Donald Kagan: why everyone should study ancient Hellas

I had a party last night and did not get a chance to put a post together. This is why, today, I'm letting someone else speak for me. In a course introduction about ancient Hellas, Yale professor Donald Kagan explains why people should study the ancient Hellenes. From the description of the video:

"He argues that the Greeks are worthy of our study not only because of their vast achievements and contributions to Western civilization (such as in the fields of science, law, and politics) but also because they offer a unique perspective on humanity. To the Greeks, man was both simultaneously capable of the greatest achievements and the worst crimes; he was both great and important, but also mortal and fallible. He was a tragic figure, powerful but limited. Therefore, by studying the Greeks, one gains insight into a tension that has gripped and shaped the West and the rest of the world through its influence. In short, to study the Greeks is to study the nature of human experience."

00:00 - Chapter 1. Ancient Greece as the Foundation of Western Civilization
13:06 - Chapter 2. The Judeo Christian Tradition
24:50 - Chapter 3. Problems Posed by the Western Tradition

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses. This course was recorded in Fall 2007.

I go on about ancient Hellas a lot on this blog, even if the subjects can not be traced back to the Theoi. The reason is that the ancient Hellenic religion could not exist separately from its culture. We are not trying to bring back that culture, but the ethics the ancient Hellenes had are still engrained in our religion, and the culture they had, still reflects in ours. Studying ancient Hellas should be at the core of Hellenismos, and I'm grateful for professors like Kagan who make it their life's work to share their vast knowledge on the subject.