment fee. As with other MIT OCW courses there is no instructor interaction or certificate, just the full set of course materials for self-study.