Jeremy McInerney

I have listened to many of the Great Courses and find University of Pennsylvania's Jeremey McInerney the most stimulating lecturer I have encountered thus far. His passion for his subject is contagious. Yet, he maintains a critical distance, which he employs in his analysis of the Greek world and its impact on western culture.

Dr. McInerney is an anthropologist trained in archeology. He brings his extensive knowledge of Minoan Crete and Mycenae to life with lively stories of the initial digs show more and precise, accessible analysis of the interpretation of the archeological evidence accompanied by photos of the sites.

His lectures on Athenian social and political history are equally engaging. He examines the origins of direct democracy for all male citizens and the consequences of this full male participation model for women and slaves. He also assesses the role of war through the eyes of Greek Historian Herodotus and Thuclydicies and assesses these men's contributions to the discipline of history. Dr. McInerney also explores Greek religion, philosophy, theater, art and architecture, sex, gender, and the daily lives of women, metics ( foreigners), and slaves. This comprehensive course is inspiring and made me want to visit Greece and learn more. show less

The Age of Pericles
In this lecture series, Professor Jeremy McInerney of the University of Pennsylvania gives a balanced and nuanced analysis of Athens's golden age and eventual demise. I've become very interested in the fragility of democracy, and examining the first democracy with the guidance of a scholar of his caliber was an absolute pleasure.

McInerney begins the course at the end of the Persian War. He asks the listener to consider issues that arise when a city-state or nation-state show more advocates and practices democracy at home yet sets out to impose its will on its allies, often in a very undemocratic manner. He then provides in-depth lectures on the Athenians' political, social and cultural institutions, investigating both the negative and positive in their historical context.

He is critical of the Athenian's treatment of slaves, women and the suppression of their allies in the Delian League. He believes that the use of slaves and the suppression of women provided the male citizens with the time to participate in direct democracy and contribute to the arts and sciences. And yet, McInerney invokes George Bernard Shaw's maxim " individuals deserve to be judged within the context of their times" and applies this maxim to nations. He compares Athens's fledgling democracy to the surrounding monarchies and oligarchies. McInerney contends that while Athenians limited citizenship to men, it gave all males, regardless of social class, the rights of citizenship, thereby introducing the concept of equality before the law. He also claims that, as in Athens, it was common practice in surrounding city-states and countries to capture and enslave the families of those defeated in war.

McInerney asserts that Athens's most significant strength at the pinnacle of its Golden Age was its open dialogue and ability to engage in criticism of contradictions of society and within individuals. He demonstrates this quality through in-depth analysis of the great Athenian playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes.

After examining Athens's significant accomplishments, he describes its gradual decline, which he attributes to the twenty-year Peloponnesian War with Sparta, the abandonment by their mistreated allies, and the two-year plague which took the life of Pericles. These factors contributed to the rise of demagogues and the waning of civil discourse and critical free speech.

The Age of Pericles was the third in Jeremy McInerney's great courses series on Ancient Greece. My husband and I listened to a lecture a night through the winter of the pandemic. Each course dove deeper into Greek culture and society, and we gained a great deal. I highly recommend them all. I have listened to many great courses, and few are of this caliber. show less

Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age is another fascinating lecture series by Dr. Jeremy McInerney of the University of Pennsylvania. It examines the world created by Alexander's conquest of the Persian Empire and his untimely death at age thirty-two.

The first four lectures focus upon Alexander's life, career, and legacy and investigate the "Alexander legend." McInerney assesses the historiography of Alexander in an attempt to move beyond the conflicting portraits that depict him as show more either idealist multiculturalist or despotic megalomaniac.

McInerney then explores Alexander's generals' division of the Persian empire into the eastern Mediterranean's Hellenistic kingdoms and provides a critical analysis of this colonial model. He masterfully uses primary sources to illuminate daily life and demonstrates how changes in the arts; sculpture, poetry, and novels support his finely crafted portrait of the period.

I found his lectures on the Maccabean revolt especially interesting. By placing the events within a broad historical context, he provided new insights and a more sophisticated interpretation of a legendary story.

I knew very little about the Hellenistic Age before I took this course.
I learned a great deal and highly recommend it to anyone interested in this period. show less

This lecture series provides a very light treatment of Alexander (barely one lecture), but is otherwise excellent. It explains in detail, the transition from Greek political and cultural influence to Roman domination. The prof also describes a lot to historical settings found in the Bible.