BBC Radio 4: In Our Time: Ancient Greece

BBC Radio 4: In Our Time

Archive by Era: Ancient Greece

1. Archimedes
   

   Melvyn Bragg discusses the Greek mathematician Archimedes and his famous cry of “eureka!”
2. Aristotle's Poetics
   

   Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Aristotle's Poetics.
3. Aristotle's Politics
   

   Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Aristotle’s ‘Politics’.
4. Averroes
   

   Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 12th century Islamic philosopher, Averroes.
5. Comedy in Ancient Greek Theatre
   

   Melvyn Bragg explores comedy in Ancient Greek theatre including Aristophanes and Menander.
6. Cultural Imperialism
   

   Melvyn Bragg examines how a dominant power can exert a cultural influence on its empire.
7. Cynicism
   

   Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Cynics, the performance artists of philosophy.
8. Democracy
   

   Melvyn Bragg examines the origins of the most cherished form of government in the world.
9. Friendship
   

   Melvyn Bragg explores the concept of friendship; ‘a single soul dwelling in two bodies’.
10. Greek and Roman Love Poetry
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Greek and Roman love poetry.
11. Happiness
    

    Melvyn Bragg considers whether 'happiness' means living a life of pleasure or of virtue.
12. Heraclitus
    

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus.
13. Heroism
    

    Melvyn Bragg explores what defines a hero, and their place in classical society.
14. Logic
    

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the history of logic.
15. Pi
    

    Melvyn Bragg examines the history of the longest and most detailed number in nature.
16. Prime Numbers
    

    Melvyn Bragg examines prime numbers and their mysterious role in the universe of numbers.
17. Pythagoras
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas of Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans.
18. Relativism
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss relativism; a philosophy with no absolute truths.
19. Rhetoric
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discusses rhetoric; supported by Aristotle but reviled by Plato.
20. Socrates
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the iconic Greek philosopher, Socrates.
21. Sparta
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Ancient Greek city-state of Sparta.
22. Stoicism
    

    Melvyn Bragg explore Stoicism, the most influential philosophy in the Ancient World.
23. The Amazons
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Amazons, formidable female warriors of classical myth.
24. The Artist
    

    Melvyn Bragg explores the history and changing the status of the artist.
25. The Delphic Oracle
    

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Delphic Oracle.
26. The Examined Life
    

    Melvyn Bragg investigates how our preoccupations about how to live have altered over time.
27. The Greek Myths
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Greek myths from Achilles to Zeus.
28. The Hippocratic Oath
    

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Hippocratic Oath.
29. The Library of Alexandria
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Library of Alexandria.
30. The Oath
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the importance of the oath in the Classical World.
31. The Odyssey
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the monster filled epic, Homer’s Odyssey.
32. The Oresteia
    

    Melvyn Bragg examines the ‘Oresteia’, the seminal trilogy of tragedies by Aeschylus.
33. The School of Athens
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Raphael's depiction of Plato and Aristotle.
34. The Translation Movement
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss classical Greek ideas in the Arabic and the Islamic world.
35. The Trojan War
    

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Trojan War, a central event of Ancient Greek mythology
36. Thermopylae
    

    Melvyn Bragg examines the Battle of Thermopylae, a defining clash between East and West.
37. Tragedy
    

    Melvyn Bragg examines whether the ancient genre of tragedy has a place in our own time.
38. Virtue
    

    Melvyn Bragg explores the meaning and purpose of the philosophical concept of virtue.
39. Xenophon
    

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the ancient Greek historian and soldier Xenophon.